Forex▼ Bearish
Brent at $99: Oil Rally Reshapes Dollar and Yen
Brent crude rallied toward $99, pressuring the yen and lifting the Canadian dollar. Middle East supply fears escalated. Traders are watching the Strait of Hormuz.
Continue with
Brent crude pushed above $99 a barrel Thursday. Fighting in the Middle East threatened the Strait of Hormuz and other oil transit routes. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, climbed toward $91.
The rally is rippling through currency markets. The yen weakened against the dollar. Japan's import costs are rising, pressuring the trade balance, traders said. USD/JPY pushed toward 160. The Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone, currencies of oil-exporting economies, gained alongside crude.
The dollar itself was mixed. Higher oil prices stoke inflation, a dynamic that typically supports the dollar by delaying rate cuts. The same dynamic raises recession risks that cap gains, traders said.
The dollar index held near recent highs.