Sickly manufacturers slump as they brace for the impact of Donald Trump's tariff turmoil

Manufacturing across the world slumped last month as firms brace for the impact of Donald Trump’s latest trade wars.

As the price of gold hit a record high amid the global uncertainty sparked by Trump, a series of closely-watched business surveys showed factories from Britain and Japan to the United States saw activity shrink in March.

The figures came as the US President prepares to unleash a new wave of tariff announcements today on what he has dubbed ‘Liberation Day’.

Fears over the announcement have sent shockwaves through financial markets and boosted gold, seen as a safe haven during times of volatility. 

Yesterday it climbed to an all-time high of $3148 dollars per ounce, before falling back slightly.

Trump’s aim is to revive America’s industrial base which he complains has been damaged by unfair foreign competition.

But in a blow to the White House, monthly US purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures from the Institute for

Supply Management (ISM) suggested that a nascent recovery in the sector had been snuffed out by the tariffs.

The PMI reading of 49 in March was down from 50.3 in February – on a scale where the 50-mark separates growth from contraction. ISM’s Timothy Fiore said that ‘demand and production retreated and destaffing continued’ as companies ‘responded to demand confusion’.

In Britain, a PMI reading from financial firm S&P Global showed activity shrinking at its worst pace in 17 months, with a reading of 44.9 in March.

And business confidence among factory firms dwindled to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the UK market was deteriorating as costs rise due to Labour’s National Insurance raid and minimum wage hike as well as global tensions and ‘potential disruption from tariffs’.