The US dollar on Friday hovered near its highest level against a basket of major rivals in 11 days after comments from US President Donald Trump did little to shake optimism that his administration would reform tax policy soon.
At a joint news conference on Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump avoided repeating harsh campaign rhetoric that accused Japan of taking advantage of US security aid and stealing US jobs.
Trump did not reiterate his recent accusation that Japan was one of several countries devaluing their currencies to the disadvantage of the US, but said in reference to currency devaluations that countries would be at a level playing field soon.
Despite briefly turning negative during the news conference, the US dollar index up about 0.2 percent at 100.8, roughly unchanged from where it was before the conference and near an 11-day high of 101.01 struck in morning US trading.
The index measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies.
Analysts said Trump’s promise on Thursday of a “phenomenal” tax reform plan over the next two or three weeks continued to support the US dollar against most of its major rivals.
“The underlying bigger story in the last 24 hours is that Trump has put the reflation trade back on the front foot by talking about a tremendous tax program,” New York-based Westpac Banking Corp senior currency strategist Richard Franulovich said.
The greenback briefly fell to a session low of ¥112.87 during the news conference.
The US dollar index still posted its best weekly percentage gain since the middle of December last year, with 0.9 percent.
Analysts said an announcement that US Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo would resign from the US central bank opened the door for Trump to choose a more hawkish replacement and might have been positive for the US dollar on the margin.
“The prospect of one less dove on the committee could strengthen the argument for the Fed to raise rates multiple times this year,” Washington-based Western Union Business Solutions senior market analyst Joe Manimbo said.
In Taipei, the New Taiwan dollar on Friday fell against the greenback, losing NT$0.005 to close at NT$31.051, little changed from last week’s NT$31.002.
The euro fell 0.2 percent against the US dollar at US$1.0631, near a more than three-week low of US$1.0608 touched before the news conference. The common currency fell 1.5 percent against the greenback from last week’s US$1.0788.
The US dollar was up about 0.2 percent against the yen at ¥113.40, not far from a nine-day high of ¥113.85 touched earlier.
Sterling slid to a three-day low against the US dollar, giving up earlier gains as traders awaited trade and industrial output figures eyed for more signs of a slowdown in the UK economy as the Brexit process gathers pace. The pound slipped to a low of US$1.2463, compared with US$1.2488 last week.
Additional reporting by CNA
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