The International Atomic Energy Agency has revised upwards its forecast for new nuclear capacity with a high-case scenario of a 2.6-times increase from 377GW of 2024 capacity to 992GW by 2050. At year-end ’24, 417 nuclear reactors were operational (377GW), with 62 reactors (64.4GW) under construction and 23 reactors (19.7GW) in suspended operation.
Bloomberg reports the USD Overnight General Collateral Repurchase rate rose to 4.61%. While this was partially due to the mid-month Treasury settlement and quarterly tax payments, there is a growing cash/collateral imbalance, reflecting dwindling systemic liquidity. Overnight bank financing rates have been rising as Treasury rebuilds its TGA account, draining the Fed’s reverse repo to just $17B. Since September, repo rates have exceeded fed funds, adding to the need for the Fed to cut rates or end its quantitative tightening.
The Fed’s September FOMC meeting (beginning today), has taken on soap opera flavour, as the DC Circuit Appeals Court voted along party lines (2-1) on Monday to block President Trump’s removal of Governor Lisa Cook, and (after Democrats exhausted procedural road blocks) the Senate approved White Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran as temporary Fed Governor (filling Adriana Kugler’s empty seat through January) just in time for Miran to suggest the Fed should add a third goal to its longstanding dual mandate: “pursuit of moderate long-term interest rates.” September minutes should be an interesting read.
DXY dollar index -0.25%, spot gold +0.38% and spot silver +0.23%.
