Trump: Dollar is 'getting too strong'

Fearful of effect on US economy

Laura Dew
clock • 1 min read

The US dollar fell against the yen yesterday after US President Donald Trump commented it was "getting too strong".

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president said a strong dollar had benefits but would ultimately hurt the US economy.

He said: "I think our dollar is getting too strong and partially that is my fault because people have confidence in me. But that is hurting- that will hurt ultimately.

"It is very very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency."

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The dollar was down 0.37% against the yen to ¥109.08 after the comments, while the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to its lowest level since the election in November.

Speaking to the FT, Eswar Prasad, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said: "It is rather extraordinary for an American president to explicitly link the value of the dollar to his administration's policies and to indicate what direction he'd like the dollar to move in."

President Trump also revealed a major policy U-turn as he said the US government would not label China a currency manipulator.

Meanwhile in the interview, Trump reneged on his criticism of Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen, saying he "respects" her.  

He had previously been critical of her during his campaign trail and indicated she should step down.

However, he still maintained it was "most likely" he would not offer her a second term as chairman when her term expired in 2018 as he preferred a "low interest rate policy".

This would be in conflict with the Fed's decision to gradually raise rates.

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