US trade policies weigh on dollar and Treasuries

US President Donald Trump's declaration of temporary tariff suspension on Wednesday may stem from alarming market turbulence — plummeting equities, a weaker dollar and surging bond yields — triggered by escalating trade tensions, said a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

The unusual behavior exhibited by bonds and the dollar in recent weeks cannot be solely attributed to technical factors. A more fundamental explanation could be that global investors are possibly reassessing their perceptions of the United States.

The dollar has long served as the global reserve currency, typically invested in US Treasuries by global investors and central banks.

But since early 2022, gold has strongly outperformed Treasuries, suggesting that gold is now the world's preferred safe-haven asset, said the report, quoting Jason Thomas, head of global research at Carlyle Group.

The Trump administration should be prudent about the performance of the US Treasuries in the past few weeks, said the report.