· In currency markets, sterling fell about 0.15 percent against the dollar. On Thursday, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier stated that the Brexit talks had failed to generate the kind of progress required to head into a new phase set in October.
· South Korean and Japanese jets joined exercises with two supersonic U.S. B-1B bombers above and near the Korean peninsula on Thursday, two days after North Korea sharply raised tension by firing a missile over Japan.
Meanwhile, the United States has told Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and buildings in Washington and New York that house trade missions in retaliation for Moscow cutting the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia.
· More than half of China's oil production will be at risk if tensions between North Korea and its North Asia neighbors spirals into conflict, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie warned.
Military action could halt the flow of crude oil imports to South Korea, Japan and China, which together account for 34 percent of seaborne oil trade globally, the consultants said in a Wednesday report.
· The economic fallout from Hurricane Harvey will make the Federal Reserve’s job more difficult when it meets in three weeks, but U.S. central bankers have looked past major storms before with little change in monetary policy and are likely to do the same this time.
· A survey focused on small and mid-size businesses in China topped expectations on Friday, due to the strongest increase in new business in over three years.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for August came in at the six-month high of 51.6, topping expectations. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected the reading to dip slightly to 50.9 in August from 51.1 in July.
· Euro zone manufacturing activity accelerated in August, clocking the fastest rise in export orders since February 2011 despite a strengthening currency, a business survey showed.
IHS Markit’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro zone rose to 57.4 in August, in line with the preliminary reading and up from 56.6 in July.
· Crude futures fell on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry following Hurricane Harvey with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 was down 35 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $46.88 barrel at 0641 GMT. The contract rebounded 2.8 percent on Thursday but is still heading for a weekly decline of 2.0 percent.
The new Brent LCOc1 contract for November delivery was down 21 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $52.65 barrel. The contract for October delivery, which ended trading on Thursday, closed up $1.52, or 2.99 percent, at $52.38 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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