British Pound surges to 1.3400 as UK jobs beat, Iran deal hopes grow
- GBP/USD jumps 0.70%, approaching 1.3400 as US Dollar selling accelerates.
- UK economy adds 102K jobs, crushing forecasts and the previous print.
- Reported US-Iran agreement boosts sentiment as November BoE hike odds reach 93%.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) surges about 0.70% on solid UK labor market data and news that the US and Iran seem to have reached an agreement, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News. GBP/USD trades near 1.3400 after opening near 1.3300.
Sterling rallies as robust UK employment and reports of US-Iran diplomatic progress weaken the Dollar
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that the proposal presented by the Pakistani army chief to senior Iranian officials has already been approved by the US and has received preliminary agreement from Tehran.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, Qatar would unfreeze and transfer $6 billion US Dollars to Iran, with Tehran agreeing to a secret visit, which wouldn’t be publicly announced, by the International Atomic Energy Agency to its nuclear facilities.
On the news, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the Greenback versus six currencies, edged down 0.32% to 101.66.
Meanwhile, US pending home sales fell 7.3% to a record low in September. Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, said, “Market conditions weakened in September due to fast-rising mortgage rates.”
In the UK, the economy added 102K people to the workforce in the three months to August, crushing forecasts and up from the 67K jobs created in the previous period. Consequently, the Unemployment Rate fell, and Average Earnings Including Bonus in the three months to August dipped.
Money markets had priced in a Bank of England rate hike at the November meeting, with odds standing at 93%, according to Prime Terminal.
Ahead, the UK economic docket will feature the release of inflation and Retail Sales data for September. In the US, the docket is quiet on Wednesday, but it will pick up on Thursday, with Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ending October 17.
GBP/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook
In the daily chart, GBP/USD trades at 1.3375, retaining a mildly bearish bias as it holds beneath the cluster of the 50-, 100- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) around 1.3411 and the descending trend-line resistance coming in near 1.3407. The Relative Strength Index (14) at 56.3 has lifted into positive territory, hinting at improving momentum, yet with price still capped by these overhead technical barriers, the recovery appears corrective within a broader consolidative downside tone.
On the topside, initial resistance is located at the descending trend line around 1.3407, followed closely by the triple SMA barrier near 1.3411, where a clear daily close above would open the door toward the former rising support lines turned resistance at 1.3616 and 1.3801. On the downside, immediate support is seen at the prior downtrend break level near 1.3273, and a move back below this pivot would expose a deeper retracement of the recent advance, reasserting bearish pressure on the pair.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Pound Sterling Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the strongest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.23% | -0.53% | -0.27% | -0.42% | -0.33% | -0.39% | -0.18% | |
| EUR | 0.23% | -0.33% | -0.02% | -0.19% | -0.08% | -0.16% | 0.05% | |
| GBP | 0.53% | 0.33% | 0.32% | 0.14% | 0.27% | 0.16% | 0.39% | |
| JPY | 0.27% | 0.02% | -0.32% | -0.19% | -0.07% | -0.16% | 0.05% | |
| CAD | 0.42% | 0.19% | -0.14% | 0.19% | 0.11% | 0.04% | 0.24% | |
| AUD | 0.33% | 0.08% | -0.27% | 0.07% | -0.11% | -0.08% | 0.15% | |
| NZD | 0.39% | 0.16% | -0.16% | 0.16% | -0.04% | 0.08% | 0.22% | |
| CHF | 0.18% | -0.05% | -0.39% | -0.05% | -0.24% | -0.15% | -0.22% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
Author
Christian Borjon Valencia
FXStreet
Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.
