In early Asian trade, the pound GBP=D4 fell 0.72% to $1.2896, having hit a five-month peak of $1.2990 on Friday and closing the week just below the $1.30 mark, a 6.5% surge since Johnson struck an EU divorce deal on Oct. 10.
The euro eased 0.15% to $1.1155 EUR= versus the greenback, off Friday's two-month high of $1.1172.
The dollar was little changed at 108.41 JPY= to the safe-haven yen, still not far from its 2-1/2-month high of 108.94 yen marked on Thursday.
· Britain has requested an extension of the Oct. 31 deadline to leave the European Union after U.Klawmakers delayed a vote Saturday on the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said he received the extension letter and that he would begin consulting with EU leaders on how to respond to Britain’s request. It is the third time that Britain has asked the EU to delay the deadline for Brexit.
Johnson, however, did not personally sign the letter officially requesting an extension. The prime minister, in a separate letter to Tusk, made clear that he personally opposes such an extension.
Britain will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 despite an unsigned letter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced by his opponents to send to the bloc requesting a Brexit delay, the government said on Sunday.
The U.K. government is keen to have its “meaningful vote” on Monday, but this could be rejected by the house speaker as it’s not parliamentary convention to repeatedly ask the same questions to politicians.
· Analysts said the market focus will turns to this week’s vote on Boris Johnson’s deal. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC overnight that he was confident enough lawmakers would back the deal this week.
“The weekend’s events, if anything, have further reduced the risk of disorderly exit,” said Adam Cole, chief currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in London.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) said on Sunday that it lowered the probability of a no-deal Brexit to 5% from 10% and maintained its baseline view that the UK will leave the EU on Oct. 31.
· Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Saturday that will work with the to address each other’s core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and that stopping the trade war would be good for both sides and the world.
“The two sides have made substantial progress in many fields, laying an important foundation for the signing of a phased agreement,” Liu, also the chief negotiator in the trade talks, told a virtual reality conference in Nanchang, the capital of southeastern Jiangxi province.
· U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he thinks a trade deal between the United States and China will be signed by the time the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings take place in Chile on Nov.16 and 17.
· Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida reiterated his stance that the U.S. central bank will “act as appropriate” to extend the recovery and shield the economy from risks posed by geopolitical tensions and slowing global growth.
Investors are pricing in a nearly 90% chance that the Fed will lower rates by a quarter percentage point later this month.
Clarida also said the economy is in a “good place,” boosted by an unemployment rate near 50-year lows and rising wages. Many Fed policymakers, including Clarida, have previously noted that the strength of the U.S. consumer will be key in charting the course of interest rates.
· The U.S. Federal Reserve should not cut interest rates further and easing policy as insurance against economic headwinds risks increasing financial instability at a stage in the business cycle when policymakers have limited room for maneuver, Kansas City Fed Bank President Esther George said on Friday.
· Oil prices edged lower on Friday, as concerns about China’s economy outweighed bullish signals from its refining sector, but losses were limited on hopes for progress toward a U.S.-China trade agreement.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 fell 49 cents to settle at $59.42 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures lost 15 cents to settle at $53.78 a barrel.
For the week Brent fell 1.8%, while WTI lost 1.7%.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
Thai
Eng