Investing.com – The dollar dipped to a more than thirteenth-month low against a basket of global currencies on Friday, amid renewed political uncertainty in Washington after reports surfaced that special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into the business dealing of President Trump, Jared Kushner and other associates.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.30% to 93.79.
Several news agencies reported that U.S. president Donald Trump’s private business is set to come under scrutiny as special counsel Robert Mueller will expand investigations into allegations that Russia influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The political uncertainty in Washington has added to recent dollar woes, as a recent raft of timid economic data reduced investor expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike later this year.
Meanwhile, the euro continued to add to yesterday’s gains rising 0.29% to $1.1666 against the greenback, as traders continue to dismiss ECB president Mario Draghi’s attempt to add a dovish slant on expectations that the ECB will start to discuss tapering its bond-buying programme in September.
"We were unanimous in setting no precise date for when to discuss changes in the future," Draghi told a press conference Thursday. "We simply said that our discussions should take place in the autumn."
GBP/USD reversed some of its losses gaining 0.06% to $1.2982, after the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released a report which showed a widening deficit and that borrowing is £1.9bn higher than last year for the financial year to date.
USD/CAD traded at $1.2544, down 0.33%, following a bounce in the loonie after data showed the pace of inflation held steady in June.
USD/JPY fell to Y111.06, down 0.76%, despite the Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain its current loose monetary policy measures, and scale back its expectations concerning the pace of inflation.