Trump briefed on reports of attacks on Iraq air base - White House - Reuters

Ross J Burland FXStreet

Reuters reports that the US President Donald Trump has been briefed on reports of an attack on US facilities in Iraq and is monitoring the situation, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said on Tuesday.

"We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team," White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

A US official told Reuters that rockets have been fired at Iraq's al Asad airbase, which hosts US forces. It was not immediately clear what the extent of damage or casualties were amid tensions between Washington and Tehran following the US killing on Friday of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Markets implications

Risk markets are under huge pressure with gold and the yen rallying while oil prices also rally on fears that 355 of the world's oil supply could come under threat due to a full-blown war in the Persian Gulf.

USD/JPY declines 40 pips to 108 as Iran takes revenge of Soleimani's killing by the US

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

EUR/USD: Breakdown below trading range support near 1.1770 comes into play

The EUR/USD pair opens with a bearish gap at the start of a new week as the US-Iran war-led global flight to safety boosts the US Dollar. Spot prices, however, lack follow-through selling and manage to hold above mid-1.1700s during the Asian session.

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 barrier near moving averages

GBP/USD rebounds from the daily losses, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Monday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates an ongoing bearish bias, as the pair trades within a descending channel pattern.

Gold retreats from $5,400; still up over 1% amid Middle East tensions

Gold retreats from the $5,400 neighborhood, or its highest level since late January, touched in the Asian session on Monday, though it manages to hold above the $5,300 round figure. The bright metal opened with a bullish gap of about $17 and rallied toward the $5,400 level as Asian traders hit their desks and reacted negatively to the weekend news of the US and Israel attacks on Iran, rushing for cover in Gold.

Top Crypto Losers: Tezos, Toncoin, and Polkadot at crucial levels amid US-Israel strike on Iran

Altcoins such as Tezos, Toncoin, and Polkadot rank among the worst hit cryptocurrencies over the last 24 hours amid the US and Israel's attack on Iran. Tezos and Toncoin are down to crucial support levels while Polkadot remains near a crucial resistance trendline, showcasing underlying strength.

The market is paying for insurance, not apocalypse

As expected, this morning felt less like a Monday market open and more like a fire drill. Futures screens flickered red. S&P contracts down almost 1%. Nasdaq off 1.2%. Brent leaped 13% through $80. Gold rose 1.6% toward $5350 before paring some gains. The dollar is strutting mildly. The Swiss franc is quietly doing what it always does in a storm, catching some safe-haven flows.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.