Market News

The U.S. dollar was stronger on Thursday and Asian stock markets were broadly higher after a release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting yesterday

The Pound Sterling edged off the recently struck 1-week peak while the Prime Minister holds out all hope that her amendment proposals to the European Commission will have been approved.

The dollar index was modestly higher on Wednesday afternoon in Asia, propelled by the greenback’s gains against the yen, even as the currency struggled against most of its other trading partners.

The latest labor data from the UK helped to push the Pound Sterling above the $1.29 level during London trade on Tuesday.

Optimism about a trade deal between the U.S. and China remained high on Tuesday, though Asian markets failed to reflect the sentiment, trading mostly lower in the early afternoon in Asia.

Oil prices started the week by trading at their highest prices since November 2018, boosted by supply concerns due to sanctions from the U.S. against Iran and Venezuela, as well as OPEC’s production cuts which began in January.

This week is likely to see an increase in market activity, with central bank input due from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia, as well a few items of crucial economic data for various currencies.

The US Dollar moved lower versus the Japanese Yen during Asian trade on Friday after some disappointing data cemented beliefs that the US central bank will hold interest rates unchanged for the remainder of the year.

The Pound Sterling earlier hit a 4-week trough as FX traders await the outcome of the Parliamentary debate.

According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump is weighting the possibility of extending the March 1st deadline.

The Pound Sterling remained below the $1.29 threshold during London trade on Wednesday after the news that consumer inflation fell 1.8% in January, below expectations, to a 2-year trough.

Oil prices rose as much as 1 percent during Wednesday’s Asian session after OPEC reported steep production cuts in Januarys.

The Pound continues to come under heavy sell pressure and earlier fell to a 3-week trough on growing doubts that the Prime Minister

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged during Tuesday’s Asian trading session, a first step in rebounding from three-week lows hit in recent session.

The Pound Sterling continued to slide on the latest data which indicated that the British economy slowed last year, to a degree not seen in seven years.