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Wall Street was up on Monday along with a rebound in European stocks.

Wiliams said that although the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had voted to hold rates at last week’s meeting, it was a close call and he expected a rate rise later this year. Both said they expected a hike this year. “As we have outlined, the domestic economy...

However, the central bank maintained its bias towards a rate hike sometime this year, while lowering its long-term outlook for the economy.

According to a Baker Hughes report, the USA oil-rig count fell by eight to 644 in the latest reporting week, the third straight decline after six consecutive weeks of increases.

After a week of build-up, debate and second-guessing, the US Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates on hold.

The current global hand-wringing and head-holding over whether the US Fed will or won’t raise interest rates later has got investors here in Asia anxious about what this means for their economies.

“We may continue to see a downward progression for stock markets, as investors adjust to a world where growth is expected to be weaker…”

“Leaving United States interest rates at rock bottom could mark a turning point for the relative performance of emerging and developed markets”, said analyst Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets UK.

Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, is trading at about US$49 a barrel compared with US$99 a year ago. “This is all post-Fed fallout”, Mr. Flynn said.

But he said full us employment should be achieved “in the near future” and inflation, while still too low for comfort, should gradually move back to a 2-percent goal.

Over the next month the market’s “fixation is going to shift” away from Fed lift-off talk, he says, and toward figuring out how the US and global economy is doing and what the outlook is for third-quarter corporate earnings.

Egg prices, which have been pushed higher by an avian flu outbreak among chickens, rose 7.7 per cent in August and are now up 35.3 per cent over a year ago. CPI has hovered around zero since February.

US Federal Reserve decided not to immediately hike interest rates, surprising many who had expected to see rate moving up in the world’s top economy after several years.

“We believe at some point in the near future the rate hike cycle needs to begin in order for the Fed to retain its credibility with the markets and to remind investors that rates can not stay at zero forever”.

Asian stocks mostly rose Friday, perked by relief that the U.S. Federal Reserve held off on raising interest rates for the time being, but European markets faltered as some investors interpreted the Fed decision as a sign of economic weakness.