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Embattled property giant China Evergrande Group said Tuesday it will delist from Hong Kong Stock Exchange as a heavier-than-expected debt burden weighed on its liquidation process.The Hong Kong bourse’s listing committee decided to cancel Evergrande’s listing as it had failed to meet a July deadline to resume trading, according to an exchange filing.Once China’s biggest real estate firm, Evergrande was worth more than $50 billion at its peak and helped propel the country’s rapid economic growth in recent decades.But it defaulted in 2021 and became emblematic of the years-long crisis in the country’s property market.A Hong Kong court issued a winding-up order for Evergrande in January 2024, ruling that the company had failed to come up with a debt repayment plan that suited its creditors.Evergrande’s shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange were suspended that month.Liquidators have made moves to recover creditors’ investments, including filing a lawsuit against PwC and its mainland Chinese arm for their role in auditing the debt-ridden developer.Evergrande’s share listing will be cancelled on August 25, according to Tuesday’s filing, which was attributed to liquidators Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong.Middleton and Wong said in an attached progress report that Evergrande’s debt load was bigger than the previously estimated $27.5 billion.”As at 31 July 2025, this claims’ discovery exercise had resulted in 187 proofs of debt being submitted, by which claims of approximately HK$350 billion (US$45 billion) in aggregate have been made,” the document read.This figure was not to be taken as final, Middleton and Wong added.”The liquidators believe that a holistic restructuring will prove out of reach” at this stage, the duo wrote.China Evergrande Group was a holding company and the liquidators said they had assumed control of more than 100 companies within the group.They said in the report that they were not able to “estimate the amounts that may ultimately be realised from these entities”.The property behemoth’s market value was only around $274 million when share trading was suspended, and its founder Xu Jiayin owned a roughly 60 percent stake at the time, Bloomberg News reported.”Whether or not there’s a delisting, Evergrande’s shareholders will likely have to prepare for near-total loss,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kristy Hung told the news outlet before the delisting was announced.”The developer’s liquidation and substantial claims from creditors who are ahead in the order suggests equity holders face material risk of getting nothing,” Hung said.

Labourer Shuai Hang went a week without work earlier this year when sky-high US tariffs on Chinese goods overwhelmed the warehouse he works at and slowed the company’s US-bound parcels to a trickle.But on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump announced a truce on those duties would be extended, the depot in southern China’s manufacturing hub Guangzhou was alive with noise as workers stuffed trucks with packages of clothes and kitchenware.Many are destined for the doorsteps of US customers of Chinese-founded online shopping giant Temu.”Tariffs impact our daily lives,” said 31-year-old Shuai, whose monthly pay of more than 10,000 yuan ($1,400) had dropped by a third previously.”If tariffs are slightly lower, then there are more outgoing shipments, and then we have higher wages,” he said.Trump’s tariff policies since taking office have upended global trade and set off a blistering tit-for-tat with Beijing — but in May the two major economies agreed to a fragile truce, with each temporarily lowering levies on the other’s goods.That agreement was extended to November by Trump on Monday, hours before it expired.At the height of the tariffs, said Shuai, who has been loading parcels for Guangzhou-based logistics company Weijiang International for a year, “there was not a single truck” for him to fill, so he couldn’t work.Overall deliveries dropped by about 20 percent in May, according to Weijiang’s founder Xiong Wei, with the US market making up around a quarter of their cross-border business.But business has recovered since July, he said.Xiong said he hadn’t lost sleep over the looming expiration of the 90-day tariff truce this week, as he had expected it would be renewed.”We might have been worried in May, but now we are indifferent,” said Xiong. “We are used to it”.- ‘Cards reshuffled’ -These days the warehouse is sending out 100 tonnes of packages every 24 hours, with up to 70 trucks making trips.On Tuesday industrial fans whirred as sweat-slicked workers methodically scanned yellow, black and sage green bundles into lorries.Xiong’s company has recently invested in its own warehouse in Chicago. In many ways the uncertainty provided opportunity for smaller logistics companies like theirs, said manager Chen Weiyan, as they have taken the chance to expand their market. “The cards have been reshuffled,” he said. Around 30 percent of the parcels moved by Weijiang International end up in a different warehouse, this one owned by Temu-parent PDD, where they are unloaded, repacked and readied for a flight across the ocean.While the truce is welcome, Shuai, who packs three to four tonnes in a truck daily, said he still pays close attention to tariff news.”For those of us who have travelled over 1,000 kilometres to work here, we definitely don’t want frequent breaks. We all want to earn more money,” said the native of neighbouring Guizhou province.Working at the warehouse was less tiring than labouring at a construction site, and earning money had become more difficult in the past two years, he said.Chen, the manager, was bullish. “We will not give up this market,” he said. “Folks in America need our goods”.

