Market News

The Pound Sterling edged up versus the US Dollar as investors dismissed the latest opinion polls which showed a narrowing lead between Theresa May, the Prime Minister, and the Labour party candidate.

The dollar index was higher on Tuesday morning as the euro and British pound faced political pressure as UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s lead over the opposition narrowed to just six percentage points.

Just last week, on May 24, bitcoin hit an all-time high of $2,791.69. But on Monday, despite low volatility due to holidays in China, the United Kingdom and the United States, the crypto-currency fell 18.7 percent, or $520, according to data from CoinDesk.

Despite holidays in China, the U.S. and the United Kingdom, oil prices fell on Monday due to continued drilling in the U.S. which has continually undermined OPEC’s attempts to curb production and to stabilize oil prices.

There are again relatively high-impact news items scheduled this week, compared to last week. However, very important data and central bank input are due from the United States in the form of Non-Farm Payrolls, as well as from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

The latest drop in oil prices served to put sell pressure on commodity-linked currencies, including the Aussie, Kiwi and Canadian Dollars.

The US Dollar was on the backfoot during Thursday trading in London after the US central bank was seen as unexpectedly dovish in its latest policy minutes.

Asian shares were broadly higher on Thursday morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a cautious approach to future interest rate hikes and the plan to reduce its $4.5 trillion of bond holdings.

The US Dollar was mixed after one Federal Reserve official helped to raise expectations that the central bank is likely to raise interest rates again this year after all.

Chinese stocks plummeted more than 1 percent on Wednesday morning before rebounding slightly after the Moody's Investor Services downgraded China's debt ratings from A1 to Aa3.

Oil prices were lower on Tuesday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested selling half the nation’s strategic oil reserves to raise $16.5 billion.

The U.S. dollar hovered near six-month lows during Monday’s Asian session as political turmoil kept traders on edge.

There are fewer high-impact news items scheduled this week, compared to last week. However, very important central bank input is due from the Federal Reserve of the United States, which is quite likely to provide some significant market volatility, as well as from the Bank of Canada. OPEC will be meeting towards the end of the week.

The US Dollar edged higher on Friday, generally due to better than expected economic data from the US which helped to temper the latest sell off in the wake of the fallout from the Trump debacle.

Despite a short rally, the US Dollar remains under pressure and was broadly lower. Safe haven demand was also markedly higher in the aftermath of yesterday’s announcement from the US Justice Department that a special investigator has been appointed.