EURUSD: back to 1997? Dejavu? Are we back in 1997? I found it remarkable that this March price stopped at Fibonacci pivot R1 this year, literally to the pip.
So I checked how price reacts at yearly Fib pivots and this is what I found.
Seems like history repeats itself:) 2020 is gonna be a big show in the EU, though it is already.
Eurozone
Fed`s surprise, coronavirus chronicles, ADP numbersThe main event of yesterday was the Fed’s decision to urgently reduce the rate by 0.5%. The central bank did not wait on March 18 and caught many by surprise. The reaction of the financial markets as a whole seemed logical: the US stock market went up, the dollar was falling, gold was growing. The whole question is whether these trends will continue. We practically do not doubt gold and put on its further growth. The US stock market may well grow by a further wave of optimism by a few percents. But the closer he gets closer to historical highs, the stronger will be our desire to sell. The dollar will be able to take revenge on Friday, but more on that below.
In the meantime, we traditionally continue to review the news from epidemic fronts. The epidemic in China has virtually disappeared (130 new cases), but in the world, everything is in full swing (almost 2000 new cases per day).
G7 countries, meanwhile, held an emergency meeting at which they firmly decided to confront the economic consequences of the epidemic.
Inspired by this news, as well as information about a possible massive easing of monetary policies around the world (the Central Bank of Australia also lowered the rate yesterday and thereby confirmed reasonable expectations), investors again breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to buy cheaper assets. We traditionally do not share this optimism and consider it clearly premature. The consequences are just beginning to manifest. So in the next month, depressing news will be enough.
On the foreign exchange market yesterday there was a certain return of common sense. In terms of the fact that the euro stopped growing at the end of the day (even against the background of information about the Fed’s rate reduction of 0.5%), the pound seemed to have found some ground under its feet. All the attention of traders is focused on the first rand of trade negotiations between the EU and the UK. The results will not be earlier than Thursday. So far, we generally consider all this to be nothing more than noise, which can only give the best entry points. Really, nothing will be solved now, which means you should not worry about anything. Recall that our position on the pound is medium-term purchases. Justification - The EU and the UK will eventually be able to agree again.
As for the euro, it seems that there was a less clear explanation for its growth in recent days. In addition to the classic for almost any strong movement of triggering stop loss and buy-stop, analysts call the curtailment of the trade due to the coronavirus epidemic as the main reason for the sharp strengthening of the euro against the dollar. For those who are not in the know, we explain that the ultra-low rates in the Eurozone made it possible to borrow money there and invest them in markets with higher returns (for example, the USA). Which naturally led to a depreciation of the euro. Curtailment is marked by opposite trends, respectively, the euro strengthened. Rumors that the Fed will sharply reduce the rate in March and may reduce the rate even later in 2020 provoked the start of the process of curtailing the trade, which was especially clearly reflected in the EURUSD pair.
News about the epidemic has recently monopolized the information space so much that it’s easy to miss important news that does not have the word coronavirus or something like that in the headline.
We mean that on Friday statistics on the US labor market will be published. This news is traditionally one of the main ones for financial markets. Considering how sensitive markets are now to any deviations from the norm, these data are of increased importance. But the numbers on the NFP will be published only on Friday, but for now, today we are waiting for data from ADP.
Beating continues, what to do with euro, yen & poundYesterday was largely typical of the current week: investors continued exodus from risky assets and increased positions in safe-haven assets. Perhaps the main result of the day can be considered the return of the yen to the fold of safe-haven assets. Recall that last week, after the devastating data on Japan's GDP, there was talk that the yen could no longer be a full-fledged refuge. But, judging by its growth yesterday, it’s quite possible for itself. True, such a strong growth of the yen raises questions, but are its buyers too carried away? In the end, no one canceled the failed GDP data, as did the fact that the country was one step away from the recession. So today we are inclined to look for points for purchases of a pair of USDJPY.
Meanwhile, a survey of European companies operating in China showed that 577 out of 577 respondents surveyed expect their performance to worsen due to the epidemic and the downtime of the Chinese economy. The results, although obvious, are no less indicative of this.
The epidemic continues to expand around the world (the number of new cases in the world steadily exceeded the number of new cases of infection in China) and the point is not even the increase in the number of new cases, but the fact that an increasing number of countries are taking certain preventive measures, including restricting travel, school closures, etc. All this, ultimately, will lead to an increase in the scale of economic losses.
Well, the list of companies that have publicly announced the deterioration of their financial results in the future has been replenished with such titans as Microsoft, Anheuser-Busch InBev, etc. Actually, as we predicted in our previous reviews.
