Dollar rises broadly

The US dollar rose across the board on Friday, set ​for a second straight weekly gain, as the war in the Middle East drove investors toward safe-haven assets and weighed on ‌energy-sensitive currencies such as the euro.

President Donald Trump said the US was going to be hitting Iran “very hard over the next week”, shortly after issuing a partial 30-day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, hoping to ease prices fuelled by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

A sharp and prolonged rise in oil prices would severely hurt the economies of Japan and ​the euro zone, which are heavily reliant on crude imports, while the United States would be relatively insulated, having been a net crude ​exporter for almost a decade.

“Global investors are unwinding cross-border exposures, pushing money into safe havens, and punishing currencies issued by net energy importers,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto.

The euro was 0.6 percent lower against the dollar at $1.14395. The dollar index , ​which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of currencies, was up 0.7 percent at 100.35. The index is up 1.5 percent for the week.

Schamotta, however, warned that ​FX markets face two-way risks.

“As the war drags on, both Tehran and Washington have strong motivations for returning to the negotiating table and there are good reasons to suspect they could strike a face-saving bargain as soon as this weekend,” said Schamotta.