Forex Today: Pound ignores sentiment, soars on relief

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Friday, February 14th:

Risk aversion returned by the hand of the coronavirus outbreak, amid more cases and deaths reported. The dollar rose on renewed demand for safety, with EUR/USD reaching a fresh multi-year low of 1.0833. The shared currency remains the weakest.

The Sterling soared after UK PM Johnson Cabinet’s reshuffle. The new Chancellor of Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is said to be supportive of fiscal stimulus, which would take some of the pressure on the Bank of England to cut rates. GBP/USD settled around 1.3050.

The Japanese yen appreciated just modestly, USD/JPY with a limited bearish potential.

Equities fell worldwide, although US indexes posted a substantial bounce ahead of the close, ending the day mixed.

Gold surged past $1,575.00 a troy ounce amid ruling risk-aversion.

Crude oil prices hold on to familiar levels, unable to find a clear direction.

Cryptocurrencies sung wildly, BTC/USD ends the red in the red around 10,230.00.

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FXStreet Team

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EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.