U.S. Dollar After the Midterms: Why It Fell, and Why It Is Still Up 4% in 2026
Did the dollar just collapse after the midterms? No — it dipped for a day, then bounced back. The U.S. Dollar Index is still up about 4% in 2026. On Wednesday, November 4, headlines said the dollar had tumbled to a one-month low after Democrats won both chambers of Congress. The index fell as much as 0.6% during the session and closed down 0.38%. Two days later it closed at 102.30 — higher than before the election. The one-day drop was real, but it was a repricing, not a trend change. Here is what moved the dollar, why two different dollar indexes tell two different stories, and what a 4% move actually does to your money. All figures are as of November 6, 2026. What happened on November 4 — and November 6 The dollar fell on election news, then erased the whole drop in two sessions. On Wednesday, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fell as much as 0.6% to an intraday low near 101.2, its weakest reading in a month, before closing near 101.48, down 0.38% on the day. The euro gained 0.6%...