Dollar rides haven demand as Middle East talks ring hollow

The dollar pushed higher toward multi-month peaks on Friday ​as investors sought safety in the shadow of an intensifying Middle East war and mounting doubts ‌over any path to de-escalation. Markets were on edge following another rollercoaster week as US President Donald Trump again extended a pause on strikes against Iran’s energy facilities into April even as Washington and Tehran offered starkly conflicting accounts of diplomatic progress. The Pentagon is also looking ​at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on ​Thursday, doing little to bolster investor hopes of an imminent end to the war. That ⁠kept the dollar bid as investors flocked to the safe-haven currency and ramped up expectations of a U.S. ​rate hike by the year-end, owing to the inflationary pulse from higher-for-longer energy prices.