Our analysts have their fingers on the pulse of the world's financial market news.
European markets look set for a lower open on Friday as news on international trade turned sour. Wall Street ended a 4-day winning streak after it was reported US President Donald Trump supports placing additional tariffs on China. The rumoured extra tariffs on $200bn in Chinese goods has looked like it would resurface ever since low-level US-China talks ended without a resolution last week.
In Forex markets, the dollar has been supported by fresh talk of US tariffs and likely inflationary impact of higher priced Chinese imports.
Interestingly the potential disturbance in global demand in a trade war has not dissuaded oil market bulls. The price of oil struck