Dollar on track for worst week in four months.
The U.S. dollar was heading for its worst weekly performance since late July on Friday as traders ramped up bets for further monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next month, while liquidity was thinned by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major peers, was last trading up 0.1% at 99.624, recovering some ground after five days of decline pushed it to its worst one-week loss since July 21.
U.S. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 87% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting on December 10, compared to a 39% chance a week earlier, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed.
The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was last up 0.8 basis point at 4.0037%, rebounding after five days of decline that saw the 4% threshold briefly crossed twice.
Gold prices climb, set for fourth straight month.
Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Friday and were headed for a fourth straight month of gains in November on growing confidence the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the coming month.
Bullion prices had briefly fallen in the prior session, but rapidly resumed their ascent as traders largely held onto bets on a December cut. Safe haven demand was also aided by signs of cooling in an equity rally, while geopolitical uncertainty around the Russia-Ukraine war and a China-Japan diplomatic spat also helped.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,183.01 an ounce by 01:21 ET (05:21 GMT). Trading in futures of gold and other metals was disrupted by an outage at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, due to a data center issue.
Gold heads for positive November, metal prices upbeat
Spot gold was trading up 4.6% in November, its fourth straight month of gains.
The yellow metal logged some volatility earlier in the month as markets questioned expectations for a December easing. But bets on a December cut rebounded through the past week, sparking strong gains in gold.
Gold was also up nearly 3% this week.
Apple iPhone dominates China.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dominated China’s Singles’ Day smartphone sales this year, powering a rare 3% year-on-year rise in overall market volumes even as most domestic rivals struggled amid a cautious consumer backdrop, research firm Counterpoint said on Thursday.
Counterpoint said the iPhone 17 series drove the bulk of the gains, with strong demand for the base model helped by upgraded storage, improved camera optics, and advanced sensors offered at last year’s price.
Promotions, including discounts of about 300 yuan on Pro variants, also helped lift sales. Analysts said that sales of the base model more than doubled, while Pro and Pro Max shipments rose by mid- to high-double-digit percentages.
Excluding Apple, Singles’ Day smartphone sales fell 5% from a year earlier, underscoring soft consumer sentiment and weak momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
Counterpoint noted that many buyers had already upgraded earlier in the year to take advantage of subsidy programmes, while major brands shifted attention to newly launched premium devices — a strategy that raised average selling prices but weighed on unit volumes.
Huawei posted the steepest decline among major brands after its flagship Mate 80 series missed the sales window by two weeks. Xiaomi ’s (HK:1810) sales fell 11% year-on-year as its Xiaomi 17 series launched too early to benefit from the November shopping period.
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