Muscat: The US dollar firmed today as the Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment, while the yen held steady amid global market volatility. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7168 ahead of a policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia later in the day, where the central bank is widely expected to raise rates for the third straight meeting to tame inflation.

According to Oman News Agency, the firmness of the dollar affected the euro, which held onto its overnight losses, last fetching $1.1693. Sterling was recorded at $1.353. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six units, remained steady at 98.452 after a rise of 0.3% on Monday. The yen bought 157.22 per US dollar, not far from its strongest level in two months after several bouts of sharp gains since Thursday.