[Trump tries to calm down political rage over Helsinki summit]
US President tried on Tuesday to “clean up the mess” as he failed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. A political firestorm was triggered by critics, allied countries and even his own staff.
Trump had the opportunity to publicly rebuke Putin during their joint news conference in Helsinki on Monday. He now says that he misspoke, although he did not correct himself until 27 hours later.
[Japan and EU signed a free trade agreement]
Japan and the European Union signed a free trade deal on Tuesday as a counterweight to the US President’s protectionist forces. The pact creates the world’s largest open economic area and comes amid fears over USA-China trade war.
FOREX MARKETS
The dollar hit a one-year high against its major-traded rivals following FED Chairman’s bullish comments about the U.S. economy strength.
The greenback increased 0.3 against the single currency. It also rallied to as high as 113.14 Yen, its strongest since January 9.
The stronger dollar also hit higher-yielding currencies. The Australian dollar fell half a percent to $0.7347, extending Tuesday’s falls.
The Canadian dollar also dropped 0.3 %.
The Sterling slipped to fresh lows, following weak inflation data, rallying dollar and amid Brexit concerns. Inflation’s failure to rise, a day after Brexit-linked political instability, rose doubts over August interest rate rise by the BoE. Inflation and interest rates are closely related.
The pound fell to a low of $1.3010, its weakest since September 5 and 0.3% against the common currency.
The euro dropped 0.3% to $1.1619, still over its 2018 low, as dollar rallied as Powell played down the risks to the U.S. economy of an escalating US-China trade conflict.
Oil hit a three-month low on Wednesday following an unexpected rise in U.S. stock, increasing global supply which addressed concerns.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, the guardian
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.