• The dollar stepped further away from a 14-year peak against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as market players were spooked by sharp falls in the dollar against the Chinese
The dollar's index against a basket of six major currencies slipped to as low as 101.86, a three-week low, just two days after it had hit a 14-year high of 103.82 on Tuesday, when a strong reading from a U.S. manufacturing survey boosted the greenback.
• German economists called on the European Central Bank on Thursday to raise interest rates after euro zone consumer prices grew faster than expected in December.
"It is time for a normalization," Stefan Bielmeier, chief economist at DZ Bank told Bild daily. "Now a change in interest rates is doable.
• Oil prices dipped on Thursday, hit by doubts that producers would fully deliver on promises to cut output, although record U.S. automobile sales and falling crude stocks offered markets some support.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.29 per barrel by 0559GMT, down 17 cents from their last close
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading down 9 cents, at $53.17 per barrel.
Firmer prices for WTI than for Brent were supported by an American Petroleum Institute (API) report showing U.S. crude inventories fell 7.4 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 30 to stand at 482.7 million, outstripping analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.2 million.
WTI was also buoyed by U.S. car and truck sales, which were up 3.1 percent in December on the year, and hit a record 17.55 million overall in 2016.
Reference: Reuters
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