· China wants another round of talks before signing what President Donald Trump called last week the first phase of a trade deal between the two nations, a source told CNBC’s Kayla Tausche on Monday.
It is not clear whether the additional trade talks would take place in Washington or Beijing, but a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He could be sent before month’s end to iron out phase one of the trade deal.
Bloomberg News first reported the news and said in its report that China also wants the U.S. to scrap a tariff hike scheduled for December.
China and the U.S. held trade talks in Washington last week that ended with Trump saying both sides reached a “very substantial phase one deal.” As part of that deal, China will address intellectual property concerns raised by the U.S. and buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products. In exchange, the U.S. agreed to hold off on a tariff hike set for this week.
· The U.S. dollar rose on Monday, after two days of losses, attracting safe-haven bids, as optimism waned about a trade deal between the United States and China, and investors fretted about the ongoing twists and turns on Britain’s exit from the European Union.
The safe-haven Swiss franc and Japanese yen also firmed slightly against the U.S. dollar. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday outlined the first phase of a deal to end the trade war and suspended a threatened tariff hike, but officials on both sides said much more work needed to be done before an accord could be agreed.
The safe havens gained on Monday after Bloomberg News reported China wants more talks as soon as the end of October to hammer out the details of the “phase one” deal. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said on Monday an additional round of tariffs on Chinese imports will likely be imposed if a trade deal with China has not been reached start, but added that he expected the agreement to go through.
Across the Atlantic, a deal to smooth Britain’s departure from the European Union hung in the balance on Monday after diplomats indicated the bloc wanted more concessions from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said a full agreement was unlikely this week.
In afternoon trading, the dollar index rose 0.2% to 98.468 up from a three-week low reached on Friday. The dollar was slightly weaker against the yen, however, down 0.1% at 108.36 yen.
Trading volumes were thinner than usual with Tokyo’s market closed for a public holiday and a holiday in the United States for Columbus Day. Emerging market currencies and those closely linked to broad risk sentiment, such as the Australian dollar and Swedish crown, slipped, after rallying at the end of last week.
Sterling also dropped against both the dollar and euro, after Britain and the EU stressed over the weekend that there was a long way to go before they could agree a Brexit deal.
· Queen Elizabeth set out Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s agenda for his government on Monday, including an Oct. 31 Brexit, a new deal with the European Union, and a host of domestic policies designed to win over voters ahead of an expected election.
· President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning Turkish officials, hiking tariffs on Turkish steel up to 50% and “immediately” halting trade negotiations with the country, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed Monday.
The retaliatory measures followed Trump’s decision to order the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Syria’s northern border with Turkey, which has enabled Turkish forces to launch an offensive against the U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in Syria.
· Oil prices lost about 2% on Monday on worries that global crude demand could stay under pressure as few details about the first phase of a U.S.-China trade deal did little to assure a quick resolution to the tariff fight.
Oil prices also felt pressure as the U.S. dollar .DXY, which has an inverse relationship with crude prices, gained as waning trade deal hopes and ongoing concerns over Britain’s exit from the European Union attracted safe-haven investments.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled at $59.35 a barrel, shedding $1.16, or 1.92%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 settled at $53.59 a barrel, losing $1.11, or 2.03%.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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