Reuters

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday urged Japan to maintain its massive monetary stimulus to support struggling consumer prices, a view echoed by a central bank board member, reinforcing expectations policy will remain accommodative.

Protectionist sentiment has not yet gone beyond mere words, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday, but would hurt Asian economies with open and free markets if it did.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as Chinese crude imports slipped to their lowest level in a year, although traders said the overall market remains well supported on the back of OPEC-led supply cuts.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives forged ahead on Tuesday with legislation to reshape the federal tax code, while a top credit-ratings agency said the bill would balloon the budget deficit.

The dollar slipped broadly on Wednesday, hurt by a media report that suggested the implementation of a centerpiece corporate tax cut under discussion in U.S. tax reforms plans could be delayed.

The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as investors renewed their focus on diverging monetary policy between the United States and the euro zone.

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz defended the use of inflation targets on Tuesday and reiterated that policymakers will be cautious about future interest rate moves even as encouraging signs of wage growth show up.

EU diplomats will start sketching out a Brexit transition offer on Wednesday that would probably let Britain stay in the single market for about two years after it leaves the bloc in March 2019, EU officials said.

Oil eased on Tuesday, having posted its largest gain in six weeks the previous day, while tension flared between Saudi Arabia and Iran, just as the Saudi crown prince tightened his grip on power.

Global demand for OPEC’s crude will rise in the next two years more slowly than expected, the group forecast, as a recovery in prices resulting from an OPEC-led supply cut stimulates renewed output growth from non-members.