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The
dollar has gained broadly since Trump's victory in November as
investors bet he would boost public spending and spur
repatriation of overseas funds by U.S. companies, policies
expected to bring higher inflation and interest rates.
But more doubts have emerged in recent weeks about that
narrative, and investors will have a close eye on what the new
president says about labeling China a currency manipulator and
free trade more generally.
"The surprise would be if he talks about his concerns about
dollar strength," said Simon Derrick, head of research at Bank
of New York Mellon in London.
"He has made comments suggesting he is uncomfortable with a
strong dollar, but the market has largely ignored them."
The dollar index rose 0.3 percent to 102.37, at the top end of a
range it has held for the past week and off a 14-year peak of
103.82 hit on Jan. 3. <.DXY> Against the yen, it gained almost
half percent to 116.28 yen, still two percent off almost
one-year highs hit in December.
The euro was also down 0.4 percent at $1.0515 <EUR=> after
brushing a 10-day high of $1.0628 overnight. Trump's news
conference - his first since the election - is due to start at
around 11:00 EST (1600 GMT).
"The dollar is still holding up quite well and there is a
presumption that we are going to get support from tighter
monetary policy and looser fiscal policy," said Jeremy Stretch,
head of currency strategy at CIBC in London.
"Overall we're still constructive but it does look more a case
of playing the end of the rally before we see a correction later
this year."
The morning's other big mover in Europe was sterling, hit by a
worse than expected trade deficit after a week of political news
which added to fears Britain is heading for an economically
damaging "hard Brexit" from the European Union.
The pound fell by as much as 0.6 percent to trade below $1.21
for the first time since late October, before steadying at
$1.2112.
(Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in TOKYO; Editing by
Mark Trevelyan and Alexandra Hudson)
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