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• Trump set to authorize steel, aluminum tariffs on Thursday

The White House on Wednesday raised the possibility that impending hefty U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could exclude a clutch of countries other than Canada and Mexico as President Donald Trump planned to authorize the measures on Thursday.

Trump is expected to sign a presidential proclamation establishing the tariffs during a ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation said. A senior U.S. official said the measures would take effect about two weeks after Trump signs the proclamation.

• The dollar was little changed on Wednesday against a basket of currencies as traders await details on U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, which have touched off fears of a global trade war.

The White House said late Wednesday that Canada, Mexico and possibly other countries may be exempted from the tariffs on the basis of national security.

A White House official said Trump hopes to sign the tariffs on Thursday afternoon.

• The dollar was weaker earlier in the day following the resignation of Trump’s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, who was regarded as a bulwark of economic orthodoxy and had told Trump that markets would slump on a tariffs threat.

• The index that tracks the dollar versus six currencies .DXY fell 0.042 points or 0.05 percent, to 89.576

But anxiety about a deterioration in global trade limited the dollar rebound with some traders favoring the yen as a safe haven, analysts said.

• Against the yen, the dollar JPY= was down 0.06 percent, at 106.05 yen. It held just above a 14-month low of 105.23 yen set last week, Reuters data showed.

• Ahead of an European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday, the euro EUR= was last up 0.07 percent, at $1.2411

• The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has warned a global trade war would create a lose-lose situation for everyone, amid an escalating war of words between the U.S. and several of its trading partners.

• “A trade war has no winners and if it does not happen for the better, then we can work with our American friends and other allies on the core issue of this problem, overcapacity,” European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday.

“But if it does happen we will have to take measures to protect European jobs,” she added.

• Job creation saw another powerful month in February, with companies adding 235,000 positions, ADP and Moody's Analytics reported Wednesday.

The total again defied Wall Street expectations, as economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting payrolls to grow by 195,000. Growth actually decelerated slightly, as January posted an upwardly revised 244,000 from the initially reported 234,000.

• The Federal Reserve in its Beige Book of regional economic conditions suggested the U.S. expansion has continued with signs of wage growth accelerating since mid-January.

• Proposed U.S. tariffs and possible global retaliation to them could undercut economic growth and force the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of interest rate increases, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday in one of the sharpest responses to the proposal yet from a U.S. central banker.

• “The New York Fed has been closely monitoring developments in the U.S. Virgin Islands since the hurricanes and today’s meeting convened by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands provided critical insight into current economic conditions. We will continue to look for ways to be helpful as the islands recover and rebuild,” Mr. Dudley said.

Representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, including its president, William C. Dudley and members of his staff and board of directors, met with USVI nonprofit leaders at the St. Thomas office of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) to discuss current economic conditions within the territory.

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday passage of a Senate bill to ease rules on banks would be “a big step in the right direction.”

• U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday said Congress must find a way to pay for a massive looming shortfall in funding to pay for crumbling highways, bridges and other infrastructure.

Congress has transferred nearly $140 billion to the Highway Trust Fund since 2008. In order to maintain current spending levels, lawmakers would need to approve an additional $107 billion from 2021 through 2026.

• European Central Bank expected to tread carefully amid mounting global insecurities!

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is unlikely to give too much away at his press conference this week amid a surge in economic uncertainty.

The Italian economist will speak once again following the ECB Governing Council's rate decision on Thursday, with the bank expected to be cautious to prevent any unwanted tightening of financing conditions. This means Draghi won't reveal much on any potential end to the ECB's massive bond-buying scheme, brought in after the euro zone sovereign debt crises to boost lending and stoke inflation.

The threat of a trade war triggered by President Donald Trump — with the U.S. set to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum — has spooked investors and business leaders alike. Meanwhile, the rise of populism in Italy has done little to calm their nerves.

The euro zone's central bank will also publish new staff projections Thursday, but given the still subdued inflation data, no major shift upwards in their inflation forecasts are expected, despite a blossoming economy.

• Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday as financial markets slid amid concerns that Washington’s plans for import tariffs could spark a trade war, and after U.S. government data showed an increase in crude inventories and output.

Brent crude futures for May delivery fell $1.45 to settle at $64.34 a barrel, a 2.20 percent loss. Brent traded between $63.83 and $65.80 during the session.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for April delivery fell $1.45 to settle at $61.15 a barrel. It fell 2.3 percent on the day, its biggest daily percentage loss since Feb. 9, and traded between $60.58 and $62.58.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg, Viconsortium