22 January 2018
US government shutdown brings Dollar to three-year low
The US Dollar was near a three-year low today (Monday 22nd January) as the US Senate struggled to bring a government shutdown to an end.
Thousands of Federal employees have been told to stay away from work after Democrats and Republicans failed to come to an agreement over a four-week spending bill.
Joel Dungate, investment analyst at investment management and stockbroking firm Redmayne Bentley, said: “So far the market reaction to the US government shutdown has been fairly muted. Consequently, the initial fallout is likely to be more political than economic. However, whilst there has been little discernible impact on equity markets, the news does seem to have had an effect on currency markets, with the Dollar recently falling to its lowest level for 3 years. This may well serve to boost more domestically-focused UK companies, but alternatively could negatively impact those many FTSE 100 constituents with significant Dollar earnings.”