{"id":337429,"date":"2026-03-13T15:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/337429\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:48:12","slug":"tensions-in-the-middle-east-continue-to-drive-volatility-in-currency-markets-ir-global","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/337429\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions in the Middle East continue to drive volatility in currency markets | IR Global"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[author: <a href=\"https:\/\/irglobal.com\/advisor\/amanda-dunn\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amanda Dunn<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Pound (GBP) finds support as markets reassess BoE bets<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The pound (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/gbp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GBP<\/a>) traded in a wide range yesterday, although it managed to push higher against some of its rivals as investors reined in bets on a Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cut.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">With oil and gas prices soaring, market odds for a BoE rate cut in March dropped from 80% last week to just 29% this week.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The UK\u2019s final services PMI for February may lend Sterling support today, if it confirms robust British service-sector activity last month.<\/p>\n<p>Euro (EUR) struggles despite hotter inflation figures<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The euro (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/eur\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EUR<\/a>) fell against its stronger peers yesterday as EUR suffered from its strong negative correlation with the surging US dollar (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/usd\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">USD<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">Hotter-than-forecast Eurozone inflation figures failed to provide the common currency with a meaningful upside, although the euro was able to find success against risk-sensitive rivals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">Turning to today, the Eurozone\u2019s January unemployment rate is expected to show that joblessness held at a record low. This could underpin EUR later in the session.<\/p>\n<p>US dollar (USD) continues to climb amid escalating conflict<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The US dollar extended its rally yesterday, with the dollar index hitting a six-week high, as widespread risk aversion saw investors seek shelter in the safe-haven \u2018greenback\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">Amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including fresh US strikes on Iran and an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon, anxiety rippled out through global markets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">This afternoon, the US ISM services PMI for February is due to be published, with a positive reading potentially buoying the \u2018greenback\u2019. Ongoing risk aversion could also underpin the US dollar.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian dollar (CAD) hits multi-week highs as oil prices soar<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The crude-linked Canadian dollar (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/cad\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CAD<\/a>) surged to multi-week highs yesterday as oil prices continued to march higher amid the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">Canada\u2019s services PMI could undermine the \u2018loonie\u2019 later today, if it reports a continued contraction in the sector. However, strong oil prices may offset the downside.<\/p>\n<p>Australian dollar (AUD) subdued despite strong GDP<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The Australian dollar (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/aud\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AUD<\/a>) fluctuated overnight, with the \u2018Aussie\u2019 struggling to capitalise on stronger-than-forecast GDP figures amid a risk-off market mood.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand dollar (NZD) wobbles amid gloomy sentiment<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0pt 0pt 24pt 0pt\">The New Zealand dollar (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currenciesdirect.com\/en-gb\/blog\/categories\/nzd\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NZD<\/a>) wavered overnight, although the risk-sensitive \u2018kiwi\u2019 managed to avoid losses despite a cautious tone in markets.<\/p>\n<p>Never miss a movement. <a href=\"https:\/\/pfxreg.currenciesdirect.com\/register-page\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Create a free account with Currencies Direct<\/a> to get the latest currency news delivered straight to your inbox. You can also set up rate alerts and check live rates 24\/7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[author: Amanda Dunn] Pound (GBP) finds support as markets reassess BoE bets The pound (GBP) traded in a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-337429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}