Asia Summary and Highlights 24 Dec
Washington delays semiconductor tariffs as it seeks China trade truce
Asia Session
As market participants preparing their turkey for Christmas, we are hearing Washington delaying execution of semiconductor tariffs till mid 2026. While such investigation begun in Biden era, this delay seems to suggest Trump is trying to ease the tension between U.S. and China to achieve a broader trade deal. USD/JPY is trading 0.27% lower at 155.79.
USD is trading broadly softer against majors as we head towards Christmas. Metals are having their Christmas rally as we see gold briefly jumped above 4500 figure before retracing partial gains. AUD/USD is trading 0.12% higher at 0.6710, NZD/USD is trading 0.06% lower while USD/CAD slides 0.06%. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.06% and GBP/USD is up 0.02%.
North American session
Better than expected Q3 U.S. GDP prompted a USD bounce in NY trading, with the outcome increasing traders view that the Fed will be on hold for Q1 2026. The JPY lost the most ground, which is a partial unwind of Tuesday’s Asia move. The November industrial production data provided little impulse. Meanwhile, traders are looking forward to 2026 and the risk on U.S. equity view supporting the USD through the holiday period.
Meanwhile, no real reaction in FX or U.S. Treasuries to U.S. Treasury secretary reported suggestions (here) that the Fed should move to target an inflation range (e.g. 1-3% around 2%) rather than a pin point 2% and that the dot plot should be scrapped.