The US Treasury secretary this month insisted Donald Trump had not changed America’s long-standing “strong dollar” policy. But investors have been puzzling over the president’s aims for the currency as some of his allies tout the benefits of a softer greenback for manufacturers.
Many global currencies have recently appreciated against the dollar, but that is not by design. The foreign exchange movements reflect the expectation that the new administration’s radical economic agenda will weaken growth.
With Trump still intent on turning the US into a manufacturing export powerhouse regardless of the short-term economic pain, investors have wondered if the administration might ever turn to a radical currency proposal known as the “Mar-a-Lago Accord” — though prospects of it being put into practice are remote.