U.S. Dollar Rises, Trump Tariff Policies In Focus

The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned of higher universal tariffs and said he'll soon impose tariffs on foreign-produced semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and some metals in a push to increase U.S. production of the products.

In another major development, Scott Bessent, whom the Financial Times said backed gradual universal levies, was confirmed as the new Treasury Secretary under President Trump..

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its January meeting on Wednesday, but traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

To justify further loosening, the Fed needs evidence of economic weakness and more subdued inflation prints.

Most economists expect the U.S. central bank to resume cutting rates only sometime in the first half of the year.

In the Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar rose to a 4-day high of 1.0425 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 1.0437. The greenback may test resistance around the 1.02 region.

Against the pound, the yen and the Swiss franc, the greenback edged up to 1.2435, 155.95 and 0.9060 from Monday's closing quotes of 1.2451, 154.92 and 0.9045, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.21 against the pound, 158.00 against the yen and 0.91 against the franc.

Against the Australia and the New Zealand dollars, the greenback advanced to a 1-week high of 0.6246 and a 5-day high of 0.5653 from Monday's closing quotes of 0.6260 and 0.5664, respectively. On the upside, 0.60 against the aussie and 0.55 against the kiwi are seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback.

The greenback climbed to a 5-day high of 1.4408 against the Canadian dollar, from an early low of 1.4381. The greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.46 region.

Looking ahead, U.S. durable goods orders for December, U.S. Redbook report, house price index for November, U.S. Consumer Board's consumer confidence for January and U.S. Richmond manufacturing index for January are slated for release.