The dollar hit a two-week high during Monday’s Asian session after the weekend meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which paved the way for an open and perhaps friendly relationship between the nations. The dollar gained 0.65 percent on the yen to trade at 113.920 after touching 114.170, a 0.9 percent rise and a level that hasn’t been hit since the start of the month. Following the meeting the U.S.- Japanese economic dialogue regarding infrastructure and trade will be taken over by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso. The dollar index was trading at 100.930 .DXY on Monday, near two-week highs after Trump’s promise for “phenomenal†tax reforms within the next two to three weeks.
The euro dipped to $1.0621 on Monday, following a 1.3 percent fall last week, its steepest weekly loss in three months. Resurfacing Greek debt problems and concerns about the French and German elections in the coming months.
Oil Prices Keep Struggling
Brent crude futures were down 15 cents per barrel from last week’s close, to trade at $56.55 per barrel. WTI crude futures were down to 453.74 per barrel, a 12 cent loss. The losses likely resulted from signs that oil stockpiles are high despite the OPEC production cuts. Though analysts were skeptic that the cuts would really be implemented, member countries seem to be complying with their commitments, which is both encouraging and frustrating, as U.S. drilling continues to increase, threatening the strategy behind OPEC’s cuts. Drillers added eight oil rigs last week, the most since October 2015. In Russia there are signs that exports remain high even though production has been cut, calling into question whether OPEC will need to reframe the projections it made for the cutbacks. OPEC’s monthly report will be out later on Monday.
