The dollar index initially rose 0.07 percent to 96.124, until a repudiation of the report from the Treasury secretary’s office left the index last at 96.058, unchanged from the previous day’s close.
· Earlier, the greenback rose against a euro dragged lower by soft economic data, while the pound took off on hopes of a second referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union.
Against the euro, the dollar strengthened as much as $1.1367, its highest in nearly two weeks. It was last at $1.139, with the single currency still weaker on soft data out of the euro zone. Inflation data for the European Union showed price pressures receding further from the central bank’s target, complicating the situation for the European Central Bank which currently expects to raise interest rates later this year.
· “The data that has been coming out of Europe this week has certainly been on the softer side and suggests that from an economic standpoint they are technically in a recession,” said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at Oanda.
· U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for Jan. 30, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the internal deliberations.
“Neither Secretary Mnuchin nor Ambassador Lighthizer have made any recommendations to anyone with respect to tariffs or other parts of the negotiation with China,” the spokesman said. “This an ongoing process with the Chinese that is nowhere near completion.”
· Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Jan. 30 and 31 for the latest round of trade talks aimed at resolving a bitter trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
· Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Thursday it was a good time for the U.S. central bank to pause in its campaign of interest rate hikes given the uncertainty in the economic outlook.
“My outlook is for continued growth above trend, decelerating to trend, but there’s uncertainty,” Evans told Bloomberg Television. “We’re just at a good point for sort of pausing. Let’s look at the layout of the land.”
· President Donald Trump has canceled his delegation’s trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week due to the partial U.S. government shutdown, according to a statement released by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were expected to lead the U.S. delegation in Trump’s place, two senior administration officials said this week.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also planned to be part of the delegation.
· Calls for a second Brexit referendum grow as Theresa May fights for a new deal
Political leaders from the Scottish National Party (SNP), Wales' Plaid Cymru, the Green party and Liberal Democrats are calling on Labour to join them in calling for a second referendum on Brexit,
A second referendum is known now as a "People's Vote."
Business leaders have signed a letter also calling for a second referendum.
Brexit: MPs to debate and vote on Brexit 'plan B' options on Tuesday 29 January - Politics live
Labour leader says he won’t meet with prime minister until she takes no-deal Brexit off the table, after May narrowly win no-confidence vote in parliament
· Oil prices fell on Thursday on concerns over surging U.S. crude production and slack global demand, particularly in light of the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended Thursday's session down 24 cents, or about half a percent, to $52.07 per barrel, bouncing from a session low at $50.98.
International Brent crude oil futures were down 14 cents at $61.18 per barrel at 2:27 p.m. ET. The contract earlier fell as low as$60.04 per barrel.
· In its monthly market report, OPEC cut its forecast for the average demand for its crude in 2019 to 30.83 million bpd, down910,000 bpd from the 2018 average.
· "Brent needs to move past $62 before we can talk about $65," BNP Paribas head of commodities Harry Tchilingurian told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
"From there, the door will be open to target $70, (if) we do not have negative news emerging around U.S.-China trade talks that caused high levels of angst and de-risking last December."
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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