U.S. dollar is little changed on Tuesday night as presidential election winds down
The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major global currencies Wednesday as former president Donald Trump recaptured the White House, becoming just the second president in history to return to win two nonconsecutive White House terms.
The greenback strengthened by more than 1% against each of the Swiss franc and Chinese yuan, and nearly 2% against the Japanese yen. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 1.66% and reached its highest level since July.
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NBC News projects Trump's victory, making the 78-year-old the oldest person ever to win a U.S. presidential election. Traders generally expected that a strong election for Trump and Republicans in Congress could push the greenback higher. Trump's proposals to hike tariffs against major U.S. trading partners would, in theory, result in a stronger dollar.
"To the extent that he's able to get a lot of his stuff done — like deregulation, tax cuts, tariffs — you could see [the dollar index] easily above 110, maybe even up to 115," said Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies.
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The euro fell to 1.0731 against the dollar, hitting its lowest level since late June during the session. The dollar also hit its highest level against the Mexican peso since 2022 in overnight trading, but retreated from that mark as Wednesday progressed. Bechtel said the reversal in the peso trade could be due to short-term profit taking after the initial move.
NBC News projects that Trump has won key battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, helping him reach the necessary 270 Electoral College votes to secure victory. NBC News also projects that the Republicans will retake the Senate.
The dollar had already strengthened in the runup to Election Day. The Dollar Index rose more than 3% in October, though it had dipped in early November.
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The rally for the dollar could have ripple effects throughout global markets, said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial.
"Continued strength in the dollar could weigh on international stocks, especially emerging markets, and most commodities," Turnquist said Wednesday.
