Markets are increasingly confident the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut the cash rate in May and up to another three times after that, as economists predict US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause a global slowdown that will spill over to the Australian economy.

After Trump announced on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) that America’s trading partners would be hit with tariffs from 10 per cent to 49 per cent from April 5, bond markets ratcheted up bets for more rate cuts from the RBA and investors sharply sold off their shares.