Assessing the Dollar’s Path One Year After “Liberation Day”

LONDON: A year on from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs, ​the dollar looks in much stronger shape with its safe-haven credentials reasserted in the ‌face of war in the Middle East.
The dollar rallied around 1.6% in the first three months of the year, its best quarterly performance since late 2024, supported by the United States' status as an energy exporter and by investors' ​flight to cash.
It's a sharp contrast to a year ago when Trump's tariffs sparked a dollar ​slide as investors reacted to heightened U.S. tariff uncertainty as well as Trump's ⁠attacks on the Federal Reserve and his distancing from allies and global institutions.
While the dollar has rebounded early in ​2026, analysts say the currency still faces downward pressure over the long-term while questions about the currency's ​dominance in global trade and finance linger. Recent ​shifts have been too small to make a significant dent in the dollar's ​overall position.—Reuters