• The U.S. dollar rose to its highest in six weeks on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy is “remarkably positive” and spoke of the need to continue raising interest rates.
• The Fed is “still very much committed to a gradual path when it comes to rate hikes,” said Bipan Rai, head of North American foreign exchange strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
• The euro has been testing key technical support at $1.1510-$1.1508, which was a temporary low set in June.
If the euro zone single currency sustains its break below this level it may next test the $1.13 area, which was the one-year low reached in August.
• The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of peers, was at 96.035 as of 8:14 a.m. HK/SIN, close to its earlier high following an overnight rally.
• Private employers also added 230,000 jobs in September, the most since February, according to the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday. That was more than economists’ expectations of 185,000 jobs.
• The Federal Reserve may raise interest rates above an estimated “neutral” setting as the “remarkably positive” U.S. economy continues to grow, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.
• U.S. services sector activity raced to a 21-year high in September and companies boosted hiring, signs of enduring strength in the economy at the end of the third quarter.
• The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed legislation overhauling the way the federal government lends money for foreign development, creating a $60 billion agency intended largely to respond to China’s growing influence.
• The Trump administration on Wednesday pulled out of two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about U.S. policies, the latest withdrawal by Washington from multilateral accords.
• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday he was optimistic his planned visit to Pyongyang this weekend would bring progress toward a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and in building a path to North Korea’s denuclearization.
• Britain may be required to channel more money than expected into the European Union budget after it leaves the bloc because EU liabilities are going up driven by higher pension costs and financial guarantees, EU data released on Thursday show.
• Italy will cut its budget deficit targets from 2020 and reduce its debt over the next three years, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday, easing fears about fiscal policy in the euro zone’s third-biggest economy.
• Germany and the United States agree on the need to do everything possible to prevent the use of chemical weapons in Syria, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
• Brent crude rose nearly 2 percent after hitting a four-year high on Wednesday as the market focused on upcoming U.S. sanctions on Iran while shrugging off the year’s largest weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles and reports of higher Saudi Arabian and Russian production.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.49, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $86.29 a barrel, after hitting $86.74, its highest since Oct. 30, 2014. U.S. crude CLc1 settled $1.18, or 1.6 percent, higher at$76.41 a barrel, after touching a session high of $76.90.
Both benchmarks dipped briefly after the U.S. government released inventory figures, then resumed their climb.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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