Thursday 20/Feb/2025 – 09:32 AM
The yen rose, and the dollar settled today, Thursday, amid investors’ evaluation of the potential repercussions of the newer tariffs agenda of US President Donald Trump on the global economy and how it could affect interest rate expectations for major central banks.
Geopolitical considerations also had a major impact after Trump referred to Ukrainian President Folodimir Zellinski as a dictator in talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Currencies in Asian transactions
The currency movements came modest in the Asian transactions that were cautious, with the exception of the yen, which rose to the highest level in more than two months at 150.62 against the dollar with the support of the demand for safe haven in light of fears of the effects of Trump customs fees, as well as bets on more lifting operations from The side of the Bank of Japan this year.
The British pound fell from the highest level in two months, and in the latest trading amounted to $ 1.2594.
The euro settled at $ 1.0422 after decreasing in the previous session with the adoption of the leading policy makers at the European Central Bank and opposition views on the risks of inflation and the extent of the bank’s curbing of economic growth.
Trump said on Wednesday that he will announce customs duties related to wood, cars, semi -conductors and medicines during the next month.
“He took office about a month ago, and at first we have seen significant impacts of his advertisements on tax policies on financial markets, and I think the markets have adapted to his style, as well as the approach of deals he adopted in policy -making,” said Carol Kong, a strategic expert at the Australian Bank of Commonwealth.
She added that he loves to use customs duties as a negotiating tactic, so what he says may be different from what is actually imposed.
In exchange for a basket of currencies, the dollar settled near its highest level in a week at 107.15.
The Australian dollar rose in the latest trading 0.07% to $ 0.6350 after a job report that guarantees different signals.
The New Zealand dollar settled at $ 0.5705.
On Thursday, China kept the main interest rates on lending unchanged at a fixed monthly level as expected on a large scale, as the authorities slowly proceed with cash stimulation while giving priority to the stability of the financial sector and the currency.
The yuan rose abroad in the latest trading 0.1% to 7.2788 for the dollar.
