Scott Becent is the new Treasury Secretary in the new Trump administration. Various names have emerged and disappeared as potential candidates.
Initially, hedge fund manager John Paulson was considered the favourite, but Paulson declined due to conflicts of interest with the complex positions held by his fund.
Later still, Elon Musk nominated Howard Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald, but President-elect Trump decided to go with Becent.

He even said to Trump that the US dollar loved you, after seeing the dollar strengthen immediately after Trump’s election, but the market interpreted him as a fiscal hawk and regarded his statement that fiscal spending should be cut to within 3% of GDP by 2028 as important, which caused US interest rates to decline and the dollar to fall. There has been some profit-taking on positions that had been built up. Concerns about a rise in long-term US interest rates from fiscal expansion have eased, and there is a belief that US long-term interest rates will fall if Mr Bessent, who is more of a fiscal hawk, is Treasury Secretary, and lower US interest rates = a sell-off in the dollar. Wall Street would welcome a moderate choice. There are misunderstandings about policy, but ultimately it will be up to Trump. Even if the dollar is strong in the near term, there is no telling what will happen to the dollar over the next year.

Last weekend, Thanksgiving, the market was extremely illiquid. Many players took a long holiday and position adjustments are likely to proceed. Many players’ perspectives will have shifted post-Thanksgiving. Will it continue to be a Trump trade or a Bessent trade? There is already talk of tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The Mexican peso, where Japanese positions still remain, is an easy target; a break below ¥7 seems likely.

The eurodollar also rebounded. Especially in the eurodollar, ECB Managing Director Schnabel was more hawkish than expected, which reduced the risk of a 0.5% rate cut. This is seen as having led to a sharp rebound in the eurodollar. Full-scale trade will resume this week. Will US interest rates rise again then and the dollar trend higher, or will US rates continue to fall and the dollar weaken?

The dollar has also adjusted significantly. The main reason is probably position adjustments before Thanksgiving, but there is also a sense that risk-off yen strength has finally returned a little. The Tokyo Metropolitan Consumer Price Index came in at 2.2%, higher than the forecast of 2.1%, prompting a sell-off in the dollar against the yen.
The dollar had been falling against the yen even before the figures were released, leading some to speculate that there may have been a leak of information, but it was a natural move as the yen had been appreciating for the past few days.

The possibility of an additional interest rate hike being decided at next month’s BoJ policy meeting is increasing. The main sellers of the dollar/yen were overseas. They are probably closing their long dollar/yen positions and turning to dozen shorts.
A new President and a new Treasury Secretary have been decided and the dollar is being sold, which may be a new trend. Many economists are bullish on the dollar/yen, but beware of the risk of a stronger yen.