Dollar edges up, sterling steadies after traumatic month
The dollar took a breather in Asia on Thursday but remained near a 3-1/2-month high against a basket of currencies hit in the wake of Britain's stunning vote to exit from the European Union, while the battered sterling continued to struggle.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, edged up 0.1 percent to 95.836 .DXY, on track for a monthly loss of 0.1 percent.
While the U.S. currency mostly benefited from the massive wave of risk aversion that crashed over global markets after the Brexit vote, fading expectations of a U.S. interest rates this year have stolen some of its thunder.
Interest rate futures suggested traders saw the Fed holding policy steady - or even cutting rates - through at least early2018.
The dollar index rose as high as 96.705 on Monday, when the pound plumbed 31-year lows after the results of the UK vote on Friday.
UK consumer confidence tumbles after Brexit vote: YouGov/CEBR
Confidence among British consumers fell sharply in the days after the country decided to leave the European Union, according to a survey published on Thursday which gave a first glimpse of how the shock referendum result has affected households.
The YouGov/CEBR Consumer Confidence Index, which measures people's economic sentiment on a daily basis, slumped to its lowest level since May 2013, when Britain's economy was just starting to emerge from its post-financial crisis sluggishness.
Scott Corfe, a director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said households were "highly spooked" by the referendum outcome which would hurt retail sales and household spending, particularly on big-ticket items.
"A recession certainly cannot be ruled out at this point," Corfe said in a statement Britain's consumers have been the main drivers of the country's economy which outpaced most of other rich countries in past three years but showed signs of slowing ahead of the referendum which resulted a surprise decision to leave the EU.
Soros Says Brexit Has ‘Unleashed’ a Financial-Markets Crisis
Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has “unleashed” a crisis in financial markets similar to the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, George Soros told the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday.
“This has been unfolding in slow motion, but Brexit will accelerate it. It is likely to reinforce the deflationary trends that were already prevalent,” the billionaire investor said.
Soros has warned that a hard landing in China is “practically unavoidable,” arguing that its debt-fueled economy resembles the U.S. at the onset of the financial crisis.
The decision meant “the hypothetical became very real,” Soros said. “Sterling plunged, Scotland threatened to break away, and some of the working people who supported the ‘Leave’ campaign have started to realize the bleak future that both the country and they personally face. Even the champions of Leave are retracting their dishonest pre-referendum claims about Brexit.”
Oil prices ease after biggest gain in 2 months
Oil prices eased in early trading on Thursday, giving back ground after their biggest gain in more than two months.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August CLQ6, -1.44% fell 39 cents, or 0.8%, to $49.49 a barrel. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange LCOQ6, -1.56% fell 44 cents, or 0.8%, to $50.20 a barrel.
The retreat follows the biggest rally for U.S.-traded crude prices since early April, after oil stockpiles there posted a bigger-than-expected drop of 4.1 million barrels in the most recent week. Elevated oil inventories in the U.S. have been a key driver of the two-year slump in oil prices.
Reference: MarketWatch,Bloomberg,Reuters
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