Dollar Edges Lower As Forex Traders Watch Trump’s Tariff Moves, Brazilian Real Dips To 1-Month Low

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which closed Wednesday’s session marginally lower, fell slightly early Thursday as President Donald Trump kept up the pressure on the country’s major trading partners.

The DXY measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major global currencies.

The Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of the Deutsche Bank Long US Dollar Index (USDX) Futures Index, was seen down 0.06% at $27.08 in Thursday’s early premarket trading.

The UUP has gained 8% year-to-date, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500, is up 7.2%

On Wednesday, Trump sent out letters to nine more nations, including Brazil, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Algeria, Libya, Iraq, and Moldova. Brazil was to be slapped with a steeper 50% tariff, while the rest of the countries would attract levies ranging from 20% to 30%.

In the letter dispatched to Brazil, Trump accused the country of attacks on U.S. tech companies and of carrying out a witch hunt against far-right wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, is facing trial over his alleged role in interfering with the 2022 domestic elections.

The Brazilian real dropped sharply against the dollar in response to the special treatment afforded to the South American nation. It fell about 2.8% against the greenback in overnight trading, as the dollar reached its highest level since early June, at 5.6047 against the real.

Incidentally, Brazil is also part of the BRICS alliance, with which the U.S. president is at loggerheads. Additionally, Trump confirmed that the 50% tariffs on copper imports would take effect on Aug. 1.

The dollar also came under pressure from a strong reception to a 10-year note auction held by the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday. 

The DXY, which recovered from a nearly three-and-a-half-year low of 96.38 reached on July 1, rose to a high of 97.84 on Wednesday and has since retreated.

While the dollar was down against riskier currencies, such as the euro and pound, and commodity-currencies, like the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar, it ticked up against fellow safe havens, including the yen and the Swiss franc. 

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