• The dollar held steady on Thursday but was set for a monthly loss against a basket of currencies as investors warily watch progress on U.S. tax reform legislation, while sterling stood tall on optimism a Brexit accord would be reached.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was steady on the day at 93.151 but was down 1.5 percent for November.
The pound gained 0.5 percent to $1.3471 after rising as high as $1.3480, its highest since Sept. 26. It was up 1.4 percent for the month.
The euro added 0.2 percent to $1.1864, poised to gain 1.9 percent for the month though shy of a two-month peak of $1.1961 scaled on Monday.
The dollar firmed 0.1 percent against the yen to 111.99, moving away from a 10-week low of 110.85 yen touched on Monday, though still down 1.5 percent for the month.
Investors continued to monitor tensions on the Korean peninsula after Pyongyang’s latest missile launch.
• U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Carnegie Mellon University Professor Marvin Goodfriend to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, adding a well-known monetary economist to a central bank losing two of its top economic thinkers.
The nomination, if confirmed by the Senate, will help ensure the 7-member board of governors keeps at least four of those seats filled following the announced departure of Fed Chair Janet Yellen once her predecessor, current Fed Gov. Jerome Powell, is approved by the Senate.
• Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its missile and nuclear tests and for the United States and South Korea not to hold military drills in December as it would “inflame an already explosive situation.”
• Bitcoin has gained, and plunged, well over $1,000 in less than 24 hours.
The digital currency dropped more than 18 percent from a record high of $11,388.33 to $9,290.30 on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin then attempted to recover the $10,000 level in the late afternoon and was last trading around $9,795. Trading was extremely volatile as exchanges struggled to keep up with the surging demand.
• The European Central Bank should shut the door on its monthly asset purchases next September, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll, but they were split on whether it would.
• Britain’s closest-watched gauge of consumer sentiment fell this month to its lowest since just after last year’s Brexit vote, and business morale also softened, as households and firms took a darker view of the economic outlook.
The GfK consumer confidence index dropped by 2 points to -12 in November, its lowest since July 2016 and below the average forecast of a decline to -11 in a Reuters poll.
• British house price growth, which has slowed since last year’s Brexit vote, was weaker than expected in November, according to figures published by mortgage lender Nationwide on Thursday.
House prices rose 2.5 percent on the year, unchanged from the pace of growth in October. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts had predicted house price inflation would pick up to 2.7 percent.
On the month, prices rose 0.1 percent, slowing from an increase of 0.2 percent in October, Nationwide said.
• Asian countries can cope with interest rate hikes in the United States as long as the moves are gradual and reflect U.S. economic fundamentals, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said on Thursday.
• Japan’s industrial output rose less than expected in October, but companies forecast production to rise strongly in November and December as robust overseas demand continues to support factory activity and broader economic growth.
The 0.5 percent increase in October was less than the median market projection for a 1.9 percent increase and followed a revised 1.0 percent decline in September.
Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to rise 2.8 percent in November and 3.5 percent in December.
• China reported on Thursday that factory activity expanded at a quicker pace in November, with the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index coming in at 51.8 — topping expectations.
Economists in a Reuters poll had expected official PMI in the world's second-largest economy to come in at 51.4 this month, which would have been slower than the 51.6 posted for October.
China's services sector also saw activity pick up, with its PMI reading accelerating to 54.8 in November from the previous month's 54.3, official data showed.
• South Korea’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than six years on Thursday - a vote of confidence that the economy is growing well above trend and no longer needs crisis-level monetary settings.
The Monetary Policy Board voted on Thursday to increase the benchmark rate KROCRT=ECI to 1.50 percent from a record-low of 1.25 percent, ending a five-year easing cycle amid a sustained export boom.
• Crude futures bounced around on the news, but as of 10:56 a.m. EST (1556 GMT), oil prices were marginally higher, with U.S. crude at $58.22 a barrel, up 23 cents on the day. Brent crude rose 31 cents to $63.92 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil stocks fell last week, led by the biggest fall in inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub in eight years, while gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell 3.4 million barrels in the week to Nov. 24, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a decrease of 2.3 million barrels.
• OPEC and Russia look set to prolong oil supply cuts until the end of 2018 this week while signaling that they may review the deal when they meet again in June if the market overheats.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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