The U.S. dollar slipped lower against other major currencies on Friday, pulling away from a one-week high following news of potential personnel changes at the White House, sparking fresh concerns over U.S. political turmoil.
The greenback weakened after the Washington Post reported on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to replace his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster.
Markets were already jittery following the President’s decision on Tuesday to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Adding to concerns over U.S. politics, fears of potential trade wars were reignited after Donald Trump announced plans this week to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports, specifically targeting the technology and telecommunications sectors.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.13% at 90.02 by 03:00 a.m. ET (07:00 GMT), off a one-week high of 90.17 hit overnight.
The euro and the pound were higher, with EUR/USD up 0.11% at 1.2319 and with GBP/USD adding 0.08% to 1.3947.
The yen and the Swiss franc were also stronger, with USD/JPY retreating 0.37% to 105.95 and with USD/CHF shedding 0.20% to trade at 0.9495.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7801 and with NZD/USD sliding 0.33% to 0.7253.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD was almost unchanged at 1.3055.
