U.S. Dollar Edges Lower As Iran Offers New Plan To US To End Gulf War

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Dollar value inched lower after reports indicated that Iran has sent a new 14-point peace proposal to the U.S. through Pakistan to end the war which boosted investor sentiments. In addition, the U.S. halted its planned attack on Iran for tomorrow at the request of Gulf leaders, reducing war concerns.

The U.S. Dollar Index, DXY, which measures the Greenback against a basket of other major currencies was last seen trading at 99.98, down by 0.30 (or 0.30%) today.

The National Association of Home Builders housing market index rose by 3 to 37 in May from 35 of April.

While against the Euro, USD was trading at 1.166, down by 0.28%, against the GBP, it was trading at 1.344, down by 0.89%.

Against the USD, the Japanese Yen was trading at 158.815, down by 0.06%; the Swiss Franc was trading at 0.784, up by 0.27%; and the Canadian Dollar was trading at 1.374, up by 0.05%.

Against one unit of Australian Dollar, USD was trading at 0.717, down by 0.36%.

The U.S.-Iran war entered day number 80 today, though a ceasefire announced in early April is still in effect.

The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked since the start of the war.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump visited China for a two-day summit where he had extensive discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Expectations were running high that China would offer to mediate between the U.S. and Iran to end the crisis. However, no announcement on a possible Chinese intervention came through.

On Saturday, Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social, a message captioning "the calm before the storm" with a photo of himself attached with warships behind him.

On Sunday, again through Truth Social, Trump stated that the clock is ticking for Iran and asked Iran to get moving fast. Trump also warned that if Iran fails to do so, there would not be nothing left of the country.

While spokesperson for Iran's Defense Ministry Reza Talai-Nik responded stating that Iranian military was fully prepared to confront any U.S.-Israeli offensive, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaei mildly stated that "negotiations are going on" with the U.S., mediated by Pakistan.

Baghaei also added that Iran's concerns were conveyed to the U.S.

Today, Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that Iran has submitted a proposal comprising 14 points to the U.S. through Pakistan.

The latest text by Iran, reportedly, focuses on negotiations aimed at ending the war and improving the confidence-building measures by the U.S.

Citing sources close to the negotiating team, Tasnim also stated that the U.S. has accepted lifting off Iran's oil sanctions during the negotiation period. However, citing a U.S. official, CNBC denied the reports that the U.S. agreed to lift oil sanctions.

Hence, uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continues to prevail.

Trump announced that at the request of leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, he instructed the U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Daniel Caine, and the U.S. Military to halt a planned attack on Iran tomorrow.

However, Trump cautioned that the forces are fully prepared to strike at a moment's notice if Iran does not strike a satisfying deal with the U.S.

The former governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is set to be sworn in as the new Federal Reserve Chair soon.

Market attention is now focused on how Warsh handles the challenges from rising inflation due to increasing crude oil prices.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, investors are betting at a 98.8% chance that the Fed will hold the interest rates at the current 3.50% to 3.75% range and 1.20% bets are placed for a quarter-point interest rate hike in the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on June 16-17.US President.