Safe-haven dollar gains as peace talks falter, US to blockade Hormuz

By Gregor Stuart Hunter

SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) – The safe-haven dollar advanced broadly in early Asian trade on Monday, as peace talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down nL1N40U07M and the U.S. Navy prepared a blockade of Iranian ports.

The euro was down 0.3% at $1.1684, while the British pound fell 0.5% to $1.3398. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar was 0.6% lower at $0.7030, and the New Zealand dollar was off 0.4% at $0.5816.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire. The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday.

“Early and thin FX trading this morning is showcasing a risk-off mood, with the broad-based rally in the USD in response,” analysts from Westpac wrote in a research note.

The Hungarian forint surged after veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban lost power nL1N40V01B to the upstart centre-right Tisza party in Sunday’s national election after 16 years in office.

The currency rallied as much as 1.8% to 314.89 against the dollar, its strongest level since January, and jumped 2.2% against the euro to its firmest in four years.

“Hungarian assets have reacted positively to the news in early trading, in part because the outcome implies that EU fund inflows into Hungary will be fully released relatively quickly,” analysts from Goldman Sachs wrote in a research report. “EU funds from the current 2021-27 budget account for roughly 3% of GDP per year, with nearly half currently frozen.”

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, held steady at 99.056, near its highest level since April 7. 

Against the yen, the U.S. dollar was up 0.4% at 159.83 yen as yields nL4N40V03Y on Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bonds jumped 5.5 basis points to 2.49%, the highest level in almost three decades.

(Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Sonali Paul and Kevin Buckland)