No sooner had the US president announced the tariffs against Mexico and Canada than it was reported a short time later that the introduction of the tariffs had been postponed by a month. The reason for this is good negotiations with the respective trading partners. However, import tariffs against China will remain in place and the focus will then be directly on Europe. A game of the US government that triggers ping-pong-like movements in the markets. Sharp sell-offs were followed by strong rebounds on the Asian and European stock markets.
Automotive sector with problems after tariff announcement
The Euro Stoxx also had to cope with a sell-off, which was sharply reduced again towards the end of trading. Volkswagen's shares, which had fallen by more than 4 percent in the wake of the announcement of the tariffs, were particularly affected by the sell-off. The shares of Saint-Gobain and BASF also fell by 4 percent. The chemical giant's shares fell by 3.8 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 experienced its worst sell-off in the last four months, falling by over 1 percent on Monday, also due to the announced tariffs. In the UK, fears were spreading that the improving economy could weaken significantly again. The sensitive industries associated with the tariffs in the automotive sector or in the beverage production sector were also severely affected. In addition, there are problems in the area of production in Great Britain. Output fell noticeably in January and order intake is also declining.
Inflation in Europe rises for the fourth month in a row
The markets in Europe are also concerned about the steady rise in inflation, which was measured at 2.5 percent in the euro area and thus rose for the fourth month in a row, moving away from its target corridor, which is 2 percent. However, the euro continued to fall and continued to trade towards 1.02 US dollars.
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