MTS Help Center

• The U.S. dollar fell broadly on Monday, as currencies battered by trade tensions between the United States and China staged a comeback after leaders from the two countries declared a truce on tariffs.

China's yuan and several trade-dependent currencies made strong advances against the greenback as investors sold the safe-haven U.S. currency and bought up riskier assets.

China and the United States agreed to a ceasefire in their bitter trade war on Saturday after high-stakes talks in Argentina between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The offshore yuan gained about 1 percent to 6.8813, while the Aussie - viewed as a barometer of Chinese growth - was 0.7 percent higher against the greenback.

The New Zealand dollar gained 0.57 percent, while the U.S. dollar lost 0.61 percent against the Canadian dollar.

• The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was 0.4 percent lower. The euro was 0.2 percent higher against the greenback.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.040 after touching lows around 96.7 earlier.

With trade tensions taking a back seat for the moment, investors' attention is likely to turn to U.S. monetary policy, analysts said.

• The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again later in December but recent comments from central bank officials about how many more hikes are needed in the current cycle have hurt the dollar in recent sessions.

A U.S. central banker on Monday flagged his worries about growth prospects ahead and called for the Federal Reserve to be patient on further interest rate hikes.

Global growth is slowing, eroding U.S. profit margins mean business are likely to limit business spending, and the Fed’s regular rate hikes over the last two years have begun to pinch the housing market, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank Robert Kaplan said on Monday.

“I keep attuned to the idea that it’s very possible that by the middle of 2019 the economy may look very different than it does today, and because of that I think it’s wise to be patient in our actions,” Kaplan told Reuters in an interview in Laredo, Texas, where he is meeting with local business leaders and bankers.

• The two leaders, who met for dinner on Saturday at the G-20 summit in Argentina, agreed to hold off on additional tariffs on each other's goods at the start of the new year to allow for talks to continue. The U.S. agreed to leave tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese products at 10 percent.

If after 90 days the two countries are unable to reach an agreement, that rate will be raised to 25 percent, according to the White House. Trade negotiations will address forced technology transfer and intellectual property.

• White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow on Monday said that China could immediately slash its vehicle tariffs, as the country enters a 90-day truce in the current trade war with the United States to negotiate a trade deal, as he reiterated China’s pledge to begin lifting barriers immediately.

Kudlow said on a call with reporters that he believed the immediate action could include China reducing its 40 percent tariffs on U.S.-produced vehicles and that he expects Beijing will quickly roll back new retaliatory tariffs it had imposed on agricultural imports as the trade war heated up.

“We expect those tariffs to fall to zero,” he said in reference to the auto tariffs.

Kudlow said that the 90-day clock for negotiations would start on Jan. 1, but that China had pledged to start lifting both tariff and non-tariff barriers quickly, and could act as soon as Monday. A White House official later corrected Kudlow’s remark, saying the clock started on Dec. 1.

• China marks the 40th anniversary of its economic reforms and opening up on Dec. 18 — an occasion Beijing could use to emphasize its commitment to transform its economy, noted Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"If that day or week goes by with no major new announcements, then we know that for sure there's not a possibility that the Chinese want to use this as an opportunity to change the direction of their economy and industrial policies," Kennedy said

• The U.S. Congress, facing a Friday deadline for approving about $450 billion in funding for several government agencies or forcing them into a partial shutdown, is steering toward a two-week extension as President Donald Trump and Democrats argue over border wall funding.

The Republican-led House of Representatives will seek later this week to pass an extension to Dec. 21, congressional aides said.

The Senate, narrowly controlled by Republicans, would also have to approve the measure this week, which would continue funding for several agencies at last year’s levels.

• On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice's advocate general will issue a non-binding opinion on whether Britain could cancel Brexit without asking the permission of other countries.

The full ruling will follow within days, though it’s expected that the opinion of the advocate general will almost certainly be followed by the panel of judges.

The EU has also expressed concerns that such a unilateral power could destabilize Europe.