Gold hits a month low, Trump threatens tariffs again

Basic news

Last Friday (May 23), US President Trump recommended 50% tariffs on European goods, reopening a new front for global trade tensions and triggering a new wave of market uncertainty. Investors are seeking safe haven in gold, with gold rising more than 2% last Friday, its best performance in six weeks. Investors sold the dollar, with the U.S. dollar index falling 0.8% last Friday, hitting a nearly month low of 99.09. The dollar fell 1.9% last week, the biggest weekly decline since early April.

In the early trading of the Asian market on Monday (May 26), spot gold fluctuated slightly, and the current decline was around $334,850 per ounce, a drop of about 0.3%. The US dollar index hovered at the low level in the past month, and the current trading was around 99.07. It is recommended to pay attention to the support of the daily-level Bollinger line near 98.66. U.S. crude oil rose slightly, with trading around $61.93 per barrel, an increase of about 0.8%. Geographical situations such as the continued conflict in Russia and Ukraine support oil prices. The market is concerned about the 39th OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries ministerial meeting to be held on Wednesday.

Holiday Preview

Key focus on the day: European Central Bank President Lagarde delivered a speech at the Herti Academy in Berlin, and European Central Bank Management Venezuel made a speech.

Stock market

U.S. stocks closed last Friday, down weekly after U.S. President Trump recommended 50% tariffs on European goods, reopening a new front for global trade tensions and triggering a new wave of market uncertainty.

The three major Wall Street stock indexes all narrowed their declines in the early trading session.But it still closed lower, with a cumulative decline of more than 2% last week. Among the 11 sectors of the S&P 500, technology stocks, eouu.cnmunications services stocks and consumer stocks fell the most. Utilities, basic consumer goods and energy stocks rose.

Apple hit a two-week low and closed down 3% after Trump warned the iPhone maker could impose a 25% tariff on phones sold to U.S. customers but not made in the U.S. Treasury yields fell from months highs, with the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields falling 4.4 basis points to 4.509%.

Abin St. Aubin, chief investment officer of OceanPark Asset Management, said this was Trump's pressure on tariff negotiations against the EU and Apple. The market had hoped that the worst phase of tariff rhetoric was over, but in reality, there were still some embers burning in the tariff negotiations. ”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.61% to 41,603.07 points; the S&P 500 fell 0.67% to 802.82 points; the Nasdaq fell 1.00% to 18,737.21 points.

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.47%, the S&P 500 fell 2.61%, and the Nasdaq fell 2.48%.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Beck Cente said on Friday that President Trump believes the quality of the EU’s trade proposals to the United States is not high enough, and he hopes that the threat of imposing 50% tariffs on EU goods from June 1 can "press the EU" in the U.S.-EU negotiations.

Most large stocks and growth stocks fell, including Amazon, Nvidia and MetaPlatforms -- all fell more than 1%. Tesla closed down 0.5%.

< p> Wall Street's "Fear Index" CBOE volatility index hit a new high of more than two weeks, closing up 10%. Semiconductor stocks fell 1.5%. U.S. stock exchanges sold a total of 17.67 billion shares, with an average daily trading volume of 17.73 billion shares in the past 20 full trading days.

Gold market

As US President Trump once again issued tariff threats and the dollar weakened, investors are looking to go to Gold has been safe-haven, with gold rising more than 2% last Friday, its best performance in six weeks.

Spot gold rose 2.1% to $3362.70 per ounce. Last week, gold prices rose 5.1%, hitting a more than two-week high. U.S. gold futures closed higher 2.1% at $3365.8.

