Can Trump weaken the dollar?
STOXX 600 up 0.7%
Kingfisher soars on results
Central banks in focus
Wall St futures inch up
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
CAN TRUMP WEAKEN THE DOLLAR?
The impact of U.S. presidential elections on the greenback is a topic of intense debate among analysts. With Donald Trump having clamoured for decades for a weaker dollar, some analysts are trying to assess whether he could debase the U.S. currency.
Barclays suggests that the answer is 'no', but they present three main potential strategies that could weaken the greenback.
Fiscal tightening is the 'first best'. It directly impacts the dollar via slower economic growth, lower interest rates, and less favourable capital flows.
"Unfortunately, it is a politically unpopular option, and neither presidential candidate is running on such a platform at present," Barclays strategists argue.
Eroding the Fed's independence could lead to lower real rates, higher inflation and a weaker currency.
"Leaving aside the institutional checks against such a possibility, however, the public's discomfort with inflation in the past few years suggests that the bar to a politically controlled Fed might be much higher than typically assumed or feared," Barclays strategists say.
The prospect of a new multilateral initiative, a new Plaza Accord -- a historic agreement among major economies to devalue the U.S. dollar struck in 1985 -- has also been considered a potentially more effective and less costly way.
"Assuming that such an arrangement can be put credibly in place, it is worth asking how much the dollar would devalue, whether the proposed devaluation could be deemed acceptable by U.S. trading partners," they add.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
*****
EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
EUROPEAN FUTURES EDGE HIGHER ON FED OPTIMISM CLICK HERE
YEN'S BIG WEEK BEGINS CLICK HERE
eu open https://tmsnrt.rs/3MOA4Ft
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
