· The dollar gained, helped by better-than-expected data in the U.S. non-manufacturing sector, and oil prices retreated on Tuesday as caution kept investors alert for developments in the U.S.-Iranian stand-off in the Middle East.
The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing activity index rose to 55.0 last month from 53.9 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
The report came after an ISM survey last week showed its measure of U.S. factory activity dropped in December to its lowest since June 2009, contracting for a fifth straight month.
The dollar index rose 0.36%, with the euro down 0.44% to $1.1144. The yen weakened 0.14% versus the greenback at 108.54 per dollar.
· US base in west of Iraq targeted with tens of IRGC missilesAfter the killing of Qasem Soleimani last week, President Donald Trump had tweeted an American flag.
Saeed Jalili, one of the closest Iranian officials to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweeted an Iranian flag on Tuesday night just moments after Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles against US targets in Iraq.
Ayn al Asad is an Iraqi air base that the US forces are stationed there.
According to some sources, the number of missiles fired is 30 and also huge blasts have been heard in Arbil capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
IRGC announced further details will be revealed soon.
· U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on reports of an attack on U.S. facilities in Iraq and is monitoring the situation, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said on Tuesday.
· U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday the United States wants to de-escalate tensions with Iran, but the country is ready to finish any war that could be started.
Esper suggested on Monday that the U.S. military would not violate the laws of armed conflict by striking Iranian cultural sites, a move threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Asked about the issue again on Tuesday, Esper said he was confident that Trump “will only give us legal orders.”
· A Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Tuesday it had called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify on Iran next week, as members of Congress push President Donald Trump’s administration for more information about the killing of a top Iranian military commander.
Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced that the panel would hold a hearing on Jan. 14 and had called Pompeo to testify, along with a panel of experts on Iran policy.
The Democratic-led House is also expected to vote this week on legislation to keep Trump from starting a military campaign against Iran without first obtaining Congress’ approval.
· For many of the soldiers, it would be their first mission. They packed up ammunition and rifles, placed last-minute calls to loved ones, then turned in their cellphones. Some gave blood.
The 600 mostly young soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were headed for the Middle East, part of a group of some 3,500 U.S. paratroopers ordered to the region. Kuwait is the first stop for many. Their final destinations are classified.
· Oil prices fell almost 1% on Tuesday, surrendering some recent gains as investors reconsidered the likelihood of immediate supply disruptions in the Middle East after the United States killed a top Iranian military commander last week.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell 64 cents, or 0.93%, to settle at $68.27 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 57 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $62.70 a barrel.
· Oil prices surge 4% following attack on Iraq airbase
Oil prices surged 4% in early trading on Tuesday night following rocket attacks on Western Iraq’s airbase Al Asad.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged 4%, or $2.51, to $65.21, its highest level since April. At the session high it rose to $65.48.
Multiple projectiles hit the airbase but it was not clear whether it was rockets or missiles yet.
· UK's Johnson to tell EU chief: no extension to trade deal talks
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen that Britain will not extend its transition out of the European Union beyond Dec. 2020, and is not seeking a new relationship based on alignment with existing rules.
The British leader is due to meet von der Leyen in London on Wednesday for the first time since the commission president, who will play a pivotal role in talks to thrash out new arrangements between Britain and the EU, took office in December.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, JPOST, MEHR
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