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A screen showing the NYSE's very bad numbers after closing on August 14, 2019 in New York. REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz

In the wake of Wall Street and Asian stock markets, European markets have dropped Wednesday more than 2%, because of the reversal of the yield curve. A sign that announces a recession in the coming months.

The markets seemed, however, temporarily reassured, after a decline in trade tensions earlier this week between China and the United States. The US government had surprised on Tuesday, August 13, announcing that it pushes back to December the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electronic products imported instead of September 1. But it was only a short respite.

Signs of recession to come

What worries investors today is the reversal of the yield curve . Interest rates on two-year US Treasury bills are unusually higher than ten-year rates. This phenomenon is particularly feared by the markets because it is an indicator of recession. The last time was in 2007, with the subprime crisis.

Fears of a recession, on both sides of the Atlantic, continue to weigh in and have contributed to the fall of stock markets. In Europe, several other topics worry investors like Brexit in the UK that could happen without agreement with the European Union . The contraction of growth in Germany is also worrying with a second quarter marked by a weak, but symbolic, decline in gross domestic product down 0.1%. And finally the political crisis in Italy does not reassure and may weaken the euro.

In contrast, gold, considered more than ever a safe haven, continues to rise. The precious metal ounce that has been rising since the beginning of the year has exceeded the $ 1,500 mark. In three months, the increase reached 18%.