The US dollar ticked higher on Wednesday, underpinned by renewed Gulf tensions, with markets focused on upcoming US economic data for signals on the Fed’s policy trajectory.Oil prices edged up after the United States and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.Investors buy the safe-haven dollar when concerns about the economic impact of the energy shock from the Iran war intensify.Analysts said Friday’s soft US jobs data did not weigh heavily on the greenback as markets expect inflation to drive the next Federal Reserve interest rate move.Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee supported this view on Tuesday by saying he was more concerned about too-high inflation than labor market weakness.Economists expect data due later in the session to show inflation picked up last month after easing in June, when oil prices fell on hopes of an Iran peace deal.“Consensus is looking for a reasonably subdued set of numbers,” Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING, said.“A soft number should drag market pricing of a September Fed rate hike away from a 50 percent probability in favour of no change,” he added.The main focus for markets this week is US inflation data due later on Wednesday for clues to the direction of Fed interest rates, as last week’s softer-than-expected jobs report and a press conference by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh last month did little to dispel doubts.Fed funds futures imply a 50 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged at its two-day meeting ending September 16, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.05 percent at 99.85.