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FOREX-Dollar hits 2-week low as traders ponder Trump tariff plans
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FOREX-Dollar hits 2-week low as traders ponder Trump tariff plans
Jan 22, 2025 5:36 AM

(Updates in European afternoon trade)

*

Dollar index touches fresh two-week low

*

Mooted 10% levies on China far short of 60% threatened

earlier

*

Traders expect cautious U.S. approach to tariffs to reduce

inflation risks

By Kevin Buckland, Greta Rosen Fondahn

TOKYO/GDANSK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The dollar touched a

fresh two-week low on Wednesday, as a lack of clarity on

President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs kept financial

markets guessing and left the greenback struggling to regain

ground against major currencies.

Trump said late on Tuesday that his administration was

discussing imposing a 10% tariff on goods imported from China on

Feb. 1, the same day that he previously said Mexico and Canada

could face levies of around 25%.

He also vowed duties on European imports, without providing

further details.

Despite those threats, a lack of specific plans from Trump's

first day in office saw the dollar start the week with a 1.2%

slide against a basket of major peers. It stabilized on Tuesday,

ending flat after an attempted rebound fizzled, with U.S.

officials saying any new taxes would be imposed in a measured

way.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six

top rivals, touched its lowest since Jan. 6 at 107.75 on

Wednesday, paring an earlier rise in the index. It was last down

0.15% at 107.97.

"Tariffs have again grabbed the headlines overnight as Trump

commented in the evening that his threat of a new 10% tariff on

China was still on the table...," said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

"Trump's comments leave plenty of near-term uncertainty even

though the trade investigations from his day 1 executive orders

will take some time to play out."

Trump on Monday signed a broad trade memorandum, ordering

federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of

trade issues by April 1.

The greenback rose 0.3% to 156 yen, edging up from the

one-month low it touched the day before.

INFLATION RISKS

The euro fell 0.3% in early trading, before it changed

course and rose to $1.0457, its highest since Dec. 30. It was

last up 0.07% at $1.0434.

Sterling hit a two-week high against the greenback, but

was last trading down at $1.2351.

Analysts have said that Trump's policies on immigration, tax

and tariffs will likely boost growth but also be inflationary,

but the more cautious tariff approach has fuelled some hopes

that inflation risks could be more limited.

Traders expect a quarter-point Fed interest rate cut by

July, while another reduction by year-end is considered a coin

toss.

The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker at 1.4346 per

U.S. dollar, following a volatile week that saw it tumble as low

as 1.4520 overnight for the first time since March 2020, feeling

additional pressure from cooling inflation last month.

The Mexican peso gained about 0.3% to 20.547 per dollar.

China's yuan held steady at 7.272 per dollar in

offshore trading, after pushing to the strongest level since

Dec. 11 on Tuesday at 7.2530.

"A 10% tariff on China imports would be far below the 60%

rate he mentioned in his campaign," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia

FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

"On top of this is the general sense that Trump is not

pursuing maximalist trade protectionism in his early actions,

but appears to be positioning for trade negotiations," Tan said.

"Altogether these suggest that the U.S. dollar could drop

further."

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