A top strategist says 'stars are aligned against' the dollar this year and Europe will eclipse the US
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The US dollar is in for an unpleasant quarter, according to a currency strategist who believes the "stars are aligned against" the world's reserve currency.
The ability of the US government to fight the pandemic as successfully as other countries is acting as a drag on investor confidence in the dollar, Win Thin, global head of
On Friday, the dollar index stood around 93.15. Thin predicts it will tease the 2018 low of 89.24 before the year ends. Indeed, the euro is 2020's top performing currency from amongst the G7, with a gain of 5% against the dollar.
"I do suspect given the cyclicals, we'll test the downside of that range, and for the dollar index, that's around 88," he said. "So, we've got some ways to go."
It was in April, when the Federal Reserve began to pump trillions of dollars into the economy to limit the damage from the pandemic, that Thin turned bearish against the dollar. But he does not believe the weakening in the dollar will be long-lasting, as there's an ongoing debate over whether it's a "structural or cyclical decline.""The Fed is being much more aggressive than other central banks, and the US economy is likely to underperform in the coming months due to the pandemic. So to me, that's a cyclical issue," he said.
Not everyone agrees on how long the world may see a weaker dollar.
Another strategist at Citigroup said last month that the dollar "could enter into a bear market that could last for five to 10 years."Goldman Sachs too has said how some countries' strong fiscal positions and smooth reopening have created attractive opportunities to short the dollar.
The US healthcare system and its profit-driven nature have hampered its ability to fight the pandemic, according to a number of economists.
The US is projected to suffer the biggest increase in economic misery this year, as inflation slows and unemployment spikes, according to Bloomberg's Misery Index, which tracks 60 economies around the world.Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
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