Dollar Enjoys Petrocurrency Status as Oil Drives Markets

As war spirals in the Middle East, one driver is increasingly overshadowing others when it comes to the US dollar: the price of oil.

In just a week, a historic surge in energy prices brought on by the US-Israeli attack on Iran has upended inflation and growth outlooks across the world. That includes the US, where Treasury prices have been sinking. The dollar, nonetheless, has marched higher. It’s rise has been catalyzed by the US’s position as the world’s top oil producer and by the dollar’s role as the currency for global crude trade, said traders and strategists.