US stocks rose at the opening following macroeconomic data showing inflation increasing in line with expectations. The PCE index, the Fed’s preferred measure of price pressures, strengthened to 2.6% YoY in December, up from 2.4% in November. The increase was primarily driven by services spending, particularly in housing, transportation, and healthcare. While goods spending also rose, it was mainly in energy, food, and motor vehicles, with less significant gains. Consumers shifted away from restaurant spending but allocated more to essentials like energy, housing, and healthcare. Core PCE remained unchanged at 2.8% YoY. Disposable personal income increased by $79.7 billion (+0.4%), leaving Americans with more money available to spend or save. Personal consumption expenditures increased by $133.6 billion (+0.7%), suggesting that spending growth outpaced income growth, indicating that consumers are dedicating a larger share of their income to expenditures. The dollar index hovered around 108.0, while the 10-year US Treasury yield remained broadly unchanged at 4.5%.
President Trump confirmed today that he would impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting tomorrow. Markets are also expecting a 10% import duty on China, though the timing remains unclear. The announcement of tariffs negatively impacted LME base metals, with prices dropping across the board. Aluminium fell below the 2,600/t mark again, trading at 2,596.7 at the time of writing. Copper dropped to 9,038/t, while lead declined but managed to hold the 1,950 support level. Zinc, which had dropped below the 2,800 support level it had maintained throughout the month, continued its decline to 2,738/t—its lowest level since September.
The tariff announcement boosted gold’s safe-haven appeal, pushing the metal to new record highs, trading at 2,809/oz. Silver, however, faced downward pressure from its industrial side and edged lower, trading at 31.45/oz. Oil prices softened, with WTI and Brent crude trading at 72.8/bbl and 76.8/bbl, respectively.
All price data is from 31.01.2025 as of 17:30