· The dollar fell to its lowest level in nearly two years against the euro on Thursday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers would discuss possible changes to its bond-buying scheme in the autumn.
Though Draghi said no date had been set for discussing any changes to the program and that ECB rate-setters had been unanimous in their decision not to change their guidance on monetary policy, investors suspected discussions in the autumn would lead to monetary tightening next year.
- The euro climbed as high as $1.1655 EUR= against the greenback after Draghi spoke, putting it up as much as 1.2percent on the day and marking its highest level since August 2015. The euro was last on course for its biggest daily percentage gain in more than three weeks.
- The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, hit a session low of 94.090 .DXY, marking its lowest level in nearly a year. The index pared some losses in afternoon U.S. trading and was last down 0.5 percent at 94.286.
- The dollar was last flat against the yen at 111.96 yen after touching a more than three-week low of 111.49 earlier.
· The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Thursday but once again pushed back the timing for achieving its ambitious inflation target. The view that the BoJ was maintaining its easy money policies allowed the dollar to remain somewhat steady against the yen, analysts said.
· U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday that tax reform talks are nearing a consensus to lower business taxes by closing loopholes and special interest deductions, the latest sign that the unpopular proposed border tax may not be included.
· Seeking a more positive spin on U.S.-China economic talks viewed as ending in discord, China said on Thursday that the two sides agreed to "active and effective measures" to reduce global excess steel production capacity.
Top Canadian and Mexican diplomats expressed optimism on Thursday that a NAFTA deal could be reached early next year and cautioned that widespread uncertainty over the future of the three-way trade agreement had slowed business investment.
Mexican sources say the plan is to hold seven rounds of talks at three-week
intervals, a schedule that trade experts warned was aggressive and not easily attainable.
Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Geronimo Gutierrez, said his country wanted to get the negotiations over before a presidential election campaign ramps up next year.
Gutierrez said no country would want trade discussions during a campaign.
· Prime Minister Theresa May moved to ease concerns over Brexit among British business on Thursday, saying she wanted a "smooth, orderly exit" from the European Union including "a period of implementation in order to avoid any cliff-edges".
· The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved in principle a $1.8 billion standby loan arrangement for Greece, making a conditional commitment to help underpin the country's long-running bailout program for the first time in two years.
· Brazil's government on Thursday increased a spending freeze and raised taxes to cover a budget gap this year, reinforcing its commitment to fiscal discipline but dealing a potential blow to fragile economic growth.
In a statement by the Finance and Planning Ministries, the government said it will freeze an additional 5.9 billion reais ($1.9 billion) in federal spending this year.
It will also raise the federal PIS/Cofins social contribution tax on gasoline, diesel and ethanol in order to raise an estimated 10.4 billion reais in additional revenues, it added.
· Oil settled lower on Thursday in choppy trading, as nagging worries about abundant global crude supplies sank prices after an early rally boosted Brent above $50 per barrel for the first time since June 7.
Brent futures LCOc1 settled at $49.30 a barrel, down 40 cents, or 0.8 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 fell 33 cents to $46.79 a barrel.
· Traders predicted prices would hold near current levels ahead of Monday's meeting between key OPEC and non-OPEC producers in St. Petersburg, Russia. The market has been watching reports that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude producer, is considering an additional supply cut to reduce the global glut.
Reference: Reuters
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