Silver Rises Over 120% YTD 
Global markets saw major changes Wednesday as two powerful forces came together: Trump’s expanding trade war and a dramatic shift in German spending policy.
The dollar fell to three-month lows, dropping 2.3% in just three days—the biggest fall since late 2022. This came as new US tariffs hit imports from Canada, Mexico, and China on Tuesday. Both Canada and China quickly hit back with their own tariffs, and Mexico promised to do the same.
In Europe, German political parties made a historic decision by agreeing to a massive €500 billion infrastructure fund. They also completely changed their borrowing rules—a move that Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid called “one of the largest fiscal shifts in post-war history.” One analyst described it as “a really big bazooka.” This news sent German 30-year bond yields soaring by nearly a quarter percentage point, their biggest one-day jump since October 1998. The euro reached a four-month high against the dollar, while European stocks rose 1.2% to break records.
At the same time, China’s National People’s Congress kept its growth target at 5% for 2025 but increased its budget deficit from 3% to 4% of GDP to fight against US tariff effects. Oil prices fell for the third straight day, hitting six-month lows as traders worried about weaker energy demand from trade tensions and OPEC+ plans to increase production in April.
