Forex Today: US Dollar slumps to multi-year lows, Gold rallies to new record-high
Here is what you need to know on Friday, April 11:
The US Dollar (USD) remained under immense selling pressure on Thursday and continued to weaken early Friday, with the USD Index touching its lowest level since July 2023 below 100.00. March Producer Price Index (PPI) data will be featured in the US economic calendar and the University of Michigan will publish the Consumer Sentiment Index data for April.
US Dollar PRICE This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -3.40% | -1.34% | -1.76% | -2.52% | -2.93% | -3.67% | -4.39% | |
| EUR | 3.40% | 2.42% | 2.35% | 1.54% | 0.42% | 0.34% | -0.41% | |
| GBP | 1.34% | -2.42% | -1.36% | -0.85% | -1.95% | -2.03% | -2.76% | |
| JPY | 1.76% | -2.35% | 1.36% | -0.75% | -0.26% | -0.74% | -2.36% | |
| CAD | 2.52% | -1.54% | 0.85% | 0.75% | -0.77% | -1.18% | -2.19% | |
| AUD | 2.93% | -0.42% | 1.95% | 0.26% | 0.77% | -0.08% | -0.84% | |
| NZD | 3.67% | -0.34% | 2.03% | 0.74% | 1.18% | 0.08% | -0.76% | |
| CHF | 4.39% | 0.41% | 2.76% | 2.36% | 2.19% | 0.84% | 0.76% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Growing fears over a deepening US-China trade conflict tipping the US economy into a recession and the intense US Treasury bond selloff weighed heavily on the USD in the second half of the week. After losing nearly 2% on Thursday, the USD Index extended its slide to 99.70 during the Asian trading hours. Following a short-lasting recovery attempt in the early European session, the index turned south and was last seen losing more than 1% on the day at 99.80.
Reuters reported early Friday that US President Donald Trump is likely to retaliate on trade if Mexico doesn't deliver water to the United States (US). Meanwhile, major equity indexes failed to gain traction despite the US' decision to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days and registered large losses on Thursday. Early Friday, US stock index futures trade in positive territory as overall market volatility remains high.
Gold continued to capitalize on safe-haven flows and gained 3% on Thursday. XAU/USD extended its rally early Friday and reached a fresh record-high above $3,200.
USD/JPY fell more than 2% on Thursday and continued to push lower on Friday. At the time of press, the pair was down 1% on the day at 143.00. Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Kato said early Friday that foreign exchange rates should be set by markets, reiterating that excess FX volatility negatively impacts the Japanese economy.
USD/CHF lost nearly 4% on Thursday and registered its lowest daily close since September 2011. A spokesperson for the Swiss National Bank said on Friday that they won't comment on the valuation of the Swiss Franc.
EUR/USD preserves its bullish momentum following Thursday's upsurge and trades at its highest level since March 2022 above 1.1300 in the European session on Friday. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will be delivering a speech later in the session.
GBP/USD extends its uptrend into a fourth consecutive day on Friday and trades above 1.3060.
After gaining more than 3% on Wednesday, AUD/USD rose about 1% on Thursday. The pair struggles to push higher despite the broad-based selling pressure surrounding the USD and trades below 0.6250 in the European session on Friday.
US-China Trade War FAQs
Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.
An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.
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