The US dollar weakened sharply after the Treasury expanded its buybacks of long-dated government debt, lifting Asian currencies — good for Asian buyers of imports, awkward for the region's exporters.

• The Treasury said it would buy back more long-term government bonds, which pushed bond yields down and knocked the dollar index below 99.
• Asian currencies all rose: the yen strengthened, and the Chinese yuan hit its highest level in over three years.
• The Taiwan dollar bounced around and closed slightly stronger near 31.9, with the central bank stepping in to smooth the move.
• Fed meeting minutes sounded tough on rates, but cooling inflation and jobs data meant markets did not price in higher rates.
• Foreign money has not fully returned to Taiwan yet, so the currency keeps testing the 32 level.

Outlook: The dollar could stay soft, but big US deficits and debt remain unsolved, so upcoming economic data and Fed decisions will set the direction.