Kuwait: The dollar remained on the defensive on Thursday as hopes for a de-escalation in the Iran-US war: That left the dollar index back at 97.950 and well short of last week's top of 99.092.

According to Qatar News Agency, the pullback in oil had boosted the euro, given the continent is far more reliant on imported oil than the United States, and it was 0.1% firmer at $1.1757.

The yen had gotten a further lift from speculation that Japanese authorities had intervened on Wednesday to buy the currency, sending the dollar as low as 155.00 at one stage.