Monday 18th May 2020

The US President has said the US needs to get back to work, vaccine or not. He’s also announced the blocking of microchip supplies to Huawei, with threats of retaliation from China. NAB’s Rodrigo Catril says the market response to news of the trade war was very limited – COVID-19 is a far bigger concern. Retail data from China on Friday was unwelcome news for those hoping for a V-shaped recovery. Whilst in the UK the pound has struggled on Brexit talks and, over the weekend, the BoE’s chief economist suggesting negative interest rates are on the table.