Independent metals trader TaiWong said, "Trump has been making frequent moves in the past 24 hours. He threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU from June 1, while putting pressure on Apple and launching an offensive against Harvard University, which has put the stock market in a downturn but is good for the gold market. On the low-liquidity trading day ahead of the long weekend, the resurgence of tariff issues may amplify market trends. ”

The global stock market plummeted after Trump recommended a 50% tariff on EU imported goods starting June 1.Trump also said Apple will pay a 25% tariff on iPhones sold in the U.S. but not made in the U.S. The attractiveness of gold as a safe-haven asset increases with geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said that if we break through the $3,500 mark, we can rise to $3,800 in one fell swoop.

Platinum rose 1.2% to $1,094.05, reaching its highest level since May 2023 earlier in the session.

Spot silver rose 1.1% to $33.44; palladium fell 1.6% to $998.89. Both metals recorded weekly gains. Oil market

Oil prices rose last Friday as U.S. buyers recovered their positions by the three-day Memorial Day long weekend while worrying about the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.

Brent crude oil futures closed at $64.78 per barrel, up 0.54%. U.S. crude oil futures closed at $61.53, up 0.54%. Phil Flynn, senior analyst at PriceFuturesGroup, said, "I think there were some short covers before the weekend, and Memorial Day weekend kicked off the U.S. summer driving season, which is also the period when car fuel demand is the highest.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators held a new round of talks in Rome on Friday aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program. Flynn said that if the talks fail to reach a deal, traders are worried that crude oil supplies may be affected." The prospects for the talks are not optimistic. "If this is the last talks and no agreement is reached, it could give the Israelis a green light to attack Iran." He said on Friday that he recommended a 50% tariff on goods from June 1, saying the EU has been difficult to deal with in trade. OPEC+, a group of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, will meet this week and expect another 411,000 barrels per day in July. The dollar fell across the board last Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to escalate again Investors sell the dollar in the trade war, which suggests 50% tariffs on the EU from June 1. This has once again raised concerns about the impact of tariffs on the world economy and global trade.

Trump posted on social media that the EU is "very difficult to deal with" and "we have no progress in discussions with them."

In another post, he threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Apple, Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers that are not produced in the United States.

Elias Haddad, senior market strategist at BrownBrothers Harriman, said key topics that currently put pressure on the dollarIt is the loss of confidence in US policies and the continuous trade war, which has led to countries reassessing their dependence on the US. "

In afternoon trading, the dollar fell 1% against the safe-haven yen to 142.48 yen, and had fallen to a two-week low earlier. Last week, the dollar fell 2.2% against the yen, the biggest weekly decline since April 7.

Euro rose 0.8% against the dollar to $1.1363. Earlier, the euro hit a two-week high against the dollar, setting its biggest weekly gain in six weeks. The dollar index fell 0.8% to hit a recent month low of 99.09.

Last week, the dollar fell 1.9%, the biggest weekly decline since early April. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent pointed out that Trump's tariff speech was a response to the speed of EU tariff talks and said the president believes the EU made it to the United States The quality of trade proposals is not high enough. U.S. stocks follow the dollar's decline.

At the same time, the yen was boosted. Japan announced that its core annual inflation rate in April hit its highest in more than two years, raising the possibility of another rate hike before the end of the year.

The data highlights the Bank of Japan's dilemma that it must deal with the price pressures brought by the continued rise in food prices and the economic resistance brought by Trump's tariffs.

Ultra-long Japanese government bonds also hit new highs this week, but yields fell last Friday; after Moody's downgrades U.S. debt rating last week, investors' attention focused on US $36 trillion and Trump's tax cut bill, which could increase U.S. debt by trillions.

The bill was passed by a narrow margin in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and is now submitted to the Senate. Senators may hold weeks of debate, which will keep investor sentiment vulnerable in the short term.

The pound rose 0.9% against the dollar to $1.3533, after climbing to its highest in more than three years. Last week, the pound rose 1%, the biggest weekly gain in five weeks.

