Dollar Extends Gains Against Major Counterparts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar gained against its major counterparts on Monday amid concerns about inflation and slightly fading hopes of more interest rate cuts by the Fed following new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump said over the weekend that he would announce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, raising fears of a brewing global trade war and its potential impact on the global economy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly emphasized that the EU is prepared to respond "within an hour" if the US imposes tariffs on European goods.

China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods are set to take effect today. Trump has stated that he would announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday that mirror the tariffs those countries charge on American exports.

Results of a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed the one-year and three-year inflation expectations were unchanged at 3%, while the five-year-ahead inflation expectations increased 0.3 percentage point to 3% in January.

House price growth expectations edged up 0.1 percentage point to 3.2%. Median household spending growth expectations decreased 0.4 percentage points to 4.4%, which was the lowest since January 2021, the survey revealed.

The NY Fed survey showed that expectations for future credit availability improved, while year-ahead expectations about households' financial situations deteriorated.

Traders await the release of U.S. consumer and producer prices data, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony this week, for some clues about the central bank's interest rate moves in coming months.

The dollar index climbed to 108.44 in the Asian session, and despite dropping to 108.09, recovered and steadily edged higher to 108.32, gaining about 0.26% over previous closing value.

Against the Euro, the dollar strengthened to 1.0306 from 1.0330, and against Pound Sterling, firme to 1.2366 from 1.2403.

The dollar climbed higher against the Japanese currency to 152.01 yen, from 151.41 yen a unit. Against the Aussie, the dollar edged down marginally to 0.6278.

The dollar firmed against Swiss franc, to CHF 0.9115 a unit, and against the Loonie, it strengthened to C$ 1.4318 from C$ 1.4293.