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Dollar Rises with Crypto as Markets Turn in Favor of a Trump Victory

FILED - 22 May 2023, Berlin: A Bitcoin coin lies on a screen showing the Bitcoin - US dollar exchange rate. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa
FILED - 22 May 2023, Berlin: A Bitcoin coin lies on a screen showing the Bitcoin - US dollar exchange rate. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa
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Dollar Rises with Crypto as Markets Turn in Favor of a Trump Victory

FILED - 22 May 2023, Berlin: A Bitcoin coin lies on a screen showing the Bitcoin - US dollar exchange rate. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa
FILED - 22 May 2023, Berlin: A Bitcoin coin lies on a screen showing the Bitcoin - US dollar exchange rate. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa

The dollar rose broadly on Monday and cryptocurrencies jumped as trades for a victory by Donald Trump in the upcoming US elections gathered steam in the wake of an attempted assassination of the former US President.
Trump, 78, was holding a campaign rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend when shots rang out, hitting his right ear and leaving his face streaked with blood. His campaign said he was doing well, Reuters said.
Investors reacted by narrowing the odds of a Trump victory come November, which in turn pushed the dollar and US Treasury yields higher on Monday, alongside cryptocurrencies.
"Sympathy votes could increase the odds of a Trump victory as more of his supporters may now feel the need to turnout at polling booths in November to vote for him," said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC.
Online betting site PredictIT has a Republican win at 66 cents, from 60 cents on Friday, with the Democrats at 38 cents. The current odds indicate that Republicans are twice as likely to win the election as Democrats.
Against the dollar, the euro fell 0.2% to $1.0888, while sterling dipped 0.13% to $1.2973.
The greenback similarly rose 0.48% against the Norwegian crown and was last 0.35% higher against the Swedish crown.
"A bias for a supported, possibly even stronger, USD is likely to play out if the US heads into Trump 2.0," said Vishnu Varathan, chief economist for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank.
"This is admittedly more from other major currencies being undermined from a conspiracy of antagonistic US trade and geo-political posturing rather than undisputed allure of USD."
Long-dated US bond yields meanwhile ticked higher on expectations that a Trump win would see policies that would drive up government debt and stoke inflation.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was last up roughly three basis points at 4.2158%.
Elsewhere, crypto prices surged, with bitcoin last up roughly 5% at $62,997. Ether jumped nearly 6% to $3,368.14.
Trump has presented himself as a champion for cryptocurrency, although he has not offered specifics on his proposed crypto policy.
In other currencies, the Australian dollar eased 0.1% to $0.6777, while the New Zealand dollar slid 0.43% to $0.6092.
The dollar index was little changed at 104.21.
STILL STRUGGLING
Headlines from China also grabbed investors' attention on Monday, as data showed the world's second-largest economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter, weighed down by a protracted property downturn and as job insecurity squeezed domestic demand.
Separate figures released earlier in the day showed China's new home prices fell at the fastest pace in nine years in June, with the battered sector struggling to find a bottom despite government support measures to control oversupply and bolster confidence.
The Chinese yuan last inched 0.16% lower to 7.2626 per dollar in the onshore market.
"On net, it's a negative outcome. It does show that the second-quarter growth momentum appears to be weakening," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
"The second-quarter momentum weakening kind of implies that we'll need more support to get the economy to the 5% target for the whole year."
China's once-in-five-year gathering of top officials, which usually ushers in policy changes, kicked off on Monday and the four-day plenum will be watched for measures to support the patchy recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
Elsewhere, the yen reversed some of its gains from late last week and last stood at 157.88 per dollar, though remained not too far from a roughly one-month high of 157.30 hit on Friday.
Tokyo was thought to have intervened in the market to prop up the battered Japanese currency last week in the wake of a cooler-than-expected US inflation report, with Bank of Japan data suggesting that authorities may have spent up to 3.57 trillion yen ($22.4 billion) to do so on Thursday.

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.