Dollar steady as traders fret about escalating Iran war

The dollar was steady on Monday, while the yen flirted with the crucial 160 per dollar level as nervous investors took ​stock of the escalating Iran war, with all eyes on the latest deadline from US President Donald Trump to reopen Strait of Hormuz. In an ‌expletive-laden Easter Sunday social media post, Trump threatened to target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the strategic waterway is not reopened, setting a precise deadline of Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time (0000 GMT). With most of Asia and Europe closed for holiday on Monday, liquidity is likely to be thin, although risk-off sentiment has broadly set in at the ​start of the week. “Trump’s latest deadline itself is bearish not because investors think war is guaranteed tomorrow if Iran does not open the ​Strait, but because every new ultimatum makes the disruption look longer, stickier, and more macro-negative,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment ⁠strategist at Saxo in Singapore.