Market News

Oil prices fell on Thursday after the operator of Britain’s Forties pipeline in the North Sea said it was expected to restart in early January after repairs over Christmas.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years, sending a sweeping $1.5 trillion bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.

U.S. home sales increased more than expected in November, hitting their highest level in nearly 11 years, the latest indication that housing was regaining momentum after almost stalling this year.

The European Union wants a transition period after Brexit to end no later than the last day of 2020, according to the European Commission’s negotiating directives agreed on Wednesday.

Steady session today. That doesn’t mean that the session was a complete snooze fest, though, since AUD and NZD both found some buyers, likely because of the commodities rally. Meanwhile, CHF found sellers despite the risk-off vibes.  

China will deepen structural reforms and curb risks to the country’s financial system while maintaining steady economic growth in 2018, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, citing leaders at an economic planning meeting.

World stock markets wavered just below recent record highs while U.S. Treasury yields held near multi-month peaks on Thursday as the final procedural throes of long-awaited U.S. tax reform played out in Washington.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday was expected to give final approval to a sweeping tax bill and send it to President Donald Trump to sign into law, sealing his first major legislative victory in office.

A lack of economic reports and anticipation ahead of more votes on the U.S. tax bill kept traders in the sidelines during the Asian session.

Asian shares fell on Wednesday, taking their cues from Wall Street with investor enthusiasm toward U.S. tax changes ebbing as the long-awaited reform bill wound its way through Congress.

Germany’s longest-dated bonds led a sell-off in euro zone debt markets on Tuesday following a rise in the country’s issuance plans for 2018.

Dollar bulls were in a positive mood leading up to the highly-anticipated tax bill vote, but the currency coughed up its recent wins when a few plot twists came up.

U.S. single-family homebuilding and permits surged to more than 10-year highs in November, in a hopeful sign for a housing market that has been hobbled by supply constraints.

The morning London session was rather subdued, likely because traders are waiting for the U.S. tax reform bill vote. Still, there was some action to be had since EUR slightly extended its gains while GBP encountered sellers.

A series of recent cyber attacks has netted North Korean hackers millions of dollars in virtual currencies like bitcoin, with more attacks expected as international sanctions drive the country to seek new sources of cash, researchers say.

World stocks steadied on Tuesday after their biggest jump in almost six-months on U.S. tax cut hopes had added to what is already one of the strongest and longest global bull runs on record.

Oil markets edged up on Tuesday as the Forties pipeline outage in the North Sea and voluntary production restraint led by OPEC supported prices, although soaring output in the United States put a cap on gains.

With not a lot of data on the docket, Asian session forex traders stayed in the sidelines as they waited for the U.S. House to vote on the tax bill.

Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday after a record-setting session on Wall Street on bets that U.S. lawmakers would pass sweeping tax legislation, while the dollar was tentative as traders were circumspect about the bill’s economic impact.

Large players ramped up their net bearish bias on USD. However, the latest COT report reveals that unfavorable positioning on USD was driven mostly by a squeeze on EUR and GBP shorts.