US dollar suffers worst start to year since 1973

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.The US greenback is headed for its worst first half of the yr since 1973, as Donald Trump’s commerce and financial insurance policies immediate world traders to rethink their publicity to the world’s dominant forex.The greenback index, which measures the forex’s power towards a basket of six others together with the pound, euro and yen, has slumped greater than 10 per cent up to now in 2025, the worst begin to the yr because the finish of the gold-backed Bretton Woods system.“The greenback has develop into the whipping boy of Trump 2.0’s erratic insurance policies,” stated Francesco Pesole, an FX strategist at ING.The president’s stop-start tariff struggle, the US’s huge borrowing wants and worries in regards to the independence of the Federal Reserve had undermined the attraction of the greenback as a protected haven for traders, he added.The forex was down 0.5 per cent on Monday because the US Senate ready to start voting on amendments to Trump’s “huge, lovely” tax invoice. The landmark laws is predicted so as to add $3.2tn to the US debt pile over the approaching decade and has fuelled issues over the sustainability of Washington’s borrowings, sparking an exodus from the US Treasury market. The greenback’s sharp decline places it on track for its worst first half of the yr since a 15 per cent loss in 1973 and the weakest displaying over any six-month interval since 2009.The forex’s slide has confounded widespread predictions at the beginning of the yr that Trump’s commerce struggle would do better harm to economies outdoors the US whereas fuelling American inflation, strengthening the forex towards its rivals. As a substitute, the euro, which a number of Wall Avenue banks had been predicting would fall to parity with the greenback this yr, has risen 13 per cent to above $1.17 as traders have centered on development dangers on this planet’s largest financial system — whereas demand has risen for protected property elsewhere, resembling German bonds.“You had a shock when it comes to liberation day, when it comes to the US coverage framework,” stated Andrew Balls, chief funding officer for world mounted earnings at bond group Pimco, referring to Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” announcement in April. There was no important risk to the greenback’s standing because the world’s de facto reserve forex, Balls argued. However that “doesn’t imply that you could’t have a major weakening within the US greenback”, he added, highlighting a shift amongst world traders to hedge extra of their greenback publicity, exercise which itself drives the dollar decrease.Additionally pushing the greenback decrease this yr have been rising expectations that the Fed will reduce charges extra aggressively to help the US financial system — urged on by Trump — with no less than 5 quarter-point cuts anticipated by the top of subsequent yr, in response to ranges implied by futures contracts. Bets on decrease charges have helped US shares to shake off commerce struggle issues and battle within the Center East to achieve file highs. However the weaker greenback means the S&P 500 continues to lag far behind rivals in Europe when the returns are measured in the identical forex.Large traders from pension funds to central financial institution reserve managers have said their want to scale back their publicity to the greenback and US property, and questioned whether or not the forex continues to be offering a haven from market swings. Advisable“Overseas traders are requiring better FX hedging for dollar-denominated property, and that has been one other issue stopping the greenback from following the US fairness rebound,” stated ING’s Pesole.Gold has additionally hit file highs this yr on continued shopping for by central banks and different traders fearful about devaluation of their greenback property.The greenback stoop has taken it to its weakest stage towards rival currencies in additional than three years. Given the velocity of the decline, and the recognition of bearish greenback bets, some analysts anticipate the forex to stabilise. “A weaker greenback has develop into a crowded commerce and I believe the tempo of decline will sluggish,” stated Man Miller, chief market strategist at insurance coverage group Zurich.