ECONOMY
On Thursday, Asian markets were trading in range as confusion shrouded the chances of any progress in the China-U.S. trade standoff, while bulls scaled back wagers for a drastic cut in U.S. interest rates.
Trump raised the possibility that he may impose a lower, 10% duty on a $300 billion list of Chinese imports, instead of the proposed 25% rate.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping was possible this weekend but warned he was prepared to impose U.S. tariffs on virtually all remaining Chinese imports if talks fail.
Wall Street had been equally circumspect, with the Dow ending Wednesday down 0.04%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.12% and the Nasdaq rose 0.32%.
Trump had also weighed into U.S. monetary policy on Wednesday, accusing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell of doing a “bad job” and “out to prove how tough he is” by not cutting interest rates.
Treasury yields edged up in response, though the two-year is only just above 19-month lows at 1.77%.
FOREX
U.S. dollar, which inched up to 96.175 on a basket of currencies from a three-month trough of 95.843.
EUR/USD is trading above 1.1350, consolidating losses. .
AUD/USD on the bids near 0.6990 as US-China trade watchers turn optimistic ahead of G20.
USD/JPY eyes the 21-D EMA, supported on higher U.S. yields
GBP/JPY technical analysis: U-turn from 2-week old resistance-line highlights 200-HMA
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the Yuan reference rate at 6.8778 vs Wednesday's fix of 6.8701.
COMMODITY
Oil prices ran into profit-taking in early Asia, having gained overnight on a larger-than-expected drawdown in crude stocks as exports hit a record high and surprise falls in refined product stockpiles.
The dollar’s gains took a little of the shine off gold, which broke a six-session winning stretch and eased to $1,410.12 per ounce.
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