Markets have cut bets on Bank of England rate hikes, now pricing about 20bp of tightening by year-end.

U.S. Trade Representative said the agreement remains in effect until these issues are resolved or the agreement is terminated.

At the midday close, China's main futures contracts were mostly lower. Container freight on the Europe route plunged more than 10%; methanol and ethylene glycol (EG) fell over 3%. Red dates, metallurgical coke, palladium, China's SC crude and platinum dropped more than 2%. On the upside, lithium carbonate gained over 4%, polysilicon nearly 2%, peanuts more than 1%, and pulp and coated paper nearly 1%.