Dollar around one-week high

The US dollar was steady at around its highest level in roughly a week on Wednesday.

This came after US President Donald Trump said an interim memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end their conflict was “over”.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s currency jumped after the country’s central bank lifted interest rates.

The US dollar index, which measures its strength against a basket of six currencies, was little changed on the day at 101.17.

It was last hovering around its highest since July 2, in a somewhat choppy session for the safe-haven currency.

“The USD has reacted, but the market has learnt to take Trump’s comments with a pinch of salt,” said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank.

“The remarks may be meant to bring the opposition to the table. Nevertheless, they will raise anxiety levels another notch,” Foley added.

Brent crude was last up 6.24 percent at $78.82 a barrel, extending a rally into a second day. Trump’s comments come after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they attacked US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.

This followed a wave of US airstrikes against Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the kiwi dollar was last 0.26 percent higher at $0.5691, having pared earlier gains.

This occurred after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiked rates by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent to curb inflation pressures, as most economists had expected.

The central bank said “some further reduction in monetary stimulus is likely to be required” to control inflation.

“A key argument for the hike is a concern that financial conditions would have eased further if the OCR was left unchanged,” Westpac analysts wrote, referring to the official cash rate.

Later in the day, traders will be watching out for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting.