Fed's Barkin: Prudent to keep rates on hold as AI and geopolitical risks cloud outlook

Vishal Chaturvedi FXStreet

Federal Reserve (Fed) Richmond President Thomas Barkin said on Friday that it is prudent to keep interest rates steady for now, as policymakers await greater clarity on the economic outlook. His remarks highlighted rising uncertainty from geopolitical tensions, evolving inflation risks and rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence.

Additional quotes:

"pace and uncertainty of changes around ai have made a lot of fed officials 'uneasy'

war, fast changes due to artificial intelligence have again clouded economic outlook

even before oil shock, progress on inflation was at risk of stalling

higher gasoline prices hit consumer sentiment, can crowd out other spending

says he will be watching inflation and expectations data carefully

demand has been steady but continues to feel 'narrow,' based on ai investment and wealthier households

unemployment rate is low, but labor market feels 'fragile;' firms see little wage pressure, multiple applicants for each job"

US Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.05%	0.11%	0.03%	0.09%	-0.04%	0.03%	0.24%
EUR	0.05%		0.16%	0.09%	0.14%	0.00%	0.09%	0.29%
GBP	-0.11%	-0.16%		-0.06%	-0.02%	-0.16%	-0.08%	0.13%
JPY	-0.03%	-0.09%	0.06%		0.07%	-0.08%	-0.01%	0.22%
CAD	-0.09%	-0.14%	0.02%	-0.07%		-0.14%	-0.05%	0.15%
AUD	0.04%	-0.01%	0.16%	0.08%	0.14%		0.08%	0.28%
NZD	-0.03%	-0.09%	0.08%	0.00%	0.05%	-0.08%		0.21%
CHF	-0.24%	-0.29%	-0.13%	-0.22%	-0.15%	-0.28%	-0.21%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

Author

Vishal Chaturvedi

FXStreet

I am a macro-focused research analyst with over four years of experience covering forex and commodities market. I enjoy breaking down complex economic trends and turning them into clear, actionable insights that help traders stay ahead of the curve.

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