Donald Trump today fired another member of his Government, this time the Secretary of State. Rex Tillerson held down the role for just over a year however a disagreement on how to handle Iran has led to Tillerson losing his job.
There was no expectation of this taking place and the US Dollar lost ground against most major currencies as uncertainty crept into the markets. President Trump almost immediately offered the job to Mike Pompeo who at the moment is the Head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Trump wasn’t thought to have shared the news with Tillerson however Chief of Staff John Kelly did the deed. The President deliberately made the change before the talks with North Korea take place bringing in a new Chief Negotiator in the process. It will now be interesting to see in the next few days how markets respond to the change. No doubt when Tillerson delivers a statement it might become clearer as to why the sudden change has happened.
Retail Sales data due tomorrow
Tomorrow there will be a little more focus on the economy as the latest Retail Sales data is released along with Producer Price Index readings for February. Moving into Friday there will be a focus on Building Permits and Housing starts which will show how many new homes are being built and planned. The US Dollar has come under pressure from the recent lows in the last few days, however as we edge closer to an interest rate decision, and possibly a rise in the rate, things may start to bounce back for the Greenback. Anything unexpected always has some form of impact on the markets especially if they’re political events.
Over the next month focus should turn to the talks with North Korea, which many suspect will be a waste of time. However, President Trump will be the first Western leader in a long time to speak with the North Korean Government and there is hope for a de-escalation of the nuclear missile crisis.