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US dollar has worst first half in more than 50 years amid Trump tariffs<\/p>\n
2025 has been a rough year for the dollar though.<\/strong><\/p>\n It has sled 10.8% in the first six months of the year, its worst first-half performance since 1973 against a basket of rival currencies.<\/p>\n Stephen Innes<\/strong>, managing partner at SPI<\/strong> Asset<\/strong> Management<\/strong>, says the dollar is experiencing a \u2018structural unwind\u2019 as Donald Trump alarmed investors with his trade wars, and attacks on the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s tariff timebombs, fiscal bazookas, and the creeping perception of Fed capture have all coalesced into one ugly truth: the dollar is no longer the safe-haven default, at least not for now.<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t supposed to happen. The consensus playbook had the dollar strengthening as Trump\u2019s protectionist blitz torched everyone else\u2019s economies. But instead of Europe or Asia cracking first, it\u2019s the U.S. that\u2019s lost the narrative. Growth risks have migrated stateside, and rate-cut expectations have exploded, dragging yields lower and scaring off global capital.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Introduction: London markets celebrate strong H1<\/p>\n Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a new month, and also the second half of the year. And the London stock market can look back on its strongest first six months of any year since 2021.<\/p>\n The FTSE 100<\/strong> share index has gained 7.2% so far this year, its best January-June performance in four years, and its third-best first half to a year in the last decade.<\/p>\n Stocks in London have recovered from their trade war shock in early April, helped by Donald Trump\u2019s 90-day pause to new tariffs which ends next week. Britain\u2019s trade deal with the US, which kicked in yesterday, has also helped the mood.<\/p>\n Danni Hewson, AJ Bell <\/strong>head of financial analysis, says:<\/p>\n \u201cConsidering the massive market wobble which followed Donald Trump\u2019s \u2018Liberation Day\u2019 speech the fact that the FTSE 100 has turned in its best half-time performance since 2021 is something worth shouting about.<\/p>\n \u201cBig share price falls grabbed headlines at the start of April as many UK investors watched the value of their pensions fall, but despite the geopolitical uncertainty and tariff turmoil London markets have thrived in the second quarter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The FTSE<\/strong> 100<\/strong> was lifted by strong gains among defence companies; BAE<\/strong> Systems<\/strong> has gained over 60%, while Babcock<\/strong> has more than doubled, as rising geopolitical threats lift their order books.<\/p>\n\n
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