Pound recovers as US postpones strikes on Iranian plants
Sterling rose 0.59% on Monday as President Trump postponed strikes on Iranian power plants. The move lowered oil prices and eased pressure on UK bond markets.
The British pound saw a dramatic rebound on Monday following an announcement from the United States that it would postpone planned military strikes on energy infrastructure in Iran. President Donald Trump stated that the strikes would be delayed for five days, a reversal of previous threats that had sent global equity markets into a tailspin and boosted the safe-haven appeal of the dollar.
Sterling rose 0.59% against the dollar to reach $1.342, recovering from an earlier drop of more than 0.5% during the height of the market panic. The currency also strengthened against the euro, with the EUR/GBP pair falling 0.3% to 86.48 pence. This move was supported by investor sentiment that the Bank of England will continue to raise interest rates more aggressively than the European Central Bank throughout the year.
