• The euro and the British pound managed to hold steady against the dollar on Monday as investors cautiously awaited developments around Brexit as well as Italy's budget plan which drew heavy criticism from the European Union.
The dollar was also broadly unchanged against its major rivals. Tensions with Saudi Arabia and the West, trade frictions and uncertainly about the global growth outlook kept most currency pairs stuck in tight ranges.
An index (DXY) measuring the greenback's value against its major peers was flat at 95.67, having hit a of high of 96.09 on Friday.
The euro traded flat versus the greenback on Monday, changing hands at $1.1514, having gained 0.5 percent versus the dollar on Friday.
Sterling was virtually unchanged at $1.3074, having hit an intra-day low of 1.3009 on Friday.
The dollar was modestly higher versus the Japanese yen after briefly trading down on Monday. The yen fetched 112.58, off a one-month high of 111.61 hit on Oct. 15.
• However, the euro rallied on Monday as a fall in Italian government borrowing costs after their recent surge introduced some calm into the market, while the promise of more Chinese stimulus helped offset broader political worries.
The single currency rose 0.3 percent to $1.1550 EUR=, hitting the day's high and away from recent lows of $1.1433.
The dollar index dropped 0.3 percent to 95.472 .DXY.
• The White House’s top economic adviser has accused Beijing of doing “nothing” to defuse trade tensions ahead of a likely meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 in Argentina next month, damping expectations of a truce in the economic warfare between the US and China.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said China had offered no sign that it was willing to meet US demands in a way that could lead to a breakthrough between the countries.
• The new North American trade agreement ends key legal protections for many U.S. businesses operating in Mexico, leaving their operations exposed to a risk they had avoided under the old trade deal: Mexico’s court system.
For thousands of U.S. firms, the change could add complications and uncertainty to doing business south of the border. Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner.
• China’s tax cuts next year could exceed the equivalent of 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a central bank adviser said in remarks published on Monday, in a sign policymakers might be considering another round of tax reductions.
China’s GDP totaled 82.7 trillion yuan ($11.93 trillion)last year. A tax cut equal to 1 percent of GDP next year would be at least 827 billion yuan.
• Saudi Arabia on Sunday called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate a “huge and grave mistake,” but sought to shield its powerful crown prince from the widening crisis, saying Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware.
“This was an operation that was a rogue operation. This was an operation where individuals ended up exceeding the authorities and responsibilities they had,” Jubeir said on the U.S. broadcaster Fox.
Saudi Arabia has no intention of unleashing a 1973-style oil embargo on Western consumers and will isolate oil from politics, the Saudi energy minister said on Monday amid a worsening crisis over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• Brent crude oil prices rose back above $80 a barrel on Monday as markets were expected to tighten once U.S. sanctions against Iran’s crude exports are implemented next month.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $80.26 a barrel at 0646 GMT, up 48 cents, or 0.6 percent, above their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $69.60 a barrel, up 48 cents, or 0.7 percent.
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