Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD kicks off the new week on a subdued note

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD holds steady above 1.2400; upside potential seems limited amid bullish USD

The GBP/USD pair struggles to capitalize on Friday's modest recovery gains and oscillates in a range, above the 1.2400 mark at the start of a new week. Spot prices, meanwhile, remain close to the lowest level since April 2024 touched last week and seem vulnerable to prolonging over a three-month-old downtrend on the back of a bullish US Dollar (USD).

In fact, the USD Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, stands firm near a two-year high amid the optimism over US President-elect Donald Trump's expansionary policies and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) hawkish outlook. Adding to this concerns over Trump’s sweeping tariffs, along with geopolitical risks stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war and rising tensions in the Middle East, underpins the safe-haven buck and act as a headwind for the GBP/USD pair. Read more...

GBP/USD catches a thin rebound on Friday

GBP/USD found a thin recovery on Friday, gaining roughly four-tenths of one percent and ending the first trading week of 2025 back above the 1.2400 handle. UK macroeconomic and consumer credit data broadly missed the mark early on Friday, but the low-tier figures barely registered on the needle. On the US side, US business activity survey results helped to keep investor sentiment on the hopeful side, keeping risk appetite on the high side.

US ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) activity surveys came in higher than expected for December, climbing to 49.3 versus the expected hold at 48.4. It’s the highest print in the key manufacturing activity indicator in nine months, However not all is rosy in the manufacturing outlook: The ISM Manufacturing Employment Index and the ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid index prints in December both missed expectations,implying producer-level inflation is still rising beneath the surface and businesses are still trimming more jobs than expected. Read more...

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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.