US Dollar Index dives to two-week low on Trump’s tariff threats and fiscal jitters
- DXY tumbles below 99.20, down 1.8% for the week amid broad risk-off sentiment.
- Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU goods, 25% on Apple products made overseas.
- Markets eye upcoming FOMC Minutes, GDP, and core PCE data for policy signals.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the value of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, slumps sharply on Friday, down over 1.8% for the week after posting a modest gain on Thursday to trade around 99.10 near a two-week low, ahead of the weekend.
Although the US Dollar was already facing headwinds due to lingering trade tensions and growing concerns around the US fiscal outlook, the renewed weakness on Friday comes in response to US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade rhetoric as he threatened to impose 50% tariffs on all goods sent to United States from the European Union (EU) and floated a 25% tariff ‘at least’ on Apple products manufactured abroad. The threats reignited fears of an escalating trade war and added to risk-off sentiment in global markets.
The threats in the form of social media posts came just hours before high-level trade talks were scheduled between Washington and Brussels. Trump had initially imposed a 20% tariff on most EU goods last month but temporarily halved the levy to 10% until July 8 to provide space for negotiations.
"Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" Trump wrote in a post on social media on Friday. He said the new tariffs would kick in on 1 June.
This aggressive stance is expected to decrease 20% of exports from the EU to the US, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute.
Looking ahead, market participants will focus on commentary from Fed officials, as well as the FOMC Meeting Minutes, preliminary Q1 GDP, core PCE price index, personal income and spending, durable goods orders, and the goods trade balance for fresh cues on the US economic outlook and monetary policy direction.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.70% | -0.84% | -1.04% | -0.98% | -1.32% | -1.48% | -0.98% | |
| EUR | 0.70% | -0.14% | -0.36% | -0.28% | -0.61% | -0.77% | -0.26% | |
| GBP | 0.84% | 0.14% | -0.19% | -0.13% | -0.44% | -0.63% | -0.12% | |
| JPY | 1.04% | 0.36% | 0.19% | 0.08% | -0.28% | -0.44% | 0.08% | |
| CAD | 0.98% | 0.28% | 0.13% | -0.08% | -0.36% | -0.49% | 0.01% | |
| AUD | 1.32% | 0.61% | 0.44% | 0.28% | 0.36% | -0.15% | 0.36% | |
| NZD | 1.48% | 0.77% | 0.63% | 0.44% | 0.49% | 0.15% | 0.51% | |
| CHF | 0.98% | 0.26% | 0.12% | -0.08% | -0.01% | -0.36% | -0.51% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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