Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD seen on a defensive mode below 1.3050

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD pares earlier gains and returns below 1.2950

Sterling’s rebound from 1.2910 area has been limited below session highs at 1.2980, and the pair retreated again to the lower rage of 1.2900. The pound remains practically unchanged on the day, with the markets awaiting a breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU.

Cable is stuck in a sideways range

Elevated levels of intraday volatility are still a feature of Cable trading right now. Once more we saw a rally into 1.3000 failing to hold yesterday and Cable dropping back -75 pips into the close. It is indicative of the constant swing back and forth not only of USD expectations but also on GBP with uncertainty over Brexit trade deal developments. Cable is subsequently stuck in a sideways range. Support has developed at 1.2845 but the rallies have faltered between 1.3000/1.3080 repeatedly over the past six weeks.

EUR/USD slumps below 1.1750 as USD benefits from risk-aversion

EUR/USD comes under renewed bearish pressure in the European session and trades below 1.1750 following a recovery attempt earlier in the day. The US Dollar gathers strength and weighs on the pair as investors seek refuge in the wake of Israel and the United States' joint attack on Iran.

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 barrier near moving averages

GBP/USD rebounds from the daily losses, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Monday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates an ongoing bearish bias, as the pair trades within a descending channel pattern.

Gold surges on safe-haven demand, closes in on $5,400

Gold benefits from intense risk-aversion on Monday and climbs toward $5,400, setting a fresh monthly-high in the process. Tensions in the Middle East remain high as Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange strikes following the US-Israel joint attack on Iran over the weekend.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple under pressure as key supports face breakdown risk

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices trade on the back foot at the start of this week on Monday, after extending losses in the previous week. BTC is on the brink of a breakdown, ETH is capped below key resistance, and XRP risks a crack of the trendline.

The market is paying for insurance, not apocalypse

As expected, this morning felt less like a Monday market open and more like a fire drill. Futures screens flickered red. S&P contracts down almost 1%. Nasdaq off 1.2%. Brent leaped 13% through $80. Gold rose 1.6% toward $5350 before paring some gains. The dollar is strutting mildly. The Swiss franc is quietly doing what it always does in a storm, catching some safe-haven flows.

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.