Investing.com - The dollar fell to a fresh three-year low against a currency basket on Thursday, a day after the Trump administration signaled that it preferred a weaker currency, while the euro was steady ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy decision.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 88.93 by 03:33 AM ET (08:33 AM GMT), after hitting an overnight low of 88.62, a level not seen since December 2014.
The dollar skidded lower after U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that a “weaker dollar is good for trade.”
The remarks were seen by markets as a departure from traditional U.S. currency policy.
His comments, along with this week’s decision by President Donald Trump to impose import tariffs on washing machines and solar panels reignited concerns over his administration’s protectionist stance and its possible impact on global trade.
The risk of a weaker dollar is that it could undermine confidence in a wide swath of U.S. assets, including the U.S. Treasury market.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY last at 109.12 falling to a four-month trough of 108.72 overnight.
The euro was steady, with EUR/USD at 1.2410 after rising as high as 1.2459 overnight, the strongest level since December 2014.
Market watchers were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting later in the day for possible insights into future shifts in monetary policy.
Sterling was also steady, with GBP/USD at 1.4244 after touching a fresh post-Brexit high of 1.4328 overnight, boosted by Wednesday’s upbeat UK employment data.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher against their U.S. counterpart, with AUD/USD rising 0.19% to 0.8074 and NZD/USD climbing 0.23% to 0.7352.