WORLD
Trump is expected to withdraw United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear Deal on May 12, which is the deadline given by the US President to the European major powers to fix the flaws of the accord. Tehran says will not renegotiate nuclear deal and warns against changes considering them unacceptable.
Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the accord as is, but now, trying to keep Washington in it, want to open talks on Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 and its role in Middle East crises such as Syria and Yemen.
U.S.-China trade talks – to avoid a full-scale trade war following the escalation of the differences between the world’s two largest economies – end with no breakthrough agreement, as it was expected.
While “big differences” remain, the sides reached an initial agreement on some trade issues and decided to continue “close communication”. U.S. Treasury Secretary told reporters in Beijing that “we are having very good conversations” with Chinese counterparts making no other remarks while the US Embassy in Beijing wasn’t immediately available for comment on the outcome of the talks.
MARKETS
US Dollar held steady ahead of U.S. payrolls against a basket of currencies, having retreated from four-month highs on profit-taking.
EURO remained relatively unchanged at $1.1987, staying above a near four-month low set on Wednesday. The common currency had risen 0.3 percent on Thursday, shrugging off Eurozone official data showing April inflation in the region unexpectedly slipping to 1.2 percent, as the dollar’s recent rally paused.
EURUSD As Eurozone PMI confirms slow down in growth EURUSD weakness set to continue, unlikely to have significant impact on ECB policy, focusing on inflation.
Sterling struggles near four-month low ahead of BoE decision next week. Sterling dropped down to its lowest level since January on Friday as the dollar firmed and traders sold the pound after a week of poor economic data and Brexit worries, which may persuade the central bank to keep rates on hold next week.
The Australian dollar recovered as speculators took profits on long U.S. dollar positions. The Aussie rose 0.2 percent to $0.7549, pulling away from an 11-month low near $0.7472 set earlier in the week.
Gold prices recover after dropping to 2-month low and managed to hold on to most of them despite volatility at the close while Silver price rose as well after the FOMC’s mild comments regarding interest rates and inflation.
Oil prices moved lower ahead of data on U.S. crude output amid ongoing concerns over potential new sanctions against Teheran on behalf of Washington and increasing U.S. crude production.
Sources: Reuters, Investing.com, CNN Money
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.