Dollar slides as Trump ramps up Europe tariffs
The U.S. dollar fell Monday as investors sought safe-haven currencies amid President Donald Trump's new tariff threats against Europe over Greenland. The yen and Swiss franc saw gains as markets moved toward caution.
Trump announced over the weekend that he would impose a 10% import tariff starting February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Britain until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
European leaders criticized the move as economic blackmail, with France suggesting countermeasures. Early Asian trading saw the euro and British pound drop to multi-week lows—$1.1572 and $1.3321, respectively—but both recovered later, with the euro up 0.3% at $1.1634 and the pound up 0.16% at $1.3397.
"Typically, tariff threats weaken the euro," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "But heightened U.S. policy uncertainty often hits the dollar instead."
The dollar slid 0.45% to 0.7985 against the Swiss franc and 0.21% to 157.77 yen. Some yen gains were limited by Japan's upcoming snap election, which raised expectations for fiscal stimulus. The dollar index eased slightly to 99.11.
Cryptocurrencies also fell amid risk aversion. Bitcoin dropped 3% to $92,563.09, and ether fell over 4% to $3,200.99.
In Asia, China’s economy grew 5% in 2025, meeting its target, though investment slowed and consumption remained weak. The onshore yuan hit a 32-month high of 6.9630 per dollar, while the Australian dollar remained stable at $0.6695 and the New Zealand dollar rose 0.42% to $0.5776.
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