Shafaqna English– The US dollar remained fragile and directionless on Monday(24 Aug 2026), hovering just above its weakest levels in several months, as currency markets grappled with the Treasury Department’s unexpected pledge to step up repurchases of longer-dated government debt—a move that has injected fresh uncertainty into bond markets and weighed on the greenback.
At the same time, traders were keeping their powder dry ahead of the impending release of US sanctions against Iran, as well as a series of pivotal policy addresses scheduled this week from both Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan officials, which could offer critical clues on the future trajectory of interest rates in the world’s two largest economies.
The Canadian currency came under immediate selling pressure at the start of Monday’s session, depreciating by 0.2% to trade at C$1.3798 per US dollar, after trade negotiations with the United States reached an abrupt and acrimonious deadlock.
Washington swiftly responded by imposing punitive duties of 50% on Canadian exports, a move that Ottawa matched with equivalent tariffs of its own, marking a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties and raising serious concerns about the sustainability of the world’s most integrated trading relationship.
Source: Reuters