Trump Prepares Auto Tariff Announcement As Soon As Wednesday

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) recently revealed in the latest inflation report that the UK’s inflation rate dropped to 2.8% in February, compared to 3.0% in January. The February inflation slowed down more than expected by economists, including from a Reuters poll where economists predicted the inflation rate to drop to 2.9% last month. The slowdown came from a significant drop in clothing and shoes prices for the first time in over three years.

The CPI rose 0.4% in February of this year compared to 0.6% in February last year. The CPIH (excluding tobacco, alcohol, food, and energy) rose 4.4% in February compared to 4.6% in January. The core CPI (excluding tobacco, alcohol, food, and energy) also rose by 3.5%, down from 3.7% in January.

The Bank of England had predicted earlier in February that the inflation rate for the month could hover around 2.8%. The February rate is still higher than the BoE’s inflation target of 2.0%, maintaining the British central bank’s wariness. ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said that the inflation drop was due to small increases, including from alcoholic drinks. Fitzner added that the drop in women’s loathing was the biggest driver behind the February inflation’s fall.

In February, clothing and footwear also experienced ‘an unreasonable high sales number’. Fitzner stated that the usual end of discounting is in February as January sales round-up and spring trends come into the market. The ONS discovered that this trend did not happen in February this year, leading to unseasonably high clothing and shoe sales.

Bank of England remains cautious on rate cuts

The inflation decrease in February has been considered a ‘false dawn’ as prices are expected to surge in April. ICAEW’s Economics Director Suren Thiru stated recently that UK consumers could expect a surge in national insurance and a spike in energy bills. Thiru added that the spikes would lead to a surge in inflation in April to nearly 4%.

The UK energy regulator Ofgem recently explained that the domestic price cap on energy would increase by 6.4% due to surging wholesale energy prices. The new price cap will stand at £1,849 from £1,738, rising by 111 pounds for a year’s average consumer use of gas and electricity. The spike is higher than the forecasted 5% and the third quarterly increase experienced since Q4 2024.

The BoE also forecasted the inflation rate to increase to around 3.7% before the end of the first half of this year, citing rising energy prices as part of the reason. The bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, still believed that the UK’s inflation was on a gradual downward trend during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting last week.

The central bank notably approached interest rates cautiously, maintaining borrowing rates at 4.5% through an 8:1 vote. JPMorgan Chase analyst Zara Nokes still mentioned that the BoE was ‘between a rock and a hard place’ as inflation remained sticky. A recent BoE survey further highlighted negative sentiment among businesses. A high number of businesses opted against hiring while others prepared for employee layoff due to the strained economic growth experienced in the UK.

BoE’s decision was also based on the increasing economic uncertainty globally due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The Federal Reserve also notably maintained its rates in the FOMC meeting last week, with Fed chair Jeremy Powell insisting that the current policies were well-placed to counter the economic uncertainties faced by U.S. consumers and businesses.

The ONS inflation report came a day before the UK Chief of Treasury Chancellor Rachel Reeves is supposed to release her Spring Statement, revealing the expected budget changes for this spring. Reeves was also expected to comment on the current state of the UK public finances based on the budget rules she placed in October.

In her statement today, the UK Treasury Chief pointed out that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had dropped the region’s economic growth forecast by half from 2% to 1%. Reeves still insisted that the OBR raise the long-term forecast for economic growth in 2026.

The chancellor also delivered the much-awaited welfare cuts, announcing a 4.5 billion pound cut. Health-related benefits, which had been cut by 50% as of April 2026, will be frozen until 2030. Reeves will still provide a 1 billion pound investment into Labor to improve employment opportunities in the UK.

The government is also expected to raise defense funding by 2.2 billion pounds, with Reeves insisting on boosting economic and national security. The amount was lower than the previously forecasted $2.9 billion pounds. Reeves revealed that a minimum of 10% of the funding would go toward novel technologies, including AI and drones.

Source: CryptoSlate

Shares of Tesla (TSLA -5.05%) are falling on Wednesday. The electric vehicle maker's stock lost 3.8% as of 3:30 p.m. ET and was down as much as 5.4% earlier in the day. The steep decline comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes lost 0.6% and 1.3%, respectively.

The EV leader is facing new headwinds as international trade tensions escalate into direct action against the company.

Canada freezes Tesla rebates in tariff retaliation

Canada announced it has frozen $43 million in suspicious EV rebates for Tesla vehicles and will investigate each claim to verify their legitimacy. The announcement comes after the EV maker submitted thousands of claims in the days before the rebate program ended, the equivalent of selling two cars every minute, 24 hours a day.

