Investing.com - The dollar was broadly lower early Monday in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to delay the imposition of more tariffs on Chinese imports triggered a relief rally in risk assets.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, edged down to 96.257 by 03:20 AM ET (0820 GMT), having ended Friday’s session above 96.40.
The greenback retreated across the board in Asian trading, as Chinese stocks recorded their best day in over three years,while the yuan rose some 0.2%. A truce in the U.S.-China trade would be a huge fillip to the Chinese economy, and the emerging signs of a truce are lifting not only Chinese assets, but all currencies and stocks correlated to China.
A warning from Chinese news agency Xinhua that there could still be problems with the deal dampened spirits only marginally.
As such, the dollar not only fell 0.2% against both the Aussie and the kiwi in Asian trading, It also weakened against the yen, reflecting the increasing importance of China as a market for Japanese companies too.
The euro also hit a two-week high against the dollar on hopes that a truce can revive a stagnating euro-zone economy.
However, the outlook for both currencies is still clouded by the obvious concerns of their central banks about the short-term outlook, with officials at both having encouraged hopes of further stimulus last week.
“Even if the Fed is on pause at the moment, the ECB and BoJ are at the moment finding themselves challenged in terms of trying to getting away from their extreme monetary accommodation,” said Marc Ostwald, a strategist with ADM ISI in London.
One possible bullish trigger for the euro this week might come from the U.S.’s preliminary reading for fourth-quarter gross domestic product. ADM ISI’s Ostwald said forecasts of 2.5% growth look to be at risk of disappointment, given the very weak figures for durable goods orders and retail sales in December.