The US and Europe are preparing new sanctions against Russia over war crimes in Ukraine

Investors remain concerned about the war in Ukraine, which has sent commodity prices skyrocketing, worsening the outlook for already high inflation. The 10-year US Treasury bond yields rose on Monday, while the 2-year/10-year yield curve remained inverted. The curve inversion is seen as a harbinger of a recession in the next year or two.

But there is another opinion. An inverted Treasury yield curve tells investors more about inflation than recession prospects, says an experienced Wall Street strategist. “The 2/10 inversion of the nominal Treasury bond curve does not mean slower growth, but rather lower inflation in 2023 and beyond,” wrote Barry Knapp, managing partner of Ironsides Economics.

This Summer, the US economy will fall into recession as inflation eats into consumer spending, warns former Fed official Lawrence Lindsey. “Inflation is undermining the purchasing power of consumers, and they will have to cut spending,” he said.

Twitter shares rose 17% yesterday as it became known that Elon Musk bought a 9.2% stake. Tesla shares rose yesterday after the company reported record first-quarter deliveries of electric vehicles on Saturday.

The US is actively working with Europe to tighten sanctions against Russia. The fifth package of EU sanctions against Russia is likely to affect aviation leasing, imports and exports of jet fuel, metal products, luxury goods, and, possibly, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally. EU countries are still arguing about including an embargo on energy imports from Russia in the sanctions. French President Emanuel Macron called for tough new anti-Russian sanctions: “We need new sanctions against Russia. New sanctions should apply to coal and gasoline.”

Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia began the process of total isolation from Russia and Belarus, thereby closing their land routes for the delivery of goods to these countries.

Gold is falling as US government bonds are rising. Analysts expect gold and silver prices to fall in the medium term as the US Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy. The recent rise in gold is purely speculative, as a temporary safe haven for investors from inflation, as well as from the war in Ukraine.

Oil is rising again amid new sanctions against Russia. World oil futures increased more than 3% on Monday. “Geopolitical tensions are likely to keep oil prices higher in the coming days, despite efforts of the US and its allies,” said Tina Teng, market analyst at CMC Markets APAC & Canada, referring to the coordinated output of oil by consuming countries.

Asian markets traded positive yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 0.25% yesterday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) jumped by 2.10%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) ended the day with +0.27%. Australia’s central bank opened the door for its first interest rate hike on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the interest rate at 0.1%. However, inflation has risen significantly and is likely to continue to rise, while unemployment fell faster than expected to 4.0%. The RBA wants to avoid another recession or let high and potentially damaging inflation persist until 2023. Markets took the change as a move toward a possible tightening and lifted the Australian dollar 0.7% to a nine-month high. Earlier, RBA chief Lowe said that the first hike would come later this year, while markets have long been betting on an earlier hike given the global rise in inflation.

The World Bank lowered its 2022 GDP forecast for East Asia due to the war in Ukraine. China’s economy is expected to grow 5.0% this year, compared to the previous estimate of 5.4%. But growth could slow to 4.0% if conditions worsen and government policies ease.