The dollar strengthened to its highest level in a week, driven by safe-haven buying following a new US attack on Iran.

The dollar strengthened to its highest level in a week after the United States launched a new wave of attacks on Iran and revoked Iran's oil sales licenses.

On July 8, 2026, at 7:31 AM, Reuters reported that the US dollar strengthened against most major currencies in early trading today (July 8), driven by safe-haven buying following a new wave of US attacks on Iran, reigniting tensions in the Middle East and pushing global oil prices higher.

The Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, traded at 101.18, its highest level since July 2.

Buying of the dollar came after the United States launched a series of attacks on Iran on Tuesday, revoking licenses that had allowed Iran to sell oil following attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route.

Analysts from Westpac stated in a report that markets are once again concerned about the stability of the peace agreement after Iran attacked ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, inflation risks have become a major concern again, leading to higher bond yields in several countries.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices rose 2.6% to $76.12 per barrel during Asian trading, extending their gains for a second consecutive day amid concerns that conflicts in the Middle East could impact global oil supply.

In the money market , the New Zealand dollar (Kiwi) strengthened by 0.1% to 0.5681 US dollars ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announcement of its monetary policy meeting results, which the market narrowly anticipates will result in the first interest rate hike in over three years.

The US dollar strengthened 0.1% against the yen, reaching 162.28 yen per dollar. Toichiro Asada, a member of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) board and the only one who disagreed with raising interest rates at the June meeting, told Reuters that he wanted to see clearer signs that inflation was being driven by domestic demand before he would support further rate hikes.

The euro weakened by 0.1% to $1.1405 and the pound sterling fell by 0.1% to $1.3353, while the Australian dollar remained stable at $0.6926.

Digital assets moved into negative territory, with Bitcoin falling 0.2% to $63,518.35 and Ethereum dropping 0.5% to $1,774.45, amid investor reduced exposure to risky assets due to geopolitical uncertainty.

Reference: www.reuters.com

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