The trade war continues to dominate the news today. After more than a week since Donald Trump announced he will tax all of the remaining Chinese imports with tariffs, the Chinese government finally stated that they will retaliate. China doesn’t import nearly as much as the US does from China, so the retaliation might be more than just tariffs. Analysts have speculated that China could cut off the States’ supply to rare elements, on which China almost has a monopoly.
Today there’s also a great amount of fundamental reports coming from the United States. These include unemployment data, manufacturing and industrial surveys, and the retail sales for July. The last one is the most important among them and is forecasted at 0.3%, down from last month’s 0.4%. A lower reading will indicate that the Federal Reserve might have grounds for a further loosening of their monetary policy.
Meanwhile, the price of crude oil is dropping. Tensions in the Middle East continue, as the United States and Iran’s disagreement is getting worse. In addition, oil supplies in the United States are still rising. Also, Iraq appears to be pumping more than the allowed amount of oil, oversupplying the market even further.
