Watan-The U.S. dollar rose sharply on Friday, heading for its largest single-day gain in a month, as traders rushed into safe-haven assets like the dollar and gold following Israel’s wide-scale airstrikes on Iran.
Israel announced it had targeted a large number of military sites across Iran.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to meet in Oman on Sunday for a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations emphasized that the decision to strike Iranian targets was entirely independent and deliberate.
At the start of trading, the Swiss franc and Japanese yen initially rose but later retreated against the strengthening dollar, which reasserted its traditional role as the primary safe haven in times of geopolitical or financial crisis.
Dollar Reclaims Safe-Haven Status as Euro, Yen, and Franc Slip Amid Rising Tensions
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a social media post, urged Iran to reach an agreement and warned that “the next planned attacks will be far more severe.”
The U.S. dollar index—which tracks the greenback against six major currencies—rose by 0.9%, with the euro, British pound, and Australian dollar bearing the brunt of the losses. As of the latest session, the index was up 0.85%, on track for its biggest daily gain since May 12.
“The dollar is reclaiming its traditional safe-haven role, something we haven’t seen in months,” said Fiona Cincotta, analyst at City Index.
The euro snapped a four-day winning streak, dropping 0.7% to $1.1494, though it remains near its four-year high of $1.1632 reached just yesterday.
The dollar also gained 0.6% against the Japanese yen, hitting 144.43, after recovering from an overnight low of 142.79. It also rose 0.52% against the Swiss franc to 0.8147.
Bond Yields Drop, Crypto Slips as Market Uncertainty Drives Flight from Risk
Despite Friday’s gains, the dollar index remains near its lowest level since March 2022, recorded earlier this week, and is set for a weekly decline of nearly 1%, its steepest drop in over three weeks.
This weakness is partly attributed to uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade truce, with Trump stating that he will announce unilateral trade terms with other major economies in the coming days.
Cryptocurrencies also fell on Friday, with Bitcoin down 1% to $105,052 and Ether falling more than 4% to $2,538, as investors exited riskier assets amid the escalating geopolitical tensions.
-
-
-
-
-
-
