The hectic week on the financial market continues, and sentiments may sour.
Donald Trump gave a speech yesterday at the Economic Club of New York, where he downplayed the progress in the trade negotiations with China that have been going on since October. While the President previously stated he has a ready deal with China, over the past few days he has reiterated that nothing is final yet and that the deal might be off if the terms are not favorable for the US, though he also did not rule out a deal. His cabinet’s reluctance to appoint a date for a summit with Xi Jinping is casting further doubt over the prospects of signing a trade treaty anytime soon.
Trump also used the occasion to criticize the Federal Reserve once more. Despite the fact that the Fed is ruled by a board of seasoned economists, Trump has repeatedly attacked them for not lowering interest rates more aggressively to weaken the dollar and help boost trade.
Other than the impact of yesterday’s speech, today we also expect an influx of fundamental reports. New Zealand’s central bank left the cash rate unchanged at 1.0% earlier today. Later, the UK delivered two mixed results on the CPI, with the regular CPI higher than expected at 1.7%, but the core CPI lower (1.3%) than the forecast (1.7%). In the afternoon we expect the CPI reports from the United States and a speech by Jerome Powell.
