US considers ground operation to seize Iran’s Kharg Island
Citing two sources familiar with the matter, The Jerusalem Post reported early Monday, the United States (US) is preparing to launch a ground military operation to seize the Iranian island of Kharg.
A US official confirmed to the Post that “the US military has accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and Navy personnel to the Middle East.”
This comes a week after the US struck military targets on Kharg Island. The island is a strategic one for Iran as it serves as a primary hub for oil exports.
Market reaction
Oil prices are set to resume their uptrend, following a week of bullish consolidation as the Middle East turmoil shows no signs of easing. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) is marginally higher on the day, below 99.50 at the time of writing.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.12% | 0.14% | 0.06% | -0.01% | 0.20% | 0.11% | -0.09% | |
| EUR | -0.12% | 0.02% | -0.02% | -0.13% | 0.20% | -0.02% | -0.21% | |
| GBP | -0.14% | -0.02% | 0.00% | -0.16% | 0.17% | -0.04% | -0.24% | |
| JPY | -0.06% | 0.02% | 0.00% | -0.07% | 0.12% | -0.03% | -0.16% | |
| CAD | 0.01% | 0.13% | 0.16% | 0.07% | 0.19% | -0.00% | -0.12% | |
| AUD | -0.20% | -0.20% | -0.17% | -0.12% | -0.19% | -0.21% | -0.28% | |
| NZD | -0.11% | 0.02% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.21% | -0.16% | |
| CHF | 0.09% | 0.21% | 0.24% | 0.16% | 0.12% | 0.28% | 0.16% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).