A trade war truce agreed for the second time between U.S. & China at the G-20 summit in Japan. Tariffs are put on hold paving the way for renewed trade discussions.
Market analysts and pundits alike predicted this outcome – not too difficult to call as the alternative would have been global stock market reversal.
If you bear in mind that it has been suggested that Trump equates his presidency success to market performance, this really was the most likely outcome at this stage.
Where now?
For the moment, at least, more short-term market uncertainty has been avoided. But the elusive agreement will not be easy to achieve. The U.S. expects China to make fundamental reforms to its laws and systems. But will this happen? And the U.S. is very determined to protect its intellectual property. These areas will be difficult to resolve.
And then there’s Huawei?
The U.S. China trade war is a protracted dispute and does not have an easy solution.
Expect more market volatility.