· The dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, to hit an eleven-day peak, as its decline last week to the lowest in more than three months continued to draw bargain hunters.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was up 0.18 percent at 92.524. The index fell to 91.751 on January 2, its lowest since September 20.
The euro extended losses from the previous session and slipped 0.27 percent to $1.1933. On Thursday, it had hit a nearly four-month high of $1.2089.
· “While euro zone data continues to paint a picture of an economy that closed out 2017 with very strong momentum, there continues to be a significant lack of inflation that will ultimately keep the pace of ECB normalization very, very cautious,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst, at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.
· A bipartisan group of senators met with administration officials on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of generating a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, a legislative goal that President Donald Trump said he would like to achieve as soon as possible.
Passing an infrastructure bill in the Republican-controlled Congress will likely require Democratic support in the Senate. Some Democrats have expressed a desire to see a bill passed, but congressional elections in November could make the politics of a bipartisan effort more difficult.
· The U.S. government has approved the sale of anti-ballistic missiles to Japan to defend itself against a growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea, a State Department official said on Tuesday.
· British pessimism on the economic consequences of leaving the European Union is growing, but Britons have not broadly changed their minds about how they voted, Britain’s leading pollster John Curtice said on Tuesday.
The NatCen poll found 52 percent of Britons thought the economy would be worse off after Brexit, versus 46 percent in a similar poll last February. That compared with 58 percent of Scots, polled separately, unchanged from February.
· Italy is set to hold elections in March to select its next Prime Minister after a series of unelected governments ruled for five years.
Polls ahead of the Spring vote put a right-wing coalition headed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the lead with about 34 percent of the vote, followed by M5S at 27 percent and governing Democratic Party (PD) in the low 20s.
Mr Calenda warned that eurosceptic 5 Star Movement (M5S) was "deluding" Italians with promises of tax cuts.
The former Ferrari manager said: "If we take seriously what they are promising today this will lead to a very dangerous situation in terms of financial stability.
· Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, with U.S. crude touching its highest since December 2014, supported by OPEC-led production cuts and expectations that U.S. crude inventories have dropped for an eighth week in a row.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.23, or 2 percent, to settle at $62.96 a barrel after touching its highest since December 2014 at $63.24.
Brent crude ended the session up $1.04, or 1.5 percent, at $68.82 per barrel after hitting a session high of $69.08, its highest since May 2015. Both contracts had their strongest close since December 2014.
Reference: Reuters, The Express
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