On April 9th ​​local time, the US government officially implemented the "reciprocal tariff" policy, imposing tariffs of up to 104% on 57 trading partners including China, Mexico, and Vietnam. Combined with the 10% basic tax previously levied on all countries, the average tariff rate on US imported goods rose to 19.2%, the highest since the Great Depression of 1930.

On April 8, Beijing time, the European Commission announced at an emergency trade ministers' meeting in Luxembourg that it would adopt a two-track response strategy of "soft and hard measures" to the Trump administration's "reciprocal tariff" policy: on the one hand, it would propose a "zero-to-zero" automobile tariff agreement to start negotiations; on the other hand, it would finalize the timetable for the first batch of countermeasures, demonstrating the game logic of "using peace to promote talks and using war to stop war."

The U.S. non-farm employment market in March showed the characteristics of "total volume exceeding expectations and structural differentiation", with employment resilience and slowing wage growth coexisting, providing complex signals for the Federal Reserve's policy making. Data showed that the seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls increased by 228,000 in March, far exceeding market expectations of 135,000. The previous value was revised down from 151,000 to 117,000.

The "toughest tariffs in a century" recently announced by the Trump administration are reshaping the global market landscape, triggering a stock market crash, a surge in demand for safe-haven assets, and a widespread spread of market panic. From the influx of funds into gold ETFs to the sharp turmoil in global stock markets, investors are re-evaluating their allocation strategies for risky assets while concerns about a recession are growing.

As global geopolitical tensions intensify and Trump's tariff policy continues to advance, risk aversion in the gold market continues to heat up, and COMEX gold futures prices climbed to US$3,177 per ounce on April 1, 2025, setting a record high.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released the "2025 National Trade Estimates Report", providing detailed basis for the "non-discriminatory and reciprocal tariffs" policy that will take effect on April 2.

On April 2, 2025, the Trump administration will officially launch the "Global Reciprocal Tariffs" plan, imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars and plans to implement comprehensive tariffs on all trade deficit countries.

The United States will release the March non-farm employment report at 20:30 Beijing time on April 4 (summer time). The average hourly wage is expected to increase by 3.9% year-on-year, slightly lower than the previous value of 4%, and the month-on-month increase will remain unchanged at 0.3%; the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.1%.

Recently, the global financial market has shown a complex and changeable situation under the intertwined influence of trade tensions and economic uncertainties. Against this backdrop, the price of gold has continued to rise, becoming the focus of the market. On Friday, spot gold continued to rise in the European session and successfully stabilized at $3,080 per ounce, breaking the historical record again. New York gold futures also stood at $3,100 per ounce.

On March 28, the Paris Summit announced that France and Britain would take the lead in establishing the "European Alliance of the Will" to officially launch the Ukrainian military security plan. According to the agreement, Europe will invest 2 billion euros in military aid, including cutting-edge equipment such as Rafale fighter jets and SCALP cruise missiles, and plans to build the Ukrainian army into a standing force of 500,000 to 1 million people in the next three years to form a "steel line of defense" against Russia.