GLOBAL FX-
The dollar held near multi-week highs on Monday amid optimism that the United States and China would roll back tariffs that have hurt global growth.Against the Australian dollar the greenback stood just below a two-week peak at $0.6857. Against the New Zealand dollar , it was close to a month high at $0.6336, and likewise against a basket of currencies .DXY at 98.358.Moves were slight as traders kept a wary eye for further news on the U.S.-China trade war.Officials from both countries said late last week that a rollback of some tit-for-tat tariffs had been agreed.Even though that was subsequently denied by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, he did not completely rule out a deal and U.S. benchmark treasuries held above a key support level at 1.9%, buoying the currency.
The United States is very upset about Turkey’s purchase of Russian missile defence systems and could impose sanctions on Ankara if it does not “get rid” of them, White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday.“Turkey will feel the impact of those sanctions,” O’Brien told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in an interview, referring to penalties under the U.S. law known as the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which he said would pass Congress with “overwhelming” bipartisan support.His comments came ahead of a visit by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to Washington on Nov. 13 to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for likely crucial talks as the two NATO allies have been at loggerheads over a range of issues.One key disagreement is Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, which Washington says is incompatible with NATO defences and threatens its Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.
Asian shares reversed gains on Monday, the yen ticked higher and gold jumped as fresh violence broke out in Hong Kong, while uncertainty still remained over whether the United States and China could end their damaging trade war.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index led the losses in Asia, down more than 1%, after police fired live rounds at protestors on the eastern side of Hong Kong island. Cable TV and other Hong Kong media reported at least one protester being wounded. Video footage showed a protester lying in a pool of blood.Chinese shares too started lower with the blue-chip CSI300 index down 0.6%. South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.7%Japan's Nikkei gave up early gains to drift away from a recent 13-month high after data showed the country's core machinery orders fell for a third straight month.Australian shares bucked the downbeat trend, rising 0.5% to a two-week high.That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan MIAPJ0000PUS down 0.5%
Bank of Japan policymakers debated whether extra easing measures were needed to hit the central bank’s inflation target at its last policy meeting, a summary of opinions showed on Monday, as heightened risks threatened a fragile economic recovery.Some in the BOJ’s nine-member board insisted on the need to communicate to markets the central bank would maintain loose monetary policy given the time need to accelerate inflation to its 2% price goal, the summary of the Oct. 30-31 meeting showed.One of the members said additional easing measures would be needed “without hesitation” if momentum toward achieving the inflation target falters.“In the current situation where risks are skewed to the downside, the Bank should continue to examine whether additional monetary easing will be necessary,” another board member was quoted as saying in the summary.
Neither the rightist nor the leftist political bloc was on track to win a clear majority in Spain’s repeat parliamentary election on Sunday, according to a tally of results released by the interior ministry with around 80% of votes counted.By party, the far-right Vox emerged as the third most voted force, with an estimated 53 seats - a huge leap from 24 in the last election in April.The Socialists of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led with an estimated 122 seats in the 350-seat lower house, but further political stalemate appeared likely as votes scattered between mainstream and outlier parties. It was followed by the conservative People’s Party, with 85 seats.Centre-right Ciudadanos were seen winning 10 seats while far-left Unidas Podemos fetched 26 seats.
Iran has discovered a new oilfield in the southwest of the country that has the potential to boost its reserves by about a third, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.“Workers and the exploration arm of the National Iranian Oil Company have found an oilfield with 53 billion barrels of reserves,”The field stretches over 2,400 sq km (927 sq miles) in the oil-rich Khuzestan province, Rouhani said.Iran ranks as the world’s fourth–largest reserve holder of oil, and the second-largest holder of gas reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).Iran had an estimated 157 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves in January 2018,Since withdrawing from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the United States has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade.
Gold prices rose on Monday, after touching a three-month low in the previous session, on lingering concerns over the U.S.-China trade deal and the prospect of a slowing global economy.Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,462.83 per ounce at 0614 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,462.90 per ounce.“Gold prices are pretty low now and investors are taking this opportunity to take positions in the safe-haven metal as there is still an upside to it, considering the concerns over the trade war and global economy,” said Brian Lan of Singapore dealer GoldSilver Central.Gold buying by central banks, especially in China, is also boosting prices, Lan added.Trade talks with China were moving along “very nicely,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday, but the United States would only make a deal with Beijing if it was the right deal for America.Washington and Beijing had agreed to roll back tariffs as part of the first phase of a trade deal, but Trump later denied any such agreement.
Oil prices fell on Monday on renewed caution over the prospects of a trade deal between the United States and China, with investors shrugging off comments over the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump that talks were going well.Brent crude was down 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $62.12 by 0117 GMT. The contract rose 1.3% last week.U.S. crude was 35 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $56.89 a barrel, having risen 1.9% last week.Trump said on Saturday that trade talks with China were moving along “very nicely,” but the United States would only make a deal with Beijing if it was the right one for America.