Along with the UK and the Eurozone, the US factory sector has also slowed, as seen in two rival surveys. Manufacturing growth has reached the lowest level in two years and is much worse than what was expected by economists.
President Trump said on Saturday that the US dollar is too strong and is hurting US competitiveness. He again criticised Fed Chair Powell as ‘someone who likes raising rates’. This was responsible for the slightly lower level of the USD when markets opened this morning.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that, according to sources on both sides, China and the US are in the final stage of completing a trade deal. Beijing offered to lower tariffs and other restrictions on American farm, chemical and auto products while Washington is considering removing most, if not all, sanctions levied against Chinese products since last year. Despite this, sources did also caution that hurdles still remain.
The monthly report on US Non-Farm Payrolls will be released on Friday, meaning that we could see the dollar affected heavily, depending on the results.
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