Reuters

Oil prices fell for a sixth day on Friday after Iran announced plans to boost production and U.S. crude output hit record highs, adding to concerns about a sharp rise in global supplies.

China’s producer and consumer inflation eased as expected in January, even as global stock markets nosedive on fears that price pressures are slowly building in the United States and Europe.

The dollar edged higher to a two-week high against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as investors covered some short positions against the greenback on a growing view that the currency’s recent weakness may have gone too far.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, dropping to its lowest level in nearly 45 years as the labor market tightened further, bolstering expectations of faster wage growth this year.

Oil prices fell to their lowest in six weeks on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude output had reached record highs and the North Sea’s largest crude pipeline reopened following an outage.

The U.S. dollar rose on Wednesday against most major currencies, even as gains on Wall Street dimmed the greenback’s safe-haven allure after days of equities volatility.

Sterling edged lower on Wednesday, heading back towards a 2-1/2 week low hit in the previous session as a central bank meeting on Thursday kept investors wary of adding positions aggressively amid a broad dollar bounce.

To secure a fourth term as chancellor, Angela Merkel is handing her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners control of the finance ministry, giving them license to spend a record budget surplus, and embracing their demands for European reform.

 U.S. Vice President Mike Pence vowed tough new sanctions against North Korea and called it the world’s most tyrannical regime on Wednesday, two days before he is due to attend the winter Olympics, along with two of the North’s most senior officials.

Some conservatives fear Scholz, who recently backed a big increase in the minimum wage, could raise government spending and reverse’s Schaeuble “black zero” policy of not incurring new debt.