US dollar, yen rise as risk appetite fades on tariff rhetoric, Russia talks

NEW YORK : Safe-haven currencies led by the U.S. dollar and yen gained on Wednesday, as market jitters escalated amid the latest round of tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and contentious talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

The U.S. currency slipped further against the yen after minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting showed that Trump's initial policy proposals raised concern about higher inflation. It also affirmed a continued pause from rate cuts.

The greenback overall rose against currencies that investors buy when risk appetite is high such as the euro, sterling, the Australian and Canadian dollars and those in emerging markets like the Mexican peso.

The yen, on the other hand, advanced against most major currencies like the dollar, euro, Swiss franc, and sterling.

Those gains were fueled by comments from Trump late Tuesday that he intends to impose auto tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25 per cent" and similar duties on semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports.

On Friday, Trump said levies on automobiles would come as soon as April 2, the day after members of his cabinet are due to deliver reports to him outlining options for a range of import duties.

"So far, the dollar has tracked the path it had during the previous Trump administration...and we can pretty much agree that Trump is doing exactly what he said," said Chester Ntonifor, chief FX and global fixed income strategist, at BCA Research in Montreal, referring to tariffs that represent one of Trump's major policy mantras since he got into office.

"Overall, short term, the dollar is tracking what Trump is saying."

In afternoon trade, the dollar was down 0.4 per cent against the yen at 151.495, with the euro also dropping 0.6 per cent to 157.925 yen.

The dollar earlier extended losses against the Japanese currency after data showed U.S. single-family homebuilding fell 8.4 per cent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 993,000 units last month, amid disruptions from snowstorms and freezing temperatures.

The euro, meanwhile, slipped 0.2 per cent versus the dollar to $1.0424.

The dollar index, essentially a reverse proxy for the euro because the latter is the largest component of the index, last stood at 107.18, up 0.2 per cent, after dropping 1.2 per cent last week.

The pound, meanwhile, got a short-lived boost from stronger-than-expected UK inflation, which rose more than expected, hitting a 10-month high of 3 per cent in January and is likely to rise further. Sterling hit a two-month peak overnight but last traded at $1.2585, down 0.2 per cent.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, said on Tuesday it had agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine after an initial meeting that excluded Kyiv, a departure from Washington's previous approach that rallied U.S. allies to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Trump traded barbs. Zelenskiy hit back at Trump's suggestion that Ukraine was responsible for Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, saying the U.S. president was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble.

Trump, for his part, denounced Zelenskiy as "a dictator without elections" and said he had better move fast to secure a peace or he would have no country left.

The euro has reacted most to the headlines on Russia and Ukraine, rallying last week on a potential resolution to the conflict, and slipping on signs of tension.

"Should Russia and Ukraine ultimately reach a peace agreement, the dollar could well come under renewed pressure," wrote Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst, at City Index and FOREX.com in research note.

Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent as widely expected and signaled future moves would likely be smaller. The latter was enough to boost the New Zealand dollar, which was last up 0.3 per cent at US$0.5721.

Currency              

bid

prices at

19

February​

08:35

p.m. GMT

Descripti RIC Last U.S. Pct YTD Pct High Low

on Close Change Bid Bid

Previous

Session

Dollar 107.17 107 0.17 per cent -1.22 per cent 107.38 106.

index 88

Euro/Doll 1.0423 1.0446 -0.2 per cent 0.69 per cent $1.0461 $1.0

ar 401

Dollar/Ye 151.47 152.115 -0.38 per cent -3.7 per cent 152.285 151.

n 27

Euro/Yen 157.9​ 158.83 -0.59 per cent -3.26 per cent 159.12 157.

72

Dollar/Sw 0.904 0.9034 0.07 per cent -0.39 per cent 0.9055 0.90

iss 24

Sterling/ 1.2582 1.2614 -0.24 per cent 0.61 per cent $1.2641 $1.2

Dollar 564​

Dollar/Ca 1.4233 1.4197 0.26 per cent -1.02 per cent 1.4245 1.41

nadian 77

Aussie/Do 0.6347 0.6354 -0.11 per cent 2.57 per cent $0.637 $0.6

llar 337

Euro/Swis 0.9422 0.9435 -0.14 per cent 0.31 per cent 0.9455 0.94

s 14

Euro/Ster 0.8281 0.8282 -0.01 per cent 0.1 per cent 0.829 0.82

ling 67

NZ 0.5702 0.5704 -0.02 per cent 1.92 per cent $0.573 0.56

Dollar/Do 78

llar

Dollar/No 11.1345​ 11.1528 -0.16 per cent -2.03 per cent 11.174 11.1

rway 19

Euro/Norw 11.6067 11.6507 -0.38 per cent -1.38 per cent 11.6867 11.5

ay 917

Dollar/Sw 10.723 10.7171 0.06 per cent -2.67 per cent 10.7582 10.6

eden 91

Euro/Swed 11.178 11.1963 -0.17 per cent -2.53 per cent 11.2175 11.1

en 759