DXY has dropped 2 pips and last sits at......>

DOLLAR: DXY has dropped 2 pips and last sits at 97.60. WTI trades $0.50 lower,

while gold is virtually unchanged at typing.

- DXY declined through yesterday's Asia-Pac session and remained limited in the

London hours, as the escalating U.S.-China trade war continued to weigh on the

greenback. However, DXY managed to reverse its earlier underperformance late in

the day, as U.S. 10-year Tsy yields moved away from recent lows.

- Speaking at a campaign event, U.S. Pres Trump said that "China broke the deal"

and "will be paying." This comes after yesterday's conflicting signals re: the

current state of bilateral trade relations, and just ahead of the 11th round of

trade talks, due to kick off today.

- Worth noting the FT reported that the U.S. will exempt Chinese goods in

transit from the tariffs increase scheduled for Friday.

- A dip through the 21-DMA at 97.53 would open up the May 7 weekly low of 97.38.

Conversely, bulls target the 97.67-74 zone, which has capped gains this week.

- Domestic PPI, trade balance & initial jobless claims take focus in the U.S.

today. Fedspeak will be provided by the central bank's Powell, Bostic & Evans.