The U.S. dollar was depreciated by the Japanese yen on Thursday’s closing bell as after troubling concerns about trading activities across the globe influenced the risk appetite of investors. It now further away from its highest level in two weeks.
Participants of the market are still worried about the recent movement of U.S. President Donald Trump of increasing protectionism under his administration. As a result, stocks in Wall Street dropped on the previous day when Trump attempted to impose new tariffs on China. According to the White House, Trump’s administration is pressing the country to cut their trade surplus with the U.S. by more than $100 billion.
Looking at the dollar’s performance, it fell as low as 0.4 percent against its Japanese counterpart at 105.94 yen, dropping from its two-week high of 107.30 yen notched on Tuesday. OANDA’s head of trading in Asia-Pacific Stephen Innes said the worries about the increased trade war with China has placed global equities on the peak with investors taking a defensive stance. He added that the safe haven yen was somehow strengthened by this backdrop.
In addition to the White House news, incoming director of the national economic council Larry Kudlow said last Wednesday that China has gained a firm response from the U.S. and other countries, despite the criticisms. He added in a CNBC interview that a robust dollar is significant for the economic well-being of the country and there are no reasons to believe the disagreement of Trump.
The index which measures the greenback’s value against its major peers, the U.S. dollar index, was almost unmoved on the day at 89.667. lt declined about 0.5 percent over the course of the week.