Canadian Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland has directed her ministry to explicitly exclude Tesla vehicles from the country's zero-emission rebate program for as long as "illegitimate and illegal U.S. tariffs are imposed against Canada."

The targeted move is one of the first and clearest direct regulatory actions against Tesla resulting from President Trump's recent tariff policies and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's prominent position in his administration. This is likely to significantly affect the company's ability to sell vehicles in Canada.

Tesla woes

This is one more in a series of recent woes for the company that stem in large part from Musk's actions. The company has seen its sales plummet across key markets from China to the E.U. as Musk inserts himself into the politics of countries around the world. This comes at an already vulnerable time for Tesla as it faces stiffening competition from legacy manufacturers and Chinese EV rivals. Even after the significant drop in price over the past few months, I think Tesla remains overpriced, and I would avoid the stock.

Source: The Motley Fool

Nvidia (NVDA -5.44%) shares are plunging today as investors worry that a major market for the artificial intelligence (AI) leader may be getting choked off. Nvidia has been caught in the trade battle between the U.S. and China before. But a move by the Chinese government today more directly targets Nvidia's AI chips than it had in the past.

That news drove Nvidia shares more than 5% lower this morning. As of 11:37 a.m. ET, Nvidia stock was still down by 4.7%. Global trade pressure is part of the reason shares have dropped about 8% year to date.

Nvidia walks a tightrope

Concerns about Nvidia's business came from both sides today. The U.S. has announced a new trade blacklist of Chinese companies citing national security concerns. The list of more than a dozen Chinese tech companies includes major Nvidia customers. The U.S. government will now need to approve sales to companies on the list.

At the same time, Chinese regulators have reportedly been pressuring its largest technology companies from purchasing Nvidia's H20 semiconductor chips citing the need for energy efficiency improvements. The H20 was specifically designed to qualify for sale in China after the U.S. imposed sanctions that disqualified its most powerful chips.

The situation adds uncertainty for investors in a meaningful market. China was Nvidia's fourth-largest market, contributing $17.1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. That was 13% of its total sales.

Trust experienced leadership

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has proven his leadership abilities in navigating trade issues before. As far back as 2022, Nvidia transitioned some operations out of China due to export controls. While data center revenue in China grew last year, the company says as a percentage of its total, it remains well below levels achieved prior to the onset of export controls in late 2023.

Yet the company has thrived. Investors should feel confident it can navigate the current environment as well. Today's drop looks to be another opportunity to buy shares of the AI leader.

Source: The Motley Fool

Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal told Cointelegraph that a “vertical swing up into the end of the quarter looks unlikely.”

Ether has posted an average return of 78.23% in the first quarter of every year since 2017. Source: CoinGlass

Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC ratio — showing Ether’s relative strength to Bitcoin — is at its lowest point since May 2020, sitting at 0.2348, according to TradingView data.

The ETH/BTC ratio is sitting at 0.02348 at the time of publication. Source: TradingView

Source: Cointelegraph

(Reuters) - Bank of America (BofA) has raised its gold period average forecasts for this year and next, while highlighting that uncertainty arising from U.S. trade policies will continue to lend support to prices in the near-term.

BofA now expects gold to trade at $3,063 per ounce (oz) in 2025 and $3,350/oz in 2026, it said in a note on Wednesday. This is an increase from its previous forecasts of $2,750/oz for 2025 and $2,625/oz for 2026.

Spot gold is currently trading around $3,024/oz and has gained more than 15% so far this year. This year's record rally has been steered by economic and geopolitical worries sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. [GOL/]

Trump's whirlwind tariff offensive since his January inauguration has been marked by threats, reversals and delays, sometimes within hours of imposition deadlines, as his trade team formulates policy on the fly.

The bank in a note reiterated that if investment demand increases by 10% then spot gold prices could climb to $3,500 within the next two years.

It noted that central banks currently hold about 10% of their reserves in gold, and could raise this figure to over 30%, which could be a key supporting factor.

However, BofA added that US fiscal consolidation, reduced geopolitical tensions, and a return to collaborative inter-governmental relations, including more targeted tariffs on April 2, are key risks to bullion's rally.

Currently, the main market focus is on potential reciprocal tariffs that the Trump administration might adopt on April 2.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Above: The Dollar index at weekly intervals.

Source: Poundsterlinglive