NEW YORK: The US dollar rose against the Japanese yen on Thursday, helped by safe-haven positioning from investors awaiting details on a proposed deal to end the Iran conflict and ahead of the monthly US jobs report.
The dollar has been clawing back some recent intervention-driven losses that had pushed it to a 13-week low against the yen following joint action by Japanese and US Treasury authorities to prop up the currency.
The dollar was last up 0.41 percent against the yen at 158.41, on track for its third straight session of gains after weakening to as low as 155.20 on Monday, its lowest level since early May.
“When you strengthen the yen, you by definition weaken the dollar and that’s part of what happened in the first part of the week since Friday,” said John Velis, FX and macro strategist at BNY.
“But the idea that maybe there’s some good news on a ceasefire or a deal in the Persian Gulf has taken some of the dollar premium off with lower oil prices and so forth. It’s very quiet today because I think the markets are waiting for what happens with non-farm payrolls on Friday.”
The euro was down about 0.29 percent at USD1.1519 and sterling fell 0.12 percent at USD1.3454.
Markets remained watchful as tensions continued to play out in the Gulf, after Reuters reported a proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end the US-Iran conflict could give Tehran control over inbound traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
However, there was no immediate US comment on the proposal. President Donald Trump has said that a deal to reopen the strait was imminent, but US officials have repeatedly insisted that they would never agree to Iranian control of access to the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.
Brent crude was up 3.42 percent to around USD82 a barrel, although prices remain well below the almost USD100 per barrel hit in July when tensions between Iran and the US flared.
Investors are turning their attention to the release on Friday of the US employment report for July, which could provide more clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.