The dollar fell on Monday, November 25, after the announcement of the appointment of Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary, a figure perceived as moderate by the markets, likely to curb the budget deficit instead of making it explode. Around 10:45 a.m. GMT (11:45 a.m. in Paris), the American currency eased 0.65% against the euro, to $1.0487, and fell 0.36% against the pound, to $1.2576.
Former employee of billionaire George Soros, scarecrow of part of the Republicans, who then launched his own investment company, Scott Bessent, appointed to the Treasury on Friday by Donald Trump, is known on Wall Street. This long-time close friend of the Trump family “is perceived as being in favor of growth and deficit reduction policies, and his appointment was positively received by the markets (stock markets, editor’s note), worried about the scale of the American budget deficit and the inflationary impact of the new customs tariffs” promised, summarizes Kit Juckes, from Société Générale.
Bitcoin is close to $100,000
This decision therefore acted as a “catalyst for a fall in (US) bond yields, a rise in stock indices and a weaker dollar” at the opening of the session, notes the analyst. The greenback has benefited so far from the president-elect’s program, which predicted a widening of the deficit and an acceleration of inflation in the United States, likely to delay rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed).
The dollar’s decline on Monday was more marked against the euro, against which it reached a two-year high last Friday due to disappointing activity in November in the euro zone. Forex traders will remain attentive to the first estimate of euro zone inflation for the month of November published on Friday. “These new figures may either reinforce expectations of a half-percentage point cut in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) key rate in December or call them into question, potentially giving a boost to the euro”indique Ipek Ozkardeskaya, of Swissquote Bank.
Before that, on Wednesday, the «minutes» from the Fed’s latest monetary meeting earlier this month, the PCE inflation index for October and third-quarter growth in the United States. For its part, bitcoin continues to play on the nerves of investors by coming close to the $100,000 level, in the wake of the election of a resolutely pro-crypto American president. After rising to $99,728.36 on Friday, it fell slightly on Monday around 10:45 a.m. to $98,390.44.