Stock markets rose Tuesday, with Tokyo hitting a record, as investors welcomed the extension of a China-US tariff truce and awaited key US inflation data.US President Donald Trump’s widely expected trade announcement avoids the reimposition of sky-high levies and allows officials from Washington and Beijing to continue talking into November to settle their standoff.Stock markets benefitted from easing fears of an all-out trade war between the world’s two largest economies, analysts said.”Although an agreement is yet to be agreed, the can has been kicked down the road and that is enough to maintain the market mood,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group. Asian equities rallied, with Tokyo’s export-heavy stock index reaching an all-time peak.London and Paris stocks also gained while Frankfurt fell nearing the half-way stage.The pound held its ground after data showed the UK’s unemployment rate remained at a four-year high in the three months to the end of June.Traders awaited the latest US consumer price index (CPI) reading due Tuesday, which could play a major role in the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates.Bets on a cut have ramped up in recent weeks owing to signs that the world’s number one economy is showing signs of slowing, with figures indicating that the labour market softened considerably in the past three months.But inflation is expected to have slightly accelerated in July and analysts warned that a forecast-topping figure could dent hopes of a rate cut.Trump has pressed the independent Fed to slash rates and repeatedly lambasted its chairman, Jerome Powell, over its decisions to keep them unchanged.Investors are also awaiting a summit between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday, with the US president playing down the possibility of a breakthrough in ending the war in Ukraine.In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stocks index briefly soared almost three percent to hit a record high of 42,999.71 points on renewed optimism over the Japanese economy after officials reached a deal to avert the worst of Trump’s tariffs.With many of the president’s tariffs set and talks with various trading partners ongoing, markets turned their focus towards the possible economic impact of Trump’s trade war.IwaiCosmo Securities said in a market commentary that “easing tensions over US-China trade talks, as well as speculation about the US’s imminent lowering of (interest) rates” had helped boost investors’ hopes about the recovery of Japanese companies.The gains came as traders returned after a long weekend.Sydney was also given a lift by news that the Australian central bank had cut interest rates.- Key figures at around 1030 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,145.76 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,707.11Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,971.50Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 42,718.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,968.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,665.92 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 43,975.09 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1610 from $1.1617 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3459 from $1.3435 Dollar/yen: UP at 148.43 yen from 148.12 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.28 pence from 86.47 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $66.89 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $64.16 per barrel

China and the United States delayed higher tariffs on each other’s imports for 90 days, hours before a trade truce between the world’s two largest economies was due to expire Tuesday.US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that will “extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days,” according to a post on his Truth Social platform.The White House said its halt on steeper tariffs will be in place until November 10. China also said it would continue suspending its earlier tariff hike for 90 days, starting August 12, while retaining a 10-percent duty, according to a joint statement.While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, bringing them to prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them.As part of their truce that month, fresh US tariffs targeting China were reduced to 30 percent and the corresponding level from China was cut to 10 percent. Those rates will now hold until November — or whenever a deal is cut before then.In the executive order posted Monday to its website, the White House reiterated its position that there are “large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits” and they “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.” The order acknowledged Washington’s ongoing discussions with Beijing “to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship” and noted that China has continued to “take significant steps toward remedying” the US complaints.Beijing, meanwhile, said it would “take or maintain necessary measures to suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures against the United States,” as agreed in Geneva in May.- Trump-Xi summit? -In Shanghai, China’s commercial capital, residents welcomed the extended trade truce on Tuesday.”I feel that negotiations will definitely steer the two countries toward a better direction,” said Zhang Xuan, a 25-year-old postgraduate student.Lin Peng, a commercial property leasing agent, told AFP he felt there would be more negotiations between the two nations as Trump is a “businessman” and an escalated trade war would “hurt his own interests too.””Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions,” warned William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.He believes China sees its leverage over rare earth exports as strong, and that Beijing will likely use it to pressure Washington.US-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the extension was “critical to give the two governments time to negotiate an agreement,” providing much-needed certainty for companies to make plans.Since Trump took office in January, China’s tariffs have essentially boomeranged, from the initially modest 10 percent hike in February, followed by repeated surges as Beijing and Washington clashed, until it hit a high of 145 percent in April.Now the tariff has been pulled back to 30 percent, a negotiated truce rate.A trade deal would “pave the way for a Trump-Xi summit this fall,” said Asia Society Policy Institute senior vice president Wendy Cutler.But Cutler, herself a former US trade official, said: “This will be far from a walk in the park.”Even as both countries reached a pact to cool tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, the de-escalation has been shaky.Key economic officials convened in London in June as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers met again in Stockholm last month.