• MTS Economic News_20170214

    14 Feb 2017 | Economic News


• The dollar was trading near a three-week high against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as investors awaited congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues to the pace of the central bank's interest rate increases. The dollar index was nearly flat on the day at 100.94 .DXY, not far from Monday's high of 101.11, which was its loftiest peak since Jan. 20.

Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar was slightly lower on the day at 113.69 yen JPY=, below Monday's high of 114.17 but well above a 10-week low of 111.59 yen touched a week ago. The euro, which has come under pressure in recent sessions as France's election campaign has heated up, was steady at $1.0602 EUR=. A break of Jan. 19's low of $1.0589 would take it to its lowest since Jan. 11.

• U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said there was significant uncertainty about U.S. fiscal policy under the Trump administration, but the Fed would be strict in meeting targets of creating full employment and getting inflation to 2 percent.

• Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Monday said the U.S. central bank should act soon to raise rates, or risk having to abandon its plan to do so slowly.

• A measure of U.S. inflation expectations rose for a second straight month in January to its highest level since mid-2015, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released on Monday that reinforced the view that interest rates would keep climbing.

The survey of consumer expectations, an increasingly influential gauge of prices for the U.S. central bank, found that year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 3.0 percent, from 2.8 percent in December and 2.5percent in November. The expectation three years out was 2.9 percent, from 2.8 percent the month before.

• Oil prices rose on Friday after reports that OPEC members delivered more than 90 percent of the output cuts they pledged in a landmark deal that took effect in January. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled 86 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $53.86. Global benchmark Brent crude was up $1, or 1.8 percent, at $56.63 a barrel by 2:36 p.m. (1936 GMT), touching a session high of $56.39 shortly after the IEA report's publication.

• Supply from the 11 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with production targets under the deal fell to 29.92 million barrels per day, according to the average assessments of the six secondary sources OPEC uses to monitor output, or a 92 percent compliance.

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) - one of OPEC's six sources - said the cuts in January equated to 90 percent of the agreed reductions in output, far higher than the initial 60 percent compliance with a 2009 OPEC deal.

• Oil futures fell about 2 percent on Monday as signs of rising U.S. crude output continued to weigh on prices and an OPEC report showing high compliance with last year's landmark production-cut deal underwhelmed investors. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were down $1.09, or 1.9 percent, at $55.61 a barrel by 2:34 p.m. ET (1934 GMT), near the low of the session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended Monday's session 93 cents, or 1.7 percent, lower at $52.93 a barrel, also near its lowest level for the day.

• North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea early on Sunday, the first such test since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected, and his administration indicated that Washington would have a calibrated response to avoid escalating tensions.


Reference: Reuters, CNBC

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