· China is leaving nothing to chance during next week’s visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, and will likely fortify the value of the yuan - a regular target of attack during last year’s campaign for the White House.
Trump promised while campaigning that if elected he would name China a “currency manipulator” for artificially depressing the value of the yuan to make its exports more competitive.Since he took office, though, the Treasury Department has twice declined to do so because China has not met the necessary criteria.
Beijing has allowed the yuan CNY=CFXS to rise more than 5 percent against the U.S. dollar so far this year, after it plunged around 6.5 percent in 2016, thanks to tighter management of capital outflows and broad weakness in the greenback.
· Beijing has allowed the yuan CNY=CFXS to rise more than 5 percent against the U.S. dollar so far this year, after it plunged around 6.5 percent in 2016, thanks to tighter management of capital outflows and broad weakness in the greenback.
Still, currency strategists and traders say that in the days around Trump’s Nov. 8-10 Beijing visit they expect the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which controls the exchange rate, to prop up the yuan.
Some believe the currency will be made slightly stronger while others said they think it may move in either direction, but with the downside limited.
· Goldman Sachs economists on Wednesday upgraded their forecast on U.S. nonfarm payrolls for October to a 340,000 increase from a 325,000 gain, based on the latest data on company hiring from ADP and factory activity from the Institute for Supply Management.
Meanwhile, they pushed up their estimate on U.S. gross domestic product for the third quarter by 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 percent but lowered their call on fourth-quarter GDP by 0.1 point to 2.6 percent.
· President Donald Trump will commence a five-nation Asia tour on Friday to try to reaffirm American leadership in a region beset by tensions from a nuclear-armed North Korea and an expansionist China.
From Nov. 5 to Nov. 14, the 71-year-old leader will stop in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines in his first visit to the region since taking office. It's the longest trip to Asia by any sitting U.S. president this millennium.
· President Donald Trump’s expected nomination on Thursday of Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell to be the next chair of the U.S. central bank likely will provide investors with some assurance of continuity in monetary policy, supporting the eight-year long stock market rally, but perhaps dealing a blow to those looking for a stronger U.S. dollar.
· Bitcoin hit another all-time high Wednesday evening, surpassing $6,900 for the first time.
The cryptocurrency has had a bullish streak throughout the week following the CME's announcement that it will introduce bitcoin futures contracts.
According to data from CoinDesk, the virtual currency reached an all-time high of $6,922 at about 9:36 p.m. ET.
· Oil prices were stable on Thursday as U.S. crude inventories fell despite a rise in production, while outside the United States an OPEC-led supply cut continued to tighten the market.
Brent futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $60.50 per barrel at 0747 GMT, close to their last settlement but still up by more than a third since its 2017-lows last June.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $54.24 a barrel, slightly below its last settlement, but almost 30 percent above its 2017-low in June.
· Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell reported a near 50 percent rise in net profit for the third quarter.
Net profit attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, came in $4.1 billion, versus $2.7 billion in the same quarter a year ago. This compared to a company-provided analyst consensus of $3.6 billion. It also beat the Reuters estimate which was $3.569 billion.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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