Economic & Market Watch

In the News

Economy

• Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack urged the U.S. to maintain restrictive monetary policy until inflation is firmly under control, projecting inflation may remain above the Fed’s target for up to two more years.
• The U.S. Treasury’s gold reserves are now valued at more than $1 trillion, over 90 times higher than the reported figures on the government’s balance sheet, as gold hits record highs.

Markets

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are trading below $64/barrel after Iraq’s Kurdistan region resumed crude oil exports after a two-and-a-half-year halt.
• U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, with the S&P 500 up roughly 0.4%, as markets price in a possible future Fed rate cut and monitor the risk of a U.S. government shutdown.

Current Events

• The Pentagon is asking missile suppliers to double or even quadruple production to replenish low weapon supplies for potential conflict with China. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is actively leading efforts to ramp up output of 12 critical weapons, including Patriot interceptors.
• President Trump is planning to hold critical talks with congressional leaders to avert a government shutdown; meanwhile, over 100,000 federal workers are reportedly preparing to resign under a workforce reduction plan.

Meet the Team

CFC's economic research team—John Suter, Sam Kem and Antony Davies—share their expert, yet easily digestible, perspective on what you need to know.

Have feedback about the podcast? A topic you'd like the EMW team to cover? Get in touch at economicresearch@nrucfc.coop.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Trading Economics