The relentless rise of the dollar scorched emerging market currencies yesterday, sending China’s renminbi to its weakest level in eight years, while India’s rupee plumbed a record low.
Broad currency weakness against the dollar has come as the bond market fully expects policy tightening by the Federal Reserve at its December meeting. Investors are also looking to next year and trying to gauge the extent of further Fed tightening under the proposed fiscal stimulus from president-elect Donald Trump.
Several EM currencies fell to record lows or levels last seen during the Asian financial crisis of 1998 as investors rotated out of the sector into US assets, including stock markets, which traded around record highs into yesterday’s Thanksgiving holiday.