Asia Colour

Trump went all-in on his first hand.

The White House slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods and a 10% levy on China. Canada retaliated with its own 25% tariff on $106 billion of U.S. goods, with Mexico expected to follow suit.

Treasury yields bear-flattened—2-year yield rose while10-year yields fell—signaling short-term inflation fears and long-term trade war risks weighing on global growth.

The widening basis between NY and London gold suggests not just an unwinding of popular EFP carry trades but also potential logistical challenges in moving gold between vaults—a reminder of the uncertainty around how far tariffs might extend.

Equities sank across regions, gold dipped, oil spiked, and crypto sold off violently. Acting as a risk proxy before U.S. markets opened, crypto saw nearly $2 billion in liquidations, with ETH hit harder than BTC.

This decorrelation reinforces the view that today’s risk-off move is driven by cross-asset portfolio rebalancing rather than a single-asset event. Expect continued volatility as Trump prepares to negotiate with Canada and Mexico tonight, while claiming tariffs on the EU are “definitely happening.”