Market News

Despite confidence that President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference on Wednesday would send the dollar higher, his words had a converse effect, sending the greenback broadly lower after a notable rally prior to the conference.

The Pound Sterling remained close to a 10-week trough versus the US Dollar as market players ponder the possibility of a “hard” Brexit in which immigration controls are of paramount concern and single market access could be secondary.

Asian stock prices edged higher on Wednesday in anticipation of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference, scheduled to be held later today, in which he is expected to outline his economic plan with greater detail and transparency.

Ahead of the first “official” news conference to be held by the US President-elect, the US Dollar eased down for the second consecutive day on investor caution.

Friday’s wage report from the US Labor Department helped to send the US Dollar higher in European trading.

Oil prices dropped on Monday as Iranian exports undermined the efforts of OPEC oil producers to decrease production and to limit the global supply.

There will be a very light news schedule this week, even compared to last week which was also a light schedule. The week is likely to be dominated by a public speech from the Chair of the Fed and several items of key U.S. economic data due on Friday.

The US Dollar Index is currently edging up but had earlier hit a 3-week trough after yesterday’s release of US economic data disappointed investors.

The Pound Sterling retreated against the US Dollar and hit a 2-week trough versus the Japanese Yen despite unexpectedly upbeat economic data which only helped to minimize the damage.

The dollar retreated further from the 14-year highs it reached on Tuesday as investors sought to start the New Year with profit taking on fears that the “Trump rally” may be nearing its end.

The Pound Sterling edged higher versus the US Dollar, recovering after a touching a 2-month trough on the first trading day in London after it was learned that the UK’s ambassador to the EU would be announcing his resignation.

The dollar continued its upward climb on Wednesday, reaching towards 14-year highs against the yen and sending Asian shares broadly higher, with Japanese shares enjoying the strongest gains thus far.

The Pound Sterling touched a 2-week peak versus the common currency Euro on the latest economic news which showed a PMI manufacturing reading of 56.1 for December, against expectations of a decline to 53.0.

Oil prices started the year higher on hopes that the agreement between OPEC members and non-OPEC states to cut production would, in fact, reduce the global supply surplus.

There will be a much more significant news schedule this week compared to last week, due to the end of the Christmas and New Year holiday season affecting many global financial centers and major economies.