• The dollar's bounce stalled on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy minutes failed to provide a clear picture of future interest rate increases, although investors were reluctant to add bearish bets before some key U.S. data.
"The latest Fed minutes indicate that (Chair) Janet Yellen is preparing the ground work for unwinding its balance sheet at the end of the year and markets aren't expecting large interest rate increases for now," said David Madden, markets analyst at CMC Markets in London.
The dollar was broadly flat at 113.32 Japanese yen in early trading after rising more than 1 percent this week. It was at $1.13495 per euro.
Also the dollar's continued strength against emerging market currencies such as the South African rand and Turkey's lira would deter short sellers.
Stronger-than-expected non-farm payrolls data on Friday would mean the dollar may find some support around current levels.
• The United States cautioned on Wednesday it was ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea's nuclear missile programme but said it preferred global diplomatic action against Pyongyang for defying world powers by test launching a ballistic missile that could hit Alaska.
• When members of Congress return next week from their Fourth of July break, they will be greeted by a mammoth legislative logjam. Republicans are increasingly skeptical that they can get everything done. There are even calls from some to forgo their sacred August recess — a respite from the capital in its swampiest month.
• Six in 10 American voters support the new ban on people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States unless they can show they have a close relative here, according to opinion poll results released on Wednesday.
• The United States is prepared to discuss with Russia joint efforts to stabilise war-torn Syria, including no-fly zones, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday.
He added the United States wanted to discuss with Russia the use of on-the-ground ceasefire observers and the coordinated delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians.
• Ties between China and Germany are about to enter a new phase, China's president said, as he met the German chancellor before a G20 summit that is expected to highlight their differences with the United States on a host of issues.
President Xi Jinping and Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged on Wednesday to work together more closely on a range of issues, two days ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg that U.S. President Donald Trump is also due to attend.
• British companies are giving ominous signs about the economy, just as the government embarks on European Union divorce negotiations, data showed on Wednesday, although momentum in the euro zone has lost some momentum.
A survey published on Wednesday suggested Britain's economy probably expanded at a quarterly pace of 0.4 percent in April-June. But its business expectations component tumbled to levels not seen since just after the June 2016 vote to leave the EU.
The euro zone's economy, meanwhile, probably grew nearly twice as fast, by 0.7 percent, during the second quarter. Business expectations dipped, but remained strong.
• Theresa May will raise the issue of climate change with Donald Trump this weekend when the pair meet for the first time since she lost her majority in the general election. They will talk at the G20 summit in Hamburg, which runs on Friday and Saturday.
The two leaders will hold a formal bilateral meeting, at which the prime minister plans to tell the US president she does not believe the Paris climate change agreement needs to be renegotiated.
• Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Thursday to regain some ground on strong demand in the United States, but analysts cautioned that oversupply will continue to drag on markets.
Brent crude futures were trading up 56 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $48.35 per barrel by 0651 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 52 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $45.65 per barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNN, The Guardian
Thai
Eng