Wednesday, 08 October 2025
Jakarta
--:--
Tokyo
--:--
Hongkong
--:--
New York
--:--
Dollar drops as traders fret over Trump tax bill
Wednesday, 21 May 2025 18:35 WIB | US DOLLAR |DOLLAR

The dollar fell for a third day against a range of currencies on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump failed to convince Republican holdouts to back his sweeping tax bill.

Traders were also wary of U.S. officials potentially angling for a weaker dollar at Group of Seven finance minister meetings under way in Canada.

Developments in Trump's global tariff war, which have swung currencies wildly in recent months, have slowed considerably this week, even as the clock ticks to the end of a 90-day tariff respite for U.S. trade partners in the absence of new deals.

While markets remain optimistic that the White House is eager to get trade flowing again on a sustained basis, talks with close allies Tokyo and Seoul appear to have lost momentum.

All this has combined to keep the dollar under pressure and U.S. Treasury yields rising, as the "sell America" theme continues to inform investment decisions, if in a less dramatic fashion than earlier this month.

"We do not consider the USD - and U.S. assets generally - are at the start of a 'death spiral'," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts wrote in a note.

"However, we forecast the USD to re‑weaken in 2026 once the tariff uncertainty fades and lower interest rates support a recovery in the world economy," they said. "Additionally, we expect large money managers to allocate less capital to USD assets over time."

A Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign debt rating on Friday may have had only a limited impact on markets, but it has added to the narrative of less faith in U.S. assets as safe havens. As a result, the dollar is down on the year against every major currency .

Trump's tax bill would add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the country's debt, according to nonpartisan analysts. Ballooning fiscal debt, trade frictions, and weakened confidence have weighed on U.S. markets.

"Tariff rates are now lower, but not low, and the same can be said about recession risks in the U.S.," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a research note.

"The U.S. still faces the worst growth-inflation mix of the major economies, and as the fiscal bill makes its way through Congress, eroding U.S. exceptionalism is proving - literally - costly at a time of large funding needs."

An auction of 20-year Treasuries later might offer a litmus test of investor appetite for long-dated U.S. debt.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said ahead of an expected meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that talks on exchange rates would be based on their shared view that excessive volatility is undesirable.

"While market participants do not expect any explicit comment from Bessent on a shift in Washington policy on the dollar, any sign of pushing trading partners in Asia ... to conducting less or stopping U.S. dollar-buying intervention would likely trigger further big moves weaker for the dollar," MUFG strategist Derek Halpenny said.

The yen strengthened against the dollar, which fell 0.6% to 143.595 yen, extending gains derived in part from a steep rise this week in domestic bond yields .

Source: Reuters

RELATED NEWS
Dollar Continues Strengthening, Weighing on G-10 Currencies; Yen Weakens for a Fourth Day...
Tuesday, 7 October 2025 19:51 WIB

The dollar continued its strengthening for a second day, pressuring all G-10 currencies; the Japanese yen slumped for a fourth session to its weakest level since March before paring losses. The Bloom...

Hawkish vs. Rate Cut: Who Wins? ...
Tuesday, 7 October 2025 10:34 WIB

The US Dollar Index (DXY) continued its strengthening for a second day and briefly hovered around 98.20 during the Asian session, driven by hawkish comments from Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schm...

Dollar Heads For Worst Week Since July; Yen Supported By BOJ ...
Friday, 3 October 2025 19:25 WIB

The dollar headed for its worst week since late July on Friday (October 3rd) as the US government shutdown heightened uncertainty, while the yen weakened from this week's high as traders considered th...

Dollar Weakens on US Government Shutdown and Poor Jobs Data ...
Thursday, 2 October 2025 19:57 WIB

The dollar weakened near a one-week low on Thursday as traders weighed the impact of the US government shutdown, while poor jobs data raised expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest ra...

US dollar sags after poor jobs data, government shutdown fuels caution...
Thursday, 2 October 2025 05:19 WIB

The U.S. dollar slid to two-week lows against the yen on Wednesday after data showed private-sector jobs in the world's largest economy contracted last month, boosting expectations the Federal Reserve...

LATEST NEWS
Europe's Stoxx 600 edged lower amid French political crisis

European stock markets edged mostly lower on Tuesday, as investors kept tabs on ongoing political turbulence in France and the United States that threatened to dampen enthusiasm around artificial intelligence dealmaking. The pan-European Stoxx 600...

Silver Retreats from Multi-Year High

Silver traded around $48.10 per ounce, retreating from the multi-year high touched on October 6th amid profit-taking as a firmer yield backdrop raised the metal's opportunity cost. The Treasury curve ticked up, making a non-yielding asset less...

Systematic hedge funds hit with daily losses in October, says Goldman Sachs

Systematic hedge funds have lost money every day since October began, according to a Goldman Sachs client note. These speculators, whose algorithms ride market trends until they peter out and who use market signals rather than views on the...

POPULAR NEWS
Asian Markets Soar: Yen Falls, Gold, and Stocks Soar!
Monday, 6 October 2025 08:00 WIB

Asian stocks surged to new highs, led by Japan's Nikkei 225, which surged more than 4% following the election of pro-stimulus lawmaker Sanae...

S&P 500, Nasdaq close at fresh records to start week, helped by AMD gains
Tuesday, 7 October 2025 03:19 WIB

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Monday, spurred by optimism about increased mergers and acquisitions activity after...

Negotiators Gather For Gaza Talks, Mediator Warns Deal May Be Slow
Monday, 6 October 2025 16:23 WIB

Hamas officials were in Egypt on Monday (October 6th) ahead of talks with Israel that the US hopes will lead to an end to the war in Gaza and the...

European Stocks Close Lower again
Monday, 6 October 2025 23:54 WIB

Euro Area Stock MarketEuropean stocks closed mostly lower on Monday as fresh political turmoil in France rekindled concerns of fiscal instability...