• The dollar wobbled in early Asian trading on Wednesday as investors, already wary ahead Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony, digested emails released by President Donald Trump's eldest son suggesting he welcomed Russia's help in last year's election campaign.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was slightly lower on the day at 95.641 .DXY.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 113.675 yen JPY=, moving away from a four-month high of 114.495 yen marked on Tuesday.
The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.1473 EUR=, within sight of the previous session's 14-month high of $1.1480.
• U.S. job openings fell in May from a record high amid a surge in hiring, but an increase in the number of Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs suggested the labor market remained robust.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased 301,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.7 million, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday.
• Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday he finds it hard to believe that the U.S. economy is in danger of overheating when wage growth is so low.
U.S. unemployment is at 4.4 percent, below what most economists believe is consistent with full employment, and is one data point Fed policymakers cite when they explain why they have been raising interest rates, which Kashkari has opposed.
• A day ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress on the state of the U.S. economy, two of her colleagues cited low wage growth and muted inflation as reasons for caution on further interest rate increases.
In recent months U.S. inflation has moved further below the Fed's 2 percent target even as the labor market, as measured by a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, has strengthened.
• President Donald Trump's eldest son eagerly agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic White House rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's official support for his father, according to emails released on Tuesday.
The emails, released by Donald Trump Jr., are the most concrete evidence yet that Trump campaign officials welcomed Russian help to win the election, a subject that has cast a cloud over Trump's presidency and spurred investigations by the Justice Department and Congress.
• President Donald Trump is increasingly unlikely to nominate Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen next year for a second term, and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is the leading candidate to succeed her, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing four people close to the process.
• The top U.S. Senate Republican said on Tuesday he would unveil a revised version of major healthcare legislation sought by President Donald Trump on Thursday but deep divisions within the party left the stalled bill's prospects uncertain.
• Oil prices climbed more than 2.5 percent on Tuesday along with rising heating oil futures on reports showing cuts in U.S. oil production and declines in U.S. crude and European product stockpiles.
Benchmark Brent LCOc1 futures rose 64 cents, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $47.52 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 also rose 64 cents, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $45.04 per barrel.
• U.S. crude stocks plunged almost three times more than forecast in the latest week, while gasoline inventories decreased unexpectedly and distillate stocks built, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday.
Crude inventories fell by 8.1 million barrels in the week to July 7 to 495.6 million, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 2.9 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 2 million barrels, API said.
Reference: Reuters
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