Forex - Dollar falls to 6-week lows as Trump fears weigh
Investing.com
Published Jan 23, 2017 03:52AM ET
Dollar index falls to 6-week lows on Trump fears
Investing.com - The dollar fell against a currency basket on Monday as the lack of economic policy detail in U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech coupled with concerns over his protectionist rhetoric weighed.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.44% to 100.33, the lowest level since December 8.
The index climbed around 3.5% since Trump’s election win in November, buoyed by expectations that his pledges to cut taxes and hike infrastructure spending would spur growth in the U.S. economy, leading to inflation and higher interest rates.
But the index has fallen 1.9% so far this month amid a lack of clarity over his economic policies, worries over his protectionist stance and following recent remarks in which he said the dollar was too strong.
On Friday, Trump said his administration would put "America first" and also promised new roads, bridges and highways.
But market sentiment was hit by the negative tone of the speech, which underlined uncertainty over how Trump will govern.
The dollar was sharply lower against the traditional safe haven yen, with USD/JPY trading at 113.55, off 0.94% after touching overnight lows of 113.17.
The euro rose to five-week highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD climbing 0.36% to 1.0740.
Sterling also hit five-week highs as the dollar sold off, with GBP/USD up 0.59% to 1.2444.
Meanwhile, the Mexican peso added to Friday’s strong gains after Trump’s inauguration speech didn't specifically mention Mexico.
USD/MXN was down 0.85% at 21.40 after ending Friday’s session down 1.64%.
The Mexican peso has been hard hit by fears over potential changes to U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.