Tensions continue to rise with North Korea as Russia and China begin naval drills Monday. A United Nations General Assembly meeting is scheduled this week.
Euro zone Final CPI figures are expected today at 1100CET. Annual inflation is expected to show at 1.5 percent, unchanged from the previous month’s figure. Last month release beat expectations and edged closer to the ECB’s target. The euro zone recorded higher employment data for a second straight gain of 0.4 percent last month. Economic conditions have improved and there has been a strong labor market.
US Crude initially slipped at the open today but has steadily recovered any loses and sits near multi-month highs. Prices shot up last week as the number of US oil rigs drilling for new production fell. Refineries shut down from Hurricane Harvey still continue to start back up. WTI trades above 50.50$ per barrel on NYMEX.
Increasing oil prices has lifted the Canadian dollar this month. USD/CAD trades below 1.2200 early on Monday. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will speak at the IMF hosted Central Banking Lecture, in Washington DC. Last week BoE Carney and Vlieghe made headlines and pushed the Sterling to one-year highs after hinting at a rate hike “within months.”
The dollar was buoyed near a seven-week peak against the yen on Monday, bolstered by recent rises in U.S. Treasury yields, as sterling stood tall, buoyed by growing expectations the Bank of England could raise interest rates soon.
USD/JPY was up half a percentage point to 111.41, breaking higher than Friday's peak at 111.33, the dollar's highest level since late July.
Despite losing some steam on Friday after data showed an unexpected drop in retail sales in August, the greenback started the week on firm footing against the yen, following last week's solid performance. EUR/USD trades slightly lower to 1.1911 at the start of the week.
