Nobel laureate Paul Krugman warns that President Trump’s unpredictable and often reversed tariff policies are creating deep uncertainty, discouraging business investment and thus increasing the risk of recession.

About half the people surveyed in a new opinion poll think prices while climb sharply, and are increasingly concerned about the possibility of a recession within the next few months.

China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the world's top two economies could be easing, though Beijing quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were under way.

President Trump said he's spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about tariffs, but China says there have been "no negotiations" with the U.S. on trade or the economy.