The dollar was broadly lower on Monday following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on interest rates and the currency’s strength, while the yen gained after reports that Japan’s central bank is debating moves to scale back its massive stimulus program.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, slid 0.18% to 94.09 by 03:48 AM ET (07:48 AM GMT), pulling further away from the one-year high of 95.44 reached on Thursday.
The dollar has come under pressure after Trump launched an attack on the Federal Reserve on Thursday, claiming that their plans to raise U.S. interest rates risked undermining his efforts at strengthening the economy.
Trump ratcheted up his criticism of the Fed on Friday, taking to Twitter to claim that tighter monetary policy was penalizing the U.S. by contributing to a stronger dollar.
He also accused China and the European Union of currency and interest-rate manipulation that he claims has put the U.S. at a disadvantage.
The dollar index fell 0.77% on Friday, its largest one-day percentage decline in three weeks, which was enough to turn the index negative for the month.
The dollar fell to its lowest level in two weeks against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.47% to 110.95. The dollar has now fallen around 2% against the Japanese currency since hitting a six month peak of 113.16 last Thursday.
The yen was boosted after Reuters and other media outlets reported that the Bank of Japan is actively discussing changes to its massive monetary stimulus program. The BoJ is due to hold its next policy meeting at the end of the month.
The euro pushed higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD adding on 0.14% to trade at 1.1735.
The pound was also a touch higher, with GBP/USD rising 0.17% to 1.3151.
Investors were continuing to monitor developments in the intensifying global trade conflict after Trump indicated Friday that he is prepared to slap tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S., worth around $500 billion per year.
The U.S. and China have already imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of each other’s imports.
Meanwhile, finance ministers and central bank heads from the G20 nations called for more dialogue to prevent trade and geopolitical tensions from hurting growth at a weekend meeting in Buenos Aires.
