Dollar wobbles as investors balk at US Treasury's rescue efforts

According to Business Recorder, the dollar slipped toward a weekly loss on Friday as traders judged the US Treasury's bond buyback plan a short-term measure. Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said he might step up government purchases of Treasuries, a day after the department said it would double the volume of buybacks on longer-dated debt in the coming quarter to curb a sharp climb in yields. Bessent added that he and budget director Russell Vought will lead a new push to tighten public finances at the direction of President Donald Trump.

The measures did little to halt the Treasury selloff, which weighed on the greenback as investors worried about a worsening fiscal outlook and the credibility of US institutions. The dollar stood at 98.82 against a basket of six currencies, close to a three-month low, while the euro hovered near a three-month high at $1.1685 and sterling was at $1.3643.

Vitali Meschoulam of Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients that the problem is now more fiscal than technical. Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Carol Kong said the operation might push investors to hedge dollar holdings more and diversify away. Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $73,823.43 while spot gold was set for a gain of more than 3% this week, as worries over the US debt pile, now above $40 trillion, pushed some investors toward alternatives.