· The U.S. dollar rose against the yen on Thursday, as an absence of any fresh escalation in trade-related tensions between the United States and its major trading partners capped demand for the Japanese currency.
The dollar was up 0.26 percent against the yen, at 110.54 yen.
The greenback assumed a stronger tone after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will use a strengthened national security review process to thwart Chinese acquisitions of sensitive American technologies, a softer approach than imposing China-specific investment restrictions.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.08 percent at 95.34, after advancing about 1 percent over the last two sessions.
The dollar index, which slipped earlier after data showed that U.S. economic growth in the first quarter slowed more than earlier estimated, was back near the almost one-year high of 95.531 hit overnight.
· U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 2.0 percent annual rate in the January-March period, revised from the 2.2 percent pace the Commerce Department reported last month, amid the weakest consumer spending in nearly five years.
The economy grew at a 2.9 percent rate in the fourth quarter. The downgrade to first-quarter growth reflected weaker consumer spending and a smaller inventory build than the government had estimated last month.
· Despite the worries around trade, the dollar’s longer-term trend was still bullish, Minh Trang, senior currency trader at Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California, said.
“The conversation as we end out June is really to the fact that the Fed raised rates this month and the expectation is that they want to do two more hikes for the second half of the year,” he said.
· The euro was little changed against the greenback, supported by German inflation data that surpassed the target set by the European Central Bank for the euro zone in June.
European Union leaders meet in Brussels for two days of talks on migration that German Chancellor Angela Merkel described as “make or break” for the EU.
· The pound fell to its lowest level since early November as investors fretted that the EU summit would underline the lack of meaningful progress for months in negotiations on a Brexit deal. Sterling was down 0.3 percent.
The pound which had earlier fallen as low as $1.3050 amid Brexit concerns, rose to $1.3105 after Haldane spoke.
· Digital currency sales jumped to $13.7 billion in the first five months of the year, nearly double the amount raised for the whole of 2017, according to a report released on Thursday by PwC’s strategy and consulting division Strategy& and Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Association.
· St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Wednesday that one major risk to the U.S. economy over the next few years is aggressive monetary policy and raising interest rates too quickly.
Bullard's comments to The Wall Street Journal included discussion on the so-called neutral level of the Fed's benchmark rate, when it neither encourages nor hampers growth.
Tight U.S. labor markets could bring unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics more in line with that of whites, another reason for the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said on Thursday.
· U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to travel to North Korea next week to discuss the country’s denuclearization plans, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with his plans.
The flood of requests from U.S. manufacturers with the Commerce Department to exempt them from the Trump administration’s hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is exposing competitive information to rivals, customers and U.S. metal producers.
So far, over 22,500 applications for exemptions have landed in Washington and many more arrive each day. Over 4,000 objections have been filed, which is also expected to grow.
· Italy’s prime minister refused to approve an EU summit statement on Thursday, telling fellow leaders that they must first meet his demands on migration, in an unusual showdown that underscored deep divisions over the sensitive issue.
The move by Giuseppe Conte, who is attending his first European Union summit, surprised other leaders and forced summit chairman Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to cancel a news conference planned for Thursday evening.
Conte, the head of a new euroskeptic government that includes the anti-establishment 5-Star movement and the far-right League, is demanding that other EU states share the costs and burden of handling migrants that are rescued in the Mediterranean.
· Oil prices climbed on Thursday, with U.S. crude hitting a three-and-a-half year high, bolstered by supply concerns due to U.S. sanctions that could cause a large drop in crude exports from Iran.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 69 cents, nearly 1 percent, to settle at $73.45 a barrel. It reached $74.03 earlier in the session, the highest since Nov. 26, 2014.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 23 cents to settle at $77.85 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters
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