• The dollar ticked up on Wednesday as Federal Reserve policy-setters fanned expectations of a rate hike this month, while U.S. President Donald Trump offered Congress little details on his stimulus as some investors had expected.
The greenback extended gains against the yen, last up 0.6 percent at 113.48 yen. The euro dropped 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.0555.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers, was last up 0.2 percent at 101.57.
• Money market futures are now pricing in about a 70 percent chance of a rate hike in March, compared to about a 30 percent or less at the start of week.
• So far Trump's speech offered few new proposals and Trump made no suggestions on how he would pay for his plans, including a replacement of Obamacare, a tax overhaul including cuts for the middle class, $1 trillion in infrastructure investment and a large increase in defense spending
• President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday he was open to immigration reform, shifting from his harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration in a speech that offered a more restrained tone than his election campaign and first month in the White House.
• President Donald Trump's new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials
• Trump has also imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran’s ballistic missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel
• Asian factories extended a global manufacturing revival as activity picked up steam in February, though the outlook for many of the region's export-reliant economies remained uncertain in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist stance.
Manufacturing surveys for Asia, including for its two biggest economies China and Japan, showed a broadly positive impulse for exports in a welcome sign for many of the companies tapped into the global supply chain.
• China's factory activity expanded faster than expected in February as domestic and export demand picked up, adding to signs that the global economy is regaining momentum even as fears grow of a surge in trade protectionism.
• Crude oil lost more ground on Wednesday with rising U.S. oil output adding pressure on the market, although OPEC production cuts continued to offer support.
Investors in the oil market are awaiting weekly inventories data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration due at 1530 GMT on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 15 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $53.86 a barrel by 0723 GMT, and Brent crude gave up 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $56.38.
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg, The Guardian
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