• The U.S. dollar edged lower against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, and an Australian dollar that had been languishing at its weakest levels since mid-2016 gained after Australia posted its best economic growth in six years.
The dollar index .DXY, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.1 percent at 95.337 as of 0317 GMT, not far off a two-week high of 95.737 reached during the previous session.
The Aussie AUD=D3 advanced 0.3 percent to $0.7196 on the stronger-than-expected 3.4 percent annual growth in gross domestic product data in the3 second quarter, moving off its lowest level since May 2016 reached during the previous session.
The euro EUR= was 0.16 percent higher at $1.1599 as of 0321 GMT, and the British pound GBP=D3 was up 0.1 percent at $1.2864.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was barely changed at 111.55 yen JPY=.
• Emerging market currencies succumbed to a sell-off again on Tuesday, with currencies tumbling across the board — some to new record lows.
Among the worst hit was Indonesia's rupiah, which fell to a new two-decade low on Tuesday at 14,940 against the dollar, then recovered slightly to 14,925 by Wednesday midday. The Argentine peso fell about 3 percent — it had already crashed 16 percent last week, bringing its losses this year to almost 50 percent against the dollar.
• Overall, the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index declined 0.46 percent on Tuesday — the biggest drop in two weeks. Since the start of the year, it has fallen 5.53 percent.
Despite fears of emerging markets contagion growing, analysts said investors should not panic simply on negative sentiment.
• The Australian economy grew by 0.9 percent quarter-on-quarter in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms in the March quarter, beating the estimated growth rate of 0.7 percent. The economy had expanded 1 percent in the March quarter.
• Australia's economy sped past all expectations last quarter as rapid population growth fueled demand for homes and infrastructure, while bolstering consumer spending in the face of painfully slow wages growth.
• South Africa’s economy has entered a technical recession (QoQ decline in growth) and is expected to show a muted recovery in 2Q thanks to a higher sales tax, fuel prices, and an increasingly weaker rand
• Argentina's government said on Tuesday it hopes the International Monetary Fund will agree in the second half of September to a deal giving the country more financial support as it seeks to escape a deepening economic crisis.
• Amid a brewing storm for emerging markets, Egypt's finance minister believes his country's economy can weather what has thrown many others into crisis — as long as the underlying causes don't get any worse.
• Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Tuesday he was hopeful U.S. and Canadian officials can reach a deal by Friday to enable a three-way accord in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• Europe’s next crisis could originate in the real estate market, European Central Bank supervisor Daniele Nouy said in an interview with a Latvian news agency, adding that banks are better prepared to handle one than they were a decade ago.
With interest rates at record lows, real estate prices have soared in several hotspots. Some policymakers have warned that loose monetary policy risked inflating asset bubbles, potentially leading to the next crisis.
• British Prime Minister Theresa May will make an emergency statement to parliament on Wednesday, most likely on national security, the Times newspaper reported.
• Artificial intelligence could contribute an additional 1.2 percent to annual gross domestic product growth for at least the next decade, according to a simulation from McKinsey Global Institute.
Overall, AI could deliver $13 trillion in additional global economic activity by 2030, putting its contributions to growth on par with the introduction of other transformative technologies such as the steam engine, McKinsey said in a report released Wednesday morning Hong Kong time.
The institute's model expects about 70 percent of companies will adopt at least one form of AI by 2030, and that a significant portion of large firms will use a full range of the technology.
• Oil prices fell on Wednesday as a tropical storm hitting the U.S. Gulf coast weakened and had a lower impact on production than initially expected.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $69.14 per barrel at 0642 GMT, down 73 cents, or 1 percent, from their last settlement.
International Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 60 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $77.57 a barrel.
Prices had jumped the previous day as dozens of U.S. oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut in anticipation of damage from tropical storm Gordon.
However, the storm had shifted eastward by Wednesday and was weakening, reducing its threat to producers on the western side of the Gulf.
• Saudi Arabia wants oil to stay between $70 and $80 a barrel for now as the world's biggest crude exporter strikes a balance between maximizing revenue and keeping a lid on prices until U.S. congressional elections, OPEC and industry sources said.
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