Market on Edge Ahead of the Russia-Ukraine summit on Friday
There are growing concerns over the Russia-Ukraine summit on Friday as Trump continues to put pressure on Russia to end the conflict and will likely face severe consequences if the war does not stop. Trump also hinted at having a second meeting that would focus on having a trilateral (Ukraine included) if the first one goes well, albeit some argue that Ukraine should be in the first one as well.
So the market awaits further progress on Friday, whether this will turn into more certainty or will lead to another problem.
- If the meeting does not go well, more uncertainty will rise, and sanctions will come → that also fall on China and India → gold price will react positively. And vice versa.
On the economic front, Trump also intensified pressure on the Federal Reserve, mocking Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed’s building renovation and demanding interest rates be slashed to 1%, significantly lower than current levels. For now, he is still narrowing down to 3-4 candidates, with an announcement expected anytime soon.
Other than that, Goldman Sachs Macro Economics Research projects a more measured approach, forecasting 3 rate cuts of 25 basis points each this year, starting in September, October, and December.
