Sydney — The dollar stayed on the defensive on Wednesday as investors wagered any further tightening in the US would be slow at best, while optimism on China’s economy underpinned Asian shares and commodities. The US currency was near multi-month lows after the collapse of the Republicans’ push to overhaul healthcare dealt a blow to President Donald Trump’s ability to pass promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending. The diminished prospect of fiscal spending was a boon to bonds, especially as a run of soft US inflation results had lessened the risk that the Federal Reserve would need to be aggressive in removing its stimulus. "The question marks over US reform on the one hand, and the underlying economic growth momentum on the other hand are likely to keep the US within its current goldilocks scenario for longer," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note. "Globally, financial conditions tend to improve when the dollar is weak and vice versa," they added. "The falling dollar — stil...
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