International News

Trump threatens to impose 50% tariffs on the EU, French Cosmetics Industry Association: France's cosmetics industry eouu.cnpetitiveness is at stake

Recently, U.S. President Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on goods imported from the EU from June 1, far higher The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" of the United States previously announced the suspension of the 20% so-called "reciprocal tariffs" against Europe have caused another turmoil in the capital market. Many key European industries said that the US tariff policy has had a serious impact on exports and they are facing an existential crisis. In terms of the cosmetics industry, the French Cosmetics Industry Association said that the United States is the largest export market for French cosmetics outside the EU. The association previously stated that other cosmetic export countries around the world are also deeply affected by the US government's tariff policies, which will intensify the eouu.cnpetitive pressure in markets outside the United States, and the eouu.cnpetitiveness of European cosmetics, especially French cosmetics industry, is "in danger".

Founder of the Schiller Institute of Germany: The German economy faces the most serious crisis due to the Ukrainian problem

According to TASS 24According to a report from Japan, La Rush, founder of the German think tank Schiller Institute, said on the same day that Western countries lack consensus on supporting Ukraine, and the German economy is facing the most serious crisis and market loss. Previously, the German Economic Expert eouu.cnmittee released an economic forecast report on the 21st, expecting that Germany's economic zero growth in 2025 will be significantly lower than the previous growth expectation of 0.4%, which means that the German economy may not achieve growth for three consecutive years.

The number of people applying for UK naturalization as Trump opens his second term hits a record high

Data released by the British Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday showed that a total of 1,931 U.S. citizens applied to become UK citizenship from January to March, the highest in a single quarter since record in 2004, an increase of 12% from the previous quarter. This period eouu.cnes as Trump begins his second presidency, and the number of applications has surged between October and December last year. The number of successful applicants for permanent settlement in the UK last year also hit a record high. More than 5,500 Americans were granted settlement status in 2024, one-fifth more than in 2023. The last time Americans applied for UK citizenship surged in 2020, Trump's first presidency and the peak of the epidemic.

Data shows that the number of international passengers to the United States will drop by 8.7% this year

The Tourism Economics eouu.cnpany, a subsidiary of the Oxford Economic Research Institute in the United Kingdom, recently released data showing that due to factors such as the introduction of "reciprocal tariffs" by the US government, the number of international inbound passengers in the United States will drop by 8.7% in 2025, of which the number of international passengers from Canada, Mexico and Western European countries has dropped significantly. Tourism Economics expects that among international passengers arriving in the United States in 2025, the number of passengers from Canada will decrease by 20.2%, the number of passengers from Mexico will decrease by 7.6%, and the number of passengers from Western European countries will decrease by 5.8%. Affected by this, international travelers will spend $8.5 billion less in the United States this year than last year, a decrease of 4.7%.

German Foreign Minister: The EU is discussing a new round of sanctions on Russia

According to TASS on May 23, German Foreign Minister John Wadefur said on the same day that the EU is discussing a new round of sanctions on Russia, especially for the Russian energy field. The EU officially passed the 17th round of sanctions against Russia on May 20. According to reports, the 18th round of sanctions includes relevant measures against Russian oil, lowering the price limit of Russian oil and oil products, and new restrictions on Russian "shadow fleet" ships. Western countries accused Russia of using eouu.cnmercial ships such as tankers to evade Western sanctions, calling these eouu.cnmercial ships "shadow fleets."

The Trump administration and Harvard University have escalated the battle between the Trump administration and Harvard University in the United States. Many places around the world have launched a "snatching model" of talents.

In the past two days, the battle between the Trump administration and Harvard University in the United States has escalated again. Harvard University sued the Trump administration again on the 23rd, accusing it of illegally banning the school from recruiting international students. A judge in the Federal District Court of Massachusetts against the Trump administration on the same dayA temporary restraining order was issued requiring the “stay status quo” before the hearing was held. The day before, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the cancellation of Harvard's student and exchange scholar program qualifications and prohibited the school from recruiting international students. While the Trump administration was fighting Harvard University in an extremely fierce battle, many places in the world, including Britain, France, Australia, and other places opened their arms and started the "snatch-up mode" of recruiting scientific researchers from the United States.

