· The dollar fell to a four-week low on Monday, as risk appetite improved and investors unwound some safe-haven bets on the currency after the United States and Mexico reached a trade deal.
The greenback had already been pressured by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on Friday that seemed to suggest a slower pace of monetary tightening.
· In late afternoon trading, the dollar index .DXY, was down 0.4 percent at 94.768, after slipping more than 0.5 percent in the previous session.
The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.1677 EUR= after climbing as high as $1.1693, a four-week peak. The currency advanced more than 0.7 percent on Friday.
· At a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell on Friday emphasized the central bank’s push to raise interest rates despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of higher borrowing costs. But he also said the Fed sees no clear sign of inflation accelerating above 2 percent.
His comments did little to change market expectations for rate hikes in September and December and disappointed some dollar bulls hoping for a more hawkish message.
· The United States and Mexico agreed on Monday to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), putting pressure on Canada to agree to new terms on auto trade and dispute settlement rules to remain part of the three-nation pact.
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to change parts of NAFTA, the trade deal that President Donald Trump has derided for years as unfair.
· Trump announced the agreement from the Oval Office Monday, with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto dialed in on a conference call.
But the deal left open the question of whether Canada, the third country in NAFTA, would agree to the changes -- and Trump himself said he wanted to throw out the name NAFTA altogether.
"They used to call it NAFTA," Trump said. "We're going to call it the United States-Mexico trade agreement. We're going to get rid of NAFTA because it has a bad connotation."
· Top Republican U.S. trade lawmaker Kevin Brady encouraged Canada on Monday to come back to talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement to reach a deal with Mexico and the United States.
· The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday its farm aid package would include $4.7 billion in direct payments to farmers to help offset losses from retaliatory tariffs on American exports this season.
· Oil prices edged up on Monday, supported by a strengthening equities market and news that the United States and Mexico agreed to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $76.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures gained 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, to close at $68.87 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNN
Thai
Eng