Dollar slump deepens as trade war worries grow

London

THE dollar fell more than half a per cent against the Japanese yen on Wednesday as the departure of a top economic adviser to US President Donald Trump raised concerns that tensions over a global trade war were entering a new heightened phase.

Market watchers said the departure of economic adviser Gary Cohn, a former Wall Street banker, would embolden protectionist forces in the US administration as Mr Trump seeks to impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium.