{"id":46286,"date":"2025-12-24T11:35:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/morning-brief-us-holds-off-new-china-chip-tariffs-as-gold-silver-hit-record-highs\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T11:35:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:35:14","slug":"morning-brief-us-holds-off-new-china-chip-tariffs-as-gold-silver-hit-record-highs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/morning-brief-us-holds-off-new-china-chip-tariffs-as-gold-silver-hit-record-highs\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning brief: US holds off new China chip tariffs as Gold, Silver hit record highs"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Global markets are navigating a complex mix of trade policy uncertainty, surging commodity prices, and resilient equity performance as the year draws to a close. <\/p>\n

Washington signaled a pause \u2014 for now \u2014 in escalating trade measures against China\u2019s semiconductor sector. <\/p>\n

At the same time, precious metals rallied to historic highs on geopolitical tensions and expectations of easing US monetary policy. <\/p>\n

Corporate dealmaking and upbeat Asian equity markets added to an already eventful global backdrop.<\/p>\n

US holds off new chip tariffs on China<\/h2>\n

The United States accused China of unfair trade practices in the semiconductor sector but stopped short of imposing new tariffs, at least until mid-2027. <\/p>\n

The Office of the US Trade Representative on Tuesday released findings from a yearlong Section 301 investigation into China\u2019s chip industry, concluding that Beijing\u2019s policies were \u201cunreasonable\u201d and harmful to US commerce.<\/p>\n

Under the notice published in the Federal Register, tariffs on covered semiconductor products will remain at zero for the next 18 months. <\/p>\n

Any new duties would take effect from June 23, 2027, with rates to be announced at least 30 days in advance. <\/p>\n

The move preserves Washington\u2019s ability to raise tariffs later, without disrupting current trade flows.<\/p>\n

The decision follows a truce reached earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at easing tensions after a trade war that rattled global markets. <\/p>\n

China pushed back against the US findings, warning that politicizing trade and technology issues would destabilize global supply chains and eventually backfire.<\/p>\n

The probe focuses on so-called foundational or legacy chips made in China \u2014 components widely used in automobiles, airplanes, medical devices, and telecommunications equipment. <\/p>\n

Potential future duties could apply to items such as diodes, transistors, raw silicon, and integrated circuits, but would not extend to finished products like smartphones or computers.<\/p>\n

Gold price surge lifts precious metals<\/h2>\n

Gold climbed to a record above $4,500 an ounce, extending a powerful rally driven by geopolitical risk and expectations of further US interest-rate cuts next year. <\/p>\n

Spot gold rose as much as 1% on Wednesday, building on three consecutive days of gains, as tensions surrounding Venezuela and US actions to block oil shipments boosted demand for safe-haven assets.<\/p>\n

The metal has now gained more than 70% this year, its strongest annual performance since 1979. <\/p>\n

Analysts point to sustained central-bank buying and steady inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds as key drivers. <\/p>\n

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world\u2019s largest gold ETF, have risen by more than 20% this year.<\/p>\n

Silver and platinum also surged to all-time highs. <\/p>\n

Silver briefly traded above $70 an ounce for the first time, supported by speculative inflows and lingering supply disruptions, while platinum jumped beyond $2,300 an ounce amid tight supplies and elevated borrowing costs. <\/p>\n

Both metals are on track for their best annual performances on record.<\/p>\n

BP nears sale of Castrol stake to Stonepeak<\/h2>\n

BP Plc is close to an agreement to sell a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants business to investment firm Stonepeak Partners, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n

The deal would value a 65% stake at around $6 billion and puts the entire division at a valuation of $10 billion, including debt. <\/p>\n

The potential sale forms part of BP\u2019s broader plan to divest $20 billion of assets by the end of 2027 to strengthen its balance sheet. <\/p>\n

The transaction would come as Meg O\u2019Neill prepares to take over as chief executive in April. <\/p>\n

The sale comes after BP now looks to bolster its fossil fuel business after its attempt to go into renewable fuels backfired with the investors. <\/p>\n

Asian markets extend year-end gains<\/h2>\n

Asian equities edged higher on Wednesday, capping a strong year fueled by artificial intelligence-driven optimism and robust US economic data. <\/p>\n

MSCI\u2019s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose about 0.3%, taking its annual gain to roughly 26%, the best performance since 2017.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Nikkei fell 0.13% but is also up about 28% for the year, while South Korea\u2019s market stood out with a surge of more than 70% in 2025. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, S&P 500 futures were down 0.12% amid thin year-end liquidity, after the S&P 500 closed at a record overnight.<\/p>\n

Currency markets were quieter, with the yen extending gains on intervention risk and the dollar weakening against major peers. <\/p>\n

Oil prices were steady but on track for a third consecutive annual decline. <\/p>\n

The post Morning brief: US holds off new China chip tariffs as Gold, Silver hit record highs<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Global markets are navigating a complex mix of trade policy uncertainty, surging commodity prices, and resilient equity performance as the year draws to a close. Washington signaled a pause \u2014 for now \u2014 in escalating trade measures against China\u2019s semiconductor sector. At the same time, precious metals rallied to historic highs on geopolitical tensions and <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}