The U.S. dollar inched lower on Wednesday, halting two days of hefty gains, after some strong economic data offset an ongoing hit to sentiment from the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Still, safe-haven demand remained high and the greenback hovered near six-week highs. 

At 13:40 ET (18:40 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.2% to 98.89.

Bitcoin surged on Wednesday to a one-month high, as risk assets in general caught a bid following solid U.S. economic data. The digital asset also took support from President Donald Trump’s calls for better regulatory support for the cryptocurrency industry.

Bitcoin jumped 7.7% to $73,488.9 by 17:02 ET (22:02 GMT) after trading in a tight range in recent weeks. 

Oil prices rose sharply Monday on concerns of increasing supply disruptions after the U.S. and Israel launched a wave of attacks against Iran. 

At 11:23 ET (16:23 GMT), Brent oil futures surged 6.8% to $77.80 a barrel, after earlier climbing to its highest level since January 2025, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 5.7% to $70.85 a barrel, just below its highest level since June.

A spike in gold prices following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran may wane as markets attempt to gauge the financial market fallout from the widening conflict, according to analysts at Pepperstone.