U.S. Dollar Ended Flat As Middle East De-escalation Signs Emerge

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Dollar value traded unchanged as positive indications of de-escalation in the Middle East tensions surface after Israel-Lebanon truce announcement. Consequential fall in crude oil prices reduced inflationary pressures.

The U.S. Dollar Index, DXY, which measures the Greenback against a basket of other major currencies was last seen trading at 99.44 unchanged from yesterday.

While against the Euro, USD was trading at 1.161, down by 0.10%, against the GBP, it was trading at 1.342, down by 0.04%.

Against the USD, the Japanese Yen was trading at 160.039, up by 0.02%; the Swiss Franc was trading at 0.790, up by 0.30%; and the Canadian Dollar was trading at 1.391, down by 0.10%.

Against one unit of Australian Dollar, USD was trading at 0.713, down by 0.08%.

As the U.S.-Israel versus Iran war entered day number 97 with a ceasefire holding delicately in place amid a few skirmishes, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the negotiations between both the nations are progressing well.

Trump predicted that a resolution could be expected over the weekend.

Trump also affirmed that once a MoU is signed, the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened immediately.

Dismissing the recent firings in the gulf neighborhood involving the U.S. and Iran as insignificant, Trump assured that the ceasefire announced in early April still holds in place.

Trump, however, wanted the U.S.-Iran negotiations to be kept separate from the outcomes of the Israel-Lebanon talks, mediated by the U.S.

Contrasting Trump, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that though Iran kept the channels for communication with the U.S. open, a meaningful progress has not been reached in the talks.

Araghchi insisted that the discussions should also include halting of Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Meanwhile yesterday, after two-days of discussions between the government officials from Israel and Lebanon in Washington, D.C., the U.S., Israel, and Lebanon jointly issued a statement announcing that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to halt their mutual attacks.

However, the ceasefire calls for the complete exit of Iran-backed Hezbollah militant groups from South Litani sector.

Both countries consented that any issues in future in their bilateral relations would be discussed only by the sovereign governments.

The news revived the markets since the truce could lead to a broad-spectrum de-escalation in the gulf region.

Today, the U.S. Labor Department revealed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits inceased by 13,000 to 225,000 over the last week of May, above market expectations of 212,000.

The continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,777,000 for the week ending May 23, from 1,785,000 of the previous week.

According to Challenger data, US-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, the most since January, compared to 83,387 in April.

The new U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is preparing for his first policy meeting since assuming office.

The International Monetary Fund today urged the Fed Chair to stay cautious on interest rates as it predicts that a return to 2.00% inflation target will be delayed until the end of 2027.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, investors are now betting at a 3.60% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on June 16-17.