The US dollar slipped to a five-month low against Japan’s yen after Donald Trump said the currency was getting “too strong” and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates capped.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the President said that the dollar’s strength was “partially” his fault “because people have confidence in me”, but he said that it was starting to hurt.
“Look, there’s some very good things about a strong dollar, but usually speaking the best thing about it is that it sounds good,” he told the paper.
“It’s very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency,” he said.
Currency investors responded by selling the greenback. Late Wednesday it slipped to its lowest in five months against the yen. It’s frequently benchmarked against the Japanese currency, which had already been rising because it is frequently valued as a safe haven during times of geopolitical tension or market uncertainty.
The dollar also slipped against the pound and the Swiss franc and the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell to its lowest level in nearly five months.
In Wednesday’s interview, Mr Trump also said left open the possibility of renominating Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve. Her tenure is due to end next year.
Ms Yellen has in the past been a target of Mr Trump’s criticism, but asked whether she was “toast” when her term ends he said no.
“I like her, I respect her,” he added.
Early Thursday, the dollar had stabilised against the yen.
