The Chinese yuan was marked by the largest fall in 10 months after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods, while refuge currencies, such as the yen, are rising in price against the background of a widespread risky assets.
Trump unexpectedly announced that this week, he will raise tariffs for Chinese goods by $ 200 billion and is ready to expand this list in the near future. This statement marked a major shift in the negotiation process. Considering that earlier, Trump positively assessed the progress in trade negotiations and highly appreciated his relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This statement took the markets by surprise. In a period of low market volatility for many assets and recent economic data indicating weak but steady growth in the global economy, this decision by the American president has shaken up the markets. This also began active sales of risky assets.
Chinese currency fell by one percent, almost to its lowest level this year, about 6.80 yuan per dollar. The Mexican peso and Turkish lira lost more than a half percent. Currencies of countries that are closely related to the Chinese economy, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, were decreased by 0.3–0.5 percent. Rising tariffs bring bad news for risky assets. Trump has put at risk on the prospects for recovery in global growth. However, the dollar at the same time, feels more than confident and generally remained stable against a basket of major currencies. Investors weighed the prospect of a likely inflationary acceleration in the US economy, if Trump insists on raising tariffs on imported goods, which coincides with rising US interest rate expectations at the end of the year.
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