King Dollar is back on its throne. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six other important currencies, is near its 20-year high. The rise of the haven currency amid higher rates, a European war and global shortages is casting a long shadow.
For companies with revenues overseas, the headache is the hit to earnings. The impact on the $23tn US Treasury market is a real, though less obvious, snag. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar has gained more than 18 per cent since late September. The yen’s fall against the buck risks cutting Japanese demand for US government debt.
As the dollar rises, foreign investors have to pay more for currency hedges, which cuts into their returns. Although the yield on the 10-year US Treasury briefly hit 2.97 per cent this month, the yield in effect falls to just 1.32 per cent once you factor in yen-dollar hedging costs. These now stand at 1.65 percentage points, a two-year high.