• The euro stood near a one-year low against the dollar and the Swiss franc on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as the Turkish lira wobbled on worries that Turkey’s economic woes could hit European banks and spread to other emerging economies.
Investors are nervous the plunge in the lira could prompt capital outflows from other emerging economies that run a hefty current account deficit and rely on foreign capital.
The euro traded little changed at $1.1410 EUR=, having fallen to a 13-month low of $1.1365 on Monday. So far this month it has lost 2.4 percent.
The Turkish lira slipped as much as 0.6 percent in early Asian trade on Tuesday to 6.955 per dollar TRYTOM=D2, though it hovered above a record low of 7.24 hit on Monday after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity.
The currency last stood at 6.9349.
The lira has fallen almost 30 percent so far this month on concerns about President Tayyip Erdogan’s reluctance to raise interest rates despite rising inflation and a deepening diplomatic rift with the United States.
• The yuan’s bounce was limited following the release of downbeat economic indicators, and it remained in reach of a 15-month trough of 6.8965 set earlier this month.
China’s economy is showing further signs of cooling as the U.S. prepares to impose even tougher trade tariffs, with investment in the first seven months of the year slowing to a record low and retail sales softening, data released on Tuesday showed.
The dollar was 0.05 percent higher at 110.79 yen JPY=, off a 1-1/2-month low of 110.10 touched on Monday.
• Turkey’s lira clawed back some losses on Monday from a record low 7.24 lira per dollar after the country’s central bank said it would provide liquidity and cut reserve requirements for banks, but the currency was still down around 10 percent on the day. It has shed more than two-fifths of its value in 2018.
That knocked emerging market currencies. The South African rand was down 1.5 percent, after earlier falling over 10 percent to a more than two-year low in earlier trading. The Indian rupee stumbled to a record low, while the Mexican peso lost more than 1 percent.
• The greenback was also helped against the yen by rises in U.S. bond yields. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR bounced back to 2.877 percent from a three-week low of 2.848 percent.
The dollar, which has rallied since the lira crisis, lost 0.2 percent to 96.177 against a basket of major currencies, below its 13-month high of 96.522.
• The German economy picked up more steam than expected in the second quarter, driven by higher household and state spending, suggesting that Europe’s biggest economy is powering ahead despite trade-related business uncertainties.
Gross domestic product expanded by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said on Tuesday. That compared with a Reuters forecast of 0.4percent.
• Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his top ministers discussed the 2019 budget on Monday and agreed that it will preserve the stability of state finances and lower the public debt, the prime minister’s office said.
Italian stocks and government bonds have come under pressure in recent days due to contagion from financial turmoil in Turkey and market concerns that Rome’s spending plans will push up the already-high public debt.
• "How can a country where the entire market cap of Turkish equities traded on the Istanbul Stock exchange is less than the market cap of Netflix wreak such havoc? It is all about the direct and indirect impacts," wrote Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for wealth management at Northern Trust. "There are certain emerging market countries with relatively weak currencies and a heavy reliance on external (predominately dollar based) financing. The fear is that what happens in Turkey won't stay in Turkey."
• China’s economy is showing signs of cooling further as the U.S. prepares even tougher trade tariffs, with investment growth slowing to a record low and consumers turning more cautious about spending, data showed on Tuesday.
Fixed-asset investment expanded by a less-than-expected 5.5 percent in January-July, a result of Beijing’s crackdown on lavish local government borrowing for projects to boost growth.
Industrial output also undershot expectations, weighed down by pollution curbs and the uncertain trade outlook, adding to expectations that authorities will roll out more policy stimulus measures.
• China on Tuesday condemned measures targeting it in a new U.S. defense act, saying it exaggerated antagonism and that Beijing would take a close look at aspects that beef up the role of a U.S. panel that reviews foreign investment proposals.
• Oil prices rose on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia said it had cut production in July, although concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth kept a lid on markets.
Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 60 cents at $73.21 a barrel by 0745 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was 60 cents higher at $67.80.
Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that it had reduced crude output by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.29 million bpd in July.
· CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Crude oil prices continue to hover at support-turned-resistance that guided the uptrend from early February. A daily close above its upper boundary at 68.41 opens the door for a retest of the 69.89-70.41 area. Alternatively, a move below the swing low at 65.74 targets the 63.96-64.26 zone.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Daily FX