Dollar steady

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TOKYO- The dollar firmed against the yen and euro on Tuesday on new US tariff threats, giving traders little time to catch their breath after Monday’s big risk-off moves on concerns that US dominance in artificial intelligence technology may be wavering.

Any market relief that President Donald Trump stopped short of hiking tariffs on US trading partners immediately after taking office last week has quickly faded.

Trump said he planned to impose tariffs on imported computer chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the United States.

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That verbal salvo came a day after the US and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war when the White House said the South American nation had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

“We’ve seen a lot of whiplash in the dollar movement as a result of…back and forth headlines on the tariffs and whether it’s aggressive or not,” said Sim Moh Siong, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore.

“It’s difficult to say for sure what is the trend going to be for the next 24 hours because, as we have experienced over the last few days, a lot of it is driven by what comes out of headlines.”

The euro fetched $1.0435 down 0.54 percent as tariff risks loomed.

Trump has flagged possible 25 percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1, and has threatened to hit the EU and China with tariffs as well.

The dollar index which measures the US currency against six rivals, rose 0.08 percent to 107.89, after dropping to its lowest level since mid-December at 107.68 the previous day.

“Tariffs will remain front and center for the time being, …especially as we close in on the February 1st deadline,” said Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at InTouch Capital Markets.

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