UNITED STATES—The latest controversies coming out of Trump’s administration have certainly had people talking. Ever since the very short lived employment of Anthony ‘The Mooch’ Scaramucci came to an end, the internet has been flooded with comments, tweets and memes. However, there is a serious edge to this, as the recent spate of staff changes in the White House does suggest to some that there is some chaos there, and that Trump is struggling to be able to find a team who he can trust to do things the way he wants them done.
Instability and uncertainty are things that usually put the markets on edge, and reduce confidence in an administration. This can be especially true when it comes to currencies, and it certainly seems that the dollar has taken a hit from the current concerns around the White House and its revolving door.
Dollar Weakened in Past 30 Days
The US dollar has definitely been on a downward trend of late, and when you compare it to the strong euro, it is clear that among other factors affecting the pair, the sacking of Scaramucci so soon after other high profile staff members is having an impact on the forex markets. The dollar was at around 0.87 against the euro a month ago, but as the Mooch news hit, it saw a low for the past 30 days of 0.84 and is currently at around 0.85. The euro has had some good rallies against other currencies too, and is a well performing currency right now, however this shows to some degree that this news unsettled the markets when it came to faith in the dollar.
USD Against the British Pound
Things become more telling when we take into consideration how the dollar is faring against the pound. The pound has been weak ever since Brexit was first announced over a year ago, and in the past week saw some drops against most currencies when the Bank of England announced there wouldn’t be a change in interest rates. The pound has trended downwards against other key currencies like the euro and the Japanese yen, yet against the dollar it has fared much better, ending the current 30 day period pretty close to where it started with some good highs against the American currency in between.
When the dollar is performing this badly in comparison to a very troubled currency like the pound with its own big financial news coming in, it means that the sentiment towards the dollar must be quite negative.
Trump needs to find a way to build a team that seems like it is there to stay, and end the current uncertainty that the White House may be in a chaotic state.