THE dollar continued its upward trend, up 0.1% to 94.9 amid the risk-off sentiment triggered in global markets due to the escalating trade tension between the US and China. As soon as the White House announced the list of US$50bil worth of Chinese goods to be slapped with tariffs, China retaliated with US$34bil worth of US imports tariffs. The concerns grew further after US President Trump threatened to impose an additional US$200bil import tariffs. The tit-for-tat retaliation left global markets in a bloodbath, forcing investors to seek safe haven assets.
Brent crude oil fell 3.0% to US$73.10/barrel as the Opec and its allies moved closer to a deal to increase oil production after Iran eased off on its threat to block the agreement. At the same time, Brent was partly affected by the ongoing US-China trade dispute as China slapped import tariffs on US crude oil products.
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