Standard Chartered: Dismissal of Powell would harm the dollar and boost safe-haven assets

Steven Englander, a strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, said that if US President Trump makes good on his threat to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, it will lead to higher inflation, weaken the dollar, and prompt funds to rush to the euro, yen and Swiss franc. "Attempts to remove Powell [or facilitate his resignation] could lead to a significant rise in real risk premiums across inflation, the Treasury yield curve, and other dollar asset markets," he wrote in a note dated April 21. The safe-haven currencies such as the euro, the yen and the Swiss franc are still most likely to benefit. ”