Investors, meanwhile, are urgently reviewing their expectations regarding the actions of the Central Banks. In particular, 90% of traders expect a Fed rate cut in April. So yesterday's dollar difficulties in the foreign exchange market are generally understandable.
Nevertheless, the growth of the euro against the dollar seems very abnormal to us and we are inclined to sell a pair of EURUSD today in double, if not triple volumes. Recall that the Eurozone economy continues to experience serious difficulties, and this is still without the consequences of a coronavirus. The situation in Italy also does not contribute to the purchase of the euro. Therefore, we sell the euro against the dollar at full capacity.
As for the general list of our positions for today, it is generally unchanged: we are looking for points for buying gold (but we are careful - we buy on the slopes with mandatory stops), we sell oil, we sell EURUSD, we buy GBPUSD. The only sales of USDJPY today we are replacing with the purchase of a pair with small stops.
$EURCHF - Swiss National Bank InterveningHey all.
Something to note on EURCHF...
The Swiss National Bank want a weaker Swiss Franc.
To weaken the Franc,they conduct many different market operations.
One of course is to buy US equities and the other is to increase their holdings of foreign currencies.
Just last week, the Swiss National Bank increased their 'sigh deposits' of the dollar and euro by about 2.1bn CHF, the largest weekly increase in quite some time.
Naturally if you look at that chart you can see why.
It's a massive support level and a clear break would lead to a huge euro depreciation versus the Swiss Franc.
This would be adverse to the Bank's aims.
The problem is, however, that the US has placed the bank on the currency manipulator list and they might have their hands tied in terms of the extent to which they can devalue the Swiss Franc.
My thoughts, however, are that the euro is structurally too weak to sustain any real appreciation versus the franc.
We have many political problems now within the EU with regards to budgets, but also in France and Germany politically, and with the new Basel regulations potentially causing a credit crunch across European banks over the next few years due to higher capital requirements, the banking sector of the bloc looks weak too.
There is one saving grace perhaps, and that is if the euro funding trade unwinds, but I do not think that this will happen to any real extent yet.
I'd say that we range along this support for a while and then we start to see gradual dips lower as the Eurozone faces further deterioration in data.
The week results: the epidemic swing, the yen statusThe coronavirus epidemic continued to be the main focus of financial markets last week. And if the week began with a rather optimistic attitude of investors against the background of a decrease in the number of new cases of disease and deaths, then it ended on a very minor note: the epidemic spread to South Korea and Japan.
In addition, analysts after the warning increasingly began to think about the consequences of the epidemic and quarantine in China (Goldman Sachs estimates that economic activity in China does not exceed 50%). And the longer restrictive measures last, the worse the mood of investors. They can be understood: dozens, if not hundreds of millions of Chinese, temporarily do not work and lead an exclusively isolated lifestyle. As a result, production does not work at full capacity, the transport system is partially paralyzed, consumption has fallen sharply, the clouds over global supply chains are gathering more and more with each day of downtime. That is, an economic epidemic is beginning, which could very well become a global pandemic.
Not surprisingly, against this background, gold is updating the highest mark since the beginning of 2013 and continues to confidently move to the 1800 area.
The current week in terms of the epidemic is likely to change its focus. If before that all attention was focused on China, and the whole epidemic was geographically localized. Then this week, investors will focus not so much on China as on other countries where the number of diseases has risen sharply: Japan, South Korea (last week the number of cases doubled almost every day), Italy and Iran. Judging by the current dynamics, it is likely that the reserve of bad news has not yet been exhausted.
As a result, the stock markets finally broke down and rained down. It will be difficult to say whether the current sales will become the beginning of a full correction, but there are all the prerequisites for this.
Another injured last week was the Japanese yen. After the failed data on GDP growth rates in the 4th quarter, everyone realized that the third-largest economy in the world is one step away from the recession. As a result, the status of the yen as a safe-haven asset is damaged. However, we will not write off the yen from the accounts and will sell it within the day simply because the pair climbed very high (with mandatory small stops because we are reporting that we are going against the will of the market).
Europe has traditionally already disappointed in terms of macroeconomic statistics and the general state of affairs, especially in Germany. Accordingly, the talk of a global recession against the backdrop of the problems of Japan and the Eurozone no longer seems fabrications and conspiracy theories.
For fairness, we note that on Friday the data on business activity indexes in the Eurozone came out better than forecasts at the highest levels for the last 6 months, but so far this is only a drop of positive in a sea of negativity. In the UK, production growth generally showed a 10-year high, which allowed the pound to perk up and work out our recommendation on its purchases.
