• The U.S. dollar rose to near a six-month high against the safe-haven Japanese yen on Tuesday and emerging market currencies like the Mexican peso, Brazilian real and Russian rouble also rose as global economic momentum appeared so far unscathed by trade tensions, prompting investors to buy riskier assets.
Investors may instead be focused on the positive outlook for second-quarter corporate earnings, which kick off this week. Credit Suisse projects that second-quarter revenue will grow by and earnings per share by 20.1 percent.
Against the Japanese yen, a currency usually bought in times of geopolitical uncertainty, the greenback was up 0.5 percent to a session top of 111.35 yen, abutting a six-month high. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was close to flat in late North American trading, after having risen 0.4 percent on Tuesday morning to a session high of 94.475, with the euro down 0.05 percent to $1.1743.
• The Trump administration raised the stakes in its trade war with China on Tuesday, saying it would slap 10 percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
The administration released a wide-ranging list of Chinese goods it proposes be hit with tariffs, including hundreds of food products as well as tobacco, coal, chemicals and tires, dog and cat food, and consumer electronics including television components.
Senior US Official: China not seriously negotiating on trade, tariff list took into account impact on US consumers. US tariff process on China expected to last about 2months
• The top Republican in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell, on Wednesday said he was not worried that President Donald Trump will withdraw the country from NATO, as Trump, who has a history of fiercely criticizing and occasionally scrapping international agreements, traveled to a major summit of NATO members.
McConnell also said “there is nothing inherently wrong” about Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin while he is in Europe. The two leaders plan to meet alone, without any extra staff.
• President Donald Trump will likely declare U.S. support for NATO’s mutual defense doctrine while pressing for increased spending commitments from NATO allies at a high-stakes summit in Brussels, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.
• More American workers voluntarily quit their jobs in May, government data showed on Tuesday, a sign of confidence in the labor market that economists say will soon boost wage growth.
In its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, the Labor Department said the number of workers leaving jobs of their own free will increased212,000 to 3.3 million.
That lifted the quits rate one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.4 percent, the highest since April 2001.
The rise in the quits rate, which policymakers and economists view as a measure of job market confidence, bolsters expectations that wage gains will accelerate this year.
• British Prime Minister Theresa May won the support of senior ministers and an endorsement from Europe’s most powerful leader, Angela Merkel, on Tuesday, surviving the explosive resignations of two top cabinet members in protest at her Brexit plans.
May’s government was rattled on Monday by the departures of foreign minister Boris Johnson - the face of Brexit for many - and her chief Brexit negotiator David Davis. Both fiercely criticised her negotiating stance.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday welcomed proposals on Britain’s exit from the European Union drawn up by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, saying that they brought the Brexit process “a whole step forward”.
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• Oil rose on Tuesday, supported by a larger-than expected U.S. stock draw and supply concerns in Norway and Libya, though gains were tempered by the United States’ indication that it would consider requests for waivers from Iranian oil sanctions.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 79 cents to settle at $78.86 per barrel. Earlier, the global benchmark hit a session high of $79.51.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 26 cents to settle at $74.11, after hitting a high of $74.70.
• U.S. crude inventories fell last week by 6.8 million barrels, according to data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute. That decline was larger than expected, causing crude futures to gain in post-settlement trading.
Reference: Reuters, DailyFX
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