The dollar index hit fresh nine-month lows on Tuesday morning, trading as low as 94.773 .DXY, after two more United States senators withdrew their support of Trump's healthcare bill, a move that almost certainly sealed the bill's demise. Without these two critical votes there isn't enough support for the bill to procure a motion to proceed. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) are the latest Republican senators to break with their party in opposition of the bill.
The euro gained 0.46 percent against the greenback, trading at $1.153 as of 11:33 a.m. HK/SIN. The yen also gained against the dollar which was trading at 112.02, down substantially from last week's high of 114.495 yen. The pound and the Australian dollar were also up against the dollar, with the pound gaining 0.31 percent to trade at 1.3096. The Australian dollar saw the highest gains of the day thus far, trading up 1.18 percent to 0.780.
The dollar has been especially hard-hit lately, largely owing to President Donald Trump's plummeting approval ratings and his inability to bring his agenda to a fruitful head. The weaker dollar helped spot gold prices head higher, trading up 0.26 percent to $1236.90.
What's Next for U.S. Healthcare?
Late on Monday night Senate majority leader Mitch McConnel called for a repeal of Obamacare without a replacement, a move which would require two of the four Republican senators who voted in opposition of Trump's proposal to once again support their party's agenda.
“Regretfully, it's now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” McConnell said in a statement. “So, in the coming days, the Senate will vote to take up the House bill with the first amendment in order being what a majority of the Senate has already supported in 2015 and that was vetoed by then-President Obama: a repeal of Obamacare with a two-year delay to provide for a stable transition period to a patient-centered health care system that gives Americans access to quality, affordable care.”
