• The U.S. dollar traded at its lowest level this month against its major peers on Friday as declining U.S. treasury yields and further losses on Wall Street soured sentiment.
The dollar index, a gauge of its value against six major currencies, traded at 95 on Friday, down from its monthly high of 96.15 hit on Tuesday.
The euro was the primary beneficiary of broad-based dollar weakness on Friday, hitting a fresh weekly high at 1.1611 on the back of dollar selling and a positive tone in minutes of the last European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.
The minutes suggested the ECB was on track to normalise its ultra-loose monetary policy this year despite concerns about slowing growth in Europe.
• “Markets will be closely watching the upcoming midterm elections as shifts in the balance of power in Washington could have meaningful implications for fiscal policy and foreign relations,” said Niladri Mukherjee, director of portfolio strategy in the Chief Investment Office at Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust, in a note.
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Other research shows good news from the election is likely for investors this year.
Overwhelmingly data from so-called predictive markets show that U.S. President Donald Trump will not be impeached but rather will finish his first term in the White House, according to a recent report from financial firm HCWE & Co.
• At its worst, the ongoing trade tensions could knock 1.6 percentage points off China's economic growth over the first two years, according to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund.
But much of that impact is expected to be offset by the Chinese government's policies to stimulate the economy, noted Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.
• China recorded a record trade surplus of $34.13 billion with the U.S. in September amid intense trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Economists say strong Chinese export data recently is due to exporters benefiting from increased orders before U.S. tariffs hit, but the figures are likely to show stress in the months ahead.
• Tensions remained among the G20 group on trade that must be solved among countries directly involved, said Nicolas Dujovne, chairman of the group’s finance leaders’ meeting.
“We recognize we are now facing trade tensions among members of the G20,” Dujovne, Treasury Minister of this year’s G20 chair Argentina told a news conference on Friday.
• Crude prices jumped 1 percent on Friday, rebounding after two days of heavy declines with support from robust Chinese crude imports, but oil was still heading for its first weekly drop in five weeks.
Brent crude futures had risen $1.02 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $81.28 a barrel by 0637 GMT. The contract dropped 3.4 percent on Thursday following sharp falls in equity markets and indications that supply concerns have been overblown.
Brent is still on course for a 3.4 percent decline this week, the biggest drop in about four months.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 80 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $71.77 a barrel, after a 3 percent fall in the previous session. WTI is on track for a 3.5 percent drop this week.
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