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Pound approaches five-month high against US dollar battered by tariffs - YAHOO FINANCE
Finance Reporter, Yahoo Finance UK
Pound (GBPUSD=X)
The pound rose towards a five-month high against the dollar, trading at $1.2938, as president Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff threats continued to inject volatility into global markets.
Goldman Sachs analysts Dominic Wilson and Kamakshya Trivedi said there had been a “sharp re-rating lower” of US assets “on the back of tariff volatility and the environment of broader policy uncertainty created by the new administration”.
The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, is down almost 6% from a two-year peak set in mid-January amid worries that Trump's tariffs and retaliatory measures from other countries could push the US economy into a recession.
Data released on Friday revealed that US consumer sentiment had plummeted to its lowest level in nearly two and a half years, with inflation expectations rising amid fears over the impact of sweeping tariffs. These developments have added to the market’s growing anxiety about the intensifying trade war.
HSBC analysts said US retail sales figures due later today “will be a big test for the USD given the slump in consumer confidence surveys”.
Meanwhile, sterling was higher against the euro (GBPEUR=X) on Monday morning, at €1.1896.