- ‘Reciprocal’ tariffs – Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he hoped China will “quickly quadruple its soybean orders,” adding this would be a way to balance trade with the United States.China’s exports reached record highs in 2024, and Beijing reported that their exports exceeded expectations in June, climbing 5.8 percent year-on-year, as the world’s number-two economy works to sustain growth.Since returning to the presidency, Trump has separately slapped a 10 percent “reciprocal” tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington has deemed unfair.This surged to varying steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies.Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15 percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria.The “reciprocal” tariffs exclude sectors that have been targeted individually, such as steel and aluminum, and those that are being investigated like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

Stock markets mostly rose Tuesday, with Tokyo hitting a record, as investors welcomed the extension of a China-US tariff truce but looked ahead apprehensively to the release of key US inflation data later in the day.Donald Trump’s widely expected trade announcement avoids the reimposition of sky-high levies and allows officials from Washington and Beijing to continue talking into November to settle their standoff.In an executive order, the White House reiterated its position that there are “large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits” and they “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States”.However, William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said: “Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions.”With the president’s tariffs set and talks with various trading partners ongoing, markets are now turning their focus back towards the possible economic outlook and the impact of Trump’s trade war.First up is the US consumer price index (CPI) later in the day, which could play a major role in the Federal Reserve’s decision-making with regard to interest rates.Bets on a cut have ramped up in recent weeks owing to signs that the world’s number one economy is showing signs of slowing, with figures indicating that the labour market softened considerably in the past three months.Expectations are for CPI to come slightly above June’s reading, but analysts warned investors were walking a fine line with a forecast-topping print likely to dent rate cut hopes and a too-weak read stoking economic fears.”I’d imagine, for equities at least, given the comfort blanket that the surge in September cut expectations has provided recently, that a hotter-than-expected figure could see some fairly sizeable downside,” said Pepperstone’s Michael Brown.While there have been warnings that the tariffs will stoke inflation, National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill said: “The larger tariff impacts… probably will not be felt until August/September, with firms now only gaining some clarity on the degree of reciprocal tariffs.”The current profit reporting season has noted firms on the whole were waiting for greater clarity on final tariff rates before adjusting prices.”Also on the agenda this week are wholesale prices and retail sales, with the Fed’s favoured gauge of inflation at the end of the month. Bank officials are then set to make their decision in the middle of September.Forecasts are for a reduction at that gathering and one more before the end of the year.Asia’s markets rally was led by Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, which briefly soared almost three percent to hit a record high of 42,999.71 on renewed optimism over the Japanese economy after officials reached a deal to avert the worst of Trump’s tariffs.IwaiCosmo Securities said in a market commentary that “easing tensions over US-China trade talks, as well as speculation about the US’s imminent lowering of (interest) rates” had helped boost investors’ hopes about the recovery of Japanese companies.The gains came as traders returned to work after a long weekend.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Mumbai, Jakarta and Manila also advanced with London, Paris and Frankfurt.Sydney was also given a lift by news that the Australian central bank had cut interest rates.Seoul, Singapore and Wellington dropped.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 42,718.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,968.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,665.92 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,153.20Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1621 from $1.1617 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3458 from $1.3435 Dollar/yen: UP at 148.25 yen from 148.12 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.35 pence from 86.47 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $64.14 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $66.89 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 43,975.09 (close)

Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday, with Tokyo hitting a record, as investors welcomed the extension of a China-US tariff truce but looked ahead apprehensively to the release of key US inflation data later in the day.Donald Trump’s widely expected trade announcement avoids the reimposition of sky-high levies and allows officials from Washington and Beijing to continue talking into November to settle their standoff.In an executive order, the White House reiterated its position that there are “large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits” and they “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States”. However, William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said: “Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions.”With the president’s tariffs set and talks with various trading partners ongoing, markets are now turning their focus back towards the possible economic outlook and the impact of Trump’s trade war.First up is the US consumer price index (CPI) later in the day, which could play a major role in the Federal Reserve’s decision-making with regard to interest rates.Bets on a cut have ramped up in recent weeks owing to signs that the world’s number one economy is showing signs of slowing, with figures indicating that the labour market softened considerably in the past three months.Expectations are for CPI to come slightly above June’s reading, but analysts warned investors were walking a fine line.”CPI is the storm