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Forex Trading – USD Higher, EUR and GBP Pressured by Credit Warnings

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USD Higher, EUR and GBP Pressured by Credit Warnings

  • USD: Higher, risk aversion re-emerges on European debt worries
  • JPY: Higher, supported by a return of risk aversion, leading index rose more than expected
  • EUR: Lower, concern about Greek debt troubles, ECB’s Stark says debt places strains on monetary policy
  • GBP: Lower, Moody’s and Fitch warnings on banks and debt, weak housing data, trade deficit widened
  • CAD and AUD: AUD & CAD higher, Australia’s job ads strong, tracking equities, gains versus Europe

Overview

USD traded higher Tuesday supported by a return of risk aversion sparked by the re-emergence of concern about European and UK debt. Fresh worries over European debt were triggered by statements from Moody’s and Fitch ratings agencies. The EUR traded lower ahead of today’s meeting with Greek Prime Minister Papandreou and President Obama. Bloomberg reports that this meeting is unlikely to produce any significant offer of US aid for Greece. Papandreou says that Greece needs EU and US help to prevent speculative selling of Greek bonds and that borrowing at high rates will not be sustainable. GBP was pressured by a Moody’s warning that it may cut UK bank ratings as bailout support is withdrawn and in reaction to Fitch concern about UK deficit. GBP was also pressured by disappointing UK housing and trade data and election polls which suggest that the UK is headed for a hung parliament. Commodity currencies continued to outperform despite a sharp decline in the price of crude and a spike in risk aversion as equity markets traded lower. AUD downside was limited by strong jobs ads report and a rebound in US equities. JPY traded higher supported by today’s return of risk aversion. There were no major US economic reports released in today’s trade. The NFIB small business optimism index lost 1.3 points in February and Manpower says that hiring plans are in a holding pattern as a net 5% of employers said they expect to hire new workers in Q2. Focus turns to this week’s release of US jobless claims, retail sales and consumer sentiment.

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Fundamental Outlook – U.K. Trade Gap To Narrow In January On Pound’s Depreciation

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Today, the U.K. will release trade balance for January in a calm day in Europe that lacks fundamentals. The British economy has shown improvement, according to the data released last week which showed that consumer confidence surged in February to a two-year high and services expanded at the fastest pace in three years.

Britain expanded 0.3% in the fourth quarter boosted by exports which jumped to 3.7% from 0.1%, while imports rose to 4.1% from 1.3%. Besides, services and manufacturing sectors are showing growth in the first quarter of 2010. However, the economy is suffering from a trade deficit, where it widened in December to the most since January 2009 as imports soared faster than exports.

Trade deficit reached 7.3 billion pounds where imports inclined 5.2%, while exports jumped 4.5% on the month. The trade gap in January is predicted to narrow to 7.0 billion pounds. Trade deficit non EU is estimated to narrow to 3.3 billion pounds from 3.5 billion pounds, while the total trade deficit to retreat to 3.0 billion pounds from 3.2 billion pounds.

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Forex Technical Analysis – Daily 03.09.2010

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Daily Technical Analysis

EURUSD Outlook

The EURUSD attempted to push higher yesterday, topped at 1.3703 but closed lower at 1.3632. The bias is neutral both in nearest and medium term as price still consolidating. The bullish correction scenario after rejection from 1.3450/30 (triple bottom) remains intact as price still move inside the minor bullish channel with 1.3750 – 1.3850 as corrective target but still in a major bearish scenario. Immediate support at 1.3580 area. Break below that area could trigger further bearish momentum re-testing 1.3450/35 area but only clear break below 1.3450/35 area can be seen as bearish continuation confirmation targeting 1.3100 area.

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Forex Trading – USD Mixed as Stocks Weaken

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USD Mixed as Stocks Weaken

  • USD: Mixed, better than expected nfp, consumer credit rises, specs on the IMM halve USD long positions
  • JPY: Lower, Nikkei rallies 2.9%, BOJ ease speculation
  • EUR: Lower, Sarkozy says EU will help Greece, investor sentiment improves
  • GBP: Mixed, BOE policy and UK election uncertainty
  • CHF: Higher, Swiss unemployment rate improves, retail sales strong
  • CAD and AUD: AUD & CAD higher, tracking improving risk sentiment, Canadian housing starts rise 6.1%

Overview

USD starts the week mixed to lower pressured by a modest improvement in risk sentiment. The improvement in risk sentiment is attributed to Friday’s release of better than expected US unemployment and stronger consumer credit, a statement from French President Sarkozy that the EU is ready to help Greece and in reaction to a Financial Times report which suggests that China is ready to shift its currency policy and break its USD peg. US January consumer credit rose for the first time in over a year and posted its largest increase since July 2008. The Nikkei surged 2.9% adding to the improvement in risk sentiment but European equities and US equities struggled which limited the downside for the USD. European economic data was generally positive with EU investor sentiment improving and Swiss unemployment and retail sales coming in better than expected. There was no major UK economic released today and GBP consolidated recent gains. Commodity currencies traded higher supported by the improvement in risk sentiment with the AUD trading at a six-month high. AUD was also supported by M&A news that Royal Dutch Shell and Petro China are bidding for Australia’s Arrow Energy. CAD traded higher in reaction strong Canadian housing starts report and BOC rate hike speculation .There was limited reaction to an NABE report which says that business economists see a Fed rate hike within the next six months. CFTC commitment of traders for the IMM shows that speculators cut USD speculative long positions in halve last week. The CFTC report suggests that speculative sentiment towards the USD is turning less positive. There were no major US economic reports released in today’s trade. Focus turns to this week’s release of US jobless claims retail sales and consumer sentiment.

