U.S.-China trade uncertainty continues – Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank's analysts note that overnight we’ve seen some fresh trade headlines which have highlighted the continued uncertain nature of the U.S.-China trade talks.

• “Firstly, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the US trade officials expect Chinese negotiators to visit Washington, but declined to say whether the September encounter would happen. He also added that “we will have a separate dialog and discussion on currency as part of the trade discussion but separate from the trade discussion,” and said, “we’ve had conversations with the IMF and directly with our counterparts in China, including the governor of the PBOC,” since the U.S. formally labeled China a currency manipulator on August 5.
• Separately, the White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview that market optimism on a US trade deal with China is neither misplaced nor well placed but “somewhere in the middle,” while adding that it’s “unlikely anything quick will happen,” from the talks because the U.S. is asking China to make big, structural changes. He also commented on the Fed, saying the Fed needs “to do its job and cut rates” in the next month or two.
• Elsewhere, Mnuchin said that the Trump administration doesn’t intend to intervene in the dollar market right now but added, “situations could change in the future but right now we are not contemplating an intervention.”