Apple Has Biggest Drop in Two Months as Trade Tensions Escalate

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. shares had their biggest one-day slump in more than two months amid the latest escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The iPhone maker fell as much as 4.8% on Monday, its biggest drop since May 13. The shares have lost almost 9% over a three-day slump.

In the latest development of the trade war, China let the yuan tumble to the weakest level in more than a decade and asked state-owned companies to suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products. Wall Street analysts described the retaliation as “massive,” calling it an “11” on a scale of one to ten.

Apple has been particularly vulnerable to the trade tensions. Not only does it rely on China for key components of its supply chain, but nearly 20% of Apple’s 2018 revenue came from the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Apple’s sales in China may come under greater pressure” after the latest development, wrote John Butler, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. He said that Apple products sold in China are priced in U.S. dollars, “suggesting weakness in the yuan makes its devices more expensive and could dent its margins.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Vlastelica in New York at rvlastelica1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net

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