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The US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to lower the pace of its balance sheet unwind has led some Wall Street strategists to revise their forecasts for the end of the quantitative tightening program.

The gold market is experiencing moderate profit taking after the prices exceeded $3,050. Senior strategist at US Bank Wealth Management Rob Haworth warns that, despite the likelihood of reaching new highs, further asset growth requires increased uncertainty.

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported a slowdown in the pace of consumer price growth. However, economists had forecast a more pronounced deceleration. Bloomberg notes that a slower pace of inflation easing could undermine forecasts of rate cuts by the Bank of Japan.

According to analytics provider CryptoQuant, sentiment in the bitcoin market has deteriorated to its lowest level since January 2023. The Bull Score index, which assesses market activity, liquidity and demand, has dropped to 20. This is well below the level needed for sustained growth.

On Thursday, natural gas prices in the US collapsed by about 6% to a two-week low of $3.921 per million British thermal units due to an increase in storage inventories. Additional pressure on prices came from weather forecasts and corresponding expectations of weaker fuel demand next week.

Reuters reports that oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Friday due to the introduction of US restrictions on Iran and a new OPEC+ plan to reduce overproduction.

On Friday, the dollar strengthened against major currencies after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) signalled no rush to cut its interset rates. The dollar index is holding near 103.81 after rising 0.36% the day before.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem expressed the need to reconsider monetary policy due to US tariff uncertainties. He said the regulator has to be less forward-looking and more flexible until the situation is clearer.

No change of the indicator value may reduce the volatility of the related markets.

For the first time in its history, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA Anderson), involved in economic forecasting since 1952, has announced the probability of a recession in the United States. The university's experts estimate a 36% chance of a recession.