The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis is set to reveal the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data for February on Friday at 12:30 GMT. Analysts predict the February PCE Price Index to be up 0.3% M/M and 2.7% Y/Y. This data release coincides with the ongoing impacts of the tariffs implemented during President Donald Trump’s administration which are still shaking global markets today.
The new tariff increases have increased the trade-weighted average tariff rate on all US imports by approximately 5.5 to 6.0 percentage points. Because of this, the tariff rate has climbed to heights we haven’t experienced since the Second World War. The tariffs were intended to protect nascent domestic industries. As trade routes shift across the landscape, their usefulness will be increasingly outpaced by the centuries.
Moving to the currency markets, the euro-dollar pair is still feeling the pain as it hovers below the 1.0800 level in early trading on Friday. Even with a slight recovery occurrence earlier this week, the pair was unable to build off that action. In the same manner, the GBP/USD cross is trading in a tight range, hovering slightly below 1.2950 during the Friday European session. Its potential for upward movement is limited by the cloud of uncertainty hanging over all of President Trump’s tariff plans.
Retail Sales data from the United Kingdom surprised to the upside in February. This good news is a relief globally as the economic crisis continues to unfold. All of these gains are erased by macro fears in the market.
Gold prices have been on a tear—making a new all-time high and testing the $3,100 level. This jump is a clear sign of traders’ flight to safety as global risk sentiment continues to deteriorate. Increased fears about Trump’s suggested auto tariffs are shaking up confidence and causing investors to move toward safety in gold.