After a slightly disappointing weekend, the USD this week is showing potential to continue appreciating against other major currencies. This largely comes as a result of improving relations between China and the United States, calming the fears of a global trade war. The United States have decided to lift the ban on ZTE to use American products (Android OS, Qualcomm processors) in their smartphones. Furthermore, negotiations are underway with North Korea: several American prisoners held in North Korea were released and sent home to the US last week, and the date for the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un has been set to June 12.
These signs of stabilization have helped boost the already well-performing US Treasury bond yields, which have remained above 3%. Even though the dollar index retreated from last week’s high at 93.41, investors remain optimistic about the USD: American fundamentals are still outperforming the EU and Japan, so for now we expect the dollar to have the upper hand.