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The U.S. dollar dropped to its weakest level in more than three months on Wednesday as falling Treasury yields pressured the greenback, while investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s latest signals on inflation and interest rates.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the currency against six major peers, fell 0.9% to 98.80 and briefly touched 98.77, its lowest level since May 14.
The decline followed a sharp rally in longer-dated U.S. Treasury bonds after the Treasury Department announced plans to increase buyback operations. Starting September 9, liquidity-support buybacks for 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year nominal securities will double from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation.
The announcement pushed the 30-year Treasury yield down 7.2 basis points to 5.213%. A day earlier, it had climbed to 5.337%, its highest level since June 2007.
Long-term Treasury yields had recently risen amid concerns about heavy government debt issuance, increased borrowing by major technology companies to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure, and inflation risks linked to higher energy prices.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed policymakers remained concerned about persistent inflation. Many officials indicated that interest rate hikes could become necessary if inflation failed to ease. Most participants supported keeping rates unchanged while waiting for additional economic data to provide greater clarity on the inflation outlook.
Fed officials also viewed inflation risks as tilted to the upside, with renewed Middle East tensions potentially disrupting supply chains and increasing price pressures.
The weaker dollar supported several major global currencies. The euro climbed 0.8% to $1.1674, while the British pound gained 0.6% to $1.3606. The Japanese yen also strengthened, sending USD/JPY down 0.9% to 158.21.
Asian currencies benefited as well. The South Korean won strengthened sharply, with USD/KRW falling 1.7% to 1,389.02, while USD/INR edged 0.1% lower to 95.568.
MUFG analysts said global currency markets are becoming increasingly selective, favoring currencies benefiting from the technology investment boom and declining U.S. Treasury yields.
