· The dollar steadied on Tuesday after investors took in the latest headlines on tensions in the Korean Peninsula before turning their focus toward U.S. monetary and fiscal policies.
The U.S. currency was flat at 109.780 yen JPY=. It slid to 109.220 the previous day in a knee-jerk reaction to North Korea's hydrogen bomb test on Sunday.
The euro was flat at $1.1895 EUR=, edging away from Monday's high of $1.1922.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was steady at 92.630 .DXY after losing 0.2 percent the previous day.
· The U.S. Treasury Department has a Sept. 29 deadline to raise the debt limit, a legal cap on how much the U.S. government is allowed to borrow.
Only the U.S. Congress can raise the debt limit and expectations have risen that the ceiling would not affect Federal efforts to clean up after Hurricane Harvey.
· The United States on Monday said countries trading with North Korea were aiding its "dangerous nuclear intentions" as the United Nations Security Council mulled tough new sanctions and the isolated regime showed signs of planning more missile tests.
· South Korea said it was talking to Washington about deploying aircraft carriers and strategic bombers to the Korean peninsula following the North's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday.
· British shoppers increased their spending in August at the fastest pace so far in 2017, excluding a surge in April caused by the Easter holiday, but there is little sign yet that the squeeze on spending is easing, retailers said on Tuesday.
· China will give $80 million in funding for BRICS cooperation plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, while the bloc of five emerging countries pledged to oppose protectionism.
Xi offered 500 million yuan ($76.4 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan, and another $4 million for projects at the group’s New Development Bank (NDB) during a three-day leaders summit in the southeastern city of Xiamen.
· U.S. crude oil prices edged higher on Monday while gasoline prices slumped to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels, as oil refineries and pipelines in the U.S. Gulf Coast slowly resumed activity, easing supply concerns.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 crude futures were 8 cents higher at $47.37 per barrel at 1351 EDT (1751 GMT) as U.S. demand recovered after being hit by reduced refinery activity since Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25.
Brent crude futures settled 41 cents lower at $52.34, due in part to a shift away from crude markets to assets perceived to be safer, such as gold, after a powerful North Korean nuclear test.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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