The European Union is set to propose a plan to the US that would implement the next phase of the trade agreement the two sides reached this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.

The push comes as the EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, is due to meet his US counterparts later this month, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. (BBG – Continue Reading) 

Australian unemployment declined in October and the economy added more jobs than anticipated, suggesting the labor market remains tight and vindicating the Reserve Bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged last week.

The jobless rate fell to 4.3% from 4.5% in September and was better than the predicted 4.4%, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. Employment advanced by 42,200 — led entirely by full-time roles — more than double the expected 20,000 gain. (BBG – Continue Reading) 

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Wednesday said she will be reluctant to support further interest rate cuts anytime soon with inflation still high and policymakers hampered by a lack of data due to the government shutdown.

“Given my baseline outlook, it will likely be appropriate to keep policy rates at the current level for some time to balance the inflation and employment risks in this highly uncertain environment,” the central bank official said in remarks delivered in her home district. “I see several reasons to have a relatively high bar for additional easing in the near term.” 

Collins’s comments are notable because she is a voting member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Her remarks put her on the hawkish side of the rate debate, highlighting a fissure among committee members that led Chair Jerome Powell to say in October that a cut at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion, despite market pricing of a high probability. (CNBC – Continue Reading) 

The official responsible for implementing monetary policy at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday that firms that need to use the central bank’s Standing Repo Facility should tap the tool when needed, adding that large-scale usage would not be problematic.

“It is desirable and fully expected that the [Standing Repo Facility] be used whenever it is economically sensible to do so,” said Roberto Perli, who manages the bank’s System Open Market Account, the Fed’s massive holding of bonds and cash. 

“Our counterparties participated in large scale in the repo operations that the Federal Reserve offered in the past; if it makes economic sense, there is no reason why sizeable participation cannot take place” in the two daily Standing Repo Facility operations, Perli said. (RTRS – Continue Reading)