· The dollar was buoyant near a 10-day peak on Friday, supported by Treasury yields that edged higher on expectations the U.S. inflation rate will rise.
Short to long-term U.S. Treasury yields rose after U.S. consumer prices data on Thursday showed a steady buildup of inflation pressure that could allow the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates as many as four times in2018. [US/]
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies nudged up 0.1 percent to 94.875 and was close to 94.941, the 10-day peak scaled a day earlier.
The index has risen 0.9 percent on the week.
“The dollar has benefited this week from the trade conflict concerns that emerged earlier, which ended up funnelling safe-haven bids into the currency,” said Koji Fukaya, president of FPG Securities in Tokyo.
“On top of that, the U.S. economy has shown it is doing well and Treasury yields have risen, and these factors are all helping the dollar.”
On Friday, the U.S. currency hit a fresh six-month high of 112.775 yen and last traded at 112.66. The dollar has advanced roughly 2 percent versus its Japanese peer this week, the biggest weekly gain since mid-September.
As the dollar held firm, the euro remained sluggish, standing little changed at $1.1662, having pulled away from a 3-1/2 week high of $1.17905 touched on Monday. The single currency was on track for a loss of 0.6 percent this week.
· Chinese imports to U.S. ports rose more than expected in June, suggesting that some retailers moved up orders to insulate themselves from an intensifying trade war that threatens to send up costs on a growing number of consumer products.
The volume of loaded shipping containers from China to all U.S. ports was up 6.3 percent in June from a year earlier after falling 6.9 percent in May and 3.9 percent in April, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest U.S. container port and No. 1 hub for ocean trade with China.
· Japan is expected to report a third month of solid export growth in June, thanks to global demand for semiconductors and electronic parts, a Reuters poll showed, supporting views the economy is recovering from a first-quarter contraction.
Both exports and imports, however, likely grew at a somewhat softer rate.
Exports likely grew 7.0 percent from a year ago, the poll of 16 economists found, after rising 8.1 percent in May.
· Imports probably rose 5.3 percent for the month, down from 14.0 percent in May, resulting in the trade balance swinging back into a surplus of 534.2 billion yen ($4.75 billion).
· The Bank of Japan this month might concede that inflation could fall short of its 2 percent target for as long as three more years, sources say, which would be the strongest sign yet of acceptance that its goal cannot be reach quickly.
The view may emerge from the BOJ’s rate review on July 30-31, they say. At the policy meeting, the central bank will conduct a quarterly review of its long-term projections.
The BOJ now projects inflation of 1.3 percent this fiscal year, followed by 1.8 percent for both fiscal 2019 and 2020.
· Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are sure to discuss North Korea at next week's bilateral summit as the American leader looks to tap Moscow's strategic leverage over the isolated state.
· A hotel in the Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to charge its U.S. guests an extra 25 percent amid a trade war between Beijing and Washington, according to the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily.
The Modern Classic Hotel Group had put up a notice at its hotel informing guests of the extra charge on American guests, the paper said in a report dated Thursday.
· The United States has rejected a French request for waivers for its companies operating in Iran that Paris sought after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Le Figaro.
· China’s trade surplus with the United States swelled to a record in June as its overall exports remained solid, a result that could further inflame a bitter trade dispute with Washington.
China’s trade surplus with the United States, which is at the center of the tariff tussle, widened to a record monthly high of $28.97 billion, up from $24.58 billion in May, according to Reuters calculations based on official data going back to 2008.
· Oil prices fell on Friday as markets digested big swings earlier in the week that have left both major benchmarks facing a second weekly loss and largely shrugged off a warning about tightness in spare capacity.
Brent crude LCOc1 dropped 35 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $74.10 a barrel by 0657 GMT. On Thursday it gained $1.05 a barrel, rebounding from a session low of $72.67. It is heading for a weekly fall of nearly 4 percent.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 edged down 12 cents to $70.21 a barrel, after falling 5 cents in the previous session. It is heading for a weekly decline of nearly 5 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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