China’s new loans slumped sharply and credit expanded at a slower pace than expected in April, as escalating trade tensions with the US harmed sentiment.

Chinese banks extended 280 billion yuan ($38.87 billion) in new yuan loans in April, below analysts' forecasts and plummeting from March's 3.64 trillion yuan, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the People's Bank of China.

Bullying” leads to isolation, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned, after the Trump administration rolled back many tariffs.

The deal, outlined in a Brazilian government document viewed by Reuters, underscores Brazil's push to strengthen agricultural ties with China as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits the country, and as rising domestic DDG production fuels the search for alternative markets.

Grocers’ sales are more reliant on domestically grown food. Supermarket operator Kroger, which previously disclosed “small single-digit exposure” to inventory from China, was down 4.7 per cent in early trading. Walmart, where the bulk of US sales come from groceries, was off by 0.8 per cent.

Gold prices fell on Wednesday as easing U.S.-China trade tensions soothed fears of a potential global recession, boosting investor risk appetite and weighing on bullion's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold fell 0.

US stock futures held steady after a strong trading session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 erased its losses for 2025.

Farm country voted heavily for Donald Trump last November. Now many farmers are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the Republican president’s disputes with China and other international markets.