[MARKET ANALYSIS] DXY buoyed by Trump's comments on Iran to the detriment of G10 peers

DXY is stronger this morning, with traders flocking back to the USD after US President Trump’s address dampened hopes of de-escalation with Iran. Overnight, he stated that he will hit Iran very hard over the next two to three weeks, adding that the US could also target Iran’s oil facilities. Trump's rhetoric has seemingly shifted from a focus on the timeline for wind-down to a more aggressive military escalation within that same window. DXY jumped back above the 100 mark, to currently trade at the upper end of a 99.44-100.17 range; recent levels above this include 100.64 (high from 31 Mar).
Focus for today remains on any geopolitical updates, but that aside, there are a few important domestic data points to keep an eye on. Weekly initial jobless claims (212k expected from 210k) and continuing claims (1.84mln expected from 1.819mln), Revelio’s public labour statistics report, Challenger job cuts (90k expected in March from 48.3k) and international trade data are due. This all precedes the March NFP report on Good Friday, which is expected at 65k.
G10s are all losing against the stronger USD; Antipodeans underperform, given the risk tone, whilst the Loonie fares a little better than peers, given it does not rely on external energy. GBP also sits right towards the foot of the G10 pile and is underperforming vs the EUR. A Wednesday rally in Gilts and traders believing the BoE may be slower vs the ECB in containing the energy shock may explain the slight underperformance between the two. This also comes after BoE Governor Bailey suggested earlier in the week that markets were getting ahead of themselves by pricing in rate hikes. Cable currently sits at the bottom end of a 1.3196-1.3320 range.
CHF is also amongst the worst performers against the USD, but is incrementally losing against the EUR. Earlier, a cooler-than-expected (but stronger-than-prior) Swiss inflation report spurred some modest pressure in the Franc, before then reversing soon after. In a bit more detail, headline Y/Y printed at 0.3% (exp. 0.6%, prev. 0.1%); M/M 0.2% (exp. 0.5%). Much of the upside was facilitated by stronger energy prices, leading inflation to the strongest in over a year, and back away from the lower end of the SNB’s 0-2% target. For the time being, this will help alleviate fears at the Bank of bringing back negative interest rates, though policymakers have long reiterated that there is a high bar for such a move.