Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD trades with mild gains near 1.3560

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Pound Sterling nudges higher on Iran truce optimism ahead of US jobs data

The GBP/USD pair posts modest gains around 1.3560 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. Hopes for a peace deal to end the Middle East conflict weaken the US Dollar (USD) as a safe-haven asset. The US April employment data will take center stage later on Friday.

US President Donald Trump said that a ceasefire with Iran is still in place despite fresh military clashes in and around the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it would be obvious if the ceasefire were over, per CNN. The Trump administration has been waiting for Iran to respond to its proposal to reopen the critical waterway and end the war. Growing optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran peace deal could drag the USD lower and act as a tailwind for the major pair in the near term. Read more...

GBP/USD slips as Iran hope fades and Dollar firms

GBP/USD edged slightly lower to around 1.3550 on Thursday, lower around 0.3% after the pair touched a session high near 1.3645 before turning back down. Price has been holding a roughly 100-pip range below the multi-month peak just under 1.3660, with a series of overlapping candles after the strong rally off May 1 swing lows close to 1.3450.

For the US Dollar (USD), the overarching driver remains the US-Iran ceasefire narrative and the Strait of Hormuz situation. Wednesday's slide for the Greenback came as the White House signaled it was close to a memorandum of understanding with Tehran, alongside President Trump's pause on the US-led effort to assist stranded vessels exiting the strait while fresh talks proceed. That backdrop pulled the Dollar Index down toward 97.60, a three-month low, before Thursday's modest rebound as some of the optimism trade unwound. A heavy slate of Federal Reserve (Fed) speakers including Collins, Hammack, Daly and Williams kept rate expectations in flux ahead of Friday's US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) print, where consensus stands close to 62K against a prior 178K. Read more...

GBP/USD climbs as US-Iran peace hopes weaken US Dollar

GBP/USD advances by some 0.28% on Thursday as the US and Iran appear close to signing a peace deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while keeping issues like the nuclear program unresolved. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.3627, rising for a third consecutive day.

The mood in financial markets is positive, driven by news of a possible end to the conflict. Pakistani officials mentioned that the priority is a “permanent end to war.” Once achieved, the rest of the issues could be solved when direct talks resume between Washington and Tehran. Read more...

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

AUD/USD defends 0.7000 ahead of RBA on Tuesday

AUD/USD is defending 0.7000 at the start of a new week, trading near its lowest level since August 4 amid a bullish US Dollar. US yields hold near multi-year highs amid inflation risks from higher oil prices and rising bets on an October Fed rate hike. This, along with the US-Iran standoff, continues to underpin the safe-haven buck and weigh on the pair ahead of Tuesday's RBA policy announcements.

USD/JPY climbs back toward 158.00 after BoJ minutes amid firm USD

USD/JPY finds dip-buyers and reverses part of Friday's slide driven by speculation that authorities will step in again to prop up the Japanese Yen. However, the BoJ's dovish Minutes cap the JPY. Meanwhile, the US Dollar regains traction as the US-Iran standoff supports crude oil prices, fueling inflation fears and reaffirming bets for an October Fed rate hike. This further supports the pair, driving it back toward 158.00.

Gold tumbles further; focus shifts to $4,100

Gold kicks in the week on the back foot, selling off to the vicinity of the $4,100 mark per troy ounce, levels last traded back in early August. The resurgence of geopolitical concerns in combination with the firmer US Dollar and rising US Treasury yields keep the yellow metal under heavy pressure on Monday.

Bitcoin dips as ETF inflows meet Fed headwinds

Bitcoin trades below $82,800 at the time of writing on Monday after gaining over 4% last week, with the rally losing momentum near recent highs. Strong institutional demand, supported by spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund inflows, continues to drive demand.

The week ahead: A key moment for the global economy as threats rise

UK diesel hits a record, as economic concerns rise. The market expects an aggressive Fed rate hiking cycle, but is it necessary? Oil supply concerns ease, even as oil prices rise. What’s next for the AI trade.

Fed vs BoJ: Both hiked. The market only believes one of them – and the chart shows which

The Fed and the BoJ have just done something remarkably similar. Both central banks raised interest rates by 25 bps last week, both are confronting inflation risks, and both signal that future decisions will depend on incoming economic data.