Fed's Goolsbee affirms that the Fed will have to make decisions with available data

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee affirmed on Thursday that, lacking any new information from official data sources, the Fed will have no choice but to make ongoing interest rate decisions using the information currently available to it. With current and estimator US labor data showing a steepening slowdown spreading through the US labor market, this cements the Fed into a steady rate-cutting regime through the remainder of the year.

Key highlights

The immediate impact of the shutdown will be on federal workers who don't get paid on time.
Without the official unemployment rate the Fed will make a decision with the information it has.
Real time indicators show a steady unemployment rate.
Hopefully the shutdown ends soon without repercussions for the broader economy.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

GBP/USD bulls seem hesitant as Hormuz ship attack supports safe-haven USD

The GBP/USD pair sticks to a positive bias for the second straight day, albeit it remains below the previous day's swing high and trades just below the 1.3200 mark during the Asian session on Friday. Furthermore, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution before positioning for any meaningful recovery from November 2025 lows, around the 1.3140 region, touched on Wednesday.

EUR/USD softens toward 13‑month low near 1.1350 as rising US PCE inflation lifts US Dollar

The EUR/USD pair loses ground to around 1.1365 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The major remains near a 13-month low as market expectations for US interest rate hikes have risen. Traders brace for the release of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report, which will be released later on Friday.

Gold drifts lower as Hormuz risks revive USD demand

Gold struggles to build on the overnight bounce from its lowest level since November 2025 as geopolitical risks stemming from an attack on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz support the US Dollar. Meanwhile, mostly in-line US inflation data eased bets for Fed rate hikes this year, capping the USD and helping the non-yielding bullion to hold above $4,000 during the Asian session. Nevertheless, the commodity remains on track to record losses for the fourth consecutive week.

Uniswap adds $150M in Spark stablecoin liquidity, launches no-code token auction tool

Uniswap received $150 million in stablecoin liquidity from Spark, with the assets set to transition to DualPool, a new custom liquidity hook, according to an announcement on Thursday. Under the new setup, liquidity providers will be able to earn swap fees while their underlying assets continue generating yield, eliminating the need to choose between the two.

Micron prints perfect, and now the chart has to answer

Memory’s biggest name just delivered the cleanest quarter of its life, and the most interesting thing about it is that the stock isn’t sure what to do with it. Micron closed out fiscal Q3 with revenue of $41.5 billion, up 346% on the year, a fifth straight record. Gross margin came in at 84.9%, up from 39% the same quarter a year ago. Earnings landed at $25.11 against a Street sitting near $20.49.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.