USD price falls, gold price rises as Trump takes office as US President

The US stock and bond markets are closed on January 20 (US time) for the Martin Luther King holiday. However, the foreign exchange market remains open.

Dollar Index- an index measuring the strength of the US dollar against six major currencies - fell 1% to 108.28 points. This is the sharpest decline since August 2024.

This development reflects investors' relief, as US President Trump did not announce any policies related to import taxes on his first day in office. Analysts said he seemed to be approaching this issue more cautiously than the strong statements he made last year. During the election campaign, the US President pledged to impose a 10-20% tax on all goods entering the US. China alone would be taxed 60-100% and Canada and Mexico 25%.

"However, investors still face the reality that from now on, policies can change suddenly and volatility is normal. Mr. Trump is expected to continue pursuing a protectionist trade policy, putting national interests first. The question is how aggressively he will do this," said Boris Kovacevic, macro strategist at Convera.

Gold pricealso increased by more than 20 USD compared to the end of last week, to 2,725 USD an ounce. The market increased mainly due to the decrease in the Dollar Index, making gold more attractive to buyers outside the US.

Mr Trump's protectionist trade policies are also expected to fuel inflation. Gold will benefit in a high inflation environment.

Meanwhile,Crude oil priceunder pressure after Mr Trump announced plans to maximise oil and gas production by declaring a national energy emergency. "America is once again a producing nation and we have something that no other producing nation has, the largest reserves of oil and gas on Earth," he said in his inaugural address.

Currently, Brent oil price decreased by 0.02% to 80.1 USD per barrel. US crude oil WTI decreased by 1.5% to 76.74 USD.