The US Dollar Index ended down 0.33% on the day - closing at 100.77 - as President Trump’s inaugural speech focused mainly on populist rhetoric and protectionist trade policies.
President Trump said in his speech:
“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”
The greenback ended the day lower against most currencies; down 0.36% against the euro; down 0.23% against the British pound; down 0.20% against the Japanese yen. Interestingly, the Mexican peso, which has dropped approximately 19% against the greenback since the election of Donald Trump on November 8, gained 1.66% against the dollar today, closing at 21.5903.
The dollar remained almost unchanged against the Canadian & Australian currencies. While the greenback lost some ground, U.S. equities performed well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 0.48% gain and S&P 500 futures climbed 0.22% on Friday.
Bitcoin remained mostly unchanged throughout the day, hovering around $900 on American, European and Chinese exchanges.
