Gold bars to be exempt from tariffs, White House clarifies
Investing.com - Foreigners remained healthy buyers of U.S. asset markets in March, but the fallout from a Moody’s ratings downgrade and President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda remains to be seen, according to analysts at ING.
In a note to clients on Monday, the analysts flagged that official Treasury Department data found the foreign official accounts increased their holdings of U.S. Treasuries by $26 billion during the month, although China’s holdings fell by $19 billion.
The comments come after Moody’s cut its rating of U.S. credit by one tick to "Aa1" from "Aaa" on Friday, noting that debt and interest in the U.S. are "significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns". The U.S. currently faces a $36.22 trillion debt pile, according to the Treasury Department.
In a statement, Moody’s added that "successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs".
The House of Representatives may vote later this week on Trump’s sweeping budget bill, which nonpartisan analysts have said could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Meanwhile, Trump’s announcement of elevated "reciprocal" tariffs at an April 2 event roiled global stock and bond markets, persuading some investors to edge away from American assets. Still, recent signs of progress in ongoing trade negotiations have emerged, particularly a delay and lowering in punishing tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China last week.
Despite the recent concessions, universal 10% U.S. tariffs remain in effect, as well as other duties on items like steel, aluminum and auto parts. By some estimates, the U.S. effective tariff rate is now at its highest level since the 1930s.
Against this backdrop, the ING analysts noted that the Treasury Department’s foreign official account figures for April will be "eagerly awaited" when they are released in mid-June.
Markets will also be on the lookout for demand in auction of $16 billion worth of 20-year U.S. Treasuries on Wednesday.