Amazon shares fall 4pc as Trump renews attack in tweet

SHARES of Amazon.com fell 4pc yesterday after US President Donald Trump again attacked the online retailer over the pricing of its deliveries through the United States Postal Service and promised unspecified changes.

“Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money-losing Post Office makes money with Amazon,” Trump tweeted.

“They lose a fortune, and this will be changed. Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country... not a level playing field!”

Trump has been vocal about his opposition to Amazon’s use of the postal service and the tweet adds to investor worries that the company could see more regulation. Details of Amazon’s payments to the US Postal Service (USPS) are not publicly known, but some Wall Street analysts have estimated it pays the postal service roughly half what it would to FedEx Corp to deliver a package.

“President Trump’s comments are consistent with industry sources we have spoken to who often label Amazon’s deal with the USPS as a sweetheart deal,” DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte wrote in a note.

“An argument, however, could be made that the USPS was losing billions before it expanded its service offerings for Amazon,” Forte said.

Amazon shares have gained nearly 20pc this year, giving the company a market value of about $700bn (€569bn.