The U.S. dollar fell even further during Wednesday’s London trading session after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin commented at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the U.S. welcomes a low dollar as it can benefit the country. As reported by CNBC, Mnuchin reconfirmed that the U.S. is committed to free and fair trade. President Donald Trump is expected to speak in Davos on Friday and detractors are concerned that he will use this global stage to advance his protectionist policies further.
On Monday, President Trump imposed steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, a move aimed to help domestic companies, but one which also dealt a heavy blow to the renewable energy industry and environmentalists nationwide.
The euro was trading at $1.2341 at 10:34 a.m. GMT, just below a three-year high of $1.2345 hit earlier in the session. In addition to Mnuchin’s statements which sent the dollar lower positive data out of Europe on Wednesday showed that the region had a stronger start to 2018 than traders anticipated with activity increasing at the fastest rate since mid-2006. On Thursday the European Central Bank will be meeting and traders are eager to hear whether the ECB will be changing its monetary policy in the coming months.
The dollar was also lower against the yen, retreating further from the 110 level to 109.56. Reports out Wednesday showed that Japan’s exports to China and Asia rose for the 13th consecutive month in December, hitting new records and signaling that the U.S. may soon lose its status as the center of global commerce.
The dollar’s downtrend has boosted commodity prices, with gold heading 0.97 percent higher on Wednesday to $1,349.70 per ounce. Silver, platinum and copper were also up over 1 percent on Monday morning in London.