Canadian Dollar Rises As Markets Watch Hormuz Negotiations

(RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday, as investors awaited further clarity on the progress of U.S.-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for energy supplies.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed they had fired ballistic missiles towards a Saudi oil tanker on the Red Sea off the Saudi Port of Yanbu, underscoring ongoing risks to regional shipping.

Brent crude futures were up 0.4 percent at $79.73 a barrel while WTI crude futures edged up by 0.2 percent to $75.39.

As diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran gather pace, Iran said it is in the final stages of drafting an agreement with Oman on new commercial shipping arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, but denied the U.S. was involved in the negotiations.

A joint statement from Tehran and Muscat is under review and in the final drafting stage, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, adding a deal would be struck "if certain third parties do not obstruct this process."

U.S. President Donald Trump said "a lot of progress had been made" on the subject of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a deal could be announced this week.

In the European trading today, the Canadian dollar rose to a 1-week high of 1.3994 against the U.S. dollar and a 6-day high of 112.85 against the yen, from early lows of 1.4018 and 112.51, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.38 against the greenback and 116.00 against the yen.

Against the euro and the Australian dollar, the loonie advanced to 2-day highs of 1.6153 and 0.9851 from early lows of 1.6189 and 0.9889, respectively. The loonie may test resistance around 1.59 against the euro and 0.96 against the aussie.

Looking ahead, U.S. S&P Global PMI for July and U.S. wholesale inventories for June are slated for release in the New York session.