• The dollar slipped from a one-month peak against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, as losses on Wall Street stocks spurred some traders to book profits on gains tied to expectations of possibly another U.S. interest rate increase later this year.
The U.S. dollar held steady against a basket of six major currencies at 97.551, having retreated from a one-month high of 97.871 set on Tuesday.
• The New Zealand dollar edged higher, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as widely expected and reiterated it would remain steady for a while yet.
The kiwi rose 0.4 percent from late U.S. trading on Wednesday to $0.7248, edging back in the direction of a four-month peak of $0.7320 set last week.
• U.S. home resales unexpectedly rose in May to the third highest monthly level in a decade and a chronic inventory shortage pushed the median home price to an all-time high.
The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales increased 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.62 million units last month.
• Investors' outlook on U.S. inflation has stayed on a firm footing even as falling oil prices and recent weaker-than-expected consumer price data have stoked worries that inflation is struggling to meet the Federal Reserve's 2-percent goal, Goldman Sachs analysts said on Wednesday.
• When U.S. Senate Republicans unveil their plan to overhaul America's healthcare system, they will face a skeptical public that already does not buy the justification for an earlier version that passed the House of Representatives, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
The June 9-13 poll shows that a majority of the country thinks the American Health Care Act would be harmful for low-income Americans, people with pre-existing health conditions and Medicaid recipients.
Overall, 41 percent of American adults oppose the House plan, while 30 percent support it. Another 29 percent said they "don't know," according to the poll.
• Prime Minister Theresa May will outline on Thursday her approach to the "hugely important issue" of reassuring EU expatriates about their futures in Britain, at a summit that is her first Brexit test since an election sapped her authority.
• Oil prices ended down more than 2 percent on Wednesday after hitting a 10-month low in volatile trade, as growing U.S. production and reduced Chinese refinery activity fed mounting concern over the stubborn global crude glut.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled at $42.53, down 98 cents or 2.3 percent, after touching a low of $42.13, the lowest intraday level since August 2016. Since peaking in late February, crude has dropped more than 20 percent, with only brief rallies. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down $1.20 or 2.61 percent at $44.82 a barrel.
• Oil prices rose on Thursday for the first time in three days after U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles fell, but investors are looking for more signs that output cuts by OPEC and some other producers are ending a three-year glut.
Brent crude futures were 9 cents, or 0.2 percent higher, at $44.91 a barrel at 0018 GMT, after falling 2.6 percent in the previous session to their lowest since August last year.
U.S. crude futures were 12 cents, or 0.3 percent, higher at $42.65 a barrel. On Wednesday, they settled down at $42.53, after touching their lowest intraday level since August 2016.
• South Korea's finance minister on Thursday reaffirmed the country's stance that it will not tolerate any development of nuclear weapons in North Korea and vowed to cooperate with the United States in addressing the issue.
• Islamic State militants on Wednesday blew up the Grand al-Nuri Mosque of Mosul and its famous leaning minaret, Iraq's military said in a statement, as Iraqi forces seeking to expel the group from the city closed in on the site.
Reference: Reuters
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