gold, Japan and Trade Developments Dent Safe-Haven
Digest more
Carmakers led the rally in Japan, where the Nikkei Stock Average surged 3.5% to its highest level in a year.
Japan and Europe are two of the U.S.’s largest trading partners and now that the markets have some certainty around trade, it’s back to “risk-on” for investors, according to Jim Reid’s team at Deutsche Bank.
The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Swiss franc and euro but weakened versus the yen on Wednesday as positive sentiment from a new U.S. trade deal was offset by political uncertainty surrounding Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's future.
A deal with Japan and a potential deal with Europe follow months of uncertainty and will likely raise prices while offering a bit of clarity for global trade.
Japan is facing trade and political uncertainty after a historic defeat for the prime minister’s ruling party. Shigeru Ishiba is trying to buy time for his premiership following this past weekend’s election, which left the ruling bloc three seats short of a majority in the upper house.
The dollar rose against the euro due to U.S. trade talk progress but fell against the yen, influenced by Japan's interest rate prospects. Political uncertainty in Japan and upcoming ECB decisions also affected currency markets,
While the announcement was cause for optimism ahead of Aug. 1, analysts remained concerned about the steep tariffs still looming for key trading partners such as Brazil and the EU.
Deal-signing at the German cloud computing and software giant SAP turned cautious in the second quarter, CFO Dominik Asam told CNBC.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said Wednesday that a tariff deal between Japan and the United States is a
Gold prices fell on Wednesday as a U.S.-Japan trade deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump lifted risk appetite, while a rebound in the dollar and Treasury yields added further pressure. Spot gold was down 0.