Investing.com – The dollar opened in Asia morning at a low level as fears of a global trade war led to sell-off, despite its short-lived rally last week when new Federal Reserve head Powell confirmed the tightening policy.
The U.S. dollar index that measures a basket of six major currencies slid 0.02% to 89.93 at 11pm ET. The dollar had been trading below the 90 handle on Monday morning.
The U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy on steel and aluminum worried investors worldwide, as the administration stressed there would be no exclusion for any country. The dollar has been sliding since Trump announced the tariff last Friday.
The USD/JPY pair dipped 0.26% to 105.47, as the anti-risk yen gained ground amid fears of a global trade war. The pair had been trading in red and oscillating at around the 105 level. Bank of Japan’s governor Kuroda confirmed to maintain the country’s monetary policy and expected to achieve the inflation target of 2% by 2020.
The Aussie dropped 0.22% against the dollar to 0.7746. The sentiment-linked currency was dragged down by China’s underperforming Caixin PMI data. February’s PMI for the private service sector came in a 54.2 versus the expected 54.3.
Elsewhere, the People’s Bank of China set the fix rate of yuan against the dollar at 6.3431 versus Friday’s rate of 6.3334. The USD/CNY pair dived 0.26% to 6.3312. Focus this week is on the National People’s Congress that opened today. Premier Li Keqiang said China will keep prudent monetary policy neutral, while CPI and GDP growth are targeted at around 3% and 6.5% respectively.