· Sterling rose on Wednesday after U.K. lawmakers rejected leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement.
The pound was up 2 percent against the dollar at $1.3339 as investors become more optimistic that a hard Brexit would be ruled out. That's the biggest move since April 2017.
The dollar edged back from a nine-day low early on Thursday, as a big rally by the pound made on Brexit relief tapered off and gave the greenback some reprieve.
The dollar index, a gauge of the currency’s strength against six major counterparts, stood little changed at 96.505. It shed 0.4 percent overnight, at one point brushing a nine-day trough of 96.385.
The greenback had taken a knock as the pound rallied more than 2 percent after British lawmakers voted against a potentially disorderly “no-deal” departure from the European Union late.
British lawmakers are now widely expected to vote on Thursday to delay Britain’s departure from the EU, currently scheduled for March 29.
The euro was steady at $1.1331 after advancing 0.3 percent overnight.
· U.S. wholesale prices barely increased last month after falling for three straight months, a sign there is little inflation pressure in the economy.
The Labor Department says the producer price index — which measures price changes before they reach the consumer — rose 0.1 percent in February. It slipped 0.1 percent in January. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, core producer prices also rose 0.1 percent. Wholesale prices increased 1.9 percent from a year earlier, and core prices rose 2.5 percent.
Despite an unemployment rate near a five-decade low and faster wage growth, inflation is tame. The Consumer Price Index, released Tuesday, increased just 1.5 percent in February from a year ago. Mild inflation is a major reason the Federal Reserve has paused its interest rate hikes.
· Investors should remain optimistic about the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and China, according to an expert.
Speaking to CNBC's "Street Signs" two weeks ago, Peter Andersen, chief investment officer at Massachusetts-based Andersen Capital, said that "everyone wants to negotiate for their own good," so that suggests there will be a positive outcome from the U.S.-China talks.
According to Andersen, the involved parties are "intelligent enough to realize that a mutually beneficial solution is the best way to go." In other words, current negotiations are not likely to result in damages to either side.
"As long as there is engagement, and as long as there is pen put to paper and ... a memorandum of understanding is being drafted, et cetera, I think that's all very positive," Andersen said.
· The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to end American support for a Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen in a challenge to President Donald Trump’s relationship with the oil-rich Saudi kingdom.
The proposal passed by a 54-46 vote — short of the two-thirds majority the Senate would need to overcome Trump’s expected veto.
The rare bipartisan admonishment of the president, if it became law, would force the U.S. to stop backing a Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the bloody conflict. The U.S. gives only limited support to the forces. But the measure rebukes Trump as lawmakers grow increasingly concerned about both the White House’s policies toward Saudi Arabia and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen
· Oil prices rose on Wednesday, buoyed by a large U.S. inventories drawdown and as sanctions stall exports from Venezuela.
International Brent crude oil futures were at $67.63 a barrel, up 98 cents, or 1.47 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $58.37 per barrel, up $1.50, or 2.64 percent — building on their strong gains from earlier in the day.
The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels last week. The data came after the American Petroleum Institute also said Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks had fallen in the previous week.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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