Breaking: GBP/USD breaks above 1.30 as DUP rejects customs union amendment to the Brexit deal

Yohay Elam FXStreet

GBP/USD has topped 1.30 and is trading at the highest levels since mid-May – a five-month high. The pound has extended its gains as the chances for parliament to approve the Brexit deal have improved.

The latest development has come from the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party. The small party has stated it will object an amendment to add a customs union to the agreement. Forcing such a change would practically void the accord. Jim Shannon told Sky News the party would not support such an amendment.

While the DUP is vehemently opposed to having a customs border at the Irish Sea, they are more concerned about the change in the consent mechanism. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal strips NI unionists from their veto on changes in the province.

The next targets are 1.3045, 1.3080, and 1.3135. Support awaits at 1.2985 and 1.2900.

More GBP/USD Forecast: Seeing the uptrend through the Brexit chaos, rally looks likely

GBP USD technical chart 1.30 October 21 2019 DUP support

GBP/USD has been rising in a sharp uptrend since October 10, when Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar reached a breakthrough. Cable now completes a surge of over 800 pips in 11 days.

For more detail, see Three positive Brexit developments

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

AUD/USD remains offered around 0. 6950

AUD/USD has added to Wednesday’s decline, slipping back to the low 0.6900s just to grab some air afterwards and attempt a tepid bounce toward 0.6950 ahead of the opening bell in Asia on Friday. The Aussie’s extra weakness has come despite the Greenback receding modestly amid fresh improvement in the risk complex.

USD/JPY slips below 158.00 as USD retreats

USD/JPY returns to the red below 158.00 in the Asian session on Thursday amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar eases from near an 18-month high on profit taking, ignoring Wednesday's hawkish FOMC Minutes and the risk of a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East, adding to the pair's pullback.

Gold clings to daily gains; still below $4,150

Gold regains some composure and climbs back to the vicinity $4,150 mark per troy ounce amid decent gains on Thursday. The yellow metal’s recovery follows some loss of momentum in the US Dollar strength and a decent drop in US Treasury yields across the curve.

XRP downtrend persists as EMA support strains while Binance reserves swell

Ripple (XRP) sellers are gaining ground on Thursday, as the token slips below $1.40. Sell-side pressure remains intense in the broader crypto market, as seen with leading digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) currently below $83,000 and Ethereum (ETH), sliding below $2,600. Despite the correction, XRP retains a constructive technical outlook, with support provided by a key moving average cluster.

Three fundamental drivers are all pushing the Euro south. This chart shows them lining up on 1.1000

EUR/USD has already fallen sharply, but the forces pushing the pair lower are becoming increasingly interconnected. French fiscal concerns, renewed energy pressure and an uncomfortable policy dilemma for the European Central Bank (ECB) are colliding with a US economy that continues to give the Federal Reserve (Fed) little reason to turn dovish.

The UK 30-year gilt just hit a 1998 high. Is that good or bad for the British Pound?

The yield on the UK's 30-year government bond, or gilt, went through 6% on October 1 for the first time since early 1998, and on Monday the Pound was at its strongest against the Euro since June 2025. The gilt market's 28-year high is mostly someone else's. Since early May, the 30-year gilt yield has risen about 0.15 of a percentage point and the US 30-year about 0.7.