USD Dramatic Drop on Recession ConcernsWhile tariff talk was a driver of strength for the USD, even into late last week, that dynamic has shifted, and it seems that the driver is worry or concern about possible recession in the U.S. economy.
Just last Wednesday, President Trump had a comment regarding tariffs on Europe, taking place around lunch time in New York. At the time, EUR/USD had just begun to re-test the Fibonacci level at 1.0523 again, but that comment helped to prod a pullback, and soon, a shorter-term reversal. That weakness in EUR/USD and strength in USD lasted into the end of the week, but so far this week, a very different tone has taken over.
This is probably helped at least in-part by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's GDP Now stat, which suggests a contraction for GDP for Q1. This is in stark contrast to the data point less than two months ago and it highlights the dimming in data that's shown of late. This has helped to push expectations for rate cuts even higher, and that's been the dragging point for USD so far this week.
Now, with weakness in the mix for the U.S., those tariff concerns are being perceived as another point of weakness and another factor that could further drive weakness into the USD. - js
