Asian Markets Soar to 3-Year Peak as USD Crashes to Historic Lows
Asian equities just punched through their highest levels since 2022—riding the dollar's collapse like a surfboard on a tsunami. Here's why traders are scrambling.
The Greenback's Great Unraveling
With the USD index plunging to multi-year troughs, regional currencies are feasting on the carcass. Export-heavy markets from Tokyo to Seoul are mooning as their products get cheaper overseas—classic Wall Street alchemy turning currency pain into equity gain.
The Institutional FOMO Factor
Hedge funds that missed the early rally are now piling in like drunk tourists at a bitcoin ATM. Volume spikes suggest this isn't just retail enthusiasm—the big boys are finally capitulating to the trend.
Meanwhile in Crypto...
Bitcoin barely blinked at the dollar's demise—because when you're busy eating gold's lunch, who cares about fiat's funeral? Another reminder that decentralized assets dance to their own rhythm.
One cynical footnote: Watch how fast these 'bullish fundamentals' get forgotten when the Fed whispers 'rate hike.' Markets have the memory of a goldfish on Adderall.
Dollar set for largest first-half drop since early 1970s
The dollar fell to a three-and-a-half-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4% weekly drop, its biggest in over a month. Year to date, it has lost more than 10%. If this holds through the end of the week, it WOULD mark its biggest first-half fall since free-floating exchange rates began in the early 1970s.
Early on Friday, the euro traded at $1.1693 after touching $1.1745—the highest since September 2021. Sterling fetched $1.3733, just below its October 2021 peak of $1.37701. The dollar index stood at 97.378, near its lowest since March 2022 and set for a 2% decline in June—its sixth consecutive monthly loss.
Elsewhere, the Japanese yen was at 144.73 per dollar, and the Swiss franc traded at 0.8013, close to a decade-high. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the EU should pursue a “quick and simple” trade deal with the US rather than a “slow and complicated” one. A WHITE House official also confirmed that Washington and Beijing have agreed on an expedited process for rare earths shipments.
In the bond and commodity markets, US Treasury yields in Asia were stable, with the two-year note at 3.7418% and the 10-year at 4.2554%.
Oil prices headed for their biggest weekly fall in months after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel eased supply worries. Brent crude rose 0.41% to $68.01 a barrel and US crude added 0.46% to $65.53, though both were down more than 10% for the week. Spot Gold slipped 0.23% to $3,320.25 an ounce.
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