The dollar wobbled on Tuesday, languishing near a three-year low against the euro and a six-month trough against the yen it hit last week, as investors struggled to make sense of the back-and-forth changes on US tariffs.
Still, currency markets were a lot calmer in Asian hours after last week’s turmoil that badly bruised the dollar despite a surge in Treasury yields, highlighting shaky investor confidence in the greenback and US assets.
The dollar was slightly weaker at 142.99 yen, staying close to the six-month low of 142.05 it touched on Friday. The euro last fetched $1.136, just below the three-year high of $1.1474 hit last week.
After slumping to a 10-year low against the Swiss franc last week, the dollar was 0.2% higher on Tuesday. Still, the dollar is down nearly 8% against the Swiss franc this month, set for its biggest monthly drop since December 2008, Reuters reported.
Market focus has been on the ever-shifting tariff headlines with the US removing smartphones and other electronics from its duties on China over the weekend providing some relief, although comments from President Donald Trump suggested the reprieve is likely to be for a short time.
Trump’s imposition and then abrupt postponement of most tariffs on goods imported to the US has sowed confusion, adding to the uncertainty for investors and policymakers around the world.
Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at InTouch Capital Markets, said the policy uncertainty and erosion in investor confidence are fuelling a slow but steady rotation out of dollar assets.
“The recent backpedaling on US tariffs has eased some of the acute market anxiety, softening the dollar’s safe-haven appeal in the near term.”
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note eased 1.5 basis points to 4.348% after dropping nearly 13 basis points in the previous session.
The yields had risen about 50 bps last week in the biggest weekly gain in over two decades as analysts and investors questioned US bonds’ status as the world’s safest assets.
“Last week was all about deleveraging, liquidation, and asset re-allocation out of US assets. This week’s tone is calmer in what is a holiday shortened week,” said Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities.
“Helping to set the tone were dovish comments from Fed officials suggesting they are looking beyond inflation.”
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday the Trump administration’s tariff policies are a major shock to the US economy that could lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to head off a recession even if inflation remains high.
Traders are pricing in 86 bps of cuts from the Fed for the rest of the year, LSEG data showed.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, was at 99.641, not far from the three-year low it touched last week. The index is down over 4% this month, set for its biggest monthly drop since November 2022.
Sterling last bought $1.3215. The Australian dollar rose 0.66% to $0.6369, while the New Zealand dollar surged to its highest in four and half months and was last 0.88% higher at $0.5926.
