Currencies

This analysis is by Bloomberg Intelligence Chief Asia FX and Rates Strategist Stephen Chiu. The dollar’s broad retreat against major currencies may persist even if the US rolls back tariffs, as markets re-evaluate US economic policy, with significant implications for dollar hegemony. This has accelerated de-dollarization, a trend likely to continue regardless of immediate policy shifts. The widely recognized “dollar smile” theory, proposed by Stephen Li Jen over two decades ago, explains how the dollar appreciates during global recessions (as a safe haven) and when US growth outperforms others (due...

Gold prices climb for the third consecutive session amid a softer dollar and geopolitical tensions. NEW YORK, May 22: Gold prices rose for a third straight session on Wednesday, reaching a one-week high, supported by a weakening US dollar and growing safe-haven demand amid ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.As of 1:55 p.m. ET (5:55 p.m. GMT), spot gold gained 0.7% to trade at $3,312.77 per ounce, while US gold futures closed 0.9% higher at $3,313.50.The US dollar index (.DXY) fell 0.6% against a basket of major currencies, making gold more...

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, May 22:The trading action in financial markets remain relatively quiet early Thursday as investors gear up for preliminary Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data from Germany, the Eurozone, the UK and the US. The US economic calendar will also feature weekly Initial Jobless Claims and April Existing Home Sales data, and officials from major central banks will be delivering speeches later in the day. US Dollar PRICE This week The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed...

While rupee has managed to hold its ground against the dollar in 2025, it has fared far worse against other major currencies The steep fall in the US dollar due to the trade and other administrative changes announced by the new US government has helped most emerging market currencies appreciate in 2025. But the performance of the rupee against the dollar has been much more subdued when compared with its EM peers.The rupee recorded sharp decline in February and March 2025 to move close to the 88-mark against the greenback....

The Reserve Bank of India sold a record $398.71 billion of foreign currency in 2024-25 on a gross basis as the Indian central bank stepped up its defence of the rupee amid a volatile global environment. The RBI’s sale of foreign currency in the spot market in the last financial year was sharply higher than the $153.03 billion it had sold in 2023-24 and the previous record of $212.57 billion in 2022-23, data released late Wednesday by the central bank showed. To be sure, the RBI also bought foreign currency...

Bets that currency deals will form part of trade negotiations with the US have helped lift a string of Asian currencies against the dollar, as traders look for signs that countries will offer to scale back intervention to appease President Donald Trump.The Korean won, Japanese yen and Taiwan dollar have rallied strongly in recent weeks, making them Asia’s top-performing currencies this year, in the expectation that talks on lowering sweeping US trade tariffs will touch on how countries manage their dollar exchange rates. “It is quite likely that the market...

Asian currencies edged higher on Thursday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar as investor concerns grew over mounting U.S. debt and fiscal instability. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.1%, marking its fourth consecutive day of losses, as markets turned cautious ahead of a crucial House vote on President Donald Trump’s new tax cut proposal. The proposed legislation aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts and introduce additional tax breaks. However, critics warn that it could add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade,...

SEOUL – The South Korean won climbed to a seven-month high late on May 21 after local media reported the direction of the currency was discussed during trade talks with the US. The currency rallied after newspaper Korea Economic Daily cited an unnamed government official as saying the US believes a relatively weak won is a fundamental cause of the Asian nation’s trade surplus. The talks are ongoing and nothing has been decided yet, Korea’s finance ministry said in a statement.The won advanced as much as almost 2 per cent...

SINGAPORE – Malaysia’s ringgit stands to gain the most among its South-east Asian peers if the nation’s exporters convert their overseas earnings to the local currency, thanks to the nation’s outsized foreign-currency deposits.Such deposits in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia combined have jumped to US$62.2 billion (S$80.53 billion) as of March, close to a record high set in the previous month, according to Bloomberg calculations. Malaysia made up almost all of it and the nation’s foreign deposit growth also outpaced most of its peers.Foreign deposits in the region are...

Asian shares fell and Treasuries continued their slide at the open Thursday following losses in Wall Street on concerns about the US’s ballooning deficit.A regional stock gauge dropped for the first time in three days on weaker openings in Australia, Japan and South Korea. The dollar edged down for a fourth consecutive session. US equity-index futures were steady after the S&P 500 index closed down 1.6% on Wednesday, its sharpest slide in a month. Treasuries fell across the curve Wednesday with long-term debt bearing the brunt as the 30-year yield...