· The U.S. dollar rebounded on Thursday, recouping most of the ground lost in the previous session after the Federal Reserve jolted markets by abandoning all plans to raise rates this year, a signal its three-year campaign to normalize policy might be at an end.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.86 percent at 96.58.
The index fell 0.6 percent on Wednesday, closing below its 200-day moving average for the first time in more than 10 months.
· On Wednesday, the Fed took a dovish stance, signaling it will not hike interest rates this year in the face of a slowing economy, while announcing a plan to end its balance sheet reduction program by September.
· "The reality is the economy of no country can really handle further increments to borrowing costs, and we may see more scrutiny over cuts than hikes from now on," said Perez.
Despite the rebound on Thursday, Perez said he expects the dollar to remain pressured for the rest of 2019.
· The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to its lowest level since January 2018 on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and suggested it will keep rates the same for the rest of the year.
The Fed also downgraded its economic forecast for the U.S. economy and said it plans to end its program of reducing the bonds and mortgage-backed securities it holds on its balance sheet. Investors viewed the move — and subsequent comments from Chair Jerome Powell — as more restrained than expected.
The 10-year yield held lower at 2.519 percent after sinking 8 basis points in the prior session, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at 2.957 percent.
· The pound extended losses amid fears of a catastrophic "no-deal" Brexit should lawmakers hold firm in their rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the EU. Sterling was last down 1.17 percent at $1.3042.
· The European Union agreed to postpone the United Kingdom's exit from the bloc, but the length of the delay will depend on whether or not the British parliament accepts the previously negotiated withdrawal agreement.
European Council President Donald Tusk said the bloc would grant an extension until May 22 if Prime Minister Theresa May is able to convince the British parliament to accept the existing Brexit deal.
If May is unable to convince parliament, which has previously rejected the deal, then Britain would face a disorderly exit from the European Union on April 12.
May had asked Brussels for the March 29 Brexit date to be delayed three months until at least June 30. The British parliament has twice rejected the withdrawal agreement that she had negotiated with the European Union, which has raised the prospect of a disorderly and economically damaging exit from the European Union.
Speaking to reporters, May said she believed the U.K. will absolutely eventually leave the EU.
· President Donald Trump has warned that US tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese exports are unlikely to go away anytime soon — even if the two countries reach a deal to end their trade war.
"We're not talking about removing them, we're talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time," Trump said Wednesday. "Because we have to make sure that if we do the deal with China that China lives by the deal because they've had a lot of problems living by certain deals."
The United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, are trying to negotiate a resolution to their trade dispute that escalated dramatically last year with both sides imposing new tariffs on huge portions of each other's exports.
· The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Chinese shipping companies it says helped North Korea evade U.S. and international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, the first such steps since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s summit collapsed last month.
· The White House rejected a request by congressional Democrats that it provide information about President Donald Trump’s communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, House Democratic leaders said on Thursday, suggesting they would take further action.
U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff, Eliot Engel and Elijah Cummings, the chairmen of the House of Representatives Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees, respectively, said in a statement the rejection was part of a “troubling pattern” by the White House.
· Japan’s core consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in February from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, slowing from the previous month’s pace and remaining distant from the central bank’s ambitious 2 percent target.
The price data underscores the fragile nature of Japan’s economic recovery, as escalating Sino-U.S. trade frictions and slowing Chinese growth weigh on exports and business sentiment.
· Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that the economy was in a moderate recovery and that there was no change in the government’s plan to raise the national sales tax in October.
· Oil edged lower on Thursday but held near 2019 highs, supported by a sharp tightening of global stocks, OPEC production cuts and U.S. sanctions on key producers Iran and Venezuela.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended Thursday's session 25 cents lower at $59.98 per barrel, marking its highest settle since Nov. 9. WTI reached its highest intraday level since Nov. 12 earlier in the day, at$60.39.
International Brent crude oil futures were down 47 cents at $68.03 a barrel around 2:25 p.m. ET (1825 GMT), having hit their highest since Nov. 13 at $68.69 earlier in the session.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, CNN
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