Trade negotiations, bond risks and a rise in botulism cases
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Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Gold eases as yields rise, investors book profits
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Monday due to slightly firmer U.S. Treasury yields and profit-taking following last week's sharp rally driven by weak U.S. jobs data. Spot gold lost 0.2% to $3,356.91 per ounce, as of 1051 GMT, after rising more than 2% on Friday. However, U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $3,410.20. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher from Friday's five-week low, dulling non-yielding bullion's appeal. "The market will remain range bound with today's pullback being in line with some the reversals seen across markets following Friday's big moves, especially yields which are a tad firmer and stocks which have seen a rebound," Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy, Ole Hansen, said. A rebound in stock markets, alongside a stabilizing dollar, also reflected a buy-the-dip mood following last week's payrolls-driven retreat. U.S. Labor Department data showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 73,000 in July after June's gain was revised down to 14,000. The weaker numbers bolstered expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, with CME's FedWatch tool, opens new tab showing an 86% probability. FEDWATCH While gold is struggling to break higher, stagflation risks and prospects of further rate cuts are keeping sellers cautious, with a move above $3,430 likely to spark momentum buying, Hansen said. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would soon nominate a candidate to fill a vacant Fed seat after Governor Adriana Kugler early resignation. On the trade front, Trump's newly imposed tariffs on multiple countries are expected to remain during ongoing negotiations, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in comments aired on Sunday. Citi raised its three-month gold price forecast to $3,500 per ounce from $3,300, citing a deteriorating near-term outlook for U.S. growth and inflation. Spot silver rose 0.3% to $37.14 per ounce, platinum fell 0.3% to $1,311.38 and palladium was down 0.8% at $1,199.08.
The Guardian
18 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Swiss president under fire after Trump call leads to US tariffs shock
The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has been holding emergency talks and President Karin Keller-Sutter has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff. Switzerland, home to some of the world's best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations warned tens of thousands of jobs were at risk. Local media had reported that after three months of talks, negotiators believed they had secured a 10% tariff on exports to the US, an important market for Swiss products such as luxury watches, jewellery and chocolate but also machinery and pharmaceuticals. But after a 30-minute call with Keller-Sutter on Thursday evening variously described as 'bad-tempered', 'disastrous' and 'badly misjudged', Trump imposed a levy even higher than the 31% he had announced on his so-called liberation day in April. Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index opened 1.8% lower on Monday, the first day of trading since the tariff announcement on Swiss National Day, a public holiday. The cabinet was due to meet later to discuss its next steps. Swiss officials rejected reports that the 39% rate was imposed because of the call between Trump and Keller-Sutter, the finance minister and current president under the country's rotating system. 'The call was not a success,' a government source said. 'There was not a good outcome for Switzerland, But there was not a quarrel. Trump made it clear from the very beginning that he had a completely different point of view, that 10% tariffs were not enough,' the source told Reuters. Swiss media were less forgiving. 'Faced with Trump, Keller-Sutter was surely too naive', was the headline in the tabloid Blick, while 24 Heures said what should have been her 'masterpiece' ended up as 'the heaviest defeat of her political career'. The rate would have a huge impact on Switzerland's export-oriented economy and could spark a recession, said Hans Gersbach, an economist at ETH Zürich university, especially if pharmaceuticals, which are not covered, were included. Swiss companies, whose exports to the US account for about one-sixth of their total foreign sales, face one of the steepest US duties — only Laos, Myanmar and Syria had higher figures, at 40-41%. The EU and the UK negotiated 15% and 10% respectively. The business minister, Guy Parmelin, told RTS public radio on Monday that the government needed to 'fully understand what happened, why the US president made this decision. Once we have that on the table, we can decide how to proceed.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Parmelin said Bern would move fast, revise its offer and 'hope to achieve something' by 7 August, when the tariffs were due to come into effect. He and Keller-Sutter were ready to travel to Washington for further talks if necessary, he added. The business minister said Trump was focused on the US trade deficit with Switzerland, which was Sfr38.5bn last year. The country could offer to buy more US liquefied natural gas, as the EU had done, or Swiss companies could invest more in the US, he said. Keller-Sutter said on Friday that Bern would keep talking to Washington but there were only limited concessions it could offer, as US imports already enjoyed 99.3% free market access and multiple Swiss companies had invested heavily in the US. Analysts have said tariffs could still change at any moment due to the unpredictability of the Trump administration, with several suggesting their base case remained that Switzerland would eventually end up with a rate similar to that of the EU's.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Singapore launches economic review to map future amid trade and tech shifts
SINGAPORE, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Singapore is launching a broad review to secure the city-state's future as a trade and financial hub, announcing committees on Monday to look into areas such as competitiveness, artificial intelligence, and how restructuring would affect people. The economic strategy review will have five committees, each chaired by two government ministers and including members from the business, academic and social sectors, and they are due to publish their recommendations by mid-2026. "We must reinforce Singapore's competitive positioning as a key hub for trade and investment and remain relevant to the global economy," Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong said at a press conference. The review comes as U.S. tariffs and global trade tensions threaten the Southeast Asian nation's growth, where trade is three times the size of its gross domestic product. Singapore's exports to the U.S. remain subject to a 10% baseline tariff after U.S. President Donald Trump set new tariffs for dozens of countries, but authorities are still waiting for clarity on proposed sector-specific tariffs in areas such as pharmaceuticals. Last week, the central bank said the effective U.S. tariff rate on Singapore's exports rose to 7.8% in July from 6.8% in April on the back of steel and aluminium tariff hikes. The Monetary Authority of Singapore held its policy settings steady last week, adopting a wait-and-see approach to trade tensions after easing at its previous two reviews this year. While the economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 4.3% in the second quarter, according to preliminary data, authorities have warned that growth is likely to slow as the impact of frontloading of orders to beat the U.S. tariffs tapers off.
