Pound rises, holds onto gains

The currency was last up 0.1% on the dollar at $1.3407, well up from below $1.33 before the deal was announced but below its Wednesday high of $1.348, reflecting ​traders’ nervousness about how sustainable the ceasefire will be

The pound edged up on the dollar on Thursday and held onto the bulk of U.S.-Iran ceasefire-inspired gains the previous session, ​though with that deal looking fragile it failed to rise ‌any further.

The currency was last up 0.1% on the dollar at $1.3407, well up from below $1.33 before the deal was announced but below its Wednesday high of $1.348, reflecting ​traders’ nervousness about how sustainable the ceasefire will be.

Israel continued its attacks in the region, and there was ⁠no sign Iran had lifted its blockade of the Strait of ​Hormuz, which has caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in ​history.

Iran said there would be no deal as long as Israel was striking the region.

The dollar has appreciated throughout the war as investors see the U.S. economy ​as being less exposed to the war – it is a net ​energy exporter – than other countries such as Britain.

The pound, like other European currencies, has ‌risen or fallen on the dollar depending on headlines.

The pound also gained on the euro on Wednesday, which Francesco Pesole, currency analyst at ING, said was due to sterling’s higher sensitivity to gains in equities, ​which surged on ​Wednesday.

The euro was ⁠last at 87.11 pence, bit higher on the day, and rising from its Wednesday low of ​86.88 pence.

Pesole said he does not think the pound ​can appreciate ⁠much more on the euro, noting that expectations of rate hikes from the European Central Bank could prove more sustained than those for ⁠the Bank ​of England.