United States President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy has successfully cleared the Strait of Hormuz of mines, eliminating a significant supply risk that has weighed heavily on the oil market. In a statement shared on Truth Social, he noted that he was informed that all mines situated within the waterway's international waters have been either removed or detonated. Alongside this update, he issued a stern warning to Iran, stating that any future attempts to lay mines in the region would be met with immediate and decisive military action.
Detailing what he termed a zero-tolerance policy, Trump emphasized that any vessel or boat caught deploying new mines would be systematically and immediately destroyed. He further highlighted that the US continues to monitor the critical strait utilizing the Space Force. This surveillance extends to Iran's Pickaxe Mountain location and three nuclear sites that he asserted had already been neutralized. These measures form a broader strategy to secure the strategic maritime corridor against potential disruptions.
Meanwhile, broader financial and currency markets experienced notable movements. The US Dollar exhibited strength against several major counterparts, performing particularly robustly against the Japanese Yen. Currency traders continued to monitor the GBP/USD pair as it held above the 1.3600 threshold amid ongoing evaluations of sanctions on Iran and renewed diplomatic channels involving Pakistan. Concurrently, the EUR/USD pair struggled below 1.1700, pressured by cautious market sentiment regarding Middle Eastern developments, though softer US consumer sentiment data provided a modest cushion.
In commodities and digital assets, Gold prices retreated during American trading hours after touching a fresh three-month peak of $4,697 earlier in the session. Conversely, Bitcoin climbed past the $80,000 mark, reaching its highest valuation since mid-May and reflecting a broader resurgence in investor risk appetite and liquidity. In the equity space, the corporate earnings season for S&P 500 companies neared its conclusion with largely positive results, leaving market participants focused on the upcoming financial disclosures from NVIDIA.
In policy developments, the US Treasury implemented notable adjustments to its liquidity operations. The department announced plans to at least double the size of its buyback operations across the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors. Raising the maximum cap from $2 billion per operation to a minimum of $4 billion, the initiative is scheduled to run from September 9 through November 4, providing substantial liquidity support to the fixed-income market.
