Evening News: Us launches tariff probe on mineral imports

The following is a summary of news from the Asian market session (7:00 AM - 5:00 PM) organized by Reuters Chinese News:

(Significant data or news)

– Trump orders tariff investigation on all important mineral imports to the U.S.

U.S. President Trump ordered an investigation on Tuesday into the possibility of imposing new tariffs on all critical mineral imports, marking a significant escalation in his disputes with global trading partners and a direct confrontation with industry leader China. Under this executive order, market dynamics of all critical minerals (including cobalt, nickel, and 17 rare earths) will be studied to determine whether tariffs should be imposed, and the order also includes uranium and other elements deemed necessary by U.S. federal officials.

– U.S. Treasury Secretary: No risk of China weaponizing its U.S. debt holdings

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dismissed concerns about China weaponizing its U.S. debt holdings in an interview with Yahoo Finance, stating that there is no potential risk of China using its substantial U.S. debt reserves to inflict pain on the U.S. economy. China is the second-largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, after Japan. "If they (China) sell U.S. debt, then they have to buy renminbi, which would cause their currency to appreciate. Their actions are quite the opposite," Yellen said. "Selling U.S. debt is not in China's best economic interest."

– The Wall Street Journal reported, citing informed sources, that the Trump administration plans to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their dealings with China. The report also stated that U.S. officials plan to leverage negotiations with over 70 countries to request that these countries do not allow China to transport goods through them and to prevent Chinese companies from establishing operations on their territory to evade U.S. tariffs.

– Bank of Japan Governor says measures may be needed if U.S. tariffs harm the economy

According to the Nikkei, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that if U.S. tariffs harm the Japanese economy, the central bank may need to take policy action. This indicates that the Bank of Japan may pause its interest rate hike cycle. "We will carefully examine the extent of the damage caused by U.S. tariffs to the economy without preconceived notions. It may be necessary to take policy measures. We will make appropriate decisions based on the developments," he said. This statement reinforces the mainstream market view that the Bank of Japan will likely pause raising rates from the current 0.5% at its next policy meeting scheduled for April 30 to May 1.

– Japan will begin face-to-face tariff negotiations with the U.S. on Wednesday, becoming one of the first countries to test whether Washington is willing to relax comprehensive tariffs. Japan's trade negotiator and Minister of Economic Revitalization, Ryōsuke Akizuki, will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Trade Representative Katherine Tai for extensive discussions, which may also involve energy projects and tricky exchange rate issues.

– Italian Prime Minister Meloni will visit the White House on Thursday to meet with Trump, seeking to ease tensions arising from U.S. tariffs on European goods and positioning herself as a communication bridge between Washington and Brussels. Meloni is the only EU leader invited to Trump's inauguration in January this year. She faces pressure domestically to protect Italy's export-driven economy while also needing to demonstrate a commitment to maintaining the overall interests of the EU – The United States restricts the sale of H20 chips to China, Nvidia accrues $5.5 billion in expenses

Nvidia (HuiDa/英伟达) announced that it will accrue $5.5 billion in expenses following the U.S. government's restrictions on the export of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China. Nvidia stated that this $5.5 billion expense is related to the product inventory, procurement commitments, and associated reserves for the H20 chips. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce indicated that the department is issuing new licensing requirements for chip exports, including Nvidia's H20, AMD's MI308, and similar products. It is currently unclear how many licenses the U.S. government may issue.

– Exclusive: According to two informed sources, Nvidia was informed a week ago about the new export regulations that the U.S. would implement, requiring it to obtain licenses to sell its AI chips aimed at the Chinese market, but Nvidia did not provide advance warning to some major customers. The two sources stated that major Chinese cloud computing companies are still expecting the H20 chips to be delivered by the end of the year and are unaware of the impending restrictions.

– Exclusive: Trump's tariffs on China disrupt Tesla's production plans for Cybercab and Semi trucks in the U.S. – sources

Sources say that amid the escalating U.S.-China trade war and Trump's continuous increase of tariffs on China, the shipment plans for components used to produce the Cybercab autonomous taxi and Semi trucks at Tesla's U.S. factory have been suspended. This could disrupt Tesla's plans to begin mass production of these highly anticipated models. It is currently unclear how long the suspension of these component shipments will last.

– Sources say that U.S. President Trump met with his senior national security advisor on Tuesday to discuss Iran's nuclear program ahead of a second meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials on Saturday. White House spokesperson Levitt told reporters that Trump's bottom line in the talks is that he wants to ensure through negotiations that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei attempted to downplay expectations for breakthroughs in nuclear negotiations with the U.S., stating, "We are neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic. After all, this is a process that has already been decided, and its first step has been well implemented."

According to a report by Russia's TASS news agency, the Federation Council of Russia approved a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Iran.

– The White House stated that agencies such as Reuters and Bloomberg News will no longer hold permanent seats in the small group of reporters closely covering President Trump, and the White House will take stronger control measures to determine who can ask Trump questions and report his remarks in real-time. Under the new policy, these agencies will lose their previous positions and will instead rotate interviews with about 30 other newspapers and print media. A Reuters spokesperson stated that Reuters remains committed to reporting on the White House in a fair, accurate, and independent manner.

– Bloomberg News reported, citing informed sources, that the U.S. has revised its cost estimate for aid provided to Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine war from $300 billion to about $100 billion. Trump is seeking to reach a mineral agreement with Ukraine as part of peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump also views this as a way to recover billions of dollars in military aid from Ukraine, although this aid was not provided in the form of loans The Kremlin stated that there is no clear outline for a potential agreement between the U.S. and Russia on the Ukraine issue, but there is a political will to work towards an agreement.