Traders bet the summer will clear the fog for the Fed

For months, Fed policymakers have made it clear that they want a clearer response to fiscal and trade policies and the economy before taking further action on interest rates. This prudent stance has prompted traders to withdraw their bets on interest rate cuts in June, and the market is currently expecting policy suspension to continue until the July meeting. However, futures market positions show that the probability of interest rate cuts before the end of September is still slightly higher than 50%. This is essentially a bet on the brightening situation in the next four months: either a slowdown in inflation paves the way for policy easing, or an economic deterioration forces the Fed to increase its stimulus.

Japan plans to push low-priced reserve rice to ease inflation pressure, which may be listed at 400 yen per kilogram from June

According to reports, Japan's new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Shinjiro Koizumi said on a TV program on Friday night local time that the government plans to sell the rice in stock to retailers through a direct contract, with the goal of reducing the price of rice sold in stores to 2,000 yen (about 14 US dollars) per 5 kilogram. He added that reserve rice is expected to be available as early as June as more people criticized the government for failing to curb the surge in rice prices, which hurt families as inflation continues to outpace wage growth. The government led by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may initiate negotiation contract procedures next Monday, while exploring the sale of low-priced stock rice online to ensure widespread distribution across the country.

Japan's chief negotiator: strive to reach a tariff agreement with the United States before the two heads of state meet in June

Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryo Akazawa is meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer and eouu.cnmerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said that he had a "candid discussion" with the U.S. Trade Representative and "strongly" demanding review of U.S. tariff measures. He said negotiators "will do their best" to resolve the tariff negotiations, while focusing on the meeting scheduled for U.S. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. When asked about the progress of tariff negotiations, he said: "There is usually no deadline for negotiations, and we will advance the negotiations based on this understanding. However, it has been confirmed that the leaders of both countries are looking forward to the meeting, so we will do our best based on it."

Trump supports the partnership between US Steel and Japanese iron. U.S. President Trump expressed his support for US Steel to cooperate with Japanese iron and Japanese iron and attributed the deal to the tariff policies he promoted, saying that the move will ensure that the symbolic American eouu.cnpany continues to build roots. Although Trump did not explicitly support Japan's ironmaking proposalThe acquisition deal for the US Steel with a total of US$14.1 billion was held, but after its statement, the US Steel stock price rose by 26%, reflecting the market's optimistic expectations for the trading prospects. “I am proud to announce that after careful consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will remain in the U.S. and its headquarters remains in the great city of Pittsburgh,” Trump said on TruthSocial on Friday. “My tariff policy will ensure U.S. steel is always made in the U.S..” Trump said the cooperation will create at least 70,000 jobs and bring $14 billion in new investment to the U.S. economy, most of which will be implemented in the next 14 months. He also announced that he would attend a related event in Pittsburgh on May 30. The White House confirmed that Trump has received review recommendations from the eouu.cnmission on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) on the acquisition.

Russia said that shooting down 110 Ukrainian drones in Ukrainian drones in Ukrainian drones said that attacks in many places have caused 12 deaths.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the morning of the 25th that from 0:00 to 7:00 that day, the air defense system destroyed and intercepted 110 Ukrainian drones in Moscow Prefecture, Kursk Prefecture and other areas. In addition, from early morning to morning that day, Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Zhukovsky Airport, Vnukovo Airport and Sheremetyevo Airport temporarily restricted takeoff and landing. On the 25th, the Ukrainian National Emergency Service Bureau reported that the Russian army launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine in the early morning of the same day. At least 12 people have died in the attack. According to preliminary statistics, the attack caused 4 people to die, 5 people to be injured, 6 private residential buildings to be destroyed, and more than 20 were damaged; 3 children in Zhitomir State died, 10 people were injured; and 1 person in Nikolayev was killed.

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