Daily Market Analysis from ForexMart (Fundamentals)

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 9, 2017


The EUR/USD pair traded in a muted fashion and exhibited ranging and consolidation after falling slightly from its original value following the release of the NFP report as well as US earnings report last Friday. The NFP report fell somewhat short of its initial market expectations. However, the US wage earnings increased significantly, thereby compelling the market to shift its focus instead on the wage earnings data.


The January report for the average wages data has spelled good news for the market, since it generally shows that more and more people are now able to sustain themselves, and would still be able to do so even if the Federal Reserve chooses to again increase its interest rates as needed. This has caused the USD to regain its losses, with the EUR/USD pair losing its ability to maintain its stance over 1.0600 points and has since then went below 1.0550, where it is still currently situated. Analysts are speculating that the strength of the USD would continue to surge for today’s trading session.


There are no major economic news releases expected from both the US and the European Union for today, and this means that the current market trends are expected to continue dominating the economy for today. The USD is expected to continue storming through the EUR/USD pair’s trading activity for today, even though this particular currency has exhibited unwavering strength over the past few days. This currency is expected to remain subjected to downward pressure for the rest of today’s session, and this could possibly induce the pair’s direction to move towards 1.0500 points.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 11, 2017


Just like the majority of other currency pairs, the USD/CAD pair had ranged and consolidated all throughout the rest of the previous trading session without any definite direction. The traders and investors transacting in this particular pair seem to be uncertain with regards to its direction and is first making sure that the currency pair first takes a definitive step on its chosen direction before they do actual buying and selling with the USD/CAD pair. The general trend for the USD/CAD pair is expected to be on an upward direction, and corrections along the way should be seen as long opportunities.


During the previous trading session, oil prices took a turn for the worse as the agreements between oil producers failed to go as smoothly as originally planned, mostly due to the lack of proper implementation from both parties. As a result, the CAD was kept from rising value as oil prices subsequently crashed in value. This is why the CAD was unable to take advantage of the recent decrease in the USD’s value, and the Canadian dollar is now finding it difficult to make substantial progress in both directions,whether upward or downward.


There are no major news coming out from both the Canadian and US economy for today. However, Trump is scheduled to address the US in a press conference later today and the market will be relying on this particular address since this will be the determinant of the general direction of the US dollar. As for the USD/CAD pair, the currency pair would most likely be affected once Trump addresses how he will be handling the international neighbors of US, with Canada being one of them.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 11, 2017


The sterling pound merely continued its previous activity of consolidation and ranging albeit with no clear direction as of the moment. The range of the GBP/USD is tightening further as we speak, and the market is expecting an explosion any time soon. However, this major event’s direction has yet to be seen but it can be assured that there is a movement by up to 300-400 pips. However, the risk for the GBP/USD pair is expected to remain in the downward direction due to the weak GBP and strong uptrend in the USD.

However, the recent strength of the USD is expected to be tested today during Trump’s press conference since the market will be closely monitoring Trump’s approach with regards to a number of issues. If Trump decides to take the diplomatic route, then this could trigger a boost in the value of the USD, thereby putting immense pressure on the GBP/USD pair, even though the sterling pound is still currently undergoing pressure from the various confusions surrounding the Brexit process.

The UK is set to release its manufacturing production data for today’s trading session, and this will be an indicator of whether the UK will be able to maintain its current trend of positive data releases which are not yet affected by the Brexit process. If this particular data comes out as negative, then this could increase the pressure on the sterling pound.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 12, 2017


The USD/CAD pair exhibited additional corrections during yesterday’s trading sessions as the US dollar weakened significantly following the press conference of president-elect Donald Trump. The market initially expected Trump to give hints on his proposed economic, fiscal, and monetary policies but instead disappointed market players after he merely talked about his personal interests and his business enemies. This then caused the dismal drop in the value of the dollar. The stock market was able to recover slightly towards the end of the session, but the same could not be said for the US dollar.


