U.S. Dollar Advances Amid U.S. Economic Reports, U.S.-Iran Faceoff

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Dollar value edged higher as ongoing U.S.-Iran standoff continues with both nations refusing to ease their stance, increasing oil-linked inflationary concerns. In addition, the unexpected fall in U.S. jobless claims has lowered expectations for any rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The U.S. Dollar Index, DXY, which measures the Greenback against a basket of other major currencies was last seen trading at 100.72, up by 0.26 (or 0.26%) today.

While against the Euro, the USD was trading at 1.144, down by 0.14%, against the GBP, the USD was trading at 1.348, up by 0.44%.

Against the USD, the Japanese Yen was trading at 162.365, down by 0.12%, the Swiss Franc was trading at 0.809, down by 0.48%; and the Canadian Dollar was trading at 1.404, unchanged.

Against one unit of Australian Dollar, the USD was trading at 0.699, up by 0.12%.

The U.S.-Iran faceoff which began after Iran fired at a Cyprus-flagged vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the crew to abandon the ship and escape through lifeboats is going on without a pause.

U.S. Central Command announced that U.S. forces carried out attacks on several military installations in Iran on Tuesday and Wednesday, and concluded a fresh wave of attacks today, under the orders from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Yesterday in an interview with Fox Business, Trump stated that wanting to have a deal with the U.S., Iran approached the U.S. for a meeting. Trump he cautioned that if Iran delays to strike a deal with the U.S., it will be hit hard.

Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf questioned the validity of the June 17 Memorandum of Understanding if Iran has no benefit out of it.

Both countries signed a MoU to halt their attacks for 60 days and find ways to resolve disputes through negotiations.

However, Ghalibaf remarked that tools of diplomacy and negotiations must be used to achieve Iran's national interests and observed that negotiating at this stage does not mean capitulating to pressure.

Stressing that he faced a lot of criticism within Iran from hardliners, Ghalibaf acknowledged that he still opted to adopt the diplomatic route.

Today, the data from the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that the unemployment benefit claims fell by 8,000 to 208,000 for the week of July 11, far lower than forecasts of an increase to 217,000.

The continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,805,000 for the week ending July 4, from 1,821,000 of the previous week.

U.S. Census Bureau's data showed that on a month-on-month basis, retail sales rose 0.20% in June 2026 in line with expectations and on an year-on-year basis, it increased 6.70%.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Manufacturing Index climbed to 41.40 in July from 10.30 in June, beating market expectations of 13.00.

Currently, investors are betting on a 10.20% chance of a quarter-basis-point interest rate-hike in the upcoming meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve on July 28-29 while the odds on rates being held at the current level stand at 89.80%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.