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• The euro and sterling rose on Wednesday, underpinned by optimism for a Brexit deal, while the dollar lost ground against a basket of currencies even as U.S. bond yields hovered at multiyear peaks.

The common currency’s gains were limited by worries about the sustainability of Italy’s public finances, though Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria reiterated on Wednesday that the government would do everything in its power to regain the confidence of financial markets.

• On Wednesday, EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the two parties have agreed on much of the withdrawal agreement ahead of a summit of all the bloc’s 28 national leaders next week.

The pound GBP=D3 reached a two-week high at $1.3216 Wednesday and held a gain of 0.45 percent on the day. It hit its strongest level against the euro EURGBP=EBS since June 15 at 87.23 pence.

The euro EUR=EBS rose 0.3 percent to $1.15270 and held steady at 129.750 yen.

• Some traders remain skeptical about a final Brexit deal.

• The ICE dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.2 percent on the day to 95.480. It hit a seven-week high on Tuesday at 96.155.

• U.S. producer prices increased 0.2 percent in September, reversing an unexpected decline in August and in line with expectations.

A rise in services prices offset a slight drop in prices for goods. Final demand prices had fallen 0.1 percent in August. In the 12 months through September, the producer price index rose 2.6 percent, slightly less than expected.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI increasing 0.2 percent in September and advancing 2.8 percent year-on-year.

A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services rose 0.4 percent last month, the largest increase since January. The so-called core PPI had risen 0.1 percent in August.

In the 12 months through September, the core PPI rose 2.9 percent, the same as the month before.

• The Federal Reserve can likely stop raising U.S. interest rates once they reach about 3 percent, as long as inflation remains around 2 percent and the economy is doing well, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans suggested on Wednesday.

• President Trump said Wednesday he’s spoken with Saudi officials about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but did not provide additional information about Khashoggi's status.

Trump did not specify further, only saying that those in Saudi Arabia he spoke with were at "the highest level" and that they spoke "more than once."

"It's a very sad situation, it's a very bad situation," Trump told reporters during a briefing in the Oval Office on Hurricane Michael.

Khashoggi, 59, disappeared a week ago and was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he went to pick up a document he needed for his planned marriage. Saudi officials have said that he left the consulate but his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside, said he never appeared.

Turkish sources have said they believe Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi policies, was deliberately killed and removed from the building. Saudi Arabia has strongly rejected the allegations.

Trump said the United States was working closely with Turkey to find out exactly what had happened and was seeking information from Saudi Arabia.

• British surveyors are the most downbeat about house prices since the Brexit vote in 2016 with some unsettled by reports that Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned ministers of a possible house price crash if Britain leaves the EU with no deal.

• Oil prices dropped 2 percent on Wednesday as U.S. equity markets broadly fell, even though energy traders worried about shrinking Iranian supply from U.S. sanctions and kept an eye on Hurricane Michael, which closed some U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil output.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell $1.91, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $83.09 a barrel. The global benchmark posted a 1.3 percent gain on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell $1.79 to settle at $73.17 a barrel, a 2.4 percent loss.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC, CNN