As for macroeconomic statistics this week, the week promises to be quite calm. So you can focus all your attention on the news about the epidemic and expert estimates of the extent of damage both for China and the world as a whole. Our basic positions for the current week are as follows: we are looking for points for buying gold (but given the strong oversoldness of the asset, we are doing this conservatively and with mandatory stops), we sell oil, we sell EURUSD, we buy GBPUSD, we sell USDJPY above 112 with short-stops.
Week Results: Virus, NFP, Pound & Investor ConcernsA week in the financial markets was held in the chronicles of the coronavirus. The epidemic is still under development. The number of deaths exceeded 700, and the number of deaths approached 40,000. A number of quarantined cities in China, many plants are idle, are already starting to disrupt the functioning of the global economy: some companies outside of China cannot continue the production process, since components from China do not arrive, some ( like Toyota and Honda) temporarily shut down their Chinese capacities and sharply lose in production volumes, some (like Apple) close their stores in China.
And if on Monday and Tuesday last week, the markets still tried to pretend that they did not notice this, then towards the end of the week even excellent NFP figures could not inspire American investors to buy on the stock market.
And although the VIX Fear Index fell by 15% over the week, there is a feeling that the time of unbridled euphoria in financial markets is coming to an end. And this means that now is the time to start opening short against risky assets. Moreover, the markets marked the highs, respectively, the points for placing stops are obvious, and the stops themselves are small especially with respect to the goals that can and should be set.
The week as a whole turned out to be very successful for the dollar and ended on a major note: NFP figures came out well above market expectations (+225K with a forecast of +165K). In principle, employment data from ADP (+291K) were prepared by the markets for good numbers, but until the very last it was difficult to believe in them. The overall view was somewhat spoiled by weaker than expected growth rates of hourly wages, as well as unemployment, which went above forecasts.
The main losers in the foreign exchange market were the euro and the pound. Traditionally, the reason for the sale of the euro was the weak macroeconomic statistics from the Eurozone. So German industrial production in December literally collapsed by 3.5% during a month, recalling that the recession is not just an economic term, but also one of the aspects of reality. As for the pound, the pressure on it was due to growing fears that the UK and the EU would not be able to agree on a trade agreement until the end of 2020.
Our trading plan for this week is next. We continue to look for points for purchases of gold and the Japanese yen anyway (unless an ultra-effective vaccine is found and the epidemic of coronavirus is quickly over). We will wait until the euphoria around the dollar subsides, and we will look for points for its sales. The pound is not bad, the Canadian dollar looks interesting. We won’t touch the euro - the single European currency seems too toxic in the light of the latest data from Germany. While oil is below 51.20 (WTI benchmark) - we sell it with stop-flips above 52. In general, the situation with oil looks rather uncertain. OPEC +’s decision to expand the decline in oil production by 600K bd is, under normal conditions, the strongest bullish signal.
Eurchf market overview and trade ideasLagarde’s surprisingly dovish presser from the U.S. session spooked EUR bulls and this anti-EUR sentiment carried over to the Asian session. The pair looks like it could retrace above the previous area of interest or around daily pivots R2 or 50% of Fibonacci retracement as because the short term moving average may suggest bullish trend but actually the long term indicate us it remains bearish still on the 1-hour time frame.
Another rejection from the previous area of interest or rejection from descending trend line or from any Fibonacci retracement levels as mention above could send the pair beyond the level 1.06999. A break above the 50% Fib, descending trendline, daily pivot levels any and 200 SMA could signal for a move back up to the 1.0790 but to be honest with the current situation of eurozone I feel less supportive for the euro currency after Lagarde told a news conference that risks to growth in the eurozone remained tilted to the downside and which overall tone as dovish for me including other traders I assume plus knowing that today german outlook only doing fine overall but leaving eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Jan) only fine not the service and Markit Composite bull traders got no much reason to boost the euro higher.
The impasse of monetary policy and the future crisis We have repeatedly noted in our reviews that the historical highs of the US stock market is direct merit of the ultra-soft monetary policy of the Fed. The Central Bank poured money into the US financial market, however, everything that it could achieve was the formation of a record-high bubble in the stock market.
So we emphasize the scale of what is happening. The total assets of the three major central banks of the world (Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan) in 2019 reached $ 14.5 trillion, which is 3.5 (!) much more than before the crisis in 2007-2009 (that time assets amounted $ 4 trillion).
