The dollar index (DXY) fell by 0.53% amidst weaker US consumer sentiment and a 0.7 basis point drop in the 2-year T-note yield. Contributing to this decline are foreign investor concerns about US monetary policy after Treasury Secretary Bessent’s recent comments on interest rate cuts.
In economic reports, the preliminary August US consumer sentiment index dropped by 3.1 points to 58.6, lower than the expected increase to 62.0. July retail sales rose by 0.5% month-over-month, slightly below the forecast of 0.6%. In contrast, July US import prices rose by 0.4%, surpassing expectations of 0.1%.
China’s July retail sales growth of 3.7% year-on-year missed forecasts of 4.6%, and the jobless rate rose to 5.2%. US President Trump has extended a tariff truce with China for 90 days and announced a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports. The average US tariff is projected to rise to 15.2%, up from 13.3% earlier this year.
