Markets & Finance News

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday "it doesn't matter" if Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the Group of 20 summit later this month in the Japanese city of Osaka, predicting a trade deal with Beijing would occur at some point anyway.

* Crude prices edge higher on Gulf of Oman tensions (Updates to market close)

* Crude prices edge higher on Gulf of Oman tensions (Updates to late afternoon)

Equity markets struggled and safe-haven assets like gold were in demand on Friday as weak Chinese data stoked investor anxieties over a global growth slowdown and fears of a U.S.-Iran confrontation added to geopolitical uncertainty.

The dollar index climbed to its highest level in a week on Friday after encouraging retail sales data for May eased fears that the U.S. economy is slowing sharply, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales rose 0.5% last month, just slightly below economists’ expectations of a 0.6% gain. Data for April was revised up to show retail sales gaining 0.3%, instead of dropping 0.2% as previously reported. The dollar has recovered in the last week from a weak start to June, as investors consider whether rate cut expectations have gotten too far-fetched relative to the data. With international economic growth slowing, investors are nervous that U.S. President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Japan and Europe, which could result in more dovish central banks globally and give the dollar a relative advantage. The U.S. economy is also seen as better placed to handle trade tensions than other countries. The dollar “has benefited to date from negative globalization news as the domestic side of the U.S. economy has looked sufficiently robust to deal with trade-related headwinds,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Friday. “Other countries look less resilient in the face of trade tensions due to higher exposure to global import demand, dependence on manufacturing exports, and underdeveloped domestic demand,” they said. Chinese data on Friday flashed more warning signs in May, with industrial output growth unexpectedly slowing to a more than 17-year low and investment cooling, underlining a need for more stimulus. The Fed is not widely expected to lower interest rates when it meets on June 18-19, though investors will watch for new signals that a cut may come in July. Interest rate futures traders are pricing in a 23% chance of a cut in June, and an 87% likelihood of at least one cut in July, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. The other major catalyst for the dollar in the near term is whether the United States and China will renew trade negotiations at the G20 summit on June 28-29. Trump said on Friday it didn’t matter if Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the summit, adding that China would eventually make a trade deal with the U.S. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:04AM (1304 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1234 $1.1275 -0.36% -2.05% +1.1289 +1.1232 Dollar/Yen JPY= 108.4500 108.3700 +0.07% -1.64% +108.4700 +108.1700 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 121.85 122.20 -0.29% -3.46% +122.2700 +121.7900 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9972 0.9936 +0.36% +1.61% +0.9979 +0.9926 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2620 1.2672 -0.41% -1.07% +1.2682 +1.2617 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3348 1.3324 +0.18% -2.12% +1.3354 +1.3323 Australian/Dollar AUD= 0.6885 0.6913 -0.41% -2.33% +0.6918 +0.6883 Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1206 1.1205 +0.01% -0.43% +1.1227 +1.1196 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8902 0.8896 +0.07% -0.91% +0.8917 +0.8891 NZ Dollar/Dollar NZD= 0.6512 0.6567 -0.84% -3.05% +0.6573 +0.6510 Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.6964 8.6777 +0.22% +0.67% +8.7003 +8.6631 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.7703 9.7899 -0.20% -1.37% +9.7968 +9.7706 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4643 9.4814 -0.57% +5.58% +9.4992 +9.4240 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6340 10.6950 -0.57% +3.60% +10.7123 +10.6335 (Editing by Bernadette Baum)

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday "it doesn't matter" if Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the Group of 20 summit later this month, predicting a trade deal with Beijing would occur at some point anyway.

1/THE FIRST CUT... With President Donald Trump's trade policies heightening fears of a U.S. recession, expectations of a Fed rate cut have dramatically increased in the past month. Money market pricing became even more aggressive after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell threw open the door to a cut, promising on June 4 the Fed would act "as appropriate" to address risks from the trade dispute. It was the second sudden shift in the Fed's tone, after January when it abandoned its bias toward steady tightening.

World stocks struggled and safe haven bets were back in play on Friday with German bond yields plumbing record lows as Chinese data rekindled woes about the health of the global economy and fears of a new U.S.-Iran confrontation intensified.

* Investors fear growing risk of full-blown U.S.-China trade war

The dollar rose on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly gain in three weeks as investors squared up for a U.S. central bank meeting next week where policymakers might signal when it plans to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade.