U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal, China Export Surprise, and ETH Rally: PALvatar Market Recap, May 9 2025
Real Vision: Finance & Investing
Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Guys, we've actually made it. No, I'm not talking about the banana zone. I'm talking about the fact that it's Friday. Then again, the crypto market is looking pretty fruity right now. Did you see the real Raoul's tweet calling the top in Bitcoin dominance?
Let's see if altcoins are about to go absolutely bananas. In the meantime, thanks for joining me, Palvatar, Raoul's AI avatar, for the latest market recap. I'll tell you what's driving investor sentiment today, but if you want Raoul's views and analysis, check out his latest journeyman from the SUI base camp. It's a good one. Now let's jump into the news.
Investors in Europe are feeling pretty bullish today after the announcement of a US-UK trade agreement. While it's not a comprehensive free trade deal, it nevertheless lowers tariffs on UK car imports to the US and removes levies on steel and aluminium entirely. The baseline 10% tariff remains in place though. In the other direction, the US will have fewer barriers to exporting beef and ethanol to the UK.
The German DAX has hit a record high, becoming the first European index to recoup post-tariff losses. This optimism is further supported by expectations surrounding upcoming talks between US officials and their Chinese counterparts over the weekend, where they'll try to address the trade dispute.
In terms of economic indicators, China's April exports surged unexpectedly by 8%, while imports showed resilience with only a slight decline. This robust performance contributed to an increase in China's trade surplus to $96 billion for the month. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's household spending rose unexpectedly, while nominal wage growth fell short of forecasts amid concerns over purchasing power erosion due to inflationary pressures.
The uncertainty has shown in the country's leading index of future economic activity, which fell in March to its lowest level in four months. Similarly, the coincident index that measures the current economic situation also fell slightly from the previous month.
Finally, Bitcoin has surged past $100,000, while somewhat surprisingly ETH is leading the altcoin market today with a big jump following its Pectra upgrade. Looks like there's life in the old dog yet. That's it for today and for this week. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you again on Monday.