Thursday, 21 August 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 Weakens After Trump Calls for Fed Chairwoman Cook to Resign ...
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 22:11 WIB

The dollar weakened on Wednesday (August 20th) after US President Donald Trump called for Federal Reserve Chairwoman Lisa Cook to resign. Investors are also awaiting a speech by Fed Chairwoman Jerome ...

Asia FX ticks down ahead of Jackson Hole; kiwi slides after RBNZ rate cut...
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 12:29 WIB

Most Asian currencies edged lower on Wednesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium for cues on the U.S. rate path and the timing of a possible September ...

US Dollar Index strengthens above 98.00 ahead of FOMC Minutes...
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 08:50 WIB

The US Dollar Index (DXY), an index of the value of the US Dollar (USD) measured against a basket of six world currencies, trades on a stronger note around 98.30 during the Asian trading hours on Wedn...

Asian Currencies Mostly Weaken Ahead of Jackson Hole Symposium...
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 08:47 WIB

Asian currencies mostly weaken against the dollar in the morning session ahead of the three-day Jackson Hole symposium that starts Thursday. Traders are seemingly squaring their books ahead of Fed Ch...

Dollar mixed as traders wait on Jackson Hole...
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 04:20 WIB

The dollar was mixed on Tuesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium later this week for further clues on U.S. interest rate policy. A speech on Friday by F...

LATEST NEWS
XAG/USD rebounds from two-week low, Fed Minutes in focus

Silver (XAG/USD) stages a sharp recovery on Wednesday, snapping a four-day losing streak after sliding to its lowest level in over two weeks, since August 4. The rebound comes as the US Dollar (USD) lost ground following renewed political pressure...

Oil Prices Rise On Falling US Crude Inventories, Investors Focus On Ukraine Peace Efforts

Oil prices rose about 1% on Wednesday (August 20th) on a larger-than-expected weekly decline in US crude inventories, as investors awaited the next steps in negotiations to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for...

Dollar Weakens After Trump Calls for Fed Chairwoman Cook to Resign

The dollar weakened on Wednesday (August 20th) after US President Donald Trump called for Federal Reserve Chairwoman Lisa Cook to resign. Investors are also awaiting a speech by Fed Chairwoman Jerome Powell on Friday for clues on interest rate...

POPULAR NEWS
Fed's Powell may defy rate cut bets at Jackson Hole as inflation fight isn't over
Tuesday, 19 August 2025 04:02 WIB

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at the annual central bank symposium this week amid growing bets that a rate cut is nearly...

Trump Broadens 50% Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Products
Monday, 18 August 2025 07:31 WIB

The Trump administration has expanded its 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to cover hundreds of additional products. In a Federal Register...

Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors await details of U.S.-Ukraine talks
Monday, 18 August 2025 07:38 WIB

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday , after the U.S.-Russia summit concluded without a ceasefire. Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark rose 0.62%,...

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall as investors assess outcome of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Tuesday, 19 August 2025 07:52 WIB

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Tuesday as investors await the outcome of the talks between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukraine's President...