| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 01:30 | China | PPI y/y | March | -2.2% | -2.3% | -2.5% |
| 01:30 | China | CPI y/y | March | -0.7% | 0.1% | -0.1% |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar declined moderately against major currencies, while the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, considered safe haven assets, resumed their growth amid the escalation of the trade war between the United States and China.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) fell by 0.25% to 102.73. Yesterday, Trump maintained a baseline tariff rate of 10% on most countries as he stunned markets by awarding a 90-day reprieve on his reciprocal levies. At the same time, it raised the tariff rate on Chinese imports to 125%, with immediate effect after Beijing countered previous U.S. duties with an 84% tariff rate. Such drastic changes in Trump's trade policy have increased speculation about an impending crisis of confidence in the US currency. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said Wednesday that the massive tariff cuts were a plan from the beginning to bring countries to the negotiating table. Later, Trump noted that the panic in the markets that arose after his statements on April 2 influenced his train of thought. Experts said that investor confidence in the U.S. government has decreased, and even if Trump does make deals with trading partners, the U.S. markets and economy have been damaged, which will take time to recover. Investors now await upcoming U.S. inflation data, which could further influence expectations around Fed policy. Consensus estimates suggest that consumer price growth slowed to 0.1% m/m in March from 0.2% m/m in February. In annual terms, CPI growth is projected to be 2.6%, compared with 2.8% in February.
The Chinese yuan briefly dropped to its lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2007/2008, but then returned to the opening level of the session. The Сentral Bank of China lowered the official yuan exchange rate for the sixth consecutive trading session on Thursday, signaling its intention to ensure a very gradual depreciation. Experts warned that since the Chinese authorities will allow the yuan to depreciate significantly, the confrontation between the United States and China will only intensify.
The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars, which depend on the state of China due to close trade ties, rose 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively, with the stock rally set to sweep into Europe.