Market News

The United States and Mexico agreed on Monday to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which is 24 years old, putting pressure on Canada to agree to new terms on auto trade and dispute settlement rules to remain part of the three-nation pact.

Greece has successfully exited its final, three-year bailout programme which was agreed in August 2015 to help it cope with the continued fallout from a debt crisis, as stated by the Eurozone’s European Stability Mechanism rescue fund.

On Monday the Turkish lira pulled back from a record low of 7.24 to the dollar after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity and cut reserve requirements for Turkish banks. The currency has lost more than 40 percent against the dollar this year …..

The United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran after Donald Trump signed an executive order with the sanctions targeting Iran’s US dollar purchases, metal trading, coal, industrial software and its auto sector. They also ban the import of Persian rugs and pistachio nuts into America.

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but said that economic growth has been rising strongly and the job market has continued to strengthen. Inflation has remained near the central bank’s 2 percent target since June.

US President Donald Trump agreed on Wednesday to refrain from imposing car tariffs while the two sides started negotiations to cut other trade barriers. This helps in the easing of a trade war. After a meeting at the White House Trump and Juncker said that talks could also seek to “resolve” US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

On Monday Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland to confront him over the meddling in the 2016 election. Amongst the topics that were mentioned for discussion included listing trade, the military, nuclear weapons and China.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s foreign minister Boris Johnson and Brexit negotiator David Davis resigned on Monday after May secured an agreement from senior ministers on an EU exit strategy.

The shares in Asia dropped to a nine-month low this week with the possible introduction of tariffs. The Commerce Ministry of China in a press conference said that levies on $34 billion of China’ exports will not only hurt the Asian nation, but also the US itself and the rest of the world.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s presidential election on Sunday 24th June, and as the head of the country’s electoral body said, overcoming the biggest electorate challenge to his rule in a decade and a half.

OPEC and its allies have been since last year taking part in a pact to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day. For the past 18 months the price of oil has increased from a level at $27 in 2016 to around $74 per barrel.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore, pledging to work towards complete denuclearisation. The summit was the first between US president and North Korean leader following a number of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and angry exchanges between the two last year and concerns over fears of war.