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Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary

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U.S. Review

Growth & Credit: On the Road to Singapore (Recovery)

  • Economic growth and finance are both in recovery mode as evidenced by the gradual upturn in jobs and the gains in leveraged loan issuance. Yet, like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, the economy never seems to be able to reach the happy land of Singapore.
  • This recovery is still subpar for housing and the consumer as the pace of recovery still leaves many homeowners underwater in certain areas and many workers underemployed or unemployed. Skies are getting clearer but we remain far away from a sunny day.

On the Road to Singapore

In their most famous “road picture,” Bing Crosby and Bob Hope vow never again to repeat past mistakes and head off to Singapore. Of course, they do repeat their past mistakes and never do get to Singapore. For the U.S. economy the pace of improvement appears maddeningly slow and yet there is improvement.

Employment losses have steadily declined over the past six months. In fact, private sector jobs (ex-construction) have risen over the past two months. There is a cyclical recovery in private sector jobs while the structural problems in real estate limit the recovery. Job gains have also appeared in manufacturing sectors such as machinery, primary metals and electrical equipment. Meanwhile the index of hours worked has risen over the last three months, consistent with sustained economic growth. Combining hours worked and average hourly earnings, our income proxy has broken into positive growth territory. This suggests positive income and therefore spending gains in the months ahead.

Structural – Not Cyclical – Challenges to Employment

While the employment data suggest cyclical recovery, there are also suggestions of structural challenges that will limit our progress on the road to Singapore. We see this clearly in the unemployment rate by education and the duration of unemployment data. The stark reality of the unemployment situation is that higher education levels are associated with lower unemployment – and vice versa unfortunately. Unemployment for college graduates is 5 percent – for high school drop outs the rate is 15 percent. Meanwhile, the average duration of unemployment remains high at 30 weeks. There is a significant skills mismatch in the U.S. economy. It is not as though there are no jobs. More precisely, there are no jobs for many willing workers who do not have the skills to compete in the 21st century workplace.

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Weekly Technical Update: Commodity Currencies Take the Week

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Two weeks ago, the Greenback was the top performer, followed by the Japanese yen. Then, the Japanese yen we the highlight of last week. This week, the rotation comes to the commodity currencies such as the Loonie and the Aussie. Let’s take a look.

EUR/USD Awaiting Breakout from Consolidation

I was correct to update last week that the bullish attempt on Friday was not to be considered a bullish signal. Instead the market did indeed retest the 1.3450 area, but bounced off of it this week.

Weekly and Daily: The EUR/USD is still in congestion. Looking at the daily, we see that it has been consolidating with a slight downward tilt since the start of February. The 1.3450 area provided support, while each rally attempt falls shorter and shorter (congestion).

Looking at the weekly, we see that the last 4 weeks have been without direction. However, we can see in price and momentum, that the market is very bearish and without any bullish signs, looks to continue to 1.30 area. (78.6% retracement).

On the other hand, the current support is strong and has held up. So wait for a break below 1.3450 to confirm outlook to 1.30 area.

For a bullish outlook, which should only be for short-term and monitored carefully, a confirmation requires a break above 1.38 and estbalishing support above this area as well. Then, the target maybe the 1.43 area.

4H: Looking at the 4H time-frame for clues, you can see that the momentum has channeled up, and is currently testing support. the market is also testing tghe 61.8% retracement area of the previous upswing.

If the market stays above 1.35, there may be another bullish swing projection on the upside. This may bring the market near 1.38 area. Remember, this is still in the context of congestion, which is in a larger context of decline.

If the market gets to that point (1.38/1.3850), monitor for topping action, but also beware of a possible break above.

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Fundamental Analysis – US Non Farm Payrolls Ahead

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U.S. Dollar Trading (USD) was strong even as stock markets remained positive as the EUR/USD slumped after the ECB announcement and USD/JPY rallied on increasing US Bond Yields. Weekly Jobless Claims improved to 469k vs. 496k. January Pending Home Sales fell -7.2% tracking a broad set of weak housing data in January. In US stocks, DJIA +47 points closing at 10396, S&P +4 points closing at 1122 and NASDAQ +11 points closing at 2292. Looking ahead, February NonFarm Payrolls forecast at -50k vs. -20k previously and the Unemployment rate is forecast at 9.8% vs. 9.7%.

The Euro (EUR) lost ground after the ECB held rates at 1.0% and described the current levels as appropriate with economic growth uneven. EUR/JPY held its own as stock markets improved but EUR/AUD slumped back close to the key 1.50 handle. Also released, Q4 GDP confirmed at 0.1%. Overall the EUR/USD traded with a low of 1.3551 and a high of 1.3714 before closing at 1.3570. Looking ahead, January Factory Orders are forecast at 1.5% vs. -2.3% m/m.

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Forex Technical Analysis – Daily 03.05.2010

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Daily Technical Analysis

EURUSD Outlook

The EURUSD failed to continued its bullish correction yesterday, bottomed at 1.3552 and closed at 1.3580. While technically this fact can be seen as potential false breakout scenario thus trigger significant bearish pressure re-testing 1.3450/30 key support area, the Euro was fell after a big surprise in US pending home sales data which fell to -7.6% indicating that risk aversion has taken center stage again. If this is true, a bad result of NFP today could trigger further weakness for the Euro while a good result could give some support. The bias is bearish in nearest term but as long as price still able to move above 1.3450 area, we are actually still in consolidation phase and need a clear break below 1.3450/35 area to continue further bearish scenario targeting 1.3100 area. Immediate resistance at 1.3625. Break above that area should lead us into no trading zone as direction would become unclear.

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