WTO authorsises EU to impose tariffs on $4Bln of US goods

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The World Trade Organization has authorised the European Union to slap tariffs on US goods worth $4 billion to retaliate against subsidies for US planemaker Boeing Co BA.N, people familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters.

Reuters published the news in recent trade that stated the move echoes last year's decision to allow the United States to penalize $7.5 billion of EU goods over support for Airbus AIR.PA, though the EU is expected to argue it has total firepower of $8.2 billion because of separate unused tariffs.

''The decision by WTO arbitrators will be published in coming weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified.''

Market implications

Markets will be watching the developments of this news over the coming weeks which does not bode well for risk appetite.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

EUR/USD flirts with weekly lows near 1.1770

EUR/USD now comes under further selling pressure, breaking below the 1.1800 support to challenge the area of weekly throughs near 1.1770 on Thursday. The pair’s decline comes in response to marked gains in the US Dollar amid steady geopolitical tensions. Ealier in the day, the ECB’s Lagarde delivered cautious remarks, although the currency remained apathetic.

GBP/USD threatens the 200-day SMA near 1.3440

GBP/USD rapidly leaves behind Wednesday’s strong advance, coming under heavy pressure and retesting the 1.3440 zone, where the critical 200-day SMA is located. Cable’s deep pullback follows the strong gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold trims gains, slips back to around $5,170

Gold is now facing some downside pressure, hovering around the $5,170 region on Thursday. The yellow metal surrenders part of its earlier gains on the back of the resurgence of the buying interest in the Greenback. In the meantime, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to limit the downside potential for now.