The fact of growth by 3.5 times is already alarming. In theory, $ 10 trillion should have been aimed at ensuring the growth of the economies of the USA, EU and Japan. But here we have a very serious discrepancy: the GDP of these countries over the same period grew by $ 5.3 trillion. That is, $ 4.7 trillion did not go to the real sector.
The question is, where did the $ 4.7 trillion go? The answer is generally obvious - they went to the formation of price bubbles in different markets, mainly in the stock market and corporate debt market.
Any attempt to increase the injection of money will lead to further inflation of price bubbles. But what is the Fed doing? Instead of gradually reducing its balance sheet and pumping out "excess" money from the financial markets, in the fall of 2019 the Fed sharply increased its balance and plan to start 2020 with a huge injection of money. At the same time, the ECB continues quantitative easing policy (the Bank of Japan is doing the same).
That is, they persistently continue to do what does not work. Obviously, this cannot go on forever. They will have to abandon the flawed plan. This will lead to a sharp drop in demand in the stock market (extra money will go away) and, as a result, a sharp drop in prices.
Another important point characterizing the inefficiency of current monetary policies is the extremely deplorable state of the global economy. The forecast for its growth rate in 2019 is 3%. This is much lower than the 40-year average and quite close to the border of 2.5%, which is traditionally associated with the recession phase in the global economy.
At the same time, the US economy forecasts growth for 2020 in the region of 2%, the Eurozone and Japan - less than 1%. And this very clearly shows that the tactic of pouring money into the economy does not work.
So the prerequisites for a full-fledged crisis have formed: bubbles in the financial markets, an extremely weak real economy and an ineffective monetary policy, which also has completely exhausted its anti-crisis and stimulating potential. Let us multiply by growing populism, protectionism and a general crisis in the political system of almost any country and we have an extremely explosive mixture. That is, any serious shock and a house of cards will sprinkle.
Recall, we consider 2019 the last year of unjustified growth in the US stock market. Already in 2020, it will begin to adjust. The scale of correction is from 50% and higher. Given that in recent years, shares of technology companies in the US stock market have grown by an average of 7-8 times (and some issuers have shown growth of 10 or even 20 times), the US stock market will no doubt become the object of massive sales. We recommend participating in this process, selling both the market as a whole (Nasdaq index) and the shares of individual issuers (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Oracle, etc.).
Britain Election Results, Lagarde Position and Trump TweetsElections in the UK, ECB decision and potential approach the finish line in the first phase of negotiations between the US and China. We will take these matters up one by one.
In Britain, parliamentary elections were held. The conservatives, led by current Prime Minister Boris Johnson, confidently won. This victory quite radically changes the political alignment in Britain, but for us, it is interesting primarily for Brexit. In this case, our basic version worked out perfectly: the “soft” Brexit option will be implemented based on the current version of the agreement between the EU and the UK. Naturally, the pound pulled up amid such results. Recall that in our reviews this week we actively recommended buying it. So congratulations to those of our readers who listen to our recommendations, with excellent results.
The ECB yesterday expectedly left monetary policy parameters unchanged. And the volume of the asset buyback program (quantitative easing) remained at the level of 20 billion euros.
The new head of the Central Bank Christine Lagarde said that the slowdown in the Eurozone economy has stopped. She could have been trusted, if not for yesterday’s data on industrial production in the Eurozone, which showed a decrease of 0.5%.
As for the other her statements, it is worth noting the intention to revise the ECB's monetary policy strategy, but some details will become clear not earlier than from the beginning of the next year.
But this did not contribute to the growth of the euro today. Brexit is a problem not only in the UK but also in the Eurozone. Accordingly, its resolution is positive for the euro too.
Yesterday we could observe the sales in yen pairs and gold, that is, in safe-haven assets. This sale was based on Trump's tweet that the United States came close to a deal with China.
Today we will buy safe-haven assets: first of all, sell EURJPY and USDJPY as a less risky option, but we will also look for points for buying gold.
Recall, on December 15, the United States may increase duties on goods from China. China will naturally response. Thus, Trump's tweet creates the illusion that there will be no further escalation. If the illusion is dispelled, it will provoke a sharp increase in demand for safe-haven assets.
Strange last week, the OPEC decision & near futureThe reasons for the markets getting out of “hibernation” are an active news background interspersed with the news. Recall, it was launched by Trump's decision to impose tariffs on steel from Argentina and Brazil and at the same time accuse these countries of currency manipulation. What was perceived by us as an expansion of the trade war and a possible beginning of the currency war.
Well, the week ended with the publication of statistics on the US labour market, as well as the completion of the OPEC meeting.
