Forex Today: Dollar rallies as war drums beat louder in the Middle East

Source Fxstreet

The US Dollar (USD) remained bid on Tuesday amid an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, which boosted the Greenback due to its haven appeal. Fears that the United States (US) could be involved in joining Israel's attack on Iran looms, pushing economic data and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision to the backseat.

Here's what to watch on Wednesday, June 18:

Geopolitics are dominating the headlines. US President Donald Trump refrained from sending senior officials to meet with Iran to reach a deal, according to US officials who spoke with CNN. Meanwhile, Axios' revelation that Trump is considering attacking Iran could push the Greenback higher, alongside safe-haven currencies and Gold.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) rallied past 98.86, up 0.74% at four-day highs, despite US Treasury yields plunging. This move came despite the release of worse-than-expected US Retail Sales data in May and a softer reading on Industrial Production. On Wednesday, Initial Jobless Claims for the last week, Housing Starts, Building Permits, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy decision would set the tone for the Greenback.

Consequently, most G8 forex currencies were laggards compared to the US Dollar. The EUR/USD fell below 1.1500 even though German ZEW figures were positive, and ECB’s officials took a page of the Fed’s blueprint, adopting a wait-and-see mode, turning data dependent. Traders' focus would be on HICP figures for the Eurozone (EU), the EU Current Account, and ECB officials, led by Panetta, Nagel, Lane, and Vice-President Luis De Guindos.

The GBP/USD was pressured by risk aversion, even though investors seemed convinced that the Bank of England (BoE) would keep interest rates unchanged at Thursday’s monetary policy meeting. Before the meeting, BoE officials will get an update on UK inflation figures on June 18.

The USD/JPY climbed above 145.00 as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept rates unchanged at 0.50%, though it flagged that “downside risks are bigger for the economy and prices,” according to BoJ Governor Ueda. The docket will feature BoJ Ueda press conference, the Reuters Tankan Index, Machinery Orders, and the Balance of Trade.

Antipodeans reversed their course on Tuesday, ahead of the FOMC’s meeting, as sentiment shifted sour. The AUD/USD fell 0.75%, settling at 0.6470, while the NZD/USD plummeted 0.77% to 0.6010. The docket in New Zealand will feature the Current Account, while Australia's schedule is absent.

In the commodities space, WTI rose over 4.82% after bouncing off daily lows of $69.56, reaching $73.33 per barrel, as the Middle East crisis deteriorates and the chances of the US entering the conflict increase.

Gold ended flat near $3,387 after traveling from a daily low of $3,366 and hit a peak of $3.403. Traders seem reluctant to drive Bullion higher, even though a poll made on central banks suggests that they would continue increasing their Gold reserves. This, along with the FOMC’s monetary policy decision, would be crucial in providing direction for the precious metal.

US Dollar PRICE This week

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the British Pound.

USD EUR GBP JPY CAD AUD NZD CHF
USD 0.54% 1.05% 0.49% 0.76% 0.17% 0.11% 0.63%
EUR -0.54% 0.39% -0.07% 0.22% -0.24% -0.43% 0.09%
GBP -1.05% -0.39% -0.43% -0.17% -0.62% -0.81% -0.30%
JPY -0.49% 0.07% 0.43% 0.26% -0.62% -0.71% -0.28%
CAD -0.76% -0.22% 0.17% -0.26% -0.50% -0.64% -0.13%
AUD -0.17% 0.24% 0.62% 0.62% 0.50% -0.18% 0.33%
NZD -0.11% 0.43% 0.81% 0.71% 0.64% 0.18% 0.52%
CHF -0.63% -0.09% 0.30% 0.28% 0.13% -0.33% -0.52%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Stellar Price Forecast: XLM eyes triangle breakout rally amid PayPal’s stablecoin integration buzzStellar (XLM) ticks higher by nearly 1% at press time on Friday, adding minor gains to the 5% surge from Sunday. Stellar nears the resistance trendline of a descending triangle pattern after bouncing off its support floor on Wednesday, accounting for a near 12% surge. 
Author  FXStreet
7 Month 07 Day Mon
Stellar (XLM) ticks higher by nearly 1% at press time on Friday, adding minor gains to the 5% surge from Sunday. Stellar nears the resistance trendline of a descending triangle pattern after bouncing off its support floor on Wednesday, accounting for a near 12% surge. 
placeholder
Gold price slides closer to $3,300 amid the emergence of some USD buyingGold price (XAU/USD) attracts fresh sellers at the start of a new week and slides to the $3,300 neighborhood, or a multi-day low during the Asian session.
Author  FXStreet
7 Month 07 Day Mon
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts fresh sellers at the start of a new week and slides to the $3,300 neighborhood, or a multi-day low during the Asian session.
placeholder
Dogecoin Resistance Walls Ahead: Analyst Flags 3 Key LevelsAn analyst has pointed out three key resistance levels for Dogecoin that could be to keep an eye on, based on on-chain data. Dogecoin URPD Shows These Price Levels Stand Out In a new post on X,
Author  NewsBTC
7 Month 08 Day Tue
An analyst has pointed out three key resistance levels for Dogecoin that could be to keep an eye on, based on on-chain data. Dogecoin URPD Shows These Price Levels Stand Out In a new post on X,
placeholder
Tron Price Forecast: TRX handles over $21 billion in weekly USDT transfers, surpassing EthereumTron (TRX) is hovering around $0.287 at the time of writing on Tuesday after rising nearly 4% the previous week. The TRX network has processed over 13 billion transactions and handles more than $21 billion in USDT transfers each week, surpassing Ethereum (ETH).
Author  FXStreet
7 Month 08 Day Tue
Tron (TRX) is hovering around $0.287 at the time of writing on Tuesday after rising nearly 4% the previous week. The TRX network has processed over 13 billion transactions and handles more than $21 billion in USDT transfers each week, surpassing Ethereum (ETH).
placeholder
Gold price drifts lower as reduced Fed rate cut bets offset trade jittersGold price (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish rebound from a one-week low – levels just below the $3,300 mark – and trades with a mild negative bias during the Asian session on Tuesday.
Author  FXStreet
7 Month 08 Day Tue
Gold price (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish rebound from a one-week low – levels just below the $3,300 mark – and trades with a mild negative bias during the Asian session on Tuesday.
Related Instrument
goTop
quote