1. Dollar Near 13-Month High
The dollar stood tall on Friday morning, hovering near a 13-month high against a basket of peers as European currencies such as the pound and euro continued to lose traction. The Russian ruble also dropped to its weakest since late 2016 after Washington said it would impose fresh sanctions on Moscow, while the Turkish lira plumbed to a record low in the wake of a diplomatic rift with the United States. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a group of six major currencies, was up 0.4 percent at 95.83 reaching its highest price since July 14, 2017.*
2. Oil Edges Lower On Escalating Trade Tensions
Oil prices dipped in early Friday trading after edging higher on worries that renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran would tighten supplies. The bullish trend was cut short on escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing . Specifically, Brent crude oil futures were at $71.81 per barrel as of 7:00 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (USOIL) crude futures were down 34 cents to last trade at 66.47.**
3. Trade War Threatens Luxury Shares
An escalating trade war between the United States and China could abruptly end a glittering stock market run for luxury goods firms, with some investors already put off by lofty valuations in a sector powered by shoppers in the two countries. From pricey handbags to designer shoes, booming sales at the European luxury brands that dominate the industry, push their respective stock prices near record highs. Even though luxury firms are not as directly threatened by rising protectionism as carmakers and industrial companies, their valuations have suffered in 2018. This reveals that investors are starting to worry about how trade tensions could broaden to include other industries such as luxury stocks.***
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*Source: CNBC, Aug 10, 2018 5:46 AM GMT
**Source: CNBC, Aug 10, 2018 4:30 AM GMT
***Source: Reuters, Aug 10, 2018 9:05 AM ET
