Ammon News - The dollar was steady and briefly hit a one-week high in Asian ​trade on Wednesday, as scepticism about U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of an indefinite extension of a ceasefire with Iran lifted ‌demand for the safe-haven currency.

It was also boosted by U.S. Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh's comments at a Senate confirmation hearing which were interpreted as slightly hawkish, and by strong retail sales data that provided an upbeat view on the strength of the American economy.

The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six ​currencies, retreated to 98.367 after earlier in the day touching its highest level since April 13.

"Trump extended the deadline for the ​ceasefire indefinitely while also keeping up the blockade on Iranian ports," analysts from DBS wrote in a research report. "This ⁠leaves the timeline for the normalisation of energy export flows from the Strait of Hormuz still in limbo."

Most other currencies were unchanged after ​the ceasefire extension. The euro was steady at $1.1742 and the British pound was flat at $1.3511. The Australian dollar nudged up 0.1% to $0.7157 and the New ​Zealand dollar was 0.2% higher at $0.5907.
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Against the yen , the U.S. dollar was flat at 159.35 yen after data earlier showed Japan's exports rose for a seventh straight month, defying any major impact from disruptions caused by the Gulf conflict.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was up 2.5% at $77,610.10, while ether jumped 2.4% to $2,373.76.

Reuters