· The dollar rose to a one-week high against a basket of currencies on Tuesday on speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump was leaning towards nominating a Federal Reserve head who would be more inclined to raise interest rates at a faster pace.
The greenback was also supported by U.S. two-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR hitting nine-year highs on Tuesday. Yields climbed as well on growing expectations that Trump favored Stanford economist John Taylor to head the U.S. central bank.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers, hit a one-week high of 93.729 .DXY.
The index was last up 0.2 percent at 93.488.
Knocked by a stronger dollar, the euro slipped to a one-week low of $1.1734 EUR=, having fallen almost 3 percent since hitting a 2-1/2-year high last month. The euro was last down 0.2 percent at $1.1770.
· Jerome Powell likely will be the next Federal Reserve chairman, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll - but most of them said current Fed Chair Janet Yellen would be the best option.
· Interest rates futures implied traders saw a 93 percent chance the Fed would raise rates in December FFZ7 FFF8, CME Group’s FedWatch program showed.
· The cost of imported goods jumped 0.7% in September in the biggest gain in more than a year, led by fuel prices and industrial supplies.
· Industrial production in the U.S. rebounded in September after two straight declines, rising 0.3% in September. That matched the MarketWatch forecast. Most industries boosted output in September, led by construction and utilities. Manufacturing production edged up 0.1%.
· Senate Republicans scrambled on Tuesday to ensure support for a budget resolution vital to President Donald Trump’s drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code, as one Republican fiscal hawk announced he might vote against the measure.
As the Senate opened debate on a fiscal year 2018 budget, Senator Rand Paul objected to spending levels that he said would exceed agreed caps by $43 billion, and called for spending reforms for so-called entitlement programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs.
· Two U.S. senators on Tuesday announced a bipartisan breakthrough to shore up Obamacare for two years by reviving federal subsidies for health insurers that President Donald Trump planned to scrap, and the president voiced support for the deal.
The agreement worked out by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray would meet some Democratic objectives, including a revival of the subsidies for Obamacare and restoring $106 million in funding for a federal program that helps people enroll in insurance plans.
· Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday opens a critical Communist Party congress expected to cement his authority with a closely watched address signaling how he intends to put that power to use during a second five-year term.
Much of it is expected to focus on the party’s achievements during Xi’s first term. But its language will be parsed for signals or policy directives, including on the direction of reforms for the world’s second-largest economy.
· Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday, steadying after earlier gains and losses, as expectations of high U.S. production and exports offset concerns that fighting between Iraqi and Kurdish forces could threaten the country’s crude output.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $57.88 per barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1gained 1 cent to settle at $51.88. Both contracts traded up nearly 1 percent and down over 1 percent during the day.
Reference: Reuters, Market Watch
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