· The dollar slipped lower against a basket of the other major currencies on Wednesday, as concerns over heightened trade tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, slipped 0.11% to 94.26 by 03:19 AM ET (07:19 AM GMT), after gaining 0.45% on Tuesday, snapping four straight sessions of losses.
Easing concerns about U.S. trade policy had help boost the dollar, but investors remained cautious following further falls in Chinese stocks and the yuan overnight amid fears over the prospect of an all-out trade war.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.26% to 109.76. The Japanese currency is often sought by investors as a safe haven in times of geopolitical tensions and market turmoil.
The euro pushed higher against the softer dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to 1.1665.
· More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its separation of migrant children and parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying President Donald Trump’s order last week ending the breakups was illusory.
· German coalition parties failed to resolve a row over migrant policy during four hours of late night talks on Tuesday and further discussions were needed, Volker Kauder, a senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) said on Wednesday.
· Britain is committed to promoting free and open trade, and hopes to seize “unlimited opportunities” brought by China’s Belt and Road initiative, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond wrote in Chinese financial magazine Caixin on Wednesday.
· Profits at China’s industrial firms rose sharply in May, maintaining the previous month’s sizzling pace despite signs of slowing momentum in the world’s second-largest economy and an intensifying trade spat with the United States.
Industrial profits rose 21.1 percent to 607.1 billion yuan ($92.00 billion) in May, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, compared to 21.9 percent growth in April.
· China’s manufacturing sector showed slower growth in the second quarter, a private survey showed on Wednesday, a worrisome trend that could add to pressure on China’s economy just as trade tensions with the United States heat up.
After two years of solid growth, manufacturers are starting to show signs of weakness, according to the quarterly survey of thousands of Chinese firms by China Beige Book International (CBB), with companies reporting the lowest growth in new export orders since late 2016 in Q2.
· Oil prices rose on Wednesday as a supply disruption in Canada tightened the market and after U.S. officials told importers to stop buying Iranian crude from November.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 had climbed 61 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close to $76.92 per barrel by 0650 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $70.88, up 35 cents, or 0.5 percent.
Reference: Reuters,CNBC
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