MTS Help Center

• The dollar shone on Friday, reaching a 19-month high against a basket of currencies, as investors preferred the safety of the world's reserve currency in the wake of worrisome political and economic news outside the United States.

The Chinese yuan fell after data showed retail sales grew in November at their slowest pace since 2003 and industrial output rose the least in nearly three years. The offshore yuan shed 0.38 percent at 6.9038 per dollar. The euro weakened as the euro zone economy showed more signs of a slowdown.

Sterling tumbled as traders worried British Prime Minister Theresa May was struggling to secure assurances from the EU over her Brexit withdrawal deal.

An index that tracks the greenback versus six major peers hit its highest level since May 2017 at 97.711. At 11:02 a.m. (1602 GMT), it was up 0.49 percent at 97.536. The greenback's appeal increased in the aftermath of upbeat data on domestic retail sales and industrial output.

The dollar's gains were limited by bets the Federal Reserve might reduce the number of interest rate increases after a widely expected hike next week. The futures market implied traders saw an 82 percent chance the U.S. central bank would increase key short-term rates by a quarter point to 2.25-2.50 percent at its policy meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday, up from 79 percent on Thursday, according to CME Group's FedWatch program.

The euro was down 0.5 percent at $1.12965 after German data showed private-sector expansion slowed to a four-year low in December. French business activity unexpectedly contracted, further fanning fears about slowing growth in the euro area.

Worries about the European economy were also stoked by uncertainty whether May could convince the British parliament to approve her Brexit deal. The pound was 0.79 percent lower at $1.256, holding above a 20-month low of $1.2477 reached on Wednesday.

• Prime Minister Theresa May will state her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday, telling parliament such a vote would “break faith” with British people and do “irreparable damage” to politics.

• Britain’s government is not preparing for a second referendum on Brexit, ministers said on Sunday, sticking to the script that Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal could still pass through parliament with a few changes.

• Italy’s coalition government has agreed on the “numbers and contents” of the budget it will propose to Brussels in a bid to avoid disciplinary action over its plans to hike deficit spending next year, a League party spokeswoman said on Monday.

• Oil prices dropped on Friday, weighed down by a falling U.S. stock market, while weak economic data from China pointed to lower fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil importer.

Brent crude futures fell $1.33, or 2.16 percent, to $60.12 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 2.6 percent to settle at $51.20 a barrel.

Global benchmark Brent was set for a weekly loss of about 2 percent, while WTI was on track to decline 2.7 percent.

• North Korea on Sunday condemned the U.S. administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning of a return to “exchanges of fire” and that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever.

The North’s stinging response came after the United States said on Monday it had introduced sanctions on three North Korean officials, including a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, for alleged human rights abuses.

Reference: CNBC, Reuters