WASHINGTON Top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators haggled on Thursday over the details of a set of agreements aimed at ending their trade war, just one week before a Washington-imposed deadline for a deal expires and triggers higher U.S. tariffs.
Australia's Minister for Trade,
Simon Birmingham, said on Friday delays to exports of coal to
China were caused by import quotas and not a blanket ban on
Australian coal.
Apple Inc has teamed
up with Chinese payments giant Ant Financial Services Group
and several local banks to offer interest-free
financing, its first such move in the country as it looks to
boost waning smartphone sales.
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FACTORS TO WATCH
7:45 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at Global Business Summit in New
Delhi.
GMF: LIVECHAT - GLOBAL ASSETS ALLOCATION SHIFTS
Reuters correspondents detail the findin
Australia's Prime Minister Scott
Morrison said on Friday a ban on Australian coal imports at
China's northern port of Dalian does not point to a souring of
ties between the countries.
Japan's Nikkei snapped four
straight days of gains on Friday morning as weak U.S. economic
data dampened sentiment, though the selling was contained by
more signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
Top U.S. and Chinese trade
negotiators haggled on Thursday over the details of a set of
agreements aimed at ending their trade war, just one week before
a Washington-imposed deadline for a deal expires and triggers
higher U.S. tariffs.
European shares dipped on Thursday, weighed down by several weak earnings updates and after data showed that euro zone factory output unexpectedly fell last month.
Trade talks between the world's two biggest economies helped European shares rise on Wednesday, while the threat of a blocked merger sank shares in British supermarket Sainsbury's and a money laundering scandal hit Swedbank.
Encouraging signs from trade
talks between the world's two biggest economies helped boost
European shares on Wednesday while the threat of a blocked
merger deal sank Sainsbury's shares.
European shares slipped from four-month highs on Tuesday as anxiety over potential tariffs on European car imports to the U.S. dampened the optimistic mood over U.S.-China trade talks.
European shares edged down
slightly on Tuesday at the open but clung to highs not seen
since October as optimism about Sino/U.S. trade talks helped
maintain morale despite a few earnings disappointments such as
HSBC's and BHP Group's.
European stocks hovered around their highest level in four months on Monday as hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks kept sentiment afloat while Wall Street was closed for a bank holiday.
Fresh from touching their highest
level in four months on Friday, European stocks rose further in
early deals on Monday as investors bet more progress would be
made in U.S.-China trade talks continuing in Washington this
week.
Shares in Asia were flat in
early trade on Friday following a fall on Wall Street, with a
deteriorating global economic outlook outweighing more signs of
progress in trade talks between China and the United States.
A reported ban on Australian coal
imports into China's northern port of Dalian will not have a
"dramatic effect" on the local economy, Reserve Bank of
Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday.
The dollar on Thursday
recovered from earlier losses spurred by soft U.S. economic
data, as investors consolidated positions and looked for fresh
trading incentives amid U.S.-China trade negotiations and talks
related to Britain's exit from the European Union.
The greenback earlier fell, hurt by weaker-than-expected
U.S. economic data that affirmed expectations the Federal
Reserve will hold U.S. interest rates steady this year.
"We had weak U.S. data earlier that pushed the dollar lower,
but now that move is over," said John Doyle, vice president of
dealing and trading at Tempus Inc. in Washington.
"Right now, we're kind of stuck in some boring, tight
ranges. We were kind of hoping for some events to shake things
loose, but that didn't really happen and we're sort of looking
for the next driver," he added.
Doyle noted that those drivers could very well be related to
developments on U.S.-China trade talks and Brexit negotiations.
The U.S. data came a day after minutes of the Fed's monetary
policy last month said patience was needed when it came to
tightening rates, noting a pause in rate hikes gave it time to
observe the effects of past increases amid a global economic
slowdown.
New orders for U.S.-made capital goods, in particular,
unexpectedly fell in December, data showed on Thursday, amid
declining demand for machinery and primary metals, pointing to
sluggish business spending on equipment that could crimp
economic growth.
"Overall, the durable goods data provide further reason to
think that economic growth will soon slow to below its 2 percent
potential pace, which will keep the Fed on hold throughout this
year," said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist, at Capital
Economics in London.
Thursday's data also showed that the Philadelphia Fed's
manufacturing activity index dropped to a reading of -4.1 this
month from 17.0 in January. That was the first negative reading
since May 2016.
In afternoon trading, the dollar index, a gauge of its value
against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.2 percent at
96.611.
The dollar, however, fell 0.2 percent against the yen to
110.69 yen, sliding for the first time in five days.
But the greenback gained against the Swiss franc and
sterling.
The euro, meanwhile, was little changed versus the dollar,
at $1.1343, earlier rising after surveys showed business
activity was surprisingly firm in February, particularly in
France.
French business activity rose more than expected, though the
German PMI number was more of a mixed picture.
A bunch of weak data since January has undermined support
for the euro, prompting investors to revise down their inflation
expectations for the coming months, and pulled core bond yields
lower.
