• The dollar rose for a second straight session on Tuesday, a day after posting its biggest daily rise in a week, as the currency continued to benefit from optimism surrounding U.S. tax reform.
In late trading, the dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s value against six major currencies, was up 0.2 percent at 93.329 .
Against the yen, the dollar gained 0.2 percent to 112.63 yen. The euro, meanwhile, was down 0.4 percent versus the dollar at $1.1822
• Bitcoin powered to a record high of $11,850 on Tuesday, continuing its surge from below $1,000 at the start of the year.
• The U.S. trade deficit increased more than expected in October, hitting a nine-month high as rising oil prices helped to boost the import bill, suggesting that trade could be a drag on growth in the fourth quarter.
• The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap widened 8.6 percent to $48.7 billion. That was the highest level since January and followed an upwardly revised $44.9 billion shortfall in September.
• As the U.S. Congress worked to reach agreement on a short-term spending measure to keep the federal government open, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday a shutdown could still happen.
• The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to President Donald Trump by allowing his latest travel ban targeting people from six Muslim-majority countries to go into full effect even as legal challenges continue in lower courts.
The high court’s action means that the ban will now go fully into effect for people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen seeking to enter the United States. The Republican president has said the travel ban is needed to protect the United States from terrorism by Islamic militants.
There are some exceptions to the ban. Certain people from each targeted country can still apply for a visa for tourism, business or education purposes, and any applicant can ask for an individual waiver.
United Nations political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman arrived in North Korea on Tuesday for a rare visit that some analysts and diplomats hope could spark a U.N.-led effort to defuse rising tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
• Prime Minister Theresa May failed to clinch a deal on Monday to open talks on post-Brexit free trade with the European Union after a tentative deal with Dublin to keep EU rules in Northern Ireland angered her allies in Belfast.
• Oil rose on Tuesday, supported by strong demand, expectations of a drop in U.S. crude inventories and an OPEC-led deal to extend oil output cuts.
In quiet post-settlement trade, oil prices dropped. Brent crude settled up 41 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $62.86 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended 15 cents, or 0.3 percent, higher at $57.62 a barrel.
• Goldman Sachs late on Monday raised its forecast for 2018 Brent and WTI to $62 and $57.50 a barrel, respectively, thanks to OPEC’s resolve in maintaining production cuts.
Reference: Reuters
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