Dollar Flat as Rising U.S.-China Tension Sparks Safe-Haven Bid

Dollar Flat as Rising U.S.-China Tension Sparks Safe-Haven Bid

May 13, 2019

The U.S. dollar traded flat against its rivals on Monday, pressured by a rise in the safe-haven yen as Beijing retaliated against Washington's most recent tariff salvo.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.01% to 97.11.

The tit-for-tar tariff exchange between the United States and China returned, as Beijing announced Monday it was raising tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. products from June 1.

The move comes days after Washington escalated the trade tensions with a tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese products on Friday.

Risk-sensitive currencies like the yen and Swiss franc racked up gains against the greenback before pulling back from highs.

USD/JPY fell 0.62% to Y109.26 and USD/CHF fell 0.54% to 1.0016.

Elsewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.32% to $1.2957, as optimism faded that the U.K. government and the the main opposition party may be able to reach a consensus on a way forward to leave the European Union.

EUR/USD rose 0.01% to $1.1234.

USD/CAD rose 0.44% to C$1.3472 as the loonie came under pressure amid a fall in U.S. oil prices.

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