Forex Today: Markets overlook escalating tensions in Middle East
Here is what you need to know on Thursday, July 9:
The US Dollar (USD) struggles to find demand early Thursday despite a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The US economic calendar will feature weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Existing Home Sales data for June. Investors will also keep a close eye on comments from central bank officials.
The United States (US) military said late Wednesday that it hit 90 targets along the coastline of Iran. In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guard targeted US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. According to Reuters, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi urged sides to commit to diplomacy. Despite this new development, crude Oil prices edge lower in the European session on Thursday and the USD Index stays in negative territory below 101.00, while US stock index futures rise between 0.2% and 0.7%.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) June policy meeting highlighted that policymakers generally saw upside risks to price stability as elevated while downside risks to maximum employment goal had moderated a bit. According to the document, most participants pointed to scenarios in which inflation would remain elevated due to AI-related demand, Middle East conflict or tariffs, and noted that some policy firming would likely be warranted.
After closing virtually unchanged on Wednesday, EUR/USD benefits from the renewed USD weakness and rises toward 1.1450 in the European morning on Thursday.
GBP/USD preserves its bullish momentum after closing in positive territory on Wednesday and trades at its highest level in three weeks above 1.3400.
Following a three-day slide, Gold gains traction on Thursday and rises nearly 0.8% on the day above $4,100.
USD/JPY corrects lower and trades below 162.50 after rising about 0.3% on Wednesday. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) latest quarterly report showed on Thursday that there's no change to the overall assessment for all 9 Japanese regions. Most regional economies are seen as "recovering moderately" still.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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