By Lucy Raitano and Jiaxing Li HONG KONG, May 13 The dollar held near a one-week high on Wednesday on renewed uncertainty in the Middle East and as traders digested a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation print and closely watched the yen.
The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.171675 and sterling traded 0.2% lower at $1.3524
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar was unchanged at $0.72410 and the New Zealand dollar traded down 0.3% at $0.59345 . The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1% at 98.449, its highest level since May 5. Meanwhile, oil prices rose 0.2% and stayed firmly above the $100 mark, with Brent crude futures last trading at $108 a barrel.
Hopes for a peace deal in the Middle East have dwindled after President Donald Trump said a ceasefire with Iran was “on life support” after Tehran rejected a U.S. proposal to end the war. Trump said on Tuesday that he does not think he will need Beijing’s help to end the war with Iran ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. “What’s going on in the Strait of Hormuz… that’s the main driver in the background,” said Tommy von Brömsen, FX strategist at Handelsbanken in Stockholm. “The longer this goes on the more central banks are going to find themselves in a more difficult situation.” U.S. CPI HOT The U.S. consumer price index rose 3.8% in the 12 months through April, the biggest year-on-year increase since May 2023, as the oil shock triggered by the war pushed prices higher.