The dollar slumped to its lowest since early 2022 after President Donald Trump indicated he\u2019s comfortable with its recent decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I think it\u2019s great,\u201d Trump told reporters in Iowa on Tuesday when asked if he was worried about the currency\u2019s drop. \u201cI think the value of the dollar \u2014 look at the business we\u2019re doing. The dollar\u2019s doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s comments added fuel to what was already the dollar\u2019s deepest drop since his tariff rollout sent markets into a tailspin last year, fanning fears that his erratic policy shifts would drive overseas investors to pull back from the US. After his comments the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index extended losses to as much as 1.2%, as the US currency weakened against all of its major counterparts before steadying somewhat in Asia trading Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Read: Gold hits record above $5 200 as Trump dollar comments aid rally<\/p>\n
The president has long accused other countries of seeking weaker exchange rates to boost exports and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has highlighted the distinction between the dollar\u2019s price and its value as a reserve currency. So these latest comments were seen as giving a green-light to traders to sell the US currency.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany in the Trump cabinet want a weaker dollar in order to make exports more competitive,\u201d said Win Thin, chief economist at Bank of Nassau. They\u2019re \u201ctaking a calculated risk. A weaker currency can be nice until things get disorderly.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Some of the decline in the dollar had been caused by the abrupt rebound in the yen since last week, as traders braced for a potential intervention by Japanese officials to prop up that nation\u2019s currency.<\/p>\n
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But the dollar\u2019s drop has also been fanned by Trump\u2019s unpredictable policymaking, which has rattled overseas allies and investors: His threats to take over Greenland; his pressure on the Federal Reserve; tax cuts that deepened the deficit; and a leadership style that\u2019s deepened US political polarisation.<\/p>\n
Read: Emerging currencies, stocks reach record high amid yen rally<\/p>\n
The dollar\u2019s recent drop has come despite a rise in government bond yields and expectations that the Fed is poised to pause its interest-rate cuts at Wednesday\u2019s meeting \u2014 both of which would traditionally have been seen as supportive of the currency. Indeed, Trump has been vocal in his desire that rates should be much lower, something which would further weigh on the dollar.<\/p>\n
That has helped push investors into rival stores of value like gold, sending it to record highs, in what\u2019s becoming known as the debasement trade. They are also pouring cash into assets like emerging-market funds at a record pace as momentum builds for a rotation out of US holdings more broadly, a move some have called a \u201cquiet-quitting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhat Bloomberg Strategists say\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s move in the dollar may look overdone considering rate differentials remain in its favor against many peers. But, President Trump\u2019s remarks underscore the lingering risks that will continue to batter the currency and encourage investors to seek cover elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live<\/p>\n
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For years Trump has held competing views on the dollar, touting its strength as a way to preserve an edge in bilateral negotiations while also talking up the benefits of a weak greenback for the manufacturing sector. \u201cI\u2019m the person that likes a strong dollar, but a weak dollar makes you a hell of a lot more money,\u201d he said last year.<\/p>\n
Since his inauguration, Bloomberg\u2019s gauge of the US currency has tumbled close to 10% and traders are wagering on further losses.<\/p>\n
The premium for short-dated options that profit from a weaker US currency reached the highest since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2011. Bullish expectations for other currencies have also reached multi-month highs, near or on a par with levels seen in the aftermath of the April tariff rollout.<\/p>\n
Trading volumes have been heavy. On Monday, turnover through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation hit the second-highest on record, surpassed only by April 3, 2025.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Trump suggested he could manipulate the strength of the dollar, saying \u201cI could have it go up or go down like a yo yo.\u201d But he cast that as an unfavorable outcome, likening it to hiring unneeded workers to juice employment numbers and criticized Asian economies he said tried to devalue their currencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at China and Japan, I used to fight like hell with them, because they always wanted to devalue their yen. You know that? The yen and the yuan, and they\u2019d always want to devalue it. They devalue, devalue, devalue,\u201d Trump said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I said, not fair that you devalue, because it\u2019s hard to compete when they devalue. But they always fought, no our dollar\u2019s great,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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