Dollars fall wipes out Trump gains
Bump becomes dump amid political turbulence
Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor
May 20 2017, 12:01am,
The Times
The dollar has suffered its worst weekly slump in a year amid fears for Donald Trump’s presidency and in the face of a resurgent euro. It tumbled yesterday to its lowest level since the property magnate was elected.
Against a trade-weighted basket of six currencies, the dollar slid by almost 2 per cent this week, wiping out all the gains of the “Trump bump” since November 9. It was the steepest weekly fall since April 2016, dipping 0.6 per cent yesterday alone.
Investors have dumped the dollar this week after the uproar over Mr Trump’s decision to fire James Comey, director of the FBI, and amid allegations of links between the president’s team and Russia.
Analysts said that the sell-off had been sparked by fears of a political fallout that could delay or derail the president’s fiscal stimulus plans, which have underpinned Wall Street’s rally over the past six months and had raised confidence in the economy.
Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank, said: “The market is fearful now that the cuts in regulation [and] the tax incentives just won’t be forthcoming because the administration will be so busy firefighting scandals, it won’t be able to push through any of its promises.”
more
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/dollars-fall-wipes-out-trump-gains-xmrrsdml7
= new reply since forum marked as read
