The tariff dance continues with Trump talking about tariffs. There were various mixed messages but at least he’s not drawing a hard line in the sand.

Asked about possible exemptions to the April 2 tariffs, Trump said: “There will be flexibility.”

Asked if China can do anything to head off trade war: “We can talk.” He added that he will be talking to Xi (there is a rumored mid-June summit).

The S&P 500 has trimmed the decline to 18 points and the Nasdaq is down just 0.1%.

In FX, we’re seeing small signs of a reversal in the weakness in the commodity currencies and strength in the US dollar.