The U.S. dollar recorded its worst first-half performance since 1973, falling 10.8%, according to Al Jazeera. Trump’s trade war, fiscal policy, and attacks on the Federal Reserve triggered a global selloff of dollar-linked assets. The decline in confidence follows April’s sweeping tariff announcement, which erased $5 trillion from the S&P 500 and pushed U.S. debt costs sharply higher. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development slashed its U.S. growth forecast, while the Congressional Budget Office warned Trump’s tax bill would raise federal debt by $3.3 trillion by 2034. Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating in May. Amid the turbulence, gold hit record highs, European equities surged, and the euro gained 13% against the dollar.
