· The U.S. dollar fell against its rivals Monday as a modest decline in U.S. factory orders did little to ease worries about a slowdown in the economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.081 after declining from levels above 97.2 yesterday.
Factory goods orders fell 0.5%, in line with economists' expectations amid weak orders for machinery, transportation equipment and computers and electronic products, the Commerce Department said on Monday.
The decline in the greenback was also exacerbated by a firmer euro amid better-than-expected trade data from Germany.
· EUR/USD rose 0.42% to $1.1265. The upbeat start to the week for the single currency comes just days ahead of European Central Bank meeting due Wednesday, with many expecting further dovish commentary from ECB President Mario Draghi.
· New orders for U.S.-made goods fell modestly in February and shipments rose after four straight monthly declines, but the manufacturing sector is slowing amid rising inventories.
Factory goods orders dropped 0.5 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, pulled down by weak orders for machinery, transportation equipment and computers and electronic products. Data for January was revised down to show factory orders unchanged instead of edging up 0.1 percent as previously reported.
· U.S. officials are “not satisfied yet” about all the issues standing in the way of a deal to end the U.S.-China trade war but made progress in talks with China last week, a top White House official said on Monday.
Willems also declined to specify a timeline for the pact, noting: “It should be a good sign for people that we’re not rushing into this we want to get it right and we need to nail down specifics.”
· Separately, Trump has nominated Stephen Moore and Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve board of governors, with a majority in a CNBC Fed Survey of fund managers, economists and strategists saying the two shouldn't be confirmed by the Senate as they were deemed unqualified.
· British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to argue for a Brexit delay while her ministers hold crisis talks with Labour to try to break the deadlock in London.
· Oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest since November as concerns over exports from war-torn Libya stoked tightness in the market, with global supply already hit by OPEC-led production cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.
International benchmark Brent futures touched their strongest level since last November at $71.34 per barrel on Tuesday, and were still at $71.16 at 0057 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures also hit a November 2018 high, at $64.77 per barrel, before easing to $64.58, which was still 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, above their last settlement.
· A resurgence in fighting around the Libyan capital of Tripoli this week has driven U.S. forces to pull out of the country and is providing a new upside risk to global oil prices, underscoring the OPEC producer’s importance to markets and the fragility of its supply.
Rebel forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Hifter, who effectively controls the country’s breakaway east, launched a surprise offensive against the home of Libya’s UN-recognized government last week in a move that risks plunging the country back into civil war.
· Oil won’t be returning to the peak levels it saw last year when global benchmark Brent crude hit $86 a barrel, Goldman Sachs’ top commodities analyst said Monday.
“It’s been a fundamental deficit, lower inventories pushing cash in physical prices higher,” Currie said. “This market is in a million barrel per day deficit right now, and we think upside price is $70 to $75 (per barrel), but the back end anchored around $60,” he said.”
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Investing.com
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