Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen starts two days of testimony on Wednesday as it prepares to unwind the massive hoard of bonds it bought to ease the financial crisis.
"We've got Yellen's testimony tomorrow, there may be a little bit of nervousness ahead of that ... the semi-annual monetary policy testimony has often been a big deal for the markets," Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"I think there may be some fears that she's going to come out relatively hawkish."
The Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard will speak on monetary policy on Tuesday before a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will participate in a Town Hall question-and-answer session moderated by Bremer Bank CEO Jeanne Crain in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Oil prices fell as BNP Paribas cut its forecasts for Brent by $9 to $51 a barrel for 2017 and by $15 to $48 for 2018. Barclays also cut its 2017 and 2018 Brent forecasts to $52 a barrel.
Crude prices are about 18 percent below their 2017 opening levels despite a deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production from January.
READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment