Forex Today: Dollar determined ahead of the Fed, Sterling suffers on Brexit fears, cryptos consolidating

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Monday, July 29th, European session:

- The US dollar is consolidating its gains at the wake of a busy week that includes the first Fed rate cut since the crisis and the Non-Farm Payrolls. The greenback gained ground after US GDP beat expectations with 2.1% annualized in the second quarter.
- GBP/USD has hit new two-year lows as weekend reports suggest Boris Johnson's new government is ramping up preparations for leaving the EU without a deal. The Confederation of British Industry has warned that both the UK and the EU are unready for a hard Brexit.

- The US and China resume face-to-face high-level talks for the first time since early May. The world's largest economies held only telephone conversations so far.
- Speculation about American intervention to weaken the USD has circulated on Friday and White House adviser Larry Kudlow came out to deny them. However, President Donald Trump has left the door open to such moves and kept criticizing other countries' behaviors. The dollar ignores the topic for now.
- Cryptocurrencies are stabilizing after they suffer sharp losses over the weekend. Bitcoin is below $10,000 again.
- WTI oil is stable despite reports that the UK is sending another warship to the Persian Gulf amid growing tensions with Iran.

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.

GBP/USD extends weekly uptrend, trades above 1.3400

GBP/USD clings to moderate gains and holds above 1.3400 in the European session on Friday. The British Pound gains amid optimism on the UK government leadership transition and Bank of England rate hike bets. Meanwhile, the US Dollar loses ground on Middle East de-escalation and receding Fed rate hike expectations.

EUR/USD holds steady above 1.1400

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Gold seems vulnerable near $4,100 amid Fed hike bets and Iran risks

Gold touches a fresh low during the first half of the European session, with bears looking to extend the intraday descent further below the $4,100 mark. As investors digest Wednesday's less hawkish FOMC Minutes, the US Dollar bounces off over a one-week low, supported by prospects of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike in 2026 and geopolitical uncertainties.

Canada Unemployment Rate forecast to remain unchanged in June

Markets are anticipating a fairly stable report when Statistics Canada releases its Labour Force Survey on Friday. While the Net Change in Employment is predicted to rise by 10K in June, adding to the 87.8K gain in May, the Unemployment Rate is forecast to stay at 6.6%.

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Five sessions, one round trip: Why the whipsaw is exactly what Warsh ordered

Markets opened July with a December hike as the base case and spent five trading sessions unlearning and relearning it. A 57K payrolls print bled the tightening bets out of the strip; a re-shut Strait of Hormuz is pushing them back in. Wednesday's minutes from the June FOMC meeting landed mid-round-trip, describing a world that had already stopped existing.