1. Dollar, Yen Plummet As Italy Revises Budget Plans
The U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen tumbled in early Wednesday trading, on reports that the Italian government is aiming to cut its budget deficit to 2% of GDP in 2021. The government forecasted a deficit of 2.4% in 2019 and 2.2% in 2020. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading at 94.93 by 06:30 GMT, down 0.2%.*
2. Ripple Drops 9% Despite Major XRP Announcement
Ripple’s XRP tumbled more than 9 percent in early morning trading despite some all-important announcements by Ripple Labs yesterday. Specifically, on October 2, Ripple Labs introduced three partnerships with major banks including the $80 billion banking giant Banco Santander. It is also important to note that One Pay FX, a platform operated by Banco Santander, became the world’s first mobile application for cross-border payments powered by RippleNet.**
3. Oil Prices Firm On Iran Sanctions
Oil prices were firm on Wednesday on expectations of tighter markets once U.S. sanctions target Iran’s petroleum industry from next month. It should be noted however that a relatively robust dollar and rising U.S. crude supply put a lid on gains. Specifically, Brent crude oil futures (CL_BRENT) were last seen trading at $84.89 per barrel as of 6:40 GMT, up 9 cents from their last close, while Crude Oil WTI futures (USOIL) last traded at $75.33, up 10 cents from their last close.***
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*Source: Reuters, Oct 3, 2018 12:37 AM ET
**Source: CCN, Oct 3, 2018 03:54 AM ET
***Source: Reuters, Oct 3, 2018 06:40 AM GMT