Let's start with statistics on the US labour market. Honestly, it surprised us. The numbers came out abnormally high for the current reality of the US economy (+ 266K with a forecast + 180K). Also, the unemployment rate fell to its record low marks (3.5%). The growth of the dollar against the backdrop of such excellent data was logical. But, given the anomalous nature of the given data, we would not be in a hurry to conclude. At least one more confirmation is needed that + 266K is not a coincidence, but a pattern. So on Monday, we will rely on local profit-taking in the dollar after Friday's growth, and therefore we will look for points for its sales.
Note that on Friday our recommendation for news trading in the USDCAD worked out perfectly: excellent US data overlapped with bad figures on the Canadian labour market, as a result, the USDCAD soared by 100 points.
Perhaps the most important event in terms of the consequences of the past week was OPEC’s decision to further reduce oil production from 1.2 million to 1.7 million from January 1, 2020. So, we can talk about the OPEC + agreement №3 (recall, the first one, provided for a reduction of 1.8 million barrels, the second one 1.2 million barrels per day). At the same time, Saudi Arabia made an unexpected statement of readiness on its part to further reduce production by another 400 thousand b / d. That is, the total reduction may reach 2.1 million barrels. This is the highest reduction since the cartel's attempts to stabilize the situation in the oil market. Despite the rather modest oil growth on Friday, such an outcome of the OPEC meeting is a very strong bullish signal. So this week, we will look for points for oil purchases.
It would seem that after such a busy week the markets need a break, but you should not count on it. This week promises to be even more volatile. Key events are the announcement of the Fed decision on monetary policy parameters in the US, the ECB in the Eurozone, as well as elections in the UK.
And although both events seem relatively predictable, there is enough time for surprises. How to make money on each of this news we will write a bit later.
As for our positions, we do not see any reason to change our basic strategy (except oil). Therefore, we will continue to buy safe-haven assets (gold is simply perfectly substituted), sell the dollar, and this week we will actively build up a long position on the pound - the victory of conservatives in the UK parliamentary elections will have to hit the pound higher. we will buy oil.
OPEC meeting, Bank of Canada decision and Eurozone GDPWe start with macroeconomic statistics, it is worth noting the extremely weak employment rate from ADP: +67 thousand jobs with a forecast of +135 thousand. So, buyers of the dollar should at least focus, because if similar statistics come out on Friday on the NFP, the dollar may well be sold out.
Statistics on business activity in the Eurozone came out surprisingly good, which intensified the talks that the European economy was beginning to recover.
The pound also got its reason for growth, as the UK business activity index also exceeded forecasts. Although we note that it was still below 50. It is rather symptomatic that the pound continues to grow without waiting for the election results. The markets decided that Brexit’s fate is predetermined (there will be no way out without a deal), but the pound is still very cheap, you need to buy it before it’s too late. We have long been bulls as for pound, so nothing surprising happens to us. We only note that a daily close above 1.30 is a strong bullish signal. And the pound may grow more than one hundred pips. So we are looking for points for his purchases.
The Bank of Canada did not change the rate yesterday but was quite optimistic in its comments, which contributed to the growth of the Canadian dollar. So those readers who were following our recommendations could put in their piggy bank a good profit.
Despite the extremely frightening information at the beginning of the week, the negotiation process between the US and China continues. And according to its participants, by December 15, the first phase should be completed.
As for today the macroeconomic statistics, the news of the day will be the publication of Eurozone GDP. The fact may likely be higher than forecasts. This means that the euro may well strengthen up to 1.1160 paired with the dollar.
Well, the main event of the week, at least for the oil market, will be the beginning of the OPEC meeting in Vienna. The most likely scenario is an attempt to leave everything as it is. That is, they will adhere to the current line of behaviour (an agreement to reduce production by 1.2 million b / d). For oil, this decision, by and large, does not change anything in terms of fundamental alignment. But any agreements to increase the limits will play into the hands of buyers and vice versa. Refusal of the deal in any form will be a strong hit to oil and activates its sellers.
Interesting pattern here (12/4/2019)I find the overall thrust, momentum and pattern here to be interesting and bullish. How deep will the retracement go is my question
We're sitting in liquidity and appear to be trying to move higher fast. I think the Eurozone data coming might push this higher. Now just to stay clear of the wicks and not get knocked out of position
Getting ready for a difficult week and analyzing key eventsThe previous week for the foreign exchange market was marked by record-low volatility. Even the blackest Friday of the year did not desire to buy or sell actively anything.
