US dollar comes under selling pressure
Shares
HONG KONG - The dollar dipped Tuesday in Asia after Donald Trump hit out at the Federal Reserve’s interest rate rises and accused it of not backing his economic plan, while most equity markets edged up ahead of highly anticipated China-US trade talks.
The greenback has been on the ascent in recent months as US borrowing costs have gone up and the economy improves but it stumbled after Trump’s latest criticism of the central bank.
In an interview with Reuters, the president said he was "not thrilled" with the rate hikes under new Fed boss Jerome Powell, repeating comments made last month about the bank’s tightening measures.
When asked if he believed in the Fed’s independence, he refused to say yes, telling the reporter: "I believe in the Fed doing what’s good for the country."
He also accused the European Union and China of manipulating their currencies, adding that Beijing was weakening the yuan to offset the effects of US tariffs.
While analysts said it was unlikely Trump’s remarks would make much difference to the Fed’s decision-making -- Powell has said in the past "we don’t take political considerations into account" -- the greenback was weaker against most other currencies.
The Fed is expected to lift rates twice more this year.
The pound and euro enjoyed some much-needed buying, while the yen was also up.
Higher-yielding and emerging market currencies -- from South Korea’s won and the Indonesian rupiah to the Australian dollar and Mexican peso -- were also higher, having come under pressure last week from the Turkey financial crisis. - APP/AFP
