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Forex - Dollar on Track for Weekly Drop as Trump Blasts Fed Policy

Published 07/20/2018, 12:56 PM
Updated 07/20/2018, 12:55 PM
© Reuters. The Dollar fell sharply against its rivals Friday

© Reuters. The Dollar fell sharply against its rivals Friday

Investing.com – The dollar fell sharply Friday as President Donald Trump continued to slam the Federal Reserve's monetary policy measures arguing that higher interest rates were denting the United States' "big competitive edge."

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.64% to 94.37. The slump in the dollar index saw it turn negative for the week after hitting fresh 52-week highs of 95.44 Thursday intraday.

Trump took to Twitter to express concerns about a stronger U.S. dollar, which he said was “taking away our [United States] big competitive edge.” As well as the Fed's approach to monetary policy, other central banks were also criticized by Trump as he claimed they were “manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower.”

Trump's comments – a break away from a long-standing norm of sitting presidents avoiding commentary on Fed policy – won't affect the Federal Open Market Committee's monetary policy decision, according to St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard.

“The FOMC has a mandate to keep inflation low and stable and obtain maximum employment for the U.S. economy, so people can comment, including the president and other politicians, but it’s up to the committee to try to take the best action we can to achieve those objectives,” Bullard said.

Trump's remarks came amid renewed focus on U.S. trade war tensions after the president said he was "ready" to slap $500 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the U.S.

That raised demand for safe-haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss Franc.

USD/JPY fell 0.68% to Y111.70, while USD/CHF fell 0.44% to 0.9946.

GBP/USD rose 0.74% to $1.3111, as the pair continued its recovery from slump below $1.30 Thursday, which followed weaker-than-expected U.K. retail sales.

EUR/USD rose 0.56% to $1.1708, while USD/CAD fell 0.83% to $1.3162. The loonie was supported by above-forecast inflation and retail sales data from Canada.

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