Forex Today: Trade war and Brexit remain in the spotlight

Here is what you need to know Monday, November 18th:

• Trade tensions between the US and China remain the same, despite comments from US officials suggesting they are about to clinch a trade deal. On Friday,  Trump’s advisor Kudlow said that the arrangement is in its “final stages,” while US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, later added that a trade deal would be done “in all likelihood, sending Wall Street to record highs, and the dollar down.
• Nigel Farage, the  Brexit Party leader, decided to step down from 43 additional constituencies where Labour won, facilitating the way for a Conservative majority. Sterling jumped on the headlines which lift chances of the upcoming Parliament passing Johnson’s Brexit deal.
• UK PM Johnson said over the weekend that all Conservative Party candidates have pledged to back his Brexit deal. The headline should keep GBP/USD on the winning side at the weekly opening.
• US Treasury yields recovered just modestly on Friday, anyway underpinning USD/JPY. Appetite for safe-haven assets decreased.
• Crude oil rallied Friday and settled at the highest in almost two months,  amid concerns about global demand and decreasing US drilling rigs. The Baker Hughes report showed that the number of active rigs decreased to 674 last week.
• Cryptocurrencies posted modest recoveries over the weekend.