Economy

China halts imports of US LNG

China has completely halted imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US in March, according to Chinese customs statistics. This is reported by Bloomberg.

The measure is a result of the ongoing trade conflict between the countries, where China has imposed 125 percent tariffs on US goods.

During the first quarter of this year, imports of US LNG fell by 70 percent. China is now turning to suppliers such as Indonesia and Qatar, and is increasing the use of coal and renewable energy.

Analysts warn that China's total LNG imports could decrease by up to 12 percent this year if the tariffs remain in place.

Trump demands lower interest rates: We have almost no inflation

The US has "practically" no inflation - but growth could slow down unless the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates immediately, Donald Trump claims in a post on Truth Social. The president also writes that “many” are now calling for “preemptive interest rate cuts” because food and energy prices are on the way down.

He calls Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a “loser” who “always acted ‘too late’ except during the election campaign” to help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The price of oil has indeed fallen in the wake of Trump’s tariff war. But US CPI inflation was 2.4 percent in March, while core inflation (which excludes volatile goods such as food and energy) was 2.8 percent. 

Tesla’s future
Tesla falls after tough analysis – is “code red”

Tesla is in a “code red” situation ahead of Tuesday’s interim report – now founder Elon Musk must leave his controversial job for the Trump administration and focus on the electric car manufacturer full-time. This is what former Tesla bull and Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a market letter, according to Bloomberg.

According to Ives, it is impossible to overestimate how much Musk's actions affect Tesla's brand.

Anyone who does not believe that Musk has damaged the brand should talk to car buyers in the US, Europe and Asia. "You will have changed your mind after those conversations," he writes. Despite that, Ives maintains his buy advice.

Barclays also took the opportunity to lower its target price for Tesla ahead of the interim year, writes CNBC.

Tesla is expected to report a profit per share of $ 0.43 during the quarter - a decrease of just over 4 percent compared to last year. Sales are expected to increase slightly to $ 21.5 billion.

The stock fell 5.8 percent on Wall Street after the analyses and is now down nearly 44 percent since the beginning of the year.

Development of the Swedish krona
Expert: Expects the krona to continue to strengthen

The krona has strengthened to its highest level against the dollar since April 2022 and is now trading for under 9.50 kronor, notes DI. Despite that, it remains undervalued, according to SEB's senior economist Robert Bergqvist.

- If I extend the perspective to one or two years, one can expect the krona to continue to strengthen against the dollar, he tells the newspaper.

He believes that an improved image of Sweden and reduced confidence in the dollar are behind the development.