Trump said on Sunday he would raise U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week.
The president also said he would target a further $325 billion of Chinese goods with 25% tariffs “shortly”. Essentially, he covered all products imported to the United States from China. On Friday, Trump had cited progress in trade talks and praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, Trump’s today move marked an escalation in tensions between the world’s largest economies.
The Japanese yen gained on Monday after U.S. President Trump again threatened to raise tariffs, triggering a selloff across risky assets.
Gold prices climbed on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated Sino-U.S. trade tensions, which prompted investors to sell riskier assets and boost safe-haven bullion.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,281.63 per ounce, as of 0930 GMT. U.S. gold futures also gained 0.2% to $1,283.20 an ounce.
The selloff wasn’t limited to currencies — a gauge of European equities fell nearly 2% in early trading.
Moves were exaggerated with London and Japanese markets closed for holidays. Japan will resume tomorrow, Tuesday.
START TRADINGForex – Yen and Gold: the winners after US threatened tariffs
Major currencies held near the day’s lows, with the dollar stable against a basket of its rivals.
Currencies whose fortunes are linked to the Chinese economy such as the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar, declined 0.3 to 0.5%.
Sterling declined 0.5% and reversed some of Friday’s gains. The opposition Labour Party accused Prime Minister Theresa May of leaking details of the compromise under discussion and jeopardising talks.
In commodities, oil prices fell on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would sharply raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.68 per barrel at 1338 GMT, down 26 cents. WTI hit $60.04 earlier in the session, its lowest since March 29.
Brent crude futures were broadly steady at $70.88 per barrel, having earlier hit its lowest since April 2 at $68.79.
Silver slipped 0.5% to $14.85 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.6 percent to $863.94 per ounce.
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.
Sources: Reuters, Investing, CNN money