Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD pressured by bears at critical support

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD pressured to key support despite a crucial drop in US yields

At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading at 1.3736 between a range of 1.3718 and 1.3782 and around flat on the day. It is really more of a US dollar story than anything else on Thursday, with the markets soaking up the Federal Reserve's commitment for lower for longer rates.

In yesterday's Federal Open Market Committee minutes, various participants noted that changes in the path of policy should be based primarily on observed outcomes rather than forecasts.

GBP/USD Forecast: Pressuring weekly lows and at risk of falling

The British Pound remained among the worst performers against the greenback, as the GBP/USD pair extended its weekly decline to 1.3718, ending the day around 1.3740. UK macroeconomic data was quite encouraging, as the March Markit Construction PMI hit 61.7, improving from 53.3 and largely surpassing the expected 54.6. Concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine keep weighing on sterling, as the EMA found a “rare link” between the jab and blood clots. Nevertheless, the UK has given at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine to roughly 50% of the population, which brought sharply down the number of daily deaths and contagions.

EUR/USD climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Breaking: US and Israel attack Iran, risk aversion to sweep global markets

Early Saturday, United States (US) President Donald Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, following Israel’s pre-emptive missile attacks against Tehran.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.