ECONOMY
On Friday, Asian indices mildly upside from two-month lows just hours ahead of the Trump administration’s plan to raise tariffs on Chinese imports as investors looked to whether negotiators from the two countries can clinch a deal to avert the hike. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had received a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping, stoking hopes that Washington may suspend its plan to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent. That provided some support for stocks in early Asian trade though sentiment remains cautious.
Yet with less than four hours left before the announced start of new rates at 12:01 a.m. (0401) GMT on Friday, right in the middle of two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, some see the risk of a fresh escalation in the trade war.
Trump also said on Thursday he was taking steps to authorize new tariffs on $325 billion in Chinese imports.
CURRENCY
The safe-haven Japanese yen and Swiss franc stood tall on Friday amid investor concerns that a long-standing rift over trade between the United States and China could deepen if talks between the two fail to reach a last-minute deal.
The euro nudged up 0.1% to $1.1225 after touching a one-week peak of $1.1251 the day before.
The Dollar Index against a basket of six major currencies, of which the euro is a main component of, was little changed at 97.429.
The Chinese yuan perked at 6.838 per dollar having hit a four-month low of 6.8638 to the dollar the previous day.
The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield stood at 2.453 percent near its lowest levels since late March.
MSCI’s emerging market currency index also tumbled to a four-month low.
COMMODITY
Oil prices held firm after Trump’s comments on Xi’s letter raised hopes for a deal for now. Brent rose 0.7% to $70.86 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.9% to $62.24 per barrel.
Spot Gold, reflective of trades in bullion, was up $4.10, or 0.3%, at $1,284.95 per ounce by 2:45 PM ET.
Spot palladium was down $23.25, or 1.8%, at $1,298.50 an ounce, touching $1,299.90 at the session bottom, its lowest since Jan. 4.
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