2025-11-19 09:46
LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - British house prices in September were 2.6% higher than a year earlier, the smallest annual rise since May and down from an upwardly revised increase of 3.1% in August, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday. Private-sector rents for homes in October were 5.0% higher than a year earlier, down from a 5.5% annual increase in September and the smallest such rise since August 2022. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-house-price-rises-slow-year-september-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 08:40
MUMBAI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Offshore investors are using options to position for a potential rally in the Indian rupee, encouraged by Wall Street banks promoting strategies built on the prospect of a trade deal between the United States and India. Over the past two weeks, several banks have floated trades linked to a stronger rupee, with Citi and Goldman Sachs among those recommending such wagers. Sign up here. Citi, in a note last week, suggested a three-month options trade that bets the rupee could rise to at least 87 per U.S. dollar, with a potential upside towards 86.5. "An actual culmination" of a U.S.-India trade deal could inject positivity, while the rupee's relative valuation has turned supportive, Citi said. Goldman Sachs has proposed a longer-term bet that stands to benefit from a rupee rally while expecting the currency's rise will be limited to 85.50. The bullish recommendations come even as the rupee has spent the last two months languishing near its all-time low of 88.80 and avoided steeper losses largely due to frequent central bank interventions. It was last at 88.45 at 1 p.m. IST on Wednesday, up 0.2% for the day. Societe Generale also reinforced the optimism, saying in a November 6 note that the tide was turning for the currency. Offshore investors have responded by piling into trades favouring a rupee recovery. "These trades have been coming through consistently over the last fortnight," said a portfolio manager at a Singapore-based hedge fund. "Offshore flows are definitely skewed towards upside structures (on the rupee)." A Mumbai-based currency derivatives trader confirmed a pickup in options activity from two U.S.-based and one UK-based lender, which he attributed to offshore investors betting on a stronger rupee. Options market data reflects the optimism, as bets on a rising rupee are currently more expensive than those that wager on its fall. The one-month dollar/rupee risk reversal stands at -0.7 and the three-month at -0.4, indicating traders see better odds of the rupee climbing. Signs of a potential trade deal from U.S. and Indian officials have further buoyed sentiment. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that an agreement is "coming soon" and that tariffs on Indian goods would be cut "at some point." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/wall-street-banks-ignite-rush-indian-rupee-rally-wagers-tied-trade-deal-optimism-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 07:47
LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Sterling edged lower after data on Wednesday showed British consumer price inflation fell to 3.6% in October, the first drop since May, with traders increasing bets the Bank of England will cut interest rates in December. Consumer price inflation fell to 3.6% in October from September's joint 18-month high of 3.8%, as expected by the BoE and economists polled by Reuters. Sign up here. The data cemented expectations that the BoE could cut interest rates in December, while elsewhere investors struggled for direction and U.S. agencies cleared a backlog of data after a prolonged government shutdown. "Today's report could give the BoE more ammunition to cut interest rates next month, although we still think that the decision will be on a knife edge, and we do not expect interest rate future prices to change too dramatically on the back of this report," Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said. Markets now see an 86% chance of a 25-basis point BoE rate cut in December, up from an 80% chance priced on Tuesday, according to LSEG data. Brooks said that there was another labour market report and inflation print due before the December BoE meeting, which may shift the dial for rates and could limit the immediate downside for gilts and for the pound. The BoE paused its quarterly pace of rate cuts earlier this month and finance minister Rachel Reeves has said she would seek to avoid tax and spending measures that might add to inflation in her annual budget on November 26. "The budget is the next main driver for the pound. If Rachel Reeves' fiscal plans do not convince the market that she has a credible plan for fiscal consolidation over the rest of this parliament, then we could see bond yields spike again and this could weigh heavily on the pound," Brooks added. Sterling was down 0.17% against the dollar at 1.3133, its lowest since Friday, when British markets were whipped around as speculation swirled around the highly-anticipated budget. The euro was up 0.07% against sterling at 88.14 pence, having traded as high as 88.64 pence on Friday, its highest since April 2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-steadies-after-uk-inflation-eases-expected-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 07:40
KYIV, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said an overnight Russian attack killed nine people, wounded dozens more and damaged energy and transport infrastructure. "Every brazen attack against ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient. Effective sanctions and assistance to Ukraine can change this," he said, calling for air defence missiles aid from allies. Sign up here. Russia used more than 470 drones and 48 missiles in the attack, Zelenskiy added. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-says-russian-attack-killed-nine-damaged-infrastructure-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 07:19
SEOUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) - South Korea plans to unveil incentives for long-term stock investors, while making efforts to ensure foreign exchange stability, its finance minister said on Wednesday. Since taking office in June, the administration of President Lee Jae Myung has vowed various reforms to boost the domestic stock market, driving a rally in the benchmark index this year. Sign up here. The won currency has weakened 0.8% this week to trade at 1,464.8 a dollar on Wednesday, after last week's sharp gains following Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol's pledge for market stabilising measures. "We plan to introduce incentive measures for small investors, who stay in capital markets for a long time or invest in certain stocks in the long term," Koo told reporters. He did not say when the measures would take effect, however. Regarding the foreign exchange market, Koo said the government was consulting primarily with market participants to prevent excessive uncertainty and instability in exchange rates. Koo said he had met major exporters, who were not repatriating U.S. dollars earned abroad, but has yet to meet officials of the national pension fund, which has a growing demand for overseas investment. "The government is spending taxpayers' money for U.S. investments, in return for lower tariffs, which benefit companies," Koo said, referring to a $350-billion investment package included in a trade deal with the United States. Companies should be aware of these efforts by the government and taxpayers, he added. Referring to the investment package, Koo said a new entity would be set up to manage the funds and proactively participate in U.S. projects, with a bill on the package set to be introduced in parliament this month. "We will have to propose projects to the United States first and be proactive to take the lead in value chains of new growth engines," Koo added. He was echoing comments on Friday by the industry minister that South Korea had already proposed some projects. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-seeks-incentives-long-term-stock-investment-fx-stability-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 06:55
Fed cut rates amid policymakers' caution about inflation, minutes show Traders see 30% chance of US rate cut in December Focus on US non-farm payrolls report due on Thursday Palladium down over 1% Nov 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices pared gains on Wednesday after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, while market participants focused on upcoming economic data for further clues on the U.S. interest rate path. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $4,073.79 per ounce, at 2:25 p.m. ET (1925 GMT), after climbing over 1% earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December settled 0.4% higher at $4,082.80. Sign up here. A divided Fed cut interest rates last month even as policymakers cautioned that lower borrowing costs could risk undermining the fight to quell inflation that has been above the U.S. central bank's 2% target for four and a half years, the minutes from the October 28-29 meeting showed. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in unusually blunt terms in his post-meeting press conference that a rate cut at the Fed's December 9-10 meeting was not a "foregone conclusion". "The minutes are sort of water under the bridge. It's more important to see what happens in December and the Fed needs more data to decide that," said Marex analyst Edward Meir. "The Fed is going to get data in drips and drabs and that will be the focus." Traders now see just a 30% chance for a rate cut in December, the CME FedWatch tool showed. U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Powell for not lowering rates more quickly. Non-yielding gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainty. On tap is the release of September's job report on Thursday, delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not be publishing the employment report for October, after the recently ended shutdown of the government prevented the collection of data for the household survey. Data showed on Tuesday that the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits stood at a two-month high in mid-October. Spot silver rose 0.7% to $51.05 per ounce, platinum added 0.7% to $1,543.12, while palladium fell 1.6% to $1,378. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-subdued-dollar-firms-spotlight-fed-minutes-us-jobs-data-2025-11-19/
