Trump’s Dollar Dismay, RBNZ’s Orr, Even More Rate Cuts: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Happy Friday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr says New Zealand is “in a great starting position but we do see increasing headwinds” two days after the central bank slashed rates by a half-percentage point
• President Donald Trump took fresh aim at the U.S. currency, taking a step closer to scrapping longstanding White House support for a strong dollar -- yet the trade tensions he’s stoked have supported the currency this year
• Meantime, the Trump administration is rushing to finalize a list of $300 billion in Chinese imports it plans to hit with tariffs in a few weeks’ time, as U.S. companies make a last-ditch appeal to be spared from the latest round of duties
• The White House is holding off on a decision about licenses for U.S. companies to restart business with Huawei Technologies after Beijing said it was halting purchases of U.S. farming goods, according to people familiar with the matter
• The likelihood of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months rose to 35% in an August survey of economists, from 31% forecast previously, as global trade tensions fuel economic uncertainty
• The stage is set for fresh central bank interest rate cuts across Latin America following a deluge of benign consumer price data released on Thursday
• The U.S.-China trade tensions squeezing the global economy will likely play out for decades to come, Australia’s top bureaucrat said

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Bourke in Sydney at cbourke4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Michael Heath

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