Dollar Weakens Before Fed Meeting, Sterling Retreats

Asian stocks were higher and the dollar weaker Tuesday. The pound retreated after its biggest jump since 2008 as polls suggested Thursday’s vote on European Union membership will be close.

Markets are anxiously awaiting this afternoon’s FMOC meeting where remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen should give more definite direction to U.S. monetary policy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied for a third day and S&P 500 futures advanced, while the yen weakened for the first time in eight days.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.1 percent to its lowest in more than a month. Futures showed the chance of a U.S. interest-rate increase this year have dropped to 46 percent from 74 percent since the start of June.

Australia’s dollar strengthened after the central bank reiterated inflation is expected to remain low. The Japanese yen was up at 103.57 against the dollar in early trading, before weakening to around 104.00 as of 11:23 a.m. HK/SIN. On Monday afternoon local time, the currency pair traded at levels near 104.69.

Oil Price at $49

Oil prices pulled back Tuesday morning Asia time, after rising as much as 3 percent overnight. Global benchmark Brent was down 0.45 percent at $50.42 as of 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN, after gaining 3 percent overnight. U.S. crude was down 0.32 percent at $49.21 after adding 2.9 percent during U.S. hours.

Gold prices initially rose but have since pulled back. Spot gold erased gains to trade down 0.22 percent at $1,286.90 an ounce, as of 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN. The precious metal is also considered a safe-haven asset.

Cina Coren
Cina Coren is a former Wall Street broker and financial advisor. She holds a Master's degree in Communications and spent many years writing for international news outlets and journalistic publications. Today, Cina spends most of her time writing internet articles and blogs, and reading various newspapers to stay on top of the news.