· The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Friday as continued uncertainty over the economic agenda of U.S. President Donald Trump pushed investors out of the greenback.
The dollar dropped to a four-month low against the yen in early trading but retraced some of its losses after rumors began to swirl about the impending firing of White House senior adviser Steve Bannon. The White House confirmed Bannon's exit in a statement Friday afternoon.
The dollar dropped nearly 1 percent against the yen, falling to 108.58 yen JPY=, its lowest since late April. It was last down 0.25 percent at 109.31 yen.
In currencies, the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of currencies, stood at 93.473at 8:05 a.m. HK/SIN.
The euro stood at $1.1715, stuck in its rough $1.17-$1.18 range in the past two weeks, as investors look to European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's comments later this week at a meeting of the world's central bankers in Jackson Hole.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium will also be a main attraction for markets.
· U.S. consumer sentiment improved to its strongest level in seven months in early August, reflecting confidence in the outlook for the economy and in personal finances as the U.S. stock market holds near record highs, a key survey showed on Friday.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 97.6 in the first half of August from 93.4 the month before, which was an eight-month low. The result exceeded expectations for a reading of 94, according to a Reuters poll.
· The New York Federal Reserve on Friday raised its estimate of U.S. gross domestic product growth for the third quarter above 2 percent based on this week's data on retail sales, industrial output and regional manufacturing.
The regional central bank's "Nowcast" model calculated the economy was expanding at an annualized pace of2.09 percent in the third quarter, faster than the 1.96 percent rate a week earlier.
· The United States, Canada and Mexico wrapped up their first round of talks on Sunday to revamp the NAFTA trade pact, vowing to keep up a blistering pace of negotiations that some involved in the process said may be too fast to bridge deep differences.
In a joint statement issued at the end of five days of negotiations in Washington, the top trade officials from the three countries said Mexico would host the next round of talks from Sept. 1 to 5.
· In the opening NAFTA session of talks, the United States did not give precise details of how much it wanted to boost North American content for autos, a source directly familiar with the negotiations said on Saturday.
· Two prominent religious conservatives defended U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday after he was widely criticized for blaming both white nationalists and counter-protesters for last weekend's violence at a Virginia rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
· WTI crude CLc1 futures for September delivery rose $1.42 to $48.51 a barrel, a 3 percent gain. Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October delivery rose $1.69 to $52.72 a barrel, a 3.3 percent gain.
Oil prices rose sharply on Friday, as the dollar fell and U.S. drillers cut rigs, feeding a rally that boosted global benchmark Brent crude to a weekly gain while U.S. crude was virtually flat on the week.
· U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a second week in three, the Baker Hughes energy services firm reported, with drillers cutting spending plans in reaction to declining crude prices.
Drillers cut five oil rigs in the week to Aug. 18, bringing the total count down to 763, Baker Hughes said.
· Brent and U.S. crude prices had both been headed for weekly declines of more than 2 percent, but Friday's sharp rally left Brent with a 1.5 percent weekly gain while U.S. crude finished the week virtually flat, down just 0.3 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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