The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is running scenarios on countries to gauge which economies could be in need of fresh financing if the Iran war drags on, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The IMF has asked country desks at the IMF to share their analysis on areas from current account status to potential funding needs, the report said, adding the assessment is focused on nations with active financing programs.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The dollar extended gains against major currencies on Wednesday, as traders focused on global inflation trends while sceptical of a near-term de-escalation in the Iran war.
While reports said the US sent a 15-point plan for discussion to Tehran, Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes.
President Donald Trump said the US was making progress in talks with Iran, but Tehran denied that direct negotiations have taken place, keeping investors on edge.
The US dollar index , measuring the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.23% to 99.41. The euro slipped 0.19% against the dollar to $1.1585, while the British pound fell 0.19% to $1.3387.
Sterling found little support earlier from data showing British consumer price inflation held at an annual rate of 3% in February, unchanged from January’s rate, with inflation broadly expected to rise as the war in the Middle East pushes up prices.
“The fact that the dollar is staying strong suggests that the FX market is taking a slightly different view than equities and bonds,” said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.
“If we were looking at a real off ramp being found here, then we would see some of this premium in the dollar start to correct,” Osborne added.
That contrasts with equities and oil where investors appear optimistic that a resolution may be in sight. Stocks advanced on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 up 0.8%, and global crude oil prices were last down 3.8% at $100.54 per barrel.
