The US dollar rallied against most of major currencies on Thursday, after news emerged that the US and China are close to secure a trade deal.

Bloomberg reported the US and China have agreed to gradually eliminate the tariffs imposed on each other's goods.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that signing the first phase trade deal with the US will likely take place within the next few weeks. 

The White House stated that the two countries are engaged in intensive calls to choose which country will host the meeting, and will most likely be Switzerland or Sweden.

The US labor market continued to show improvement with the unemployment claims data released today showed that claims fell during the last week.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.2% to 98.1 points as of 18:30 GMT, with an intraday high of 98.2 and a low of 97.8.

Soybean prices rose today after the USDA reported that the volume of soybeans exports increased, which have enjoyed more success more that corn exports.

The data showed today that the US has exported 3.89 million tonnes of soybeans in September, higher by 17% than the same month on 2018, and also the second highest monthly level after it exported 4.5 million tonnes in 2017.

Which comes after a series of record monthly soy exports in June, July and August.

The US soy exporters shipped 966,629 tonnes to China alone, an increase by 25% on monthly basis.

This surge comes amid the progress in the US-China trade talks, amid wide anticipation for the two countries signing of the first phase trade deal, as Beijing will start to buy more US agricultural products after the deal.

Soybeans futures for November delivery rose by 0.4% to $919 per bushel as of 14:33 GMT, with a session-high of $919 and a low of $915.

US stocks rose in early trading today, amid a recovery in Wall Street that fueled the major stocks indices to new historical highs, amid the positive news about the US-China trade talks.

Several news agencies reported the US and China have agreed to gradually eliminate the tariffs imposed on each other's goods, which could pave the way for ending their ongoing trade war.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that signing the first phase trade deal with the US will take place within weeks, and any tariffs cuts will be based on the deal. 

The US Labor Department that unemployment claims fell by 8,000 to 211,000 during the last week.

As for trading, Dow Jones surged 0.7% ot 201 points to 27,694 as of 14:54 GMT, Nasdaq climped 0.6% or 56 points to 8,466, and S&P 500 rose by 0.5% or 17 points to 3,094.

Bitcoin retreated in spot trading on Thursday, as volatility returned to the narrow range above $9,000, as the crypto market is still mainly thirthy for new catalyst to boost demand in order for Bitcoin to breakout to new highs above the psychological threshold of $10,000.

At Bitstamp exchange, Bitcoin lost $148 or 1.6% to $9,201, after it opened at $9,349, with an intraday high of $9,373.  

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by $4 billion today, to a total of $249 billion, as Bitcoin and most other major cryptos fell.

After Bitcoin posted a 5-week high of $10,350 nearly 2 weeks ago, volatility bounced back in a narrow range above the $9,000. 

As Bitcoin needs further catalyst to gather momentum to jump back above the $10,000 barrier. 

This large rally by Bitcoin came after positive remarks from the Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the blockchain technology and the crypto industry.

Otherwise, the payments giant, Square, reported its earnings in the third quarter of 2019, with a profit of $2 million from Bitcoin sales through its Square’s Cash App for Bitcoin investment, as the company's revenues reached $148 million against $146 million in costs.

The company stated that Bitcoin buyers through the application almost doubled in Q3, in addition to orders for BTC cards sharply increasing.