As oil prices managed to regain its losses during yesterday’s session, this has proved to be good news for the Canadian dollar since this lended the CAD some much-needed support and has triggered the USD/CAD pair to reach just under 1.3200 before settling to 1.3150 points. The economic news release from Canada came out better than what the market expected, and since oil prices are now looking good, these are expected to provide susbstantial support for the CAD in the long run. The USD/CAD pair could possibly test the 1.3000 level due to the recent weakness in the USD


For today’s session, there are no major releases from the Canadian economy but we have the unemployment claims data from the US which will be released during the North American trading session. However, the most dominant market trend today would most likely still be the effects of the recently concluded press conference, and this is why the pair is possibly up for more weakness and volatility for today.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 12, 2017


The US dollar took the spotlight yesterday as the market reacted wildly to Donald Trump’s press conference during the latter part of the New York trading session. The market was initially subdued during the London and Tokyo trading sessions since the market was generally looking forward to gauge Trump’s demeanor, as well as to decipher his administration’s plans for the next 4 years and to see whether Trump will actually be pushing through with his proposed policies during his campaign.


However, Trump went in for a very disappointing run as he displayed his usual tactlessness and brashness and even highlighted his desire to build a Mexican border within two years. This move was wholly unexpected by the market, and this caused the USD to crash and plummet across the board. The GBP/USD pair, which has been languishing in the bottom rungs of the market for the past 2 months, was able to immediately recover its losses and was able to push through 1.2200 points and even reached 1.2250 before finally settling at just under 1.2200 points.


Since there are no major news releases expected from the UK for today, the previous market trend is expected to dominate today’s trading sessions. The bulls could possibly profit from a solid upward move from the GBP/USD pair if the pound would be able to break through 1.2300. Otherwise, the currency pair could be merely subject to short-term corrections.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 16, 2017

The USD/CAD remained to trade close on its range lows on the back of the dollar’s strength recovery. While the prices of oil appeared to have an optimistic result which assisted the CAD keep in the short term.

The pair plunge under the 1.3100 level following the extensive weakening of the dollar, however, it immediately found buying pressure which supported the pair to return on top of 1.3100.

Over the past few months, the USDCAD showed a consistent uptrend and every correction met a prompt and strong bounce which seems to be repetitive. The way towards the 1.400 medium target suggest a slow progress and the main uptrend supported the bulls to purchase every correction.

Recently, the pair have acquired more buyers and there are banks that started to advise their clients regarding the 1.40 target.

The strong Canadian data with a weak economy of the country is the reason why traders are directed to maintain a hard clean break under 1.3000 which signals that an uptrend has ended.

There are no major economic data from Canada for this day since it was a bank holiday in the United States. It is further expected for a consolidation and ranging close to the range lows today.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 16, 2017

The GBP/USD closed the week with a sluggish stance and struggled to maintain its gains. These events put on some fears against the pound bulls because this will weigh over the Cable upon the return of dollar’s strength.

The pair stayed below the 1.2200 on Friday until the weekend took place which triggered indications for a hard Brexit. This caused for the pair to create a large gap and traded shortly under 1.2000.

The strong economic data of the UK shown for the previous months did not influenced the sterling’s value at all. However, it is deemed that the British currency is able to withstand its current situation and will accumulate gains afterwards. Looking forward, the bulls still needs to endure the worst impact as the bears tend to insurge. The hard Brexit cause risk and confusion for the investors which made them think twice prior pound purchase.

In the last two weeks, there are news about the UK's possibility to employ hard Brexit, whereas, PM May’s speech is highly anticipated within this week. This event brought the Britain’s economy a tough time but we believe the country will become much stronger eventually.