front straight ahead. A soft number, and the market exhales. A hot number, and the stagflation whisper becomes the only language anyone speaks,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.While there have been warnings that the tariffs will stoke inflation National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill said: “The larger tariff impacts… probably will not be felt until August/September, with firms now only gaining some clarity on the degree of reciprocal tariffs.”The current profit reporting season has noted firms on the whole were waiting for greater clarity on final tariff rates before adjusting prices.”Also on the agenda this week are wholesale prices and retail sales, with the Fed’s favoured gauge of inflation at the end of the month. Bank officials are then set to make their decision in the middle of September.Forecasts are for a reduction at that gathering and one more before the end of the year.Asia’s rally was led by Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, which soared around 2.8 percent to hit a record high of 42,983.34 on renewed optimism over the Japanese economy after officials reached a deal to avert the worst of Trump’s tariffs.The gains came as traders returned to work after a long weekend.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Jakarta and Manila also advanced.Singapore and Wellington dropped.- Key figures at around 0430 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 42,952.94Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,929.34 (break)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,666.33 (break)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1619 from $1.1617 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3430 from $1.3435 Dollar/yen: UP at 148.43 yen from 148.12 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.51 pence from 86.47 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $64.11 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $66.83 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 43,975.09 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,129.71 (close)

US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a delay in the reimposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods, hours before a trade truce between Washington and Beijing was due to expire.The White House’s halt on steeper tariffs will be in place until November 10. “I have just signed an Executive Order that will extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The truce on steeper levies had been due to expire Tuesday.While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, bringing them to prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them.As part of their May truce, fresh US tariffs targeting China were reduced to 30 percent and the corresponding level from China was cut to 10 percent. Those rates will now hold until November — or whenever a deal is cut before then.Around the same time that Trump confirmed the new extension, Chinese state media Xinhua news agency published a joint statement from US-China talks in Stockholm saying it would also extend its side of the truce.China will continue suspending its earlier tariff hike for 90 days starting August 12 while retaining a 10-percent duty, the report said.It would also “take or maintain necessary measures to suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures against the United States, as agreed in the Geneva joint declaration,” Xinhua reported.In the executive order posted Monday to its website, the White House reiterated its position that there are “large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits” and they “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.” The order acknowledged Washington’s ongoing discussions with Beijing “to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship” and noted that China has continued to “take significant steps toward remedying” the US complaints.- Trump-Xi summit? -“Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions,” warned William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.He believes China sees its leverage over rare earth exports as a strong one, and that Beijing will likely use it to pressure Washington.US-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the current extension is “critical to give the two governments time to negotiate an agreement” providing much-needed certainty for companies to make plans.A trade deal, in turn, would “pave the way for a Trump-Xi summit this fall,” said Asia Society Policy Institute senior vice president Wendy Cutler.But Cutler, herself a former US trade official, said: “This will be far from a walk in the park.”Since Trump took office, China’s tariffs have essentially boomeranged, from the initially modest 10 percent hike in February, followed by repeated surges as Beijing and Washington clashed, until it hit a high of 145 percent in April. Now the tariff has been pulled back to 30 percent, a negotiated truce rate.Even as both countries reached a pact to cool tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, the de-escalation has been shaky.Key economic officials convened in London in June as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers met again in Stockholm last month.Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he hoped China will “quickly quadruple its soybean orders,” adding this would be a way to balance trade with the United States.China’s exports reached record highs in 2024, and Beijing reported that their exports exceeded expectations in June, climbing 5.8 percent year-on-year, as the economic superpower works to sustain growth amid Trump’s trade war.Separately, since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent “reciprocal” tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair.This surged to varying steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies.Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15-percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria.The “reciprocal” tariffs exclude sectors that have been targeted individually, such as steel and aluminum, and those that are being investigated like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.They are also expected to exclude gold, although a clarification by US customs authorities made public last week caused concern that certain gold bars might still be targeted.Trump said Monday that gold imports will not face additional tariffs, without providing further details.The president has taken separate aim at individual countries such as Brazil over the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of planning a coup, and India over its purchase of Russian oil.Canada and Mexico come under a different tariff regime.

