• Against a basket of currencies, the dollar index was down percent at The yen hit a month high against the dollar on Friday as concerns over rising global trade tensions triggered a bout of investor risk aversion.0.3 89.612. 16-
• China is in touch with the United States and communication channels are smooth, a senior Chinese Commerce Ministry official said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to target up to billion ( billion pounds) in Chinese goods with tariffs.$6042.5
Chen Fuli, director-general of the ministry’s department of treaty and law, told reporters that China was not afraid of a trade war and was well prepared, adding that China would defend its rights.
• The U.S. Congress voted early on Friday to approve a trillion ( billion) government funding bill with large increases in military and non-defence spending, sending it to President Donald Trump, who was expected to sign it into law.$1.3-£921
With Trump’s signature, the bill will avert a threatened government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded until Sept. 30, ending for now Washington’s constant budget squabbles and letting lawmakers focus on getting reelected in November.
• China urged the United States on Friday to “pull back from the brink” as President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese goods brought the world’s two largest economies closer to a trade war.
• U.S. President Donald Trump has temporarily excluded six countries, including Canada and Mexico, and European Union states from higher U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium meant to come into effect on Friday.
In a presidential proclamation published late on Thursday, Trump said he would suspend tariffs for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, the U.S.’s biggest trading partner, until May 1, 2018 as discussions continue.
After May 1, Trump would decide whether to permanently exempt the countries based on the status of talks, the White House said in a statement.
The United States was set to begin imposing the higher import duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium, mainly aimed at curbing imports from China, as of 12:01 a.m. EST on Friday.
• Germany’s economy minister on Friday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily exclude European Union countries from higher U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium and called for more international cooperation on trade.
• Oil prices rose by around 1 percent on Friday, pushed up by Saudi plans for OPEC and Russian-led production curbs introduced in 2017 to be extended into to 2019 further tighten the market.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $64.95 a barrel at 0753 GMT, up 65 cents, or 1 percent, from their previous settlement.
Brent crude futures LCOcwere at $per barrel, up cents, or percent. For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about percent, its strongest showing since July last year, while WTI was up about percent.1 69.51 60 0.9 5 4.2
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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