● President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on European countries and the United Kingdom, set to take effect on February 1, 2026, at a rate of 10%, and to rise to 25% from June 1 if the United States does not obtain consent to purchase Greenland.
● The list of countries covered by the tariffs includes Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland, with the initiative framed as a demand motivated by national security considerations.
● Europe and the UK immediately outlined retaliatory measures, while at the same time signaling a willingness to negotiate before the tariffs actually take effect.
● The European Union is preparing to reinstate a €93 billion package of retaliatory tariffs on US goods, which was suspended last year and could automatically return on February 6 if talks fail.
● EU leaders are moving toward an emergency summit to coordinate a unified response and to demonstrate support for Denmark and Greenland.
● US equity markets will remain closed today due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
● The US dollar initially strengthened but then fully gave back its gains against the EUR, GBP, AUD, and NZD, reflecting market skepticism over the actual enforcement of the tariffs.
● US equity index futures and US Treasury futures opened with a downside gap and remained under pressure, reflecting rising geopolitical and trade uncertainty.
● European equity futures are also down by more than 1.00%.
● Gold broke to a new all-time high above USD 4,670. Silver rebounded 4.70% to USD 93.300.
● Japan’s machinery orders fell 11% m/m in November, more than twice the expected decline, signaling weak investment momentum.
● China’s GDP growth slowed to 4.5% y/y in Q4, the weakest pace since the economy reopened, although full-year 2025 growth met the 5% target.
● Strong exports offset weak domestic demand, but retail sales (0.9% y/y) and investment (-3.8% y/y) disappointed.
● New home prices in China fell 0.4% m/m and 2.7% y/y in December, marking the steepest annual decline in five months. Property investment remains deeply negative (-17.2% y/y), continuing to weigh on confidence.
● Cryptocurrencies are seeing a sharper pullback, driven by capital outflows from risk assets as well as delays in the US regulatory process for the market, including the Clarity Act.
