Dollar lifted by political risk and global growth fears
‘King dollar has staged a return,’ hitting 17-month highs, as the eurozone feels the pressure from Britain and Italy and China delivers more bad news
London — The dollar surged to nearly 17-month highs on Monday against a basket of major currencies as investors sought out the highly liquid and high-yielding currency against a backdrop of global growth worry and rising political risk in Italy and Britain. A 2% oil price jump initially supported European equities but the gains fizzled rapidly as fears grew for Italian lender Carige, whose shares were suspended after reports of a capital hole. While Shanghai was lifted 1% by regulators’ promise to simplify share buybacks, MSCI’s world equity index was down 0.3% and Asian markets broadly weakened following Friday’s weak Wall Street close. Investors fretted over signs of slowing growth in China where e-commerce giant Alibaba posted the slowest ever annual sales growth during its Singles Day shopping event. Many also reckon that US President Donald Trump could turn up the heat over trade, further damaging China’s economy. All that, coupled with European political risks, conspired to pu...
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