For today, we expect no new UK economic release and losses is further expected with a fundamental near-term target of 1.17.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 17, 2017


The EUR/USD pair traded weakly during the previous trading session with the weak euro having more effect on the currency pair than the recent dollar weakness. The international economy is now very concerned with UK’s hard Brexit process, since this could spell disaster not only for UK but also for countries within the eurozone. Although the hard Brexit could have less negative effects for the UK, this could instead affect EU countries since most of them are doing business with UK, and the removal of a free trade zone with UK and the rest of the EU could become very disastrous for a lot of EU countries.


This was one of the reasons why the EUR/USD pair corrected largely during yesterday’s session and plummeted down to 1.0600 points yesterday and even went lower for some time. The currency pair could have experienced much larger corrections if not for the US bank holiday yesterday.


For today’s trading session, there are no important economic data coming from the eurozone but Theresa May will be speaking during the New York session with regards to the guidelines of the expected hard Brexit. May’s speech could have a negative effect on the value of the euro and traders are expected to take extra caution when it comes to trading with this particular currency pair.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 18, 2017


The GBP/USD pair exhibited heightened volatility during the previous trading session as the dollar lost strength and the sterling pound regained much of its footing in the market. Theresa May’s speech yesterday helped in clearing up some of the murkier parts of the Brexit process, and this has helped in placating various investors and has minimized concerns surrounding the Brexit process, thereby increasing the value of the sterling pound. This has then prompted investors to pull out their funds from the USD, thereby causing the dollar to drop in value.


Theresa May has highlighted in her speech yesterday that the UK will indeed be going for a hard Brexit and will be eliminating any kind of access from the eurozone. However, the PM has reiterated that the UK government will be negotiating with eurozone leaders in order to have a different kind of trade relations with the European bloc. Since this has eliminated confusions surrounding Brexit matters, thereby increasing the pair’s volatility levels. The GBP/USD pair initially dipped to 1.2015 points prior to Theresa May’s speech but quickly climbed up to a daily high of 1.2414 points.


However, there are still a handful of concerns surrounding the Brexit process, and the expected invocation of Article 50 is also seen as a possibly risk for the stance of the currency pair as well as the UK economy. As such, these are expected to continuously pressure the GBP in the next few days.


For today’s session, UK will be releasing its claimant count change data as well as its average earnings data, while US will be releasing its CPI data later today. It remains to be seen whether these data sets would be continuing the string of good economic data during the past few days. If the UK data comes out as positive, then this push the pair upwards to 1.2500 points, although this might not be enough to actually push the currency pair beyond this particular barrier.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 18, 2017


The Prime Minister of UK, Theresa May laid out few ground rules yesterday regarding the possible flow of the Brexit process. Global risks were also expected to lessen and in whatever time it might occur, it will likely weigh on the dollar.


The greenbacks were seen to be on its weaker stance prior this event that will hit the currency much harder. This will caused for the USD/CAD to test 1.3000 over and over, there is also a sudden solid bounce upwards.


The USD continued to suffer from the drawbacks due to the risky environment from Trump’s administration which continue to confuse traders and investors because of its vague plans.


Moreover, the expected thrice rate increase of the Fed will likely be supported by the dollar with the medium and long term, however the near-term risk that surround the new US government causes the dollar to soften.


Another test of lows is assumed to occur in case the Canadian data will present an optimistic result. Since the economic data from the region is relatively strong and identify whether this upbeat is from the BOC statement about rate policy or from the media conference of the BOC Governor.


Furthermore, the BOC is scheduled to hold its rate for today, in case the statement came in hawkish, the 1.3000 level are needed to test again.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 18, 2017


The EUR received a much-needed boost from yesterday’s trading events, wherein the USD plummeted and weakened while the sterling pound regained its previous losses across the board. This has then caused the EUR/USD pair to break through the 1.0600 barrier after quite a time and even went up as high as 1.0700 points, where it traded momentarily before settling just below 1.0700 points.