– UK inflation slowed in March, but prices will face upward pressure in April

UK inflation rate slowed to the lowest level in three months in March, and other indicators of concern for the Bank of England also cooled. However, higher bills and employer costs will soon put pressure on prices amid the backdrop of President Trump's trade war. The annual inflation rate in the UK fell from 2.8% in February to 2.6% in March, below the Bank of England's and Reuters' surveyed economists' expectations of 2.7%. The inflation rate in the services sector dropped from 5.0% in February to 4.7% in March. Former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Saunders believes that the inflation rate may peak in the third quarter of this year, below the Bank of England's latest forecast of 3.7%, but at the cost of a hit to economic growth.

– The European Union's statistics office announced that the Eurozone's Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose 2.2% year-on-year in March, in line with Reuters' forecast of a 2.2% increase.

– Reuters Tankan: Japanese manufacturing turns cautious about the outlook, affected by Trump's tariffs

The Reuters Tankan survey found that confidence in Japan's manufacturing sector improved in April compared to March, but businesses are preparing to cope with the impact of U.S. tariffs on all imports, leading to a pessimistic outlook for the next three months. The manufacturing business sentiment index for April was positive 9, recovering from negative 1 in March. However, the index is expected to fall back to zero in three months.

– Former U.S. President Biden delivered his first major speech since leaving office in January on Tuesday, defending the Social Security Administration amid the Trump administration's firing of employees and closure of some offices. Some Democrats expressed doubts about Biden's speech, suggesting he should avoid getting embroiled in political disputes again.

– Japan's tourist numbers in March surpassed 10 million at the fastest pace ever, as a weak yen drove a record tourism boom. Data from the Japan National Tourism Organization showed that 3.5 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan last month, bringing the total number of visitors in the first quarter to 10.54 million.

– The Financial Times reported that one of the Big Four accounting firms, PwC, has closed operations in several countries deemed too small, too risky, or unprofitable, aiming to prevent a repeat of scandals that have affected the firm's reputation.

– The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that after more than three years of negotiations, its members have reached a legally binding agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics. The WHO stated that the proposal outlines measures to prevent future pandemics and global cooperation to respond to outbreaks; the proposal will be reviewed at the policy meeting of the World Health Assembly in May.

(Market Summary)

– Japanese Stock Market: Nikkei index closes lower, U.S. restrictions on Nvidia's exports to China drag down chip stocks

The Nikkei index in Japan fell on Wednesday, marking the first decline this week. Nvidia stated that the U.S. government is restricting its key chip exports to China, leading to a drop in chip stocks here. The Nikkei index fell by 1%, closing at 33,920.40 points, while the Topix index dropped by 0.6%. (.TCN) – Hong Kong and China Stock Markets: The "National Team" supports the Shanghai Composite Index with seven consecutive gains, while the Hang Seng Index closes down 1.9% due to Nvidia ban.

The Chinese stock market saw the Shanghai Composite Index rebound slightly, recording seven consecutive gains; near the close, ETFs tracking core blue-chip indices experienced unusual volume, which is often seen as an important sign of the "National Team" entering the market to support prices. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,276 points, and the CSI 300 Index also rose 0.3%. The Hong Kong stock market, however, faced significant pressure, with the Hang Seng Index closing down 1.9% at 21,056.98 points, ending a six-day winning streak. (.SSCN) (.HKCN)

– Foreign Exchange Market: The US dollar is under pressure again, while safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc perform well.

As a new wave of tension triggered by tariffs looms over the market, the US dollar resumes its decline, falling across the board, with the largest drops against the Swiss franc and euro. The US dollar fell 1.2% against the Swiss franc to 0.8137 francs, slightly above last Friday's 10-year low; it also fell 0.8% against the yen to 142.1, marking a seven-month low. The euro rose 0.9% to 1.1382 dollars. (FRX/CN)

– Eurozone Bond Market: Yields decline as investors turn back to safe-haven government bonds.

Eurozone government bond yields fell, with German bonds outperforming other European and US bonds as a new round of risk aversion prompted investors to return to government bonds. The yield on 10-year German bonds fell by 5 basis points to 2.50%, the lowest in over a week. The yield on 10-year Italian bonds fell by 4 basis points to 3.69%. (GVD/EURCN)

– International Oil Market: Oil prices decline as the market assesses the impact of the US-China trade war.

Oil prices fell. Changes in US tariff policy have heightened uncertainty, prompting traders to weigh the potential impact of the US-China trade war on economic growth and energy demand. As of 0758 GMT, Brent crude futures fell by 39 cents or 0.6% to $64.28 per barrel; West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 43 cents or 0.7% to $60.90. (O/R)

– Global Gold Market: Gold prices break through $3,300 for the first time as trade tensions drive gold to new highs.

Gold prices broke through the $3,300 mark for the first time, as Trump ordered a new tariff investigation into imports of key mineral products, prompting investors to seek safe-haven assets. As of 0825 GMT, spot gold rose by 2.7% to $3,314.29 per ounce, having earlier reached $3,317.90. US gold futures rose by 2.8% to $3,330.30. (GOL/)

– Metal Futures Market: London copper prices soften as US-China trade tensions escalate.

London copper prices fell as escalating US-China trade tensions cast a shadow over optimistic data from the world's top metal-consuming country. As of 0620 GMT, the London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper contract fell by 1.2% to $9,059 per ton. The main copper futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by 1.1% to 75,210 yuan (10,268.98 dollars) per ton. (MET/L) Note: For other important financial news, please click (TOP-CMN); for recent news from Reuters Evening News, please click (NN/CN)