The dollar’s relatively sedate slide of late belies the fact that the fundamentals for the US currency are terrible at the moment, says Steve Barrow, economist at Bear Stearns.

“Inflows into US corporate bonds have ground to a standstill and that’s over $50bn of monthly inflows that the US is missing,” he says. “These flows are not going to come back quickly, leaving a black hole into which the dollar could easily disappear.