• The dollar fell on Thursday against a basket of currencies, with the euro rising due to growing investor optimism in the economies that use the single currency.
However, the index later pulled back and was down 0.62 percent at 88.583 at 3:51 p.m. EST (2051 GMT). It hit its lowest on Thursday since Jan. 26, when the dollar hit a three-year low.
Against the Japanese yen the dollar rose 0.08 percent to 109.26 yen. Last Friday, the dollar hit 108.27 against the yen, its lowest since September.
Meanwhile, the euro rose against the dollar by 0.76 percent to $1.2514, supported by a survey on Thursday that showed euro zone manufacturing was booming.
• Traders are looking ahead to the U.S. government’s jobs report on Friday, which will include data on nonfarm payrolls and average hourly earnings.
• U.S. Treasury yields continued to climb after economic indicators seemed to confirm the Fed’s inflation views.
Yields on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond US30YT=RR passed 3 percent for the first time since May 2017 and the 10-year note rose to an almost four-year high of 2.793 percent a day after the Federal Reserve raised market concerns about inflation.
Earlier in Germany, the benchmark 10-year bund hit more than two-year highs as yields firmed across the euro zone due to signs of inflation.
• U.S. factory activity slowed in January amid a fall in new orders, but an unexpected drop in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week pointed to sustained labor market strength that should underpin domestic demand.
The economy’s healthy fundamentals were also underscored by other data on Thursday showing a solid increase in construction spending in December. A decline in worker productivity in the fourth quarter, however, suggested it may be hard to maintain the strong pace of economic growth.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to a reading of 59.1 last month from 59.3 in December. A reading above 50 in the ISM index indicates growth in manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the U.S. economy.
The ISM survey also showed signs of a pickup in inflation, with a measure of prices paid by factories for raw materials increasing to its highest level since May 2011.
• In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 for the week ended Jan. 27. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 238,000 in the latest week.
Last week marked the 152nd straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a strong labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.
• The White House will likely give Congress approval on Friday to make public a secret Republican memo alleging FBI bias against President Donald Trump in its Russia probe
Trump, who had the authority to prevent its release, instead is likely to allow the four-page document to be made public with no redactions, the official said, in a move that could further inflame tensions between the Republican president and the top domestic law enforcement agency.
• On Thursday bitcoin slipped to its lowest since November 2017 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange as a Facebook ban on cryptocurrency advertisements and a growing regulatory backlash against the nascent market rattled investors. It last fell 11.56 to $8,976.12.
• Oil rose on Thursday after a survey showed OPEC’s commitment to its supply cuts remains in place, even as U.S. production topped 10 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time since 1970.
On its first day as the front-month, Brent futures for April delivery gained 76 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $69.65 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March delivery jumped $1.07, or 1.7 percent, to settle at $65.80.
That put both crude futures contracts close to their highest levels since December 2014.
In January, both benchmarks rose for a fifth month in a row with Brent up 3.3 percent and WTI up 7.1 percent, marking the strongest start to a year for Brent in five years and WTI in 12 years.
• The Syrian government may be developing new types of chemical weapons, and U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to consider further military action if necessary to deter chemical attacks, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Reference: Reuters
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