A battered dollar is taking another beating as investors, unnerved by fresh signs of an erosion in US central bank independence, waste no time in pushing the greenback back to its lowest levels in over three years.US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell “terrible” in his latest attack on the central bank chief and said he has three or four people in mind as contenders for the top Fed job. The dollar was back at multi-year lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, erasing a brief respite provided by safe-haven flows related to West Asia tensions earlier in the week.Down 10% so far this year and set for its worst year since 2003, the dollar was expected to weaken further as renewed concern about Fed independence comes amid increased expectations for rate cuts and a looming July 9 deadline for trade agreements.The leading contenders for next Fed chief reportedly include former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, national economic council head Kevin Hassett, current Fed governor Christopher Waller, and treasury secretary Scott Bessent.Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, noted that the dollar had not benefited as much as expected in the past two weeks from heightened West Asia tensions, a sign the dollar’s safe-haven role had been hurt. In recent years, the currency has risen when oil rallies, but it gained just 0.7% last week.Concern about Fed independence adds to the damage, investors said. Respect for independent institutions such as central banks has long been viewed as a key attraction of major economies, helping anchor economic stability and provide policy certainty. reuters
