Trump again accuses China of currency manipulation, contradicting his finance officials

US President Donald Trump accused China and the European Union of manipulating their currencies as he tries to wrestle concessions from two of the US’s largest trade partners.

“I think China’s manipulating their currency, absolutely. And I think the euro is being manipulated also,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters published Monday.

The president’s accusation, which he has previously made repeatedly, and which was presented without explanation or substantiation in the report, conflicts with the findings of his own administration. The Treasury Department stopped short of naming China, the EU or any other country as a currency manipulator in April, in a semi-annual report on foreign-exchange policy. The US hasn’t officially accused another country of currency manipulation since 1994.

The dollar extended its drop to trade at the day’s low as measured by the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index while the euro rose to its highest level in more than a week at US$1.1481. The dollar was already under pressure after Trump complained about interest rate hikes under Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The yuan was meanwhile buying US$0.146.