In spite of the fact that Theresa May has indeed announced that the UK is headed for a hard Brexit process, the concerns surrounding this particular occurrence have somewhat diminished, prompting investors to pull out from the USD and onto high-risk areas such as the stock market. The US dollar has since then weakened, and the clarity of the Brexit process has helped in pushing the euro higher. Although the hard Brexit would most probably have an adverse effect on eurozone trades, the renewed clarity of the process has helped placate investors and has created upward support for the EUR/USD pair. The currency pair is now seen to possibly reach the 1.0850 trading region.


There are no major economic readings set to be released today from the eurozone, but the US will be releasing its Core CPI and CPI data during the New York session, and these will be closely monitored by investors since a string of good economic data could increase the chances of a Fed rate hike in the near future.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 19, 2017

The USD/CAD pair was previously situated in a very critical support region and has reverted in the region just below 1.3000 points. The Bank of Canada has already released its statement regarding the central bank’s rates, and the bank also held a press conference later in the day. The pair’s strong bounce was seen as the US dollar and the Canadian dollar went in highly opposite directions during the previous trading session.

The USD had already regained its lost strength and has exhibited positive activity across the board after Yellen announced that the Fed could possibly go for more rate hikes in the future if the economic data from the US continues to be positive. On the other hand, the Bank of Canada announced that it will be making no changes on its current interest rates. However, the succeeding press conference from BoC’s Poloz has made it clear to investors that the Canadian economy has not shown any progress and has instead stayed in the same place. Moreover, Poloze expressed his sentiments regarding a possible trade war under the Trump administration, and this has adversely affected the CAD and has caused the USD/CAD pair to revert back from the 1.3000 trading range and was able to shot up through 1.3100 and even through 1.3200 where it currently sits above as of present time.

Market players are expecting that the USD/CAD pair might be in for a strong uptrend and could possibly reach 1.4000 points. For today’s trading session, Canada will be releasing its Manufacturing Sales data, while US will be releasing its oil inventory data as well as the Unemployment claims data. These are expected to induce volatility in the pair. However, it is highly likely that the USD/CAD pair will be in for an uptrend in the long run.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 23, 2017

The EUR/USD increased for the past few days following the sluggish stance of the greenbacks. The single European dollar benefited from the position of the greens as it climbs to 1.0700 and further extended its gains. The USD weakened with no definite reason as others deemed for the general correction while some claimed it’s all because of the skepticism for Trump’s administration. However, the American currency is clearly at a disadvantage point against the euro.

The EUR is relatively buoyant for the previous week, much more when its U.S peer manifested some strength. The euro continued to bounce back from a limited correction and eventually broke the 1.0700 level, en route 1.0840 region.

There are some issues that the weakness are caused by the speech of Trump coupled with the curtailment for the rest of Obamacare. Moreover, there exist a general risk about the US President’s team and their plans and these uncertainties weighed on the USD.

As the last week of January enters, the economic news is lessened while the upcoming is a beginning for the USD towards an unidentified state which brings higher volatility.

The US and Euroregion do not have major reports to be released for today, what we expect is the continuous fall of the greens.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 24, 2017

Today’s trading session is expected to be very critical for the GBP/USD pair since UK is now awaiting for the release of the country’s SC ruling with regards to its eurozone membership, as well as the Brexit process, which is set to be released during today’s session. The GBP/USD pair has increased in value over the past 24 hours as part of market anticipation, with the currency pair closing yesterday’s session at over 1.2500 points after months of being unable to go over 1.2500 due to repeated pummeling from bears of the said currency. However, since yesterday was a generally good day for the sterling pound, the market is expecting that this currency pair would be able to reach 1.2700 or even 1.2800 in the short-term outlook for the GBP/USD pair.

