The United States Government has agreed to postpone the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods following the claim of Beijing manipulating the yuan and labelling China as a currency manipulator. China has complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help determine the legality of the United States trade policies, stating that the U.S. has not only violated China’s rights and undermined the WTO’s authority. Has this delay been a compromise made by President Trump?
Taxed imported goods included, smartphones, laptops, toys, and video games. The original statement exclaimed that the 10% tariffs were set to take effect on the 1st of September, now delayed to December the 15th. Wall Street Journal analysis estimated 2018 imported Chines goods were valued at approximately $156 billion.
What effect has this had on the safe-haven good, gold? The uncertainty surrounding the ongoing trade war has driven gold to yearly highs of $1533. Thus, the recent delay on tariffs has had detrimental effects on gold prices, sending gold plummeting to the $1507 mark.
Since then we have seen a steady recovery with gold currently trading at $1519.