The informational background of the week was relatively calm. Negotiations between the US and China were moving somewhere, according to the assurances of the parties. But the markets are tired of talks and waiting for actions. And then Trump signed an extremely irritating China law to support Hong Kong protesters. That hypothetically could disrupt the entire negotiation process. In general, so far everything is not that clear, which means potentially unstable.
Accordingly, this week we are looking for opportunities for the purchase of safe-haven assets. The points for this are very prospective, in terms of profit/risk per trade.
The upcoming week will be interesting. Statistics on the US labour market will be published on Friday, which is expected to lead to strong movements in dollar pairs. Also, OPEC will meet on Thursday, which in theory could provoke an explosion of volatility in the oil market. According to experts, Saudi Arabia may put the question point-blank of non-fulfilment by several members of their obligations under OPEC +. Actually, it is the efforts of the Saudis that keep afloat the conditions for reducing production by 1.2 million barrels. If Saudi Arabia decides that they are done, the oil will fall quickly and violently (see oil dynamics on Friday). In this light, let us recall our recommendation to sell oil as a basic idea for working with oil under current conditions.
Another important news that worth noting is the announcement of the Bank of Canada decision on monetary policy parameters, data on Eurozone GDP and US business activity indices.
So far, our position on the dollar is unchanged - we are looking for points for its sales. But a series of a confident macroeconomic positive outcome may make us change our position, at least in the short term position. So we will closely follow the news.
What to expect this week: main events and our recommendationsThe volatility in the foreign exchange market reached its minimum in recent years. The VIX Fear Index was also confidently at the bottom.
The absence of significant events entailed the absence of strong movements in the foreign exchange market.
Friday perhaps was the exception. Another weak statistics from the Eurozone and the UK contributed to the activation of sellers of the euro and the pound.
The main concern for the markets was the adoption by the US Congress of an act in support of protesters in Hong Kong. China reacted extremely painfully to this, considering it was interference in its internal affairs. And since the first phase of the trade deal between the US and China is already at the finish line, this could potentially lead to the disruption of the deal. But on Friday, Trump said he would veto the bill.
In the USA, in the meantime, the impeachment process continues, which in itself is a kind of guarantee against a sharp rise in the dollar value in the foreign exchange market.
So, despite the activation of buyers of the dollar on Friday and sellers of safe-haven assets against the background of such news, we still see no reason to revise our trading preferences. And on Monday we will buy the pound and the euro against the US dollar, and we will also buy gold and the Japanese yen.
Rising oil prices stopped on Friday, as we expected, our recommendation to sell oil has become even more relevant. Do not forget to sell the Russian ruble as well.
As for the upcoming week, it has a chance to become low-volatility. Data on US GDP is formally extremely important, but it will be a revised value, that is, the probability of surprise appear is low.
How to make money on a pound and what to do with oilThe situation in Hong Kong continues to escalate. Trump promises to sign a scandalous law to support demonstrators, which is extremely describing China. And although the US and China declare progress in the negotiations, in such conditions, it can break at any moment. So we continue to look for points for purchases of gold and the Japanese yen.
As for the other news - the impeachment process continues in the USA, the UK is preparing for the elections and Saudi Arabia for the IPO Saudi Aramco.
In light of the upcoming elections and the uncertainty with its outcome, we can’t count on the growth or decline of the pound in the next couple of weeks. But on the other hand, understanding this opens the doors for aggressive intraday trading without explicit preferences. So, we are armed with hourly oscillators and actively trade GBPUSD.
Oil has grown quite well over the past couple of days amid information about rising oil reserves in the US, as well as increased tensions in the Middle East. These events are not one of those that can significantly change the balance of power in the market. So Friday looks like a great day for oil sales.
First of all, we are waiting for business activity indices to be published in the Eurozone, the UK and the USA. Also, pay attention to retail sales in Canada, as well as the speech of the new head of the ECB Lagarde. Given that markets are now very sensitive to macroeconomic statistics, even relatively minor data can trigger a surge in volatility. Well, from the new head of the ECB, her vision of monetary policy in the Eurozone has long been expected.
EURO Vs Loonie (EUR/CAD) Trade Idea and Plan: Bullish biasEUR / CAD has developed higher lows connected by a longer-term upward trend line and also displays lower stochastic lows. This bullish divergence indicates a rebound may occur.
With little eye-catching improvements for leading indicators for the eurozone, in this session, I'm hoping to catch a quick bounce for the shared currency. On the flip side, there might be enough expectations for another dip in Canadian retail sales figures to keep the Loonie on a weak footing.
On top it all off, the resurfacing uncertainty surrounding trade talks between the U.S. and China could hold a veil on gains for commodity currencies and the dollar, reversing the euro may have chances in that case.
