New steps towards denuclearization were made in a 3-day summit in North Korea. The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South Korean President Moon Jae-in met for another round of talks.
The two leaders discussed denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula and they are expected to sign a joint declaration after the completion of the summit.
The US President praised the efforts of the two leaders. Following his historic summit with the North Korean leader back in June, almost nothing has changed towards the denuclearization. The landmark Singapore summit took place after a lot of back-and-forth, high diplomacy and threats on either side.
Now, the US administration says that they can get up in the table with North Korea. However, experts are still concerned as the steps so far have done little to set Pyongyang on track for irreversible denuclearization.
USA-China trade war [update] After China’s response to Trump’s fresh tariffs, they now urge U.S. to correct behaviour in trade actions. There are trade experts and US businesses worrying that China could resort to other means of retaliation; such as pressuring U.S. companies operating in China.
Forex Market – Trade war/ denuclearization
The Dollar traded lower 0.8% at a 9-week low against its major traded rivals ahead of Fed’s monetary tightening plans. Although the greenback has benefited from fears of international trade turmoil in recent months, traders seem now cautious on the spat outcome.
Against the dollar, the Euro rose 0.9%.
The Sterling hit a new high, rallying more than 1%, its highest level in almost eight weeks. It hit a seven-week high of 0.8865 pound per euro. Against the euro, the pound edged higher 0.2 percent after the close to its strongest level since early August.
The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy for China risk because of its reliance on Chinese demand for its exports, remained at a 3-week high.
Oil prices remained almost unchanged after U.S. President Donald Trump called on OPEC to “get prices down now!”
We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2018
Brent crude futures dropped 20 cents while U.S. crude futures gained 30 cents from their last close.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, BBC
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.