Tariff-related fears ignite commodities selloff

DUBAI: US President Trump has imposed the steepest and harshest American tariffs in a century on all its major counterparts, sparking market retaliation on a broad front around the world on concerns that global trade war on this scale and magnitude will drive an economic slowdown — not least in the US, where inflation forecasts have spiked, and sentiment among companies and businesses has fallen sharply during the past couple of months.

- Inayat-ur-Rahman

DUBAI: US President Trump has imposed the steepest and harshest American tariffs in a century on all its major counterparts, sparking threats of retaliation and a broad selloff around the world on concerns that a global trade war on this scale and magnitude will drive an economic slowdown - not least in the US, where inflation forecasts have spiked, and sentiment among consumers and businesses has fallen sharply during the past couple of months.

This was stated by Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy, Saxo Bank, during an exclusive interview with Gulf Today.

"There is a general understanding of why Trump wants to reshape the global economy, with his primary goal being the reversal of a two-decade trend of US companies moving production overseas to capitalise on cheaper labour costs, which, in turn, has boosted their stock prices but contributed to domestic job losses and economic stagnation in certain sectors and parts of the nation." Ole added.

"This shift has had significant impacts on American manufacturing and the broader economy, as well as its ability to be self-sufficient in key materials."