Asian stocks were broadly lower on Friday and U.S. equity futures struggled for direction as investors fret about the war in Ukraine, Covid-19 lockdowns in China and the Fed's plan for aggressive policy tightening.
The dollar extended gains against the Japanese yen after Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the U.S. central bank is "behind the curve" on interest rates and he favors raising policy rates to 3-3.25 percent in the second half of 2022.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.