Washington is playing the waiting game as Feb. 1 nears. By our complex calculations, that’s Saturday, and it’s the date Trump has teased for when Mexico and Canada – two of America’s largest trading partners – will be slapped with 25% tariffs. (China, meanwhile, could get a 10% levy.)

Economists predict that the Trump administration’s trade policies could push up prices for consumers, making it harder for Fed officials to cut rates.

US President Donald Trump has said he will follow through with his threat to hit imports from Canada and Mexico with 25% border taxes, known as tariffs, on 1 February. But he added that a decision about whether this would include oil from those countries has not yet been made.