Global equity markets were mixed Monday as investors await key US inflation data this week that could offer guidance on interest rate cuts long sought by President Donald Trump.Reports that semiconductor giants Nvidia and AMD would give Washington a 15-percent cut of the revenue from certain chip sales to China also bolstered expectations of a further pause on higher US tariffs against Beijing.On Monday afternoon, US media reported that Trump had signed an order to delay the reimposition of steeper tariffs on Chinese products by another 90 days, citing Trump administration officials.The White House did not respond to queries on the matter.For now, it appears that investors are awaiting new US consumer price index figures. Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments warned that a cooler than expected reading could still be “a double-edged sword.”While a lower inflation reading would give the Fed room to cut rates, on the other hand, “it’s not bullish because that means the economy’s slowing,” he added.Also in view is a high-stakes summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska, which could pave the way for a Ukraine ceasefire and ease tough Western sanctions against Moscow.London’s FTSE 100 index edged higher but Paris and Frankfurt closed lower, pulled down in particular by defense stocks as investors calculated the chances of an end to the Ukraine war.Major Wall Street indices closed lower.”Markets are bracing for a surprisingly busy week, with several key events and data releases likely to shape sentiment,” notably US inflation, said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.  Investors have ramped up their bets the Fed will lower borrowing costs at its next policy meeting in September following a series of reports — particularly on jobs — indicating weakening in the world’s biggest economy.Stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai rose on Monday, while Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.Gold futures retreated after hitting a record high Friday, when a letter released by US customs authorities signaled the precious metal should also be subject to new US duties.But Trump said Monday that gold would not face additional tariffs.In company news, Nvidia and AMD shared both closed lower.Elsewhere, shares in Danish renewable energy firm Orsted plunged 30 percent in Copenhagen as the company said it would raise $9.4 billion by selling new shares.The company added that it dropped plans to sell a stake in its Sunrise Wind project over Trump’s decision to freeze federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 43,975.09 points (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,373.45 (close)New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,385.40 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 9,129.71 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,698.52 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,081.34 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 24,906.81 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,647.55 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1617 from $1.1643Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3435 from $1.3451 on FridayDollar/yen: UP at 148.12 yen from 147.79 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.47 pence from 86.54 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $66.63 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $63.96 per barrelburs-ajb-bys/sla

US President Donald Trump reportedly signed an order delaying the reimposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods on Monday, hours before a trade truce between Washington and Beijing was due to expire.The halt on steeper tariffs will be in place for another 90 days, the Wall Street Journal and CNBC reported, citing Trump administration officials. The White House did not respond to queries on the matter.While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them.But their 90-day halt of steeper levies was due to expire Tuesday.Asked about the deadline earlier Monday, Trump said: “We’ll see what happens. They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi (Jinping) and myself.”Trump also touted the tariff revenue his country has collected since his return to the White House, saying “we’ve been dealing very nicely with China.””We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in a statement.He added that Beijing also hopes Washington will “strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”The full text of Trump’s latest order has yet to be released. The 90-day extension means the truce is set to expire in early November, according to the Wall Street Journal.- Shaky truce -Even as both countries reached a pact to cool tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, the de-escalation has been shaky.In June, key economic officials convened in London as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers met again in Stockholm last month.US trade envoy Jamieson Greer said last month that Trump will have the “final call” on any such extension.Trump said in a social media post late Sunday that he hoped China will “quickly quadruple its soybean orders,” adding that this would be a way to balance trade with the United States.For now, the extension of a truce means that US tariffs on Chinese goods this year stand at 30 percent.Under their de-escalation, Beijing’s corresponding levy on US products stood at 10 percent.Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent “reciprocal” tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair. This surged to varying steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies.Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15-percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria.The “reciprocal” tariffs exclude sectors that have been separately targeted, such as steel and aluminum, and those that are being investigated like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.They are also expected to exclude gold, although a clarification by US customs authorities made public last week caused concern that certain gold bars might still be targeted.Trump on Monday said that gold imports will not face additional tariffs, without providing further details.The US president has taken separate aim at individual countries such as Brazil over the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of planning a coup, and India over its purchase of Russian oil.Canada and Mexico come under a different tariff regime.