The US dollar strengthened against the Swiss franc on Monday (August 18th), retracing Friday's decline. The greenback strengthened against most major currencies on Monday, with all eyes on today's Trump-Zelensky meeting, while Swiss industrial production data added to concerns about economic momentum. Investors remained cautious about risk as media reports suggested that Trump would pressure his Ukrainian counterpart to accept Putin's terms for a peace deal. These demands, which largely involve ceding territory to Russia, have been flatly rejected by Zelensky on previous occasions and are...
The EUR/USD pair pared some gains, weakening from levels above 1.1700 to 1.1685 in early European trading on Monday (August 18th). Currency volatility remained low, with a mild risk-off sentiment ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will be accompanied by several European leaders, and whose positions on the terms of a peace deal in Ukraine appear to remain significantly different. Media reports suggest that Trump will try to reach a quick agreement by pushing Zelenskyy to accept most of the terms Putin proposed in Alaska....
Oil prices held steady on Monday (August 18th) as traders awaited clues from the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in their efforts to reach a peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Brent crude was at $65.87 a barrel at 08:47 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 9 cents, or 0.14%, to $62.89 a barrel. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Saturday and appeared more aligned with Moscow in seeking a peace deal, rather than a ceasefire first. "Market focus now turns to today's Washington...