• The dollar hit a one-month high against the yen on Tuesday, lifted by Treasury yields which surged after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin commented on the possibility of ultra long-term bond issuance. The greenback last traded at 111.800 yen after touching 111.945, its highest since March 31.
The euro, on the other hand, held its ground against the dollar. The common currency was up 0.1 percent at $1.0909, adding to modest gains made overnight. It was in reach of a 5-1/2-month high of $1.0951 scaled last week on relief after Emmanuel Macron's victory against anti-euro nationalist Marine Le Pen in the first round of France's presidential elections. The runoff vote is on May 7.
The U.S. dollar index against a basket of major currencies was effectively flat at 99.073 after posting a small gain overnight.
• Congress is working to avoid a government shutdown. The House of Representatives voted to approve a short-term spending bill that will keep the government open for another week. The measure will give Congress until next Friday to put together a $1 trillion spending bill to finance government agencies through Sept. 30.
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that economic growth of three percent is achievable in the next two years as the Trump administration sets out to dramatically cut taxes.
• U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that there is no reason that the U.S. economy cannot grow more robustly if the Trump administration is successful in rolling back a number of regulations.
Speaking at the Milken Institute's Global Conference, Ross said he would be "extremely disappointed" if the economy were growing only between 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent. He also said he hopes tax reform can be done this year.
• U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in March from a record high amid a pause in private construction investment after five straight months of increases.
The Commerce Department said on Monday construction spending slipped 0.2 percent. February's construction outlays were revised to show them surging 1.8 percent to a record $1.22 trillion instead of the previously reported 0.8 percent rise.
• U.S. factory activity slowed in April while consumer spending was unchanged in March and a key inflation measure recorded its first monthly drop since 2001, but economists still expect an interest rate increase in June as the labor market tightens.
• North Korea suggested on Monday it will continue its nuclear weapons tests, saying it will bolster its nuclear force "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment" in the face of what it calls U.S. aggression and hysteria.
It test-launched a missile on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful, but which nevertheless drew widespread international condemnation.
• Amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. Air Force is set to conduct another long-range missile test on Wednesday, three U.S. officials told Fox News.
• Amid rising tensions over North Korea, Japan has dispatched its biggest warship, in the first such deployment since new laws loosened the limits of the country’s pacifist constitution.
The Izumo has reportedly been sent to help safeguard US naval manoeuvres in the region, notably by escorting an American ship on its way to refuel the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group.
• U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up outreach to allies in Asia to secure their cooperation to pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.
Trump spoke to the prime ministers of Thailand and Singapore in separate phone calls about the North Korean threat and invited both of them to Washington, U.S. officials said.
• North Korea would need to clear many conditions before a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be contemplated, the White House said on Monday.
After Trump told Bloomberg News he would be honored to meet with Kim, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the United States would need to see North Korea's provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately.
• Britain's governing Conservative Party holds a 19 point lead over Labour, a poll by ICM said on Monday, a commanding advantage just slightly lower than the record lead recorded the previous weekend. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives took 47 percent of the vote in the poll, with support for Labour at 28 percent.
• April 28, oil prices closed up on Friday on growing hope that OPEC might agree to extend production cuts long enough to reduce a global crude glut, but crude prices still posted a weekly decline.
U.S. light crude CLc1 rose 36 cents to settle at $49.33 a barrel, off the day's high of $49.76. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 futures settled up 29 cents to $51.73 a barrel. Both benchmarks ended with weekly and monthly declines.
The more active Brent futures contract for delivery in July LCON7 closed at $52.05 Friday, up 23 cents.
May 1, Crude prices were also pressured by data showing that growth in Chinese manufacturing slowed faster than expected in April. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 1.22 percent to $48.73 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $51.43, down 1.19 percent on the day.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Money Morning, Fox News, Bloomberg
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