Early trade in New York: Dollar slips; lira tanks

Updated 23 Mar, 2021

NEW YORK: The US dollar slipped from four-month highs against a basket of currencies on Monday, following a small dip in US Treasury yields, as investors wagered that the US economy would recover and inflation would rise.

The dollar index fell about 0.25% at 91.86, following last week’s gain of 0.5%.

Over the weekend, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s shock replacement of a hawkish central bank governor with a critic of high interest rates dragged the lira down as much as 15% to 8.485 against the dollar.

The yield on US Treasuries fell on Monday and was last down at 1.6981% but remained near one-year highs as investors bet on an economic recovery. Yields had risen after the Fed last week said the US economy was on track for strong growth.

The Turkish lira stood at 7.875 per dollar, down more than 10% from its Friday close.

The pound slipped against the dollar as investors focused on broader currency market drivers and the European Union’s threat to impose a ban on vaccine imports to Britain.

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