Dollar Recovers, Aussie Slides on Tariff Risk
A Bloomberg dollar gauge rose Friday, easing losses seen after the launch of the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs. The greenback held gains after headline US jobs growth beat estimates and following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The haven Swiss franc outperformed, while the Aussie dollar suffered its biggest intraday drop since 2008.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rises 0.8%, advancing for the first day in four; the measure’s 1.5% drop Thursday was the worst since November 2022.
US jobs growth was 228k in March (140k estimated); the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% while prior month data was revised lower to 117k from 151k.
Fed Chair Powell emphasized that the economic impact of tariffs will be larger than expected but that the US central bank is in no hurry to adjust interest rates
Risk-off tone extends across global markets as China announces 34% duties on all US imports starting April 10.
Source: Bloomberg
