Kiwi extends losses to two-week trough on tariff concerns
The New Zealand dollar fell in Asian trade on Thursday on track for the fifth loss in a row against the US dollar, hitting two-week lows on risk aversion and due to concerns about Trump’s tariffs.
US President Donald Trump continues to threaten tariffs on major economies worldwide in a step aimed at reducing the US trade deficit, which paves the way for a global trade war.
The Price
The NZD/USD fell 0.4% today to $0.5675, the lowest since February 14, with a session-high at $0.5701.
The kiwi closed down 0.55% on Wednesday against the greenback amid mounting risk aversion while global stocks tumbled.
Trump’s Tariffs
President Trump revealed plans to potentially delay the implementation of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports from March 4 to April 2.
However, White House officials asserted the tariffs are still firmly in place as Trump is ensuring that Mexico and Canada are bolstering their borders and stemming the tide of immigrants and fentanyl to the US.
Trump also spoke about a 25% additional tax on European imports, including cars, in order to reduce the giant trade deficit with the EU.
Investors are concerned about the impact on the global economy from Trump’s aggressive tariffs and their repercussions with retaliatory tariffs taken by other sides.
The New Zealand economy heavily relies on exporting commodities such as meat and dairy, making the economy indirectly exposed to Trump’s tariff waves on countries such as China and the EU.
New Zealand Rates
The odds of a New Zealand 0.25% interest rate cut at the April 9 meeting stood at just 93%, while rate futures indicating that rates will likely hit 3% by the end of the year.
Now investors await important data on New Zealand’s inflation, wages, unemployment in upcoming weeks to gather more clues.
Wheat futures close lower on concerns about trade war, oversupply
Wheat prices fell on Wednesday on the Chicago Exchange amid mounting concerns about the impact of the trade war, and potential market oversupply.
It comes amid signals that Russia and Ukraine are approaching a peace deal that would end the three-year war, which would boost grain supplies as both countries are major wheat exporters.
Trump surprised the markets with plans to enforce the tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports next month, shrugging off recent negotiations.
Trump also ordered the trade ministry to investigate US copper imports and whether there was a need to impose tariffs on the industrial metal to protect national security.
The Norwegian government warned that Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on European imports would lead to a dangerous trade war.
Corn
Corn May futures fell 0.1% to $4.93 a bushel.
Soybeans
Soybean May futures fell 0.7% to $10.41 a bushel.
Wheat
Wheat May futures dropped 1.5% to $5.79 a bushel.
Ethereum tumbles over 8% as traders shun risky assets
Most cryptocurrencies fell on Wednesday as investors shun riskier assets such as stocks, bitcoin, and other crypto assets on concerns about the trade war.
Trump surprised the markets with plans to enforce the tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports next month, shrugging off recent negotiations.
Trump also ordered the trade ministry to investigate US copper imports and whether there was a need to impose tariffs on the industrial metal to protect national security.
The Norwegian government warned that Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on European imports would lead to a dangerous trade war.
Now traders await important US personal spending data on Friday to measure inflation.
Otherwise, the crypto platform Bybit was subject to a hack that took nearly $1.5 billion out of the platform.
The company’s CEO confirmed on X that the ethereum wallet was hacked after the ZachXBT website noticed a suspicious $1.5 billion transfer of ethereum to a foreign wallet.
Ethereum
On trading, ethereum tumbled 8.5% on Coinmarketcap as of 20:22 GMT to $2273.1.
US crude stocks fall unexpectedly after four weeks of buildups
The Energy Information Administration reported a drawdown of 2.3 million barrels in US crude stocks to 430.2 million barrels, while analysts expected a build of 1.7 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks rose 0.4 million barrels to 248.3 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 3.9 million barrels to 120.5 million barrels.