12:14 PM EDT, 04/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is up 342 points at midday with miners and telecoms the biggest gainers, up 3% and 1.5%, respectively.

It has been a volatile week on markets, rocked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and global reactions to them.

In the latest news, China has said it will raise tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% from 84% after Trump raised tariffs on China to a total of 145% in an escalating global trade war.

BMO Economics said the risk that this escalating trade war tips the world into a recession is rising as the two largest and most powerful countries in the world continue to punch back with higher and higher tariffs. No one truly knows when this will end, with China saying it will "ignore" any more increases from the U.S. as it would not make any economic sense for importers.

For its part, Rosenberg Research said the oil market is pricing in recession, "that much is for sure". Since the November election, it noted WTI has moved from US$80 per barrel to US$60, which means the price has now moved fractionally below break-even levels for the major producers. "There is not going to be any "drill baby, drill" cycle. Crude is going down all right, as pledged, but for the wrong reasons," the research added.

Oil prices edged down early on Friday as the trade war between the world's two largest economies intensified, threatening to slow global growth and weaken demand even as supply is on the rise. Natural gas traded at a two-month low on rising inventories and mild spring temperatures. But gold traded at a fresh record high as the dollar continued to plunge.

In a separate note, Rosenberg Research said "never mind inflation", adding the U.S. economy was deflating before the tariff "tantrum". It noted producer prices, headline and core, fell in March. That followed on the heels of the tepid CPI report