ECONOMY & MARKETS

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Thursday, after hitting a nearly three-month low during the previous session, as fears of a potential global recession spurred concerns about oil demand.

The IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Wednesday she discussed the implementation of a $44 billion International Monetary Fund program with Argentina's new economy chief, Silvina Batakis.

Rising interest rates and high oil prices are a positive for business even while inflation is taking a toll on African countries, the chief executive of pan-African lender Ecobank said in an interview on Wednesday.

The world's big four central banks are all in an unenviable position of fighting the highest inflation in decades without crashing their economies.

A rally in U.S. energy shares is crumbling, as fears of a global recession have prompted investors to take profits in one of the few corners of the stock market that has thrived this year.

U.S. job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still tight labor market that could keep the Federal Reserve on an aggressive monetary policy path as it battles high inflation.

U.S. job openings fell less than expected in May, pointing to a still tight labor market that could keep the Federal Reserve on an aggressive monetary policy path as it battles high inflation.

Canadian government spending is leaving the Bank of Canada to work alone to rein in the highest inflation rate in nearly four decades, economists say.

The Bank of Canada is set to raise its overnight rate by a hefty 75 basis points this month and by another 50 in September, front-loading a campaign to take monetary policy to where it will restrain the economy, according to a Reuters poll of 29 economists.

Sterling, down nearly 12% against the dollar since the start of this year, is likely to regain around half of its lost ground in 2022 over the next 12 months as the Bank of England looks set to continue raising interest rates, a Reuters poll found.

The Mexican central bank's battle with inflation has underscored its autonomy as board members defy pressure from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to keep interest rates lower to help the economy, officials, lawmakers and analysts say.

Wall Street put a seesaw day behind it to close higher on Wednesday, as investors digested new clues on the U.S.

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday as investors absorbed the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which offered new clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes slipped on Wednesday as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting to gauge the health of the economy and the pace of interest rate hikes to stamp out spiking inflation.

U.S. stock indexes dipped on Wednesday after edging briefly higher in the wake of the publication of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which investors had been waiting on for clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes endured topsy-turvy trading on Wednesday but were broadly flat heading into the Federal Reserve publishing the minutes from its latest meeting, as investors awaited new clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes slipped on Wednesday as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting to gauge the health of the economy and the pace of interest rate hikes to stamp out spiking inflation.

Hopes that the Polish central bank's monetary policy tightening cycle may be nearing its end could be shattered by government policies aiming to support domestic demand and ease the pain of inflation in a pre-election year, economists say.

If history is any indicator of the future, the first two weeks of July could bring relief to investors after a bruising first half of the year.

Activity in Britain's construction sector slowed sharply last month, with the weakest expansion since September 2021, as fears for the economic outlook caused house-building to contract for the first time since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill warned on Wednesday that Britain's economy would slow to a crawl over the next 12 months and repeated his preference for a "steady-handed" approach to raising interest rates.

U.S. stocks and oil looked to hold steady after steeper losses earlier in the week, as investors processed recession fears and awaited new policy hints from the Federal Reserve.

Tentative calm returned to global markets on Wednesday, with the recession-obsessed euro slumped at a two-decade low, stocks inching higher and oil back above $100 a barrel following a near 10% plunge a day earlier.

Asian stocks slipped and the dollar stood by a two-decade high on the euro on Wednesday as investors' fears deepened that the continent is leading the world into recession, while oil and European equity futures attempted to steady after a slide.

Gold extended its selloff to an over nine-month low on Wednesday hurt by a stronger dollar, while the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes established a more "restrictive" monetary policy.

Gold prices staged a slight recovery on Wednesday as some investors resorted to bargain hunting after a more than 2% fall in the previous session, while focus was also on minutes of the U.S.

Gold hovered near a fresh seven-month low on Wednesday, with the dollar perched at a two-decade peak, as investors continued to snub bullion and look to the greenback for safety amid growing anguish over a worsening global economic outlook.

Gold found temporary respite on Wednesday after touching a near seven-month low in the previous session, as the dollar paused for breath after a blistering surge to 20-year highs.

Oil prices slid about 2% to a 12-week low in volatile trade on Wednesday, extending the prior session's heavy losses as investors grew more worried energy demand would take a hit in a potential global recession.