US equity markets crashed on Friday, to close out a week dominated by turbulent trade and tariff warnings. The US announced a further blanket 25% tariff on all Non-US Automakers, which comes into effect the same day as the worldwide ‘reciprocal tariffs’, April the 2nd. Fears of at least short-term economic disruption, in the USA and around the world, are driving the negative impact on global equities. The fears are that a trade war and tariffs, will extinguish already weak economic growth and drive recently quelled inflation, even higher. The US PCE reversed the downward course that it has been following, jumping to 2.8% per annum. The US Dollar remains volatile, as gold surges to all time record highs, trading above USD$3,100. The EUR pushed back above 1.0800, while the GBP holds 1.2900, still recovering from the dreadful UK Budget.
The volatile nature of the reserve has also impacted the commodity currencies, with the AUD trading below 0.6300, while the NZD struggles to hold above 0.5700. Australian equity markets were one of the few Western bourse to trade in the black, welcoming the news of a Federal Election, called for May 3rd. Markets await ‘D-Day’ April 2nd, when all of the US tariffs come into effect.
