Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving.
Jerome Powell held rates steady at three point five to three point seven five percent for a third consecutive meeting, defying President Trump's calls for cuts. Four dissents on the committee signal a Fed pulling in opposite directions, and Powell confirmed he intends to remain on the Board of Governors even after his chairmanship expires.
Shifting to soft commodities, cocoa prices are firming today after StoneX trimmed its two thousand twenty six to twenty seven global surplus estimate to one hundred forty nine thousand metric tons, a smaller cushion than markets had priced. Coffee is moving the other direction, with robusta off more than one percent as a stronger dollar weighs on dollar-denominated commodity prices broadly.
And in logistics, FedEx and UPS are pledging to pass tariff refunds directly back to consumers following the Supreme Court's decision striking down IEEPA-based tariffs. The combined sum is expected to exceed five billion dollars, a notable counterpoint to Commerce Secretary Scott Bessent's skepticism that consumers would see any of that one hundred sixty six billion in collected tariff revenue returned to them.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
