Dollar back under pressure, safe havens shine

Confidence Shaken

- TOM WESTBROOK & ALUN JOHN

THE DOLLAR RESUMED its descent on Wednesday, dropping across the board and losing the most ground to the Swiss franc and the euro as a new bout of tariff-induced nerves gripped markets.

The dollar has been a casualty of shaken confidence in the US as radical tariffs have been threatened, enforced and then partially postponed over a wild few weeks for world trade and markets.

While it managed to find its footing earlier this week, even eking out small gains on Tuesday, by Wednesday, European trading of the US currency was headed back towards last week's lows.

The dollar was last down 0.7% against the Swiss franc at 0.8175, just slightly above Friday's 10-year low and was also 0.4% lower against the Japanese yen at 142.69, after hitting a seven-month low earlier in the session.

The franc has appreciated the most among G10 currencies since the April 2 tariff announcement, and the resulting disinflationary effect could push the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to bring rates back into negative territory. The SNB often intervenes directly in markets to limit the franc's moves.