The Bloomberg Dollar Index steadied after reversing its early-session losses, climbing to an intraday high following reservations expressed by U.S. President Donald Trump about nominating National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett for the Federal Reserve Chair position. The Japanese yen led gains among G-10 currencies, as Japanese authorities reiterated their readiness to take bold action against the yen's weakness.
The Bloomberg Dollar Index was largely flat.
The index briefly hit its intraday peak after Trump hinted he might choose someone other than Hassett to succeed current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Markets increased bets that Kevin Warsh would receive the nomination for Fed Chair.
Trump also suggested the possibility of imposing tariffs on countries that do not cooperate with his Greenland plans.
The USD/JPY pair fell as much as 0.5% on Friday to 157.82.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama expressed concern about the recent weakening of the yen and reaffirmed the government's preparedness to take bold action.
Katayama also noted that her consensus with the U.S. Treasury Secretary includes potential currency intervention measures.
The currency pair registered a 0.1% gain for the week, marking its longest weekly winning streak since September.
According to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for the week ending January 13th, leveraged funds increased their short bets on the yen after reducing bearish positions over the previous four weeks. Their current level of bearishness on the yen has risen to its highest point since July 2024.
The EUR/USD pair fell 0.1% to 1.1602.
European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane hinted that he is comfortable with the current monetary policy stance.
The GBP/USD pair was essentially flat at 1.3382.
The USD/CAD pair rose 0.2% to 1.3917, positioning itself for a potential third consecutive weekly gain.
Comments