ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Trump talks tough on tariffs again

• What the Canadian election this weekend means for CAD
• ICYMI – South Korea Q1 GDP unexpectedly contracts, boosting rate cut expectations
• Japan finance minister Kato told the G7 that US tariffs are highly disappointing
• Nissan has scrapped development of two EVs planned to be produced in Mississippi plant
• “Lock it in: RBA to cut 25bps in May” – Westpac forecast for the Reserve Bank of Australia
• China set to lift sanctions on EU lawmakers in move to revive stalled investment deal
• UBS says Trump’s rate cut demands risk undermining the Fed and stoking further uncertainty
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.2098 (vs. estimate at 7.3111)
• Japan economy minister Akazawa to visit the U.S. for tariff talks from April 30
• China’s state planner has trimmed the number of items on its negative list from 117 to 106
• MUFG sees ECB on track for June rate cut, with neutral territory in sight by year-end
• ” Trump is looking for a face saving off ramp on trade”
• Japan March 2025 Services PPI 3.1% y/y (prior 3.0%)
• More from Fed’s Hammack, says again that now is not a good time to be preemptive on policy
• Hassett says 14 tariff meetings scheduled this week
• Trump admin told Japan it cannot give Japan special tariff treatment
• Fed’s Hammack says uncertainty a big issue in economy, causing businesses to pause
• IMF says the yen remains a safe haven currency – Japan economy strong, stable, predictable
• Fed’s Hammack says some volatility in overnight markets is not a bad thing
• US ‘overnight’ equity index trade subdued despite Trump’s latest tariff tirade
• More on Trump threatening higher tariffs on Canadian car imports
• Trump says 25% tariff on cars from Canada could go higher
• Trump says it depends on China how soon tariffs can come down
• Trump admin says the EU fine on Meta and Apple will not be tolerated
• Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: US dollar rallies as the White House walks back tariffs
• Trump admin launches national security review of truck imports. May solve with … tariffs
• The FT is reporting that Trump will exempt carmakers from some US tariffs
• Earnings after the close: ServiceNow beats. IBM beats
• A dozen US states are suing Trump, say his new tariffs are illegal
• The big moves in the stocks continue. NASDAQ is the biggest gainer
• Trade ideas thread – Thursday, 24 April, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas

It
was a much quieter session here in Asia than the previous day.

There
was the odd piece of data but the only real news of note were
comments from Trump indicating:

• it
  depends on China how soon tariffs can come down:
• he
  has spoken to 90 countries regarding tariffs already
• if
  China doesn’t talk he’ll set a tariff rate in the next 2-3 weeks
  and China will have to cope with it
• he
  has not called Federal Reserve Chair Powell, may call him

• 25%
  tariff on cars from Canada could go higher:

• we
  don’t want cars from Canada, want to make them in the US

• working
  on a deal with Canada

• US
  dollar is a bit on the low side

• not
  considering changes to auto parts, auto tariffs (contradicting this
  from earlier: The
  FT is reporting that Trump will exempt carmakers from some US
  tariffs )

A
little prior to Trump’s remarks was a White House statement saying
that that the European Union fine on Meta and Apple is a novel form
of economic extortion and will not be tolerated. This was in
reference to Apple being fined US$570 million and Meta US$228 million
by European Union antitrust regulators.

Later
in the session a Fox reporter (link above in the points) cited
unnamed sources as saying Trump is seeking a ‘face-saving off ramp’
on tariffs. This didn’t really gel with what Trump said earlier,
but Trump’s comments sometimes lack veracity, so who knows?

Federal
Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack spoke before the
Money Marketeers of New York University on balance sheet issues.
Hammack later, in the following Q&A said

• Uncertainty
  is a big issue in economy, it’s causing businesses to pause
• Economic
  uncertainty prompting business caution
• ‘Incredibly
  high bar’ exists for Fed to step in to aid markets
• “This
  is not a good time to be pre-emptive” with monetary policy,
  rather that “this is a good time to watch” and gather data
  to determine what the right course of action will be

One
of Australia’s ‘big 4’ banks said “lock it in” for a May 20
Reserve Bank of Australia 25bp rate cut. This generated as near to
zero interest for AUD as is possible. Which may be due to the
national public holiday in Australia due tomorrow (Friday, April 25,
2025) that’ll shutter markets for another long weekend.

As
for FX more broadly, the yen caught a small bid, USD/JPY traded won
from highs around 143.50 in late US time to lows under 142.65.

EUR/USD
and GBP/USD ticked a little higher. USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, and
NZD/USD are not a lot changed.

Gold
rocketed higher, to above 3360 USD at one stage. Its since retraced
to below $3325.

Finally,
I’m just going to add in an item from a US freight/logistics twitter
account (@FreightAlley)that is garnering attention. Trucking volumes out of LA (a
major port city) have collapsed, in a worrying sign for the supply of
products and the US economy more broadly:

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.