EURO VS KIWI (EUR/NZD) Mid Term Trade Strategy & PlanRBNZ Expectations Survey , which featured downgraded official cash rate and inflation estimates, the Kiwi gave a fresh bearish trigger in the Asian trading session.
Real interest rate cut for the RBNZ decision this week has been boosted by this report, so it wouldn't be shocking if London session traders were to start positioning by today.
Earlier on, the pair bounced off the support at their ascending channel and distance, but might still have some bullish momentum higher for another split. Nonetheless, a step past the top of the channel could see a limited upside at the resistance level of 1.7500
The economic schedule shows that the eurozone has ZEW Economic Sentiment figures up for release, and forecast expected good from Germany and the entire region. If it's for real then this cross-currency could fly higher, especially with risk aversion creeping in ahead of Trump’s trade speech.
Moving averages reveal that EURNZD is safely in the bullish territory in short terms. Talking about the average volatility over the past 30 days that tells pair moves around 110 pips per day.
Dip back to the channel support around 1.73313 could be a good long entry area, with a stop below the weekly S2 of pivot 1.72767 (around the previous low of Nov 4). I have a bullish bias and have a plan to enter (if we get chance) from the bottom of the ascending channel but as we can see there some levels which our arrows in the chart pointing out for potential reversal zone (PRZ) and one can jump in and out of the trade depending on how the market news which are concerned to this two currency releases and how it shifts in sentiment and price action for this cross pair throughout the remaining days of the week. Happy Trading!
Why buying EURUSD is a great chanceLooking at the EURUSD daily chart, it clearly shows that it has come to a very important support level. That is a great reason for its purchasing. The stops are relatively small - about 30-40 points, and the profits, in this case, are about 100 points (the nearest strong resistance is located in the region of 1.1160). That is, purely technically, taking into account adequate money management (the profit margin is 2.5 times higher than the stop value), so that is a nice opportunity for earning.
The fundamental background is the only thing that can negatively influence. In our opinion, the situation with the euro does not look hopeless and the chances of supporting 1.1060 are quite large.
The Eurozone economy is experiencing tough times. However, yesterday's data on retail sales and business activity in the Eurozone came out better than expected, which is more important that the indicators showed a positive trend: retail sales grew by + 0.1% with a forecast 0%, and the composite PMI index was 50.6 with a forecast 50.2 ( the value of the indicator above 50 indicates an increase in economic and business activity). Against the background of rather weak data, these signals have been extremely positive.
Leaving the EU without a deal option is eliminated from the agenda. which is great news for the euro. Against this background, the pound rose by 1000 points. And the euro added only 100-200 points, it means that the euro did not worked out yet. Why should the euro grow because of the information that the “hard” Brexit will not take place? The fact is that Britain’s exit from the EU without a deal is not only about losses for the UK but also multibillion-dollar losses for the Eurozone economy, therefore potentially serious problems for the euro. So the removal of this issue from the agenda is a positive signal in favour of purchases of the euro. Its descent below 1.10 was an attempt to discount under exit without a deal. And since it does not take place, then the euro should return to its original position, to grow.
Trade war escalation between the US and the EU is delayed while approaching the end of trade wars between the US and China. For the euro, this is a positive signal. Let us explain: the locomotive of the Eurozone economy is Germany.
The German economy is export-dependent, that is, its success/failure is determined by the state of global markets, primarily China. The end of the trade wars between the United States and China will give a powerful impetus to the return of the world economy to the normal statement and one of the first to benefit from this will be Germany. In turn, improving the state of the German economy is improving the state of the Eurozone as a whole. And this is will reflect positively on the euro.
So, we do not see serious threats to the euro at the moment. Rather, on the contrary, there are good opportunities for buying exceptionally cheap euros.
Unrealized potential and plans for the futureJapan, Canada and the USA central banks' decisions, U.S. and Eurozone GDP latest statistics, as well as data on the US labour market 7 days latest news. In principle, each event from this list would be enough to fill the average week. As for the political aspect: a signal about possible problems in trade negotiations between the United States and China, the next parliamentary elections in the UK and ongoing impeachment process against Trump.
The absence of significant movements in the foreign exchange market last week surprised us. The change of more than 100 points +/- was observed in most pairs. However, we consider this rather as an opportunity for trading, since unrealized potential has accumulated in prices. Accordingly, we plan to take up its implementation in the current week.
Perhaps the greatest potential has accumulated in the US dollar. The Fed rate cut (the third in 2019) was unnoticed by the markets. Statistics on the US, which came out last week, although was better than forecasts (GDP and NFP), still made it clear that the general state of the US economy is deteriorating.
