{"id":44158,"date":"2026-04-06T16:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/44158\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:18:25","slug":"improved-market-mood-lifts-sterling-drawing-bids-versus-the-us-dollar-rising-0-45-near-1-3255","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/44158\/","title":{"rendered":"Improved market mood lifts Sterling, drawing bids versus the US Dollar, rising 0.45% near 1.3255"},"content":{"rendered":"Pound Sterling rose 0.45% against the US Dollar on Monday, reaching about 1.3255 in European trading. The move followed Iran saying it is reviewing a US ceasefire proposal, which supported a risk-on mood.\n\nDemand for safe-haven assets fell as market sentiment improved. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.35% near 99.85, after trading slightly higher earlier in Asian hours.\n\n

Ceasefire Proposal And Market Reaction<\/h3>\nIran said it received the ceasefire proposal through Pakistan but stated it would not accept terms set by deadlines or pressure. Tehran also rejected reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a \u201ctemporary ceasefire\u201d.\n\nA Reuters report earlier said the two sides were discussing a two-tier deal, with plans to end hostilities by Monday. In the UK, attention is on whether the Bank of England could raise interest rates in coming meetings amid the Middle East conflict.\n\nBoE Governor Andrew Bailey said policy action may be needed if an oil price shock becomes a key factor, and warned that a prolonged energy shock could weigh on growth. In the US, markets await the ISM Services PMI for March at 14:00 GMT, expected at 55.0 versus 56.1 in February.\n\nWe recall this period in April 2025 when hopes for a Middle East ceasefire briefly lifted the pound against the dollar. That optimism was short-lived, as the talks faltered later that year, leading to a sustained period of geopolitical tension. The risk-on sentiment we saw then quickly evaporated, reminding us how sensitive currency markets are to these events.\n\nThe Bank of England\u2019s concerns about an oil price shock proved to be well-founded. Following the breakdown of talks in mid-2025, Brent crude prices surged, averaging over $98 a barrel in the fourth quarter of last year. In response, the Bank of England hiked its interest rate twice, bringing it to 5.75% by November 2025 to combat the resulting inflation.\n\n

Rate Expectations And Volatility Outlook<\/h3>\nThis hawkish stance has had a lasting impact on the market’s expectations for this year. UK inflation remains stubbornly high, with the latest report for February 2026 showing CPI at 3.9%, keeping the pressure on the central bank. Consequently, derivatives markets are pricing in only a 25% probability of a rate cut before 2027, a significant shift from the sentiment a year ago.\n\nFor traders, this suggests that volatility in the pound may remain elevated. One-month implied volatility for GBP\/USD options has been trading in a higher range, around 9.0%, compared to the 6.5% levels seen in early 2025. This indicates that strategies protecting against sudden price swings, such as buying straddles, could be prudent.\n\nThe US dollar\u2019s position has also changed from what we saw last year. While the US ISM Services PMI did dip in March 2025, recent data shows the US economy has been more resilient, with Q1 2026 GDP growth coming in at 2.1%. This economic strength means the dollar is less likely to weaken significantly, creating a potential cap on any major rally in the GBP\/USD pair.\n\nCreate your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n

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Start trading now – Click here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sterling climbed to 1.3255 as Iran reviewed ceasefire talks, boosting risk appetite amid BoE, ISM focus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}