Banks are halting the sales of silver bars amid surging demand, driven by increasing global uncertainties brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, industry officials said Friday.

Lenders also earlier suspended the sales of gold bars, which have emerged as the most popular safe-haven asset in recent months.

An official displays silver bars at the Korea Gold Exchange in central Seoul, Sept. 19. Newsis

Due to the surge in gold and silver prices and the resulting spike in demand, which has outpaced supply, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. halted its supply of gold bars to banks on Wednesday.

The Korea Gold Exchange, for its part, had already suspended bank sales of 10-gram and 100-gram gold bars since October while continuing to sell 1-kilogram bars.

However, with silver bar prices also soaring, the exchange notified banks of the suspension of silver bar supply on Thursday. It also noted that the remaining stock of 1-kilogram gold bars would no longer be available.

The major banks affected by the suspension of silver bar supply are KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank. Hana Bank does not sell silver bars.

“As gold prices recently hit record highs, a shortage of gold bars emerged. Consequently, investors turned to silver bars as an alternative, leading to a surge in demand for silver bars,” an official at one of the major banks said.

Some lenders continued selling gold and silver bars by depleting their existing inventory or sourcing from alternative suppliers. However, sales are expected to end soon once their remaining stock is exhausted.

Gold is considered a safe-haven asset and tends to increase in value during periods of political and economic instability.

Following Trump’s election as U.S. president, demand for safe-haven assets has surged, driving prices higher. International gold futures prices have repeatedly hit record highs this year.

Source: Koreatimes

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Source:XM

Dollar’s selloff is accelerating as the week draws to a close, with investors continuing to react to the evolving trade policy stance from the White House. Wall Street posted broad gains overnight, as markets took relief in the fact that US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated reciprocal tariff plan did not impose immediate trade restrictions. Instead, the administration will conduct a detailed review of tariff disparities before deciding on specific measures.

Despite the optimism in US equities, risk-on sentiment was not fully carried over into Asian session. While Hong Kong stocks extended recent strong gains, other major indexes struggled for direction, reflecting lingering caution. Investors remain wary of how the tariff situation will unfold, particularly as Trump’s trade team begins its assessment of countries with large trade surpluses with the US. This process is expected to take weeks, leaving room for further volatility in global markets.

The immediate focus now shifts to US retail sales data for January, which will provide fresh insights into consumer spending. Yet the figures are unlikely to have a significant impact on Fed expectations even with a major surprise. Fed has emphasized that its next move will be dictated by sustained trends rather than single data points. As a result, the Dollar’s downside pressure may persist, with market sentiment favoring risk assets.

Among major currencies, New Zealand Dollar is leading the pack, buoyed by surprisingly strong manufacturing data. The economy is responding well to RBNZ’s aggressive rate cuts last year. While the central bank is still expected to deliver another 50bps reduction next week as the march to neutral continues, the resurgence in manufacturing could mean the central bank may not need to push rates into stimulatory territory.

Technically, as NZD/USD rebounds, focus is now on 0.5701 resistance. Firm break there will resume the rise from 0.5515, as a correction to fall from 0.63780. Further rally should then be seen to 38.2% retracement of 0.6378 to 0.5515 at 0.5848.

In Asia, at the time of writing, Nikkei is down -0.35%. Hong Kong HSI is up 2.48%. China Shanghai SSE is up 0.25%. Singapore Strait Times is down -0.17%. Japan 10-year JGB yield is up 0.0018 at 1.351. Overnight, DOW rose 0.77%. S&P 500 rose 1.04%. NASDAQ rose 1.50%. 10-year yield fell -0.0112 to 4.525.

S&P 500 nears record high as Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan delays immediate action

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight as President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited reciprocal tariff plan without enforcing immediate measures. The market responded favorably to the lack of fresh tariffs, easing concerns about an abrupt escalation in trade tensions. In turn, Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar moved lower, reflecting a shift in sentiment away from safe-haven assets.

Trump’s directive instructs his administration to begin assessing tariff discrepancies between the US and its trading partner, including evaluation of non-tariff barriers. Also, the White House appears to be taking a targeted approach, prioritizing countries with large trade surpluses and high tariff rates on US exports.

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary, will lead the study, with findings expected by April 1. This extended timeline gives markets some breathing room and suggests that while trade tensions remain a concern, abrupt disruptions are unlikely in the near term.

Equities responded positively to the development, with S&P 500 rebounding strongly and edging closer to its all-time high of 6128.18. Technically, firm break of 6128.18 will resume the long term up trend, with 618% projection of 5119.26 to 6099.97 from 5773.31 at 6379.38 as next target.

NZ BNZ manufacturing rises to 51.4, first expansion in nearly two years

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector finally returned to expansion in January, with BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index surging from 46.2 to 51.4. This marks the first expansion in 23 months and the highest reading since September 2022. While the rebound is a positive sign for the economy, the index remains below its long-term average of 52.5, suggesting that the sector has yet to regain full strength.

Encouragingly, all sub-indexes entered expansionary territory. Production saw a significant jump from 42.7 to 50.9. Employment also rose from 47.7 to 50.2. New orders climbed from 46.8 to 50.9, while finished stocks and deliveries improved to 51.9 and 51.7, respectively.

BNZ’s Senior Economist Doug Steel highlighted the significance of the data, noting that the sector is “shifting out of reverse and into first gear.” He acknowledged the improvement as a relief after two difficult years but cautioned that the PMI still lags behind its historical average.

USD/CAD Daily Outlook

Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.4147; (P) 1.4229; (R1) 1.4274;

USD/CAD’s fall from 1.4791 resumed by breaking through 1.4260 cluster support decisively. The development suggests that deeper corrective is underway and turn intraday bias to the downside for 1.3946 cluster support (61.8% retracement at 1.3942). For, risk will stay on the downside as long as 1.4378 resistance holds, in case of recovery.

In the bigger picture, long term up trend is tentatively seen as resuming with breach of 1.4667/89 key resistance zone (2020/2015 highs). Next target is 100% projection of 1.2401 to 1.3976 from 1.3418 at 1.4993. This will remain the favored case as long as 1.3976 resistance turned holds (2022 high), even in case of deep pullback.

Economic Indicators Update

Source: ACTIONFOREX

Crude oil prices were on course to end the week with a gain, snapping a three-week string of losses as Trump signaled reciprocal tariffs for U.S. trade partners will not come into effect until at least April.

At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $75.17 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate changing hands for $71.38 per barrel.

Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump ordered government officials to study the implementation of reciprocal tariffs for trade partners that already have import duties for U.S. products while the U.S. has no such tariffs on their respective goods. The deadline for the results of the study was set for April.

Traders took this as a signal that even if reciprocal action is taken on the part of the White House, it will not be immediate, which they interpreted as bullish for oil.

“Positive development on the trade front in light of U.S. tariff delays paves the way for some recovery in oil prices this morning, as the risk environment warms up to the prospects of further trade consensus being reached,” IG analyst Yeap Jun Rong told Reuters. “However, gains in oil prices may seem limited as market participants have to digest the prospects of Russian supplies being brought back on the market amid potential Ukraine-Russia peace talks,” he added.

“Any further escalation in trade tensions, particularly related to new tariffs or retaliatory measures, could impact global economic growth and, by extension, oil demand,” Phillip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva wrote in a note following the news, as quoted by Bloomberg.

A Reuters report suggesting Russia was curtailing oil production in response to refinery damage from Ukrainian drone attacks likely contributed to crude oil’s upward movement this week. A new IEA report revising oil demand growth higher for this year was another likely contributor to the rally.

Source: OILPRICE