NEW YORK: The US dollar index fell to its lowest in more than two years on Tuesday, as the ongoing effects of the Federal Reserve's stimulus programs weakened the dollar broadly for the fifth consecutive day and lifted US stock indexes to record highs.
Although the dollar often functions as a safe-haven investment in moments of crisis, it has fallen dramatically since the Federal Reserve's intervention into financial markets to maintain liquidity in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed's programs have pushed risk assets to all-time highs and reduced demand for safe-havens, even as economic data has painted a bleak picture of the US recovery.
The dollar index was last down 0.54% at 92.314, having earlier hit a bottom of 92.124, its lowest since May 2018. Against the euro, the dollar also hit its lowest since May 2018 at $1.197.
The dollar was also weaker against the Japanese yen, another traditional safe-haven, having hit a two-week low of 105.27 yen per dollar.
"It's the Fed, it's all the liquidity being pumped into the market," said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets, about the fall in the dollar.
Net bearish bets on the greenback rose to their largest since May 2011 last week, and spot trade in recent days suggests the position has only grown further since.
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