Weekend News: Russia, China and SNB’s Jordan were in focus

Not only was the central bank filled volatile week but the weekend updates were also interesting and allowed traders to consolidate the previous moves amid early Monday. Among them, headlines surrounding Russia, China and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) gained major attention.

Doubts over Putin’s power ease geopolitical woes

“Heavily armed Russian mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov under a deal that halted their rapid advance on Moscow but raised questions on Sunday about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power,” said Reuters.

The news also states that fighters of the Wagner group began heading back to their bases late on Saturday in return for guarantees of their safety. “Their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko,” adds Reuters.

While reacting to the news, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the turmoil in Russia could take months to play out, while Italy's foreign minister said it had shattered the "myth" of Russian unity, per the news.

Hopes of sooner China stimulus gain strength

Apart from the likely challenges to the Russia-Ukraine woes, the recent push for China stimulus from a senior economic official with the country's top political advisory body also allowed the Antipodeans to begin the trading week on a front foot.

“China needs to step up measures as soon as possible to bolster a faltering post-COVID recovery in the world's second-largest economy,” said Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the economic committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a former vice head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

China's economy faces heavy downward pressure and its recovery is unstable and imbalanced, said Ning, who is also a former head of the National Bureau of Statistics.

The strength of macroeconomic measures "ought not be small" to prevent "an economic spiral contraction" in a global slowdown, said Ning.

SNB’s Jordan flags further rate hikes

Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Thomas Jordan flagged further interest rate hikes in an interview aired by Swiss broadcaster SRF on Saturday, per Reuters.

“SNB's recent interest rate hike was ‘very likely not quite’ enough to get a grip on inflation in Switzerland,” SNB’s Jordan adds per the news.

The news also said that SNB’s Jordan also spoke of the recent rescue of Credit Suisse, which was taken over by Swiss rival UBS and given access to more than 200 billion Swiss francs ($223 billion) in financial guarantees.

Also read: Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD portrays bearish consolidation on growth, geopolitical clues, US inflation eyed