Dollar hits new highs after levies raised for some countries

The dollar headed for its strongest weekly performance in almost three years against other major currencies, maintaining momentum on Friday after US President Donald Trump imposed new tariff rates on dozens of trade partners.

Some of the currencies of the countries that were hit the hardest, such as Switzerland, which now faces a 39 per cent rate, fell sharply. The Swiss franc touched its weakest in six weeks, while the Canadian dollar headed for a seventh straight weekly loss.

The dollar also gained against other currencies due to drivers other than tariffs. The yen headed for its largest weekly loss this year after the Bank of Japan signalled it was in no hurry to resume interest rate hikes, prompting Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato to say on Friday that officials were “alarmed” by currency moves.

Friday also brings the monthly US employment report, which is expected to show 110,000 workers were added to nonfarm payrolls in July.

A large part of the dollar’s strength this month has come from the perception among investors that Trump’s tariffs have not derailed the economy and, so far, have not drastically lifted inflation.

The Federal Reserve, despite pressure from Trump on Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates, has indicated it is in no rush to do so. Friday’s payrolls report may not move the needle much on that assumption, even if a weaker reading elicits some selling of US assets like the dollar, according to IG strategist Chris Beauchamp.

Reuters