The U.S. dollar fell moderately lower Tuesday in a continued corrective move. The euro fx and Swiss franc moved higher. The real star in fx markets today was the British pound. The pound moved strongly higher as traders reacted to the news that Prime Minister May has called for a snap election in the UK for June 8. This news surprised most observers because the next election was not due for another three years. The feeling is that she has called the early election to strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations with the EU.
The other feature in the currency markets Tuesday was the weakness in the Canadian and Australian dollars. The so called “commodity dollars” were weakened by plunging prices in world commodity markets.
Underlying nervousness in world financial markets caused by the situation in North Korea was also evident today.