The dollar remains surprisingly strong after Donald Trump’s historic presidential win last week. The greenback’s spike comes in tandem with gains on U.S. Treasury yields following Trump’s victory and the expectation that Trump’s promise for infrastructure spending and tax cuts will encourage U.S. growth and push up inflation. The dollar traded at 107.88 yen during Tuesday’s Asian session.
Rising and Falling
Oil prices rose 2 percent on Tuesday, bouncing up from two-month lows hit on Monday. The bounce followed a drop in shale output and renewed hopes that OPEC would refine its production schedule to include production cuts later this month. Expectations are that U.S. shale production in December will reach lows that haven’t been met since December 2014, near 4.5 million barrels per day. U.S. crude futures for December delivery rose 90 cents to $44.22 per barrel.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Chinese yuan is nearing 8-year lows in response to the strong dollar and expectations of higher interest rates under Trump’s governance. Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday to end a three-day upswing, the result of profit-taking and a selloff in the commodities markets. The lower yuan could help create more export opportunities but still has investors cautious about this volatile currency.
Australian and Indian markets also suffered losses on Tuesday, though some analysts noted that now may be a good time to consider investing in the Indian rupee as the currency is less exposed to Trump’s potential shakeup of international trade policies. Indian stocks were down 1.4 percent on Tuesday and Australian stocks fell 0.4 percent during the Asian session.