A Citibank economic surprise index shows the euro zone
indicator is still wallowing near six-month lows hit last month.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 3:01PM (2001 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1331 $1.1335 -0.04% -1.20% +1.1366 +1.1321
Dollar/Yen JPY= 110.6800 110.8500 -0.15% +0.38% +110.8700 +110.5800
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 125.44 125.67 -0.18% -0.62% +125.8500 +125.3300
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 1.0012 1.0008 +0.04% +2.02% +1.0022 +0.9995
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3035 1.3049 -0.11% +2.18% +1.3094 +1.3027
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3225 1.3174 +0.39% -3.02% +1.3231 +1.3162
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7078 0.7163 -1.19% +0.41% +0.7207 +0.7072
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1348 1.1349 -0.01% +0.84% +1.1368 +1.1342
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8693 0.8685 +0.09% -3.24% +0.8703 +0.8666
NZ NZD= 0.6804 0.6855 -0.74% +1.30% +0.6876 +0.6798
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.6340 8.5895 +0.52% -0.05% +8.6441 +8.5813
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.7861 9.7382 +0.49% -1.21% +9.7914 +9.7368
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.3699 9.3203 +0.48% +4.53% +9.3729 +9.3034
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6200 10.5692 +0.48% +3.47% +10.6311 +10.5591
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Bernadette
Baum and James Dalgleish)
The top U.S. and Chinese
trade negotiators resumed high-level talks on Thursday to hash
out a deal that could end their trade war, just over a week
before a U.S.-imposed deadline to reach agreement expires and
triggers a new round of tariffs.
The European Union needs to
issue joint bonds to strengthen its capital markets union
project as well as the euro, European Central Bank policymaker
Ewald Nowotny said on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar fell against
most major currencies on Thursday, hurt by weaker-than-expected
U.S. economic data that affirmed expectations the Federal
Reserve will hold interest rates this year.
The greenback so far this week has fallen 0.4 percent, after
gaining more than 1 percent the previous week, highlighting an
uneven performance amid a mixed batch of U.S. economic reports.
The U.S. data came a day after minutes of the Fed's monetary
policy last month said patience was needed when it came to
tightening rates, noting a pause in rate hikes gave it time to
observe the effects of past increases amid a global economic
slowdown.
New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods, in particular,
unexpectedly fell in December, data showed on Thursday, amid
declining demand for machinery and primary metals, pointing to
sluggish business spending on equipment that could crimp
economic growth.
"Overall, the durable goods data provide further reason to
think that economic growth will soon slow to below its 2 percent
potential pace, which will keep the Fed on hold throughout this
year," said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist, at Capital
Economics in London.
Thursday's data also showed that Philadelphia Fed's
manufacturing activity index dropped to a reading of -4.1 this
month from 17.0 in January. That was the first negative reading
since May 2016.
In mid-morning trading, the dollar fell 0.2 percent against
the yen to 110.63 yen, sliding for the first time in five
days.
The euro also inched higher versus the dollar, up 0.1
percent at $1.1343.
The single European currency benefited from surveys that
showed business activity was surprisingly firm in February,
particularly in France.
French business activity rose more than expected as
manufacturing growth helped offset the slack in services that
has dogged firms in the wake of anti-government protests, though
the German PMI number was more of a mixed picture.
"The euro's reaction highlights the heightened sensitivity
of the currency towards any good news from Europe after recent
lackluster data," said Kamal Sharma, director of G10 FX strategy
at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London.
A bunch of weak data since January has undermined support
for the single currency, prompting investors to revise down
their inflation expectations for the coming months and pulled
core bond yields lower.
A Citibank economic surprise index shows the euro zone
indicator is still wallowing near six-month lows hit last month.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a
basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 96.498
.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 10:05AM (1505 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1342 $1.1335 +0.06% -1.11% +1.1366 +1.1321
Dollar/Yen JPY= 110.6600 110.8500 -0.17% +0.36% +110.8700 +110.5800
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 125.52 125.67 -0.12% -0.55% +125.8500 +125.3300
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 1.0007 1.0008 -0.01% +1.97% +1.0022 +0.9998
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3055 1.3049 +0.05% +2.34% +1.3094 +1.3027
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3181 1.3174 +0.05% -3.34% +1.3207 +1.3162
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7092 0.7163 -0.99% +0.61% +0.7207 +0.7087
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1352 1.1349 +0.03% +0.87% +1.1368 +1.1344
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8685 0.8685 +0.00% -3.33% +0.8703 +0.8666
NZ NZD= 0.6816 0.6855 -0.57% +1.47% +0.6876 +0.6806
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.6222 8.5895 +0.38% -0.19% +8.6441 +8.5813
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.7809 9.7382 +0.44% -1.26% +9.7914 +9.7368
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.3520 9.3203 +0.36% +4.33% +9.3637 +9.3034
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6075 10.5692 +0.36% +3.36% +10.6311 +10.5591
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by
Saikat Chatterjee in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum)