Yen rushes to three-week high on Trump tariffs
The Japanese yen rallied in Asian trade on Thursday against major rivals, heading for the third profit in a row against the US dollar and scaling a three-week high on haven demand.
Global financial markets have been shaken by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs against the world economies, announced yesterday.
The yen is also bolstered by a tumble in US treasury yields amid a surge in bond purchases due to concerns about a recession.
The Price
The USD/JPY fell 1.4% today to 147.11, the lowest since March 11, with a session-high at 149.24.
The yen rose 0.25% on Wednesday, the second profit in a row on strong haven demand.
US Tariffs
Global financial markets are being sold off after Trump’s attempt to reshape global trade, which was more aggressive than expected.
Trump said he’ll impose a base 10% tariffs on all imports, with much higher rates on some major partners such as China and the EU.
Japan’s Aggressive Tariffs
The American tariffs on Japanese products were more aggressive than expected at 24%.
The Nikkei index tumbled to eight-month lows, with Japanese treasury yields tumbled by the biggest percentage point since August 2024.
US Yields
US 10-year treasury yields fell by 1.85% today on track for the fifth loss in a row, plumbing a six-month low at 4.051%.
It comes as investors brace for slower US growth, which could force the Fed to enact more interest rate cuts this year.
A reduced gap between long-term Japanese and US rates would boost the appeal of Japanese yields as an investment target, in turn underpinning the yen.
Trump signs historic reciprocal tariffs on all countries
US President Donald Trump announced new historic reciprocal tariffs on all world countries, that start with a base 10% and rise by many folds depending on the country.
He described the new tariffs as “a declaration of independence” and today as the “liberation day”.
He accused the world of “looting, pillaging, and raping the US for many years” on the economic trade fronts, with barriers being put in front of US companies worldwide.
The new tariffs will stack on top of the 25% auto tariffs already announced a few days ago and will go into effect this week.
Ripple extends gains despite trade uncertainty and plunging sentiment
Most cryptocurrencies rallied on Wednesday despite spreading uncertainty in the markets due to the escalating global trade wars.
US President Donald Trump is shocking the market with aggressive reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose tariffs on US products.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress that Trump will impose the highest level of tariffs on countries, which will be the starting point for any negotiations to cut them.
Earlier labor data showed the US private sector added 155 thousand jobs in March, beating estimates of a 118 thousand addition, and up from the addition of 84 thousand in January.
Ripple is strongly supported by banking sectors and cross-border money transfer companies, boosting its status.
Ripple
On trading, Ripple rose 3.5% on Coinmarketcap as of 20:22 GMT to $2.2.
Oil climbs, Brent trades near $75 a barrel
Oil prices rose on Wednesday despite earlier data that showed a surge in US crude stocks.
The Energy Information Administration reported a buildup of 6.2 million barrels in US crude stocks last week to 439.8 million barrels, while analysts expected a drop of 0.7 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels to 237.6 million barrels, as distillate stocks rose by 0.3 million barrels to 114.6 million barrels.
The EIA reported an increase of 885 thousand bpd in US oil demand to 20.1 million bpd.
US President Donald Trump is shocking the market with aggressive reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose tariffs on US products.
On trading, Brent June futures rose 0.6%, or 46 cents to $74.95 a barrel.
US crude futures due in May rose 0.7%, or 51 cents to $71.71 a barrel.