Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD depreciates amid escalating Middle East tensions

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British Pound declines as risk-off mood prevails on Middle East tensions

GBP/USD extends its losses for the second successive day, trading around 1.3390 during the Asian hours on Wednesday. The pair depreciates as the US Dollar (USD) receives support from increased risk aversion stemming from the Middle East conflict.

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump recently threatened to resume attacks on Iran in two or three days as part of a push for a deal to end the war. This came after a brief pause in planned hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the US-Israeli conflict. Meanwhile, an Iranian official stated that the US threat of a massive assault would be met resolutely, asserting that Iran is fully prepared to confront any military aggression. Read more...

Pound Sterling clings to long-term support as UK labour data muddies the BoE call

Tuesday handed the Pound a labour market reading that was mixed enough to satisfy nobody. UK payroll data showed Average Earnings excluding bonuses cooling to 3.4% on the three-month-on-year measure, in line with consensus, while the Including Bonus figure ran hot at 4.1% against a 3.8% expectation. The Employment Change print was a chunky 148K, but the headline ILO Unemployment Rate ticked up to 5% versus the 4.9% reading both expected and prior, and the Claimant Count Change came in north of 26K.

The Bank of England (BoE) had wanted a clean signal. Instead it got a labour market that is still adding jobs faster than the population is willing to absorb them, with wages mostly cooling but a stubborn bonus-driven tail, and unemployment quietly drifting higher. Sterling slid through Tuesday's London session, eventually probing below 1.34 in late trade before clawing back toward the handle into the close. Read more...

British Pound slides as US yields spike, UK jobs market cracks

The British Pound (GBP) retreats by 0.31% during the North American session as the US Dollar (USD) rises, underpinned by soaring US Treasury yields as investors price in a spike in inflation from the energy shock. The GBP/USD pair trades at 1.3392 after reaching a daily high of 1.3437.

Geopolitical matters and their impact are driving the financial markets. High energy prices due to Iran’s war prompted investors to increase risk premiums in the bond market, with the US 10-year Treasury note reaching a 16-month peak of 4.687% as traders priced in a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike towards the end of the year. Read more...

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GBP/USD turns negative; slips back to 1.3530

GBP/USD comes under pressure and weakens toward the 1.3530 zone on Tuesday. Cable thus leaves behind two daily upticks in a row and retreats further from Monday’s multi-week tops past 1.3570 following humble gains in the Greenback and disheartening UK jobs data.

EUR/USD comes under pressure near 1.1570

EUR/USD could not sustain the earlier bullish attempt toward the proximity of 1.1600 the figure, coming under fresh downside pressure and revisiting the 1.1580-1.1570 band as the NA session draws to a close on Tuesday. The better tone in the US Dollar in the latter part of the day weighs on the pair amid steady volatility in the Middle East. Looking forward, the release of the FOMC Minutes takes centre stage on Wednesday.

Gold consolidates below $4,350; looks to FOMC Minutes for fresh impetus

Gold holds steady below $4,350, following the previous day's heavy losses, as traders await the release of FOMC Minutes for cues about the Fed's future policy path. In the meantime, the recent surge in US bond yields, bolstered by inflation fears stemming from rising oil prices, supports the US Dollar amid the Middle East crisis and should cap the non-yielding bullion.

Bitcoin volatility falls below Nasdaq as market activity hits multi-year low

Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility has fallen below that of the Nasdaq for only the fifth time on record, as subdued trading activity and declining volumes point to an unusually quiet period, according to a Tuesday report from K33. BTC's 30-day volatility has dropped to 1.132%, marking its fourth-lowest reading of the 2020s. Seven-day volatility also dropped to 0.52%, its lowest level since 2023.

Fiscal concerns and doubts on Fed independence send US yields to long-term highs

US Treasury yields keep rising across the curve this week, with the yield for the 30-year Treasury bond reaching its highest level since 2007, during the global financial crisis, at 5.33% so far on Monday. A mix of concerns about the ballooning US fiscal deficit and growing doubts about the Federal Reserve’s Independence are increasing pressure on US Government Bonds.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?

Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.