, Columnist
Why Buy the Dollar If the US Becomes an Economic Island?
Is the greenback still a safe-haven asset or is it looking more like an emerging-market currency?
The greenback could be collateral damage in the trade war.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
As US President Donald Trump imposes the steepest tariffs in more than a century, a debate is raging over the world’s most prominent currency. Is the US dollar still a safe haven, or starting to look more like one of the emerging markets’ Fragile Five — vulnerable to fast sentiment shifts and hot portfolio flows?
There’s no clear verdict, yet. Last week, the greenback tumbled after the White House announced punitive levies on its biggest trading partners. But as a stock slide deepens and financial distress builds, risk-averse investors are bidding up the dollar again.