Pedestrians are reflected in a window in front of a board displaying stock prices at the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney February 9, 2018. — Reuters pic
On Friday, Fitch Ratings cut the outlook on the United States’ triple-A rating to negative from stable, citing eroding credit strength and a ballooning deficit. “Together with concerns about labour market and virus developments, this clouds the outlook and could be exacerbated if US fiscal support is not renewed in time.”
The 10-year real rate has broken below -1 per cent for the first time amid a marked flattening of the yield curve as investors wager on yet more accommodation from the Federal Reserve. The dollar was a shade lower on the Japanese yen at 105.80 after hitting a 4.5-month low last week at 104.17. The metal made a fresh peak early today at US$1,984 an ounce and seemed on track to take out US$2,000 soon.