US Dollar at 32-Month Low

Donald Trump's election as President of the United States (US), succeeding Barack Obama, is one of the factors contributing to the depreciation of the dollar against major world currencies this year. His perceived protectionist policies have negatively impacted the greenback. Furthermore, Hurricane Irma's devastation in Florida, estimated to cost US$330 billion, is expected to put pressure on the US economy. This also signals that the US Federal Reserve (The Fed) is unlikely to raise interest rates this month.

The US dollar index against six major world currencies has shown a downward trend since the beginning of 2017. Bloomberg data shows that the US dollar index fell 11.49 percent to 91.35 at the close of trading on Friday (September 8th), from its yearly high of 103.21 on January 3rd, 2017. This is also its lowest level in 32 months, or since January 5th, 2015. In Asian market trading on Monday (September 11th), the US dollar index strengthened by 0.22 percent to 91.553.

The US dollar index measures the movement of the US currency against six major world currencies: the euro (European Union), yen (Japan), pound sterling (United Kingdom), krone (Denmark), franc (Switzerland), and dollar (Canada).