New Zealand’s Business NZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) increased to 48.3 in September from the previous level of 47.5. This shift is a reflection of changes in economic activities within the country’s service sector.<\/p>\n
In related market news, US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on China, effective November 1. This decision is impacting markets globally, with reactions seen in currency exchanges and commodities. EUR\/USD rebounded above 1.1600, aligning with the escalation in US-China trade tensions.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline due to renewed tariff discussions, while gold surged near $4,000 amid growing demand as a safe haven. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil prices fell below $60, reacting to increased trade war concerns.<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrency markets are showing variability, with Bitcoin trading above a short-term support range. Ethereum and Ripple are near critical support levels, while Litecoin showed signs of resilience, trading around $130. It’s noteworthy that US tariffs have maintained their status as an essential instrument for public finance and foreign policy, beyond the frequent headlines.<\/p>\n
With fresh US-China trade tensions erupting, we are seeing a classic risk-off reaction in the markets. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has already surged over 35% in the past week, climbing above 28 for the first time this year. We should consider buying call options on the VIX or volatility-linked ETFs to profit from rising fear in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The sharp drop in the Dow Jones suggests we should prepare for more downside in equities. Looking back at the 2018-2019 trade war period, initial tariff announcements often led to prolonged market slumps. Buying put options on the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 indices offers a direct way to position for a further decline.<\/p>\n
Gold’s push toward the $4,000 mark signals a strong flight to safety that will likely continue. Geopolitical uncertainty is a powerful catalyst for the metal, and with no signs of de-escalation, this momentum is our friend. We can use long positions in gold futures or call options on gold ETFs to ride this wave.<\/p>\n
The US dollar is weakening against the Euro and Pound as the source of this new instability is American policy. This makes the dollar a funding currency for risk rather than a true haven in this specific context. We should anticipate further strength in pairs like EUR\/USD, which has already broken key resistance at 1.1600.<\/p>\n
Fears of a global slowdown are hitting oil hard, with WTI crude breaking below the critical $60 support level. A protracted trade dispute would severely damage global demand, a fact confirmed by last month’s global manufacturing PMI data which showed new export orders falling to a two-year low. Shorting crude oil futures or buying puts on energy sector ETFs seems prudent.<\/p>\n
Even smaller economic data points support a cautious stance. The recent New Zealand services PMI, while slightly better at 48.3, still shows a sector in contraction. This underlying weakness suggests the global economy is not prepared for another trade shock, amplifying the potential negative impact of these tariffs.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Zealand’s PSI rises; US-China tariffs shake markets; gold climbs, oil drops, cryptocurrencies show mixed signals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":17023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}