HONG KONG – The dollar dipped Tuesday in Asia after Donald Trump hit out atthe Federal Reserve’s interest rate rises and accused it of not backing hiseconomic plan, while most equity markets edged up ahead of highlyanticipated China-US trade talks.

The greenback has been on the ascent in recent months as US borrowing costshave gone up and the economy improves but it stumbled after Trump’s latestcriticism of the central bank.

In an interview with Reuters, the president said he was “not thrilled” withthe rate hikes under new Fed boss Jerome Powell, repeating comments madelast 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 thecountry.”

He also accused the European Union and China of manipulating theircurrencies, adding that Beijing was weakening the yuan to offset theeffects of US tariffs.

While analysts said it was unlikely Trump’s remarks would make muchdifference to the Fed’s decision-making — Powell has said in the past “wedon’t take political considerations into account” — the greenback wasweaker 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 alsoup.

Higher-yielding and emerging market currencies — from South Korea’s wonand the Indonesian rupiah to the Australian dollar and Mexican peso — werealso higher, having come under pressure last week from the Turkey financialcrisis. – APP/AFP