WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Wednesday afternoon, after trimming its early gains. Traders are in a cautious mood after North Korea threatened to cancel an historic meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.
In a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan suggested that Trump must accept the reclusive communist country as a nuclear power.
'If the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit,' Kim said.
Kim pointed to 'unbridled remarks' by U.S. officials such as National Security Adviser John Bolton calling on North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons first and be compensated afterward.
New residential construction in the U.S. pulled back by much more than anticipated in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report said housing starts plunged by 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.287 million in April after jumping by 3.6 percent to an upwardly revised 1.336 million in March.
Economists had expected housing starts to drop to an annual rate of 1.310 million from the 1.319 million originally reported for the previous month.
The report said building permits also tumbled by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.352 million in April after surging up by 4.1 percent to an upwardly revised 1.377 million in March. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to edge down to 1.350 million from the 1.354 million originally reported for the previous month.
A report released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday showed industrial production in the U.S. increased by slightly more than anticipated in the month of April. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.7 percent in April, matching the upwardly revised increase in March.
Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.5 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar climbed to a 5-month high of $1.1762 against the Euro Wednesday, but has since retreated to around $1.1810.
Eurozone inflation eased slightly in April, as estimated, final data from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Inflation slowed to 1.2 percent in April from 1.3 percent in March. The rate came in line with the estimate published on May 3.
Germany's consumer price inflation held steady in April, as previously estimated, final data from Destatis showed Wednesday. Consumer prices climbed 1.6 percent year-on-year in April, the same rate of increase as seen in March and in line with the estimate released on April 30.
The buck reached an early high of $1.3454 against the pound sterling Wednesday, but has since eased back to around $1.3490.
The greenback has slipped to around Y110.165 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early high of Y110.386.
Japan's gross domestic product was down 0.2 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2018, the Cabinet Office said in Wednesday's preliminary reading. That was shy of expectations for a flat reading following the downwardly revised 0.1 percent gain in the three months prior.
Japan's industrial production grew more than initially estimated in March, final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Wednesday. Industrial output grew 1.4 percent month-on-month in March, bigger than the 1.2 percent estimated initially.
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