The USA non-farm payroll (NFP) for instance. + 128K was 50% higher than analysts' forecasts, who expected growth at 85K. It would seem that the dollar should have just soared based on such data. But on the other hand, + 128K is 20-30% worse than the average value for the last couple of years.
Also, the ISM index in the US manufacturing sector in October, published on Friday, was 48.3 points only (a value below 50 indicates a decrease in manufacturing activity).
In our opinion, the dollar fell following the results of the week should have been much stronger. And since it did not happen last week, it will happen on this one. Therefore, we will continue to look for opportunities for dollar sales in the foreign exchange market.
The Canadian dollar is a nice candidate for that. The Bank of Canada left the rate unchanged, that is, the percentage differential between the US dollars and Canada declined.
The main Canadian dollar issue was news that the Chinese do not believe in the possibility of a long-term trade deal with the United States, while Trump stays in power. That is concerns about the ongoing trade war. Accordingly, commodity currencies were under pressure.
But the value of the safe-haven assets grew: gold and the Japanese yen. We recommended buying them last week and will continue to do so in the current week. Note that under the current conditions, the formation of a trading portfolio, that is, when buying a Canadian dollar, it is advisable to have yen and gold in the list of positions.
On Friday The Russian ruble paired with the dollar strengthened quite well and as a result, even closed below 63.50. Formally, it opens the way to further decline to 62.50 area. Despite this, we continue to recommend the USDRUB purchases. Everything goes according to the plan announced by us earlier: the first time of purchases from 63.60, the second one we start at about 62.60. So if someone has not bought a pair, you can do it now purchase at 63.60, and who is already in position should wait for an attempt to hit the 62.50.
Get ready for NFP: our expectations and recommendationsThe Japanese yen steadily strengthened yesterday because of the results of the meeting of the Bank of Japan and news from China. When the Bank of Japan expectedly left the rate unchanged, the Chinese quite unexpectedly announced that they doubted the possibility of a long-term trade deal with President Donald Trump.
That is, it is too early to stop worrying about the trade war. Therefore, safe-haven assets, the Japanese yen and gold yesterday were in high demand. Recall that in our review yesterday we recommended buying gold. So congratulations to those readers who follow our recommendations.
It is worth noting data on the Eurozone GDP that came out on Thursday. On the one hand, it came out better than expected (+ 0.2% q / q for the forecast + 0.1% q / q), and on the other hand, the growth rate is still extremely close to zero. So there’s nothing much to rejoice about. Moreover, the unemployment rate was higher than expected, and inflation in the Eurozone continues to be rather weak. Not surprisingly, the euro travelled towards the 1.1160 resistance and hit that.
The dollar was quoted quite mixed yesterday: against the yen, it fell, but against the euro and the pound - it strengthened. However, the most interesting movement will be today.
Recall that data on the US labour market will be published today. Data on unemployment and average hourly wages this Friday will be much less significant.
Our expectations for NFP are generally negative. If we compare the situation on the labour market now and a year ago, we can state its serious deterioration. One year ago, we were talking about the average value of the NFP 200K +, but recently it has been in the region of 150K, and the saddest thing for the US economy in all of this is that the indicator shows a clear downward trend.
In general, expert forecasts confirm our expectations - the average forecast is 85K. This is more than half the average NFP over the past couple of years.
However, the actual data may come out even worse. Over the past 5 months, 3 times the data on the NFP came out worse than forecasts, 1 time the analysts correctly predicted and only 1 time the actual data came out better than the forecast. So the chances are that the data will come out better than forecasts 1 to 5.
We see two trading options: riskier and more profitable and less risky, but less profitable.
The first option is about to start selling the dollar now in anticipation of weak data we have reasons for this. The US economy is slowing down. Which cannot but affect the state of the labour market. Accordingly, weak data will lead to sales of the dollar in the foreign exchange market. An excellent candidate for the sale is USDCAD. Also, gold purchases look very promising.
As for the second option, which is less risky, we are talking about news trading. The bottom line is to work upon the release of the news. Obviously, the movement will be strong and unidirectional. That is, you do not have to guess whether the dollar goes up or down but just get into a position in the direction of movement after the data is released. To do this, we place orders like buy stop and sell stop at 2-3 minutes from the current price at that time 2-3 minutes before the news release. And we are waiting for the news to be published and one of the orders will work out. After that, you just need to be patient and wait. Risks are minimal, and earnings are limited only by your patience and the extent of the reaction of the foreign exchange market to data.