iFOREX Daily Analysis : January 24 ,2017

 | Jan 24, 2017 03:34AM ET

The U.S. dollar dropped to the lowest level in two months against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday, on growing concerns that the multilateral trade regime will see sharp changes under Trump from a proposed border tax to potential other actions on import tariffs.

Trump addressed U.S. manufacturing executives with a repeated promise to impose a border tax on firms that import products into the United States after moving American factories overseas and announced the country had abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact among a dozen nations. Trump also said Sunday he would start talks with Mexico and Canada to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The safe-haven yen has been the main beneficiary of U.S. political uncertainty, rising for a second straight session against the dollar.
Sterling, meanwhile, was the other big gainer, hitting a six-week peak as investors bet Britain's Supreme Court would rule on Tuesday that the government needs parliamentary approval to trigger formal Brexit talks.

For this week ahead, Trump's policy plans in his first days in office are likely to attract investor’s focus and dominate headlines. Investors will also looking at fourth quarter growth data from the U.S. on Friday and from the U.K. a day earlier. Tuesday’s data on euro area private sector activity will also be closely watched.

EUR/USD

The euro gained against the dollar on Monday, posting a 0.40% rise to 1.0746. The dollar dropped on Monday on growing concerns that the multilateral trade regime will see sharp changes under President Donald Trump from a proposed border tax to potential other actions on import tariffs.

Trump’s remarks also included halting off-shoring of work, something that raises concerns of a trade war with leading manufacturing exporters such as China.

Today, the euro zone is to release data on private sector business activity while later in the day, the U.S. is to report on existing home sales.