· The euro held close to a three-year high against the dollar on Tuesday, as the common currency recovered from earlier losses tied to doubts that the European Central Bank would back away from its pledge to keep buying bonds at next week’s meeting.
The euro was up 0.06 percent at $1.2268.
The dollar was down 0.18 percent at 110.32 yen, while the dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.05 percent at 90.398. It was up from Monday’s three-year low of 90.279.
· Bitcoin briefly plunged below $10,000 late Tuesday afternoon on Coinbase, after first topping the psychologically key level in late November.
Ethereum recovered the $1,000 level as of 6:03 p.m. ET. Less than half an hour ago, the digital currency traded on Coinbase near $964, or 26 percent lower over the last 24 hours, after hitting a low of $854 earlier in the afternoon. Coinbase is the leading U.S. marketplace for trading bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash.
The declines followed comments from South Korean authorities that indicated tougher regulation on digital currency trading. However, there was no apparent driver behind the late-afternoon decline.
· Partisan finger-pointing over immigration policy on Tuesday left the U.S. Congress and the White House stumbling closer to a possible federal government shutdown by the end of the week, although Wall Street held out hopes for a deal to prevent that.
Republicans who control Congress are expected to try to push another stopgap funding bill and get it to President Donald Trump’s desk before Friday’s midnight deadline.
But there are perils. Conservatives want a large increase in defense spending that such a bill would not provide. Many Democrats might withhold their support unless immigration policy is addressed.
· The world needs to step up pressure on Pyongyang to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons program and should not be fooled by a charm offensive in engaging South Korea, participants at a 20-nation meeting on North Korea said on Tuesday.
· Oil prices dropped off three-year highs on Tuesday as traders booked profits but healthy demand underpinned prices near $70 per barrel, a level not seen since the market slump in 2014.
Brent futures LCOc1 fell $1.11, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $69.15 a barrel after hitting a session low of $68.83. The global benchmark hit a peak of $70.37 on Monday, matching a high from December 2014 at the start of a three-year market decline.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 ended at $63.73 a barrel, down 57 cents, or 0.9 percent. WTI hit a December 2014 peak of $64.89 earlier in the session.
Reference: Reuters
Thai
Eng