Major currencies are little changed, with the dollar keeping steadier in general as Trump pushes forward with steel and aluminum tariffs. The 25% tariffs tears apart all existing deals and will go into effect on 4 March. But with a month to go, is there really going to be no exceptions? The market response has been relatively calm I would say.
Dollar pairs are little changed in general, keeping in narrower ranges still ahead of European trading. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures are down 0.2% but it comes after a modest rise yesterday. The standout in all of this continues to be gold, which is up another 0.3% to $2,915 now but well off its earlier high of $2,942.
As we look towards European morning trade, it’ll likely be a slower one with Trump headlines set to take a breather again. That said, just be wary that US vice president Vance will be in Paris and meeting up with China and the EU on the sidelines of the AI summit. That might offer up some headlines in the session ahead.
Besides that, there won’t be much to really get markets jumping in Europe. For the day ahead, eyes will be on more Trump headlines and Fed chair Powell’s testimony to Congress. On the latter, we should be getting the excerpts of his speech a short while before the actual testimony begins at 1500 GMT.
1100 GMT – US January NFIB small business optimism index
That’s all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.