• The dollar climbed to a more than one-week high on Tuesday as it gained for a fifth straight session, bolstered by technical buying after recent losses, as well as political uncertainty in Europe with a slew of elections this year. In morning trade, the dollar index rose 0.6 percent to 100.53, recovering from its worst January performance since 1987. It also gained 0.6 percent against the yen to 112.39.
The euro edged down 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.0671, after falling as low as $1.0656 on Tuesday, its lowest since late January and well below last week's nearly two-month high of $1.0829.
• Elections in the France, Netherlands, Germany and possibly Italy, more wrangling over Greece's bailout and an upcoming reduction in the European Central Bank's monthly bond-buying are all playing on investor nerves, analysts said.
• The U.S. trade deficit fell in December as exports hit their highest level in more than 1-1/2 years amid record shipments of technology products, but strengthening domestic demand points to further rises in imports, which could constrain economic growth.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap dropped 3.2 percent to $44.3 billion, ending two straight months of increases. The trade deficit rose 0.4 percent to a four-year high of $502.3 billion in 2016.That represented 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, down from 2.8 percent in 2015.
• Oil prices that tumbled more than 1 percent Tuesday fell further after settlement, pressured by growing crude stockpiles in the United States as evidence of a burgeoning revival in U.S. shale production could complicate efforts by OPEC and other producers to reduce a supply glut.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 67 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $55.05 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 ended 84cents, or 1.6 percent, lower at $52.17. after weekly data from trade association the American Petroleum Institute estimated that U.S. crude stockpiles had surged 14.2 million barrels last week.
If U.S. Energy Information Administration data due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. confirms the stockpile surge, it will be the largest build since October.
Reference: Reuters
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