Trump Said to Plan Orders Approving Keystone, Dakota Pipelines: BBG

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

Bloomberg reported that the US President Donald Trump intends to sign two executive actions today that would advance construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

The Keystone XL pipeline will bring Canadian oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast and would result in better margins for oil companies apart from attracting more investments in Canadian oil sector.

The steps vividly illustrate Trump’s plan to give the oil industry more freedom to expand infrastructure and ease transportation bottlenecks.

Following the news, the Canadian Dollar rose sharply taking the USD/CAD pair to fresh session low near 1.3200 handle.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

GBP/USD weakens to two-week lows near 1.3520

GBP/USD trades on the back foot, returning to the low 1.3500s, or two-week troughs, on Tuesday. Cable’s bearish price action follows decent gains in the Greenback at the time when investors assess latest US data releases and the persistent uncertainty in the US-Iran crisis.

EUR/USD remains offered; breaks below 1.1600

EUR/USD now accelerates its daily correction, breaching below the key 1.1600 support level on Tuesday. The pair’s daily correction comes on the back of a decent bounce in the US Dollar despite disappointing US data releases and amid persistent geopolitical concerns.

Gold bears eye $4,300 breakdown amid Fed hike bets, Iran risks, firm USD

Gold languishes near a two-and-a-half-week low, touched during the Asian session on Wednesday, awaiting a break below $4,300 before the next leg down. Escalating US-Iran tensions lift oil prices to a nearly six-week high and fuel inflation fears, reaffirming Fed rate-hike bets. This acts as a tailwind for the safe-haven US Dollar and undermines demand for the non-yielding bullion.

RBNZ set to raise interest rate to 2.75%

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is on track to deliver a follow-through interest rate hike, raising the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by another 25 basis points (bps) from 2.50% to 2.75% on Wednesday. Experts expect a consensus decision this week, unlike a deeply divided outcome predicted during the July monetary policy meeting.

Global bond market sell off haunts markets

Global sovereign bonds are selling off as we start a new month. The UK is, unsurprisingly, taking the biggest hit. Two and 10-year yields rose by 10 basis points at one point on Tuesday, and are currently higher by 7 and 8bps respectively.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.