The dollar traded on the back foot on Tuesday, as markets looked ahead to a week of U.S. economic data that will provide fresh signals on how soon the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates.
Most Asian currencies rose slightly on Tuesday, taking some relief from mild declines in the dollar before a key inflation reading which is set to offer more cues on U.S. interest rates this week.
Gold prices stuck to a tight range in Asian trade on Tuesday as investors looked to a swathe of upcoming economic data for more trading cues, although the near-term outlook for the yellow metal remained constrained.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped nearly 10% to $56,256.9 by 21:48 ET (02:48 GMT), trading at its highest level in more than two years. The token was now less than $14,000 away from a lifetime high hit during a bull run in late-2021.
The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Reece Ltd (ASX:REH), which rose 19.22% or 4.63 points to trade at 28.72 at the close. Meanwhile, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) added 13.10% or 0.06 points to end at 0.47 and G8 Education Ltd (ASX:GEM) was up 12.05% or 0.14 points to 1.26 in late trade.
The Bank of Japan is closely watching service price movements to see whether inflationary pressure is broadening in the economy to warrant phasing out its massive stimulus.
European stock markets slipped lower Monday, starting a new week on a cautious note as investors awaited the release of a series of keenly-awaited inflation cues. At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the CAC 40 in France traded down 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.1%
The dollar was on the front foot on Monday ahead of a packed week filled with key economic releases that will provide further clues on the global interest rate outlook, with a U.S. inflation reading taking centre stage.
Difficulties in securing U.S. diesel complicate an existing supply crunch in Europe, which previously relied on Russian fuel exports. U.S. diesel cracks briefly surged to a four month high of over $48 a barrel this month, crimping arbitrage opportunities to ship the fuel to Europe.
The worst performers of the session were Nexon Co Ltd (TYO:3659), which fell 3.49% or 88.00 points to trade at 2,432.50 at the close. Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TYO:7735) declined 3.47% or 690.00 points to end at 19,205.00 and Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (TYO:2502) was down 2.69% or 147.00 points to 5,311.00.
