Britain heads toward Brexit election as UK opposition backs early poll. Britain was heading toward its first December election in almost a century.
The EU has agreed to delay Brexit for up to three months. Overnight parliament rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s third attempt to schedule a Dec. 12 election. Johnson has said he would try again, by a different legislative route that would only require a simple majority. Britain was heading toward a December election after Johnson’s bet on breaking the Brexit deadlock with an early vote gained support from opposition parties.
U.S. President said on Monday he expected to sign a significant part of a trade deal with China. However, he did not elaborate further. The U.S. trade representative also said the U.S. was studying whether to extend tariff postponement. This set of tariffs refer to $34 billion of Chinese goods set to expire on Dec. 28 this year.
Central banks in Japan and Canada also meet this week. The BoC is likely to keep interest rates steady on Wednesday in its first policy announcement since the federal election. Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Party won a second term last week, although it lost its majority in the House of Commons. Canada’s currency has been the top-performing G10 currency this year, up 4.5% against the greenback.
START TRADINGForex – UK opposition backs early election
Investors have no firm opinion on when the Fed will move again after Wednesday. Hopes for an easing in Sino-U.S. tensions buoyed trade-exposed Asian currencies on Tuesday.
The dollar edged up to $1.1095 and was little changed on a basket of currencies at 97.782. It was a little softer against the euro at $1.1090. Growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve could take a wait-and-see approach to further easing underpinned the dollar.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars each rose nearly 0.3%. The Aussie hit its highest since Wednesday, touching $0.6859.
The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, pulling back from an earlier three-month high. Loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3067 to the greenback.
The safe-haven currencies of the Japanese yen and Swiss franc each eased very slightly. The Yen weakened. The U.S. dollar was firm at 108.98 yen, having reached its highest in three months.
The pound firmed after the European Union agreed to a Brexit delay of up to three months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a vote to force an election on Dec. 12. The pound was last at $1.2852, well above its low for the month at $1.2193.
Oil prices were pressured by signs of a rise in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures slipped 60 cents to $60.97 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 72 cents to $55.09.
Gold were little changed on Tuesday, hovering around $1,490 an ounce as progress in China-U.S. trade talks sent equities soaring. Spot gold was trading at $1,493.11 per ounce at 0938 GMT, after shedding nearly 1% in the previous session.
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.
Sources: Reuters, Investing, CNN money