SINGAPORE – The dollar was pinned beneath recent peaks on Thursday with traders taking remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as reassuring on the likelihood of interest rate cuts this year while waiting for the latest U.S. labour market readout.

Gold prices posted their fifth straight record peak on Thursday as Federal Reserve officials reiterated expectations of interest rate cuts in 2024, even if their timing was unclear, while traders await key U.S. jobs data.

Egypt’s trade balance deficit dropped by 37.2% year on year (YoY) to $2.08 billion in January, Asharq Business reported, citing the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Recent retail results show that consumers are under financial pressure as high interest rates increase the cost of debt

Oman’s debt capital market (DCM) shrank by 7% year-on-year (YoY) to $44 billion in 2023 as the government pre-paid more of its debt using the budget surplus from high oil prices, Fitch Ratings said in a new report.

HCOB’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the currency union, compiled by S&P Global and seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, climbed to 50.3 in March from February’s 49.2, improving on a preliminary 49.9 estimate