• The dollar inched down for a second day on Tuesday, still holding on to most of the gains made on Friday after strong U.S. jobs data even though investors remain unconvinced that the Federal Reserve will hike rates again this year.
The dollar index edged down 0.1 percent to 93.353, holding well above last week's 15-month low of 92.548, though it remained shy of Friday's high of 93.774as investors pondered the timing of the U.S. central bank's next tightening steps.
The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.1806, around a cent away from last week's 2-1/2-year highs, having largely shrugged off figures on Monday showing an unexpected fall in German industrial production in June.
• Markets are pricing in less than a 50 percent chance that another Fed hike will come in 2017, and comments from rate-setters at the central bank did little to change investors' minds on that on Monday.
• St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed can leave interest rates where they are for now because inflation is not likely to rise much even if the U.S. job market continues to improve, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari talked about inflation being below target.
• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Thailand on Tuesday in the highest level visit by a U.S. official since a military coup in 2014 soured relations with the United States and brought the ruling junta closer to China.
• German exports fell more than expected in June and imports sank even more sharply, widening the trade surplus in Europe's biggest economy, data showed on Tuesday.
Seasonally adjusted exports dropped by 2.8 percent, the sharpest fall since August 2015 that ended five consecutive months of growth. Imports were down4.5 percent, the biggest drop since January 2009, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed.
• The Bank of Japan should dial back its massive stimulus before inflation hits its 2 percent target, a leading candidate to become the next governor said, raising questions about the efficacy of the BOJ's radical approach to snuff out deflation in the world's third-largest economy.
Former BOJ Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata criticized the central bank's price forecasts as too optimistic and warned that even hitting 1 percent inflation could be challenging given a recent batch of weak price data.
"The BOJ should slow its annual bond buying to around 40 trillion yen ($362 billion) from the current 80 trillion yen. That would make its policy more sustainable," Iwata told Reuters on Monday, calling on the bank to proceed with a slowdown in its bond buying that is already underway.
Iwata's views on monetary policy are closely watched as he is considered by markets as among the few strong contenders to replace Governor Haruhiko Kuroda when his five-year term ends in April.
• China had a $25.2 billion trade surplus with the United States in July, down slightly from $25.4 billion in June, which was the highest since October 2015, customs data showed on Tuesday.
China also recorded a $142.75 billion trade surplus with the U.S. for the first seven months of the year.
• U.S. President Donald Trump is believed to be close to a decision on how to respond to what he considers China's unfair trade practices, as Washington prepares to launch an inquiry into Beijing's intellectual property and trade practices.
• Oil prices slipped further in Asian trading on Tuesday following a recovery in output at Libya's largest oil field and as doubts about OPEC-led production cuts continue to weigh on the market.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $52.14 a barrel at 0244 GMT after dipping 0.1 percent in the previous session.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $49.21 a barrel, having fallen 0.4 percent on Monday.
Reference: Reuters
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