- Summary:
- The USD is gains broadly aganst the Yen and Swiss Franc, as a conference call between US & China top officials offers glimmer of hope in US-China trade war.
According to reports monitored from the Chinese news agency Xinhua, a high-powered conference call has taken place between the Chinese Vice Premier Liu, PBOC Governor Yi Gang and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on one hand, and US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin as well as Trade Representative Lighthizer on the other.
Xinhua is quoted by Reuters as reporting that the Commerce Ministry of China has indicated the lodging of a solemn representation on new proposals for more tariffs on Chinese goods that were to kick in by September 1. The Trump administration has also announced it would delay tariffs targeted at components of electronics, computers, toys, footwear and clotthing until the 15th of December, prompting a strong risk-on market response to the news.
The US Dollar has reversed all losses sustained against the Japanese Yen since August 5 with a 142-pip spike, and has also posted similar gains against the Swiss France with a 100-pip spike as at the time of writing. Crude oil is also sharply higher and has hit the R3 intraday pivot resistance at 57.03. Gold is also trading lower at 1493, having hit session highs of 1534.
The US stock markets have also reacted positively to the news, with the Nasdaq Composite Index presently up by 0.8%. The S&P 500 is also up by 0.5% on the day.
The situation and market response continues to evolve and updates will be provided later.