• The euro extended gains to a 2-1/2-year high against the dollar on Monday after the European Central Bank president held back from talking down the currency and as markets worried about the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey on the U.S. economy.
The euro was a shade higher at $1.1924 after rising to $1.1966, its highest since January 2015.
The dollar index fell 0.25 percent against a basket of six major currencies to 92.501, adding to Friday’s losses. It plumbed 92.372, its lowest since early May2016.
• Japan wants Britain’s exit from the European Union to be predictable and transparent so that Japanese businesses can continue their activity smoothly in the country, a senior Japanese government official said on Monday.
He made the remarks at a government task force meeting on Britain’s exit from the EU as British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Japan to discuss Brexit, trade and defence with Premier Shinzo Abe later this week.
• President Donald Trump will visit Texas on Tuesday to survey storm damage caused by Harvey, the first major U.S. natural disaster since he took office in January, the White House said on Sunday.
Harvey came ashore late on Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years and has killed at least two people. The death toll is expected to rise as the storm lashes the state for days, triggering record floods, tidal surges and tornadoes.
• About 22 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production is offline due to Tropical Storm Harvey, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Sunday.
Roughly 105 platforms have been evacuated in the Gulf so far as a result of Harvey, about 14.3 percent of those in the region. Half of the drilling rigs in the Gulf remain evacuated, BSEE said.
• President Donald Trump recently dismissed some of his senior staff as globalists and demanded that someone draw up a plan for tariffs that would affect China, Axios reported Sunday evening.
People in the meeting — which was set to be about plans to investigate China for intellectual property theft — included U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, trade advisor Peter Navarro, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, according to Axios.
• Massive flooding caused by Tropical Storm Harvey along Texas' refinery-rich coast could have long-standing and far-reaching consequences for the state's oil and gas industry and the larger U.S. economy. The storm's remnants left much of Houston underwater on Sunday, and the National Weather Service says it's not over yet: Some parts of Houston and its suburbs could end up with as much as 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain.
With the heavy rain expected to last for days, it's still unclear how bad the damage will be, but there is already evidence of widespread losses. Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down, and flooding in the Houston and Beaumont areas could seriously pinch gasoline supplies. Experts believe gasoline prices could increase as much as 25 cents a gallon.
• Oil markets were roiled on Monday after Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc along the U.S. Gulf coast over the weekend, crippling Houston and its port, and knocking out numerous refineries as well as some crude production.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $47.50 a barrel, down 37 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last settlement.
In international oil markets, Brent crude was down 7 cents, or 0.1 percent at $52.34 per barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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