The UK Supreme Court will be releasing its decision on whether the Article 50 will have to undergo scrutiny from the Parliament or otherwise, since the Article 50 is an essential factor on the carrying out of the Brexit process. The market is generally anticipating that the SC will be approving the Article 50 invocation, and if this does happen, then this will ensure that the whole of the Brexit process will be well-thought of, and this will ensure that equal distribution of ideas instead of the power becoming limited to select people in the government. This is expected to drive up the value of the GBP, but then there are also some risks that the Parliament approval might cause delays in the Brexit process since all views and ideas must be taken into consideration as part of the process.

There are no major news releases from the UK except for the SC ruling for the Brexit process, as well as from the US.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 24, 2017


The USD/CAD pair continues to trade within a tight range and consolidated for the most part of yesterday’s trading sessions. The CAD was recently subject to an increased pressure after the Bank of Canada expressed it plans to implement an interest rate cut in the next few months as a result of the Canadian economy becoming increasingly stagnant after not showing much development in the recent economic readings. This added pressure in the CAD has however helped in offsetting the dollar weakness during the past few days.


The Canadian dollar is probably the only currency which the USD has gained in relation during the past few sessions and has continued to maintain its gains over this currency, while other major currencies have increased in value and has left the dollar behind. The US dollar has been in hot water recently, especially since the market is generally uncertain on Trump’s administration policies and how the newly-minted president plans to run the US economy. The market is constantly kept on its toes as Trump continues to act brash in spite of the initial euphoria during the US elections, where the market had hoped that Trump’s election might be generally be good news for businesses around the world. However, the current administration might have to undergo a lot of work before finally regaining the market’s confidence.


There are no major news releases from both the Canadian and the US economy, and as such, the USD/CAD pair is expected to experience more consolidation and ranging during today’s session. Since the weakness of both currencies are apparently cancelling each other out, the currency pair is unable to make any significant progress and the bulls might have a hard time pushing the currency pair towards 1.3400 points and higher.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: January 30, 2017


The USD/CAD pair closed down the week on a much lower note as compared to the previous trading week after the Canadian dollar exhibited strength across the board and the USD weakened in value yet again even though it was able to recover during the latter part of the week. This particular recovery of the US dollar looks like it will be here for the long run, and this is why dollar bulls are putting added confidence to the performance of the US dollar in the next trading sessions. In addition, the Trump administration has already went about making changes and fulfilling its campaign promises, such as the shifts in Obamacare and the Mexican border wall, and the pulling out of US from trading agreements with Canada and other neighboring countries. This has created unrest in the market, and could open the doors for a possible trade war which is very bad news even for the US economy.


This has then prompted the USD/CAD pair to drop significantly in value from 1.3450 to 1.3000 points, but was saved by the sudden surge in the USD’s value as the previous week came to a close. The Canadian dollar also received support from the resiliency of oil prices, which managed to stay put in spite of the recent increase in the value of the US dollar. Market players are expecting this uptick in the USD/CAD to continue and could possibly extend up to 1.4000if it manages to stay just above 1.3000 points.


The Canadian GDP will be released this week, and governor Poloz from the Bank of Canada will also be releasing a statement this week. On the other hand, US will be releasing a string of important economic data including the NFP, wage earnings, as well as the statement from the FOMC. These are all expected to induce volatility in the market, and traders should either exercise caution or wait for things to settle before trading with this currency pair.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/JPY Fundamental Analysis: January 31, 2017


The Japanese yen inched higher as opposed to the US dollar as a result of a flight-to-safety trend across the market, which was triggered by investor reactions to a sudden drop in global equity markets. Meanwhile, stocks were sold off as a result of Donald Trump’s immigration ban. The USD/JPY pair closed off the previous trading session at 113.778 after decreasing by -1.10% or 1.269 points.


A lot of investors have sought the protection of the Japanese yen after protectionism concerns arose due to the immigration ban since these could possibly have a negative effect on both exports and imports and could also create substantial risks for the economy. Towards the latter part of yesterday’s session, the Japanese Household Spending data came in with a reading of 0.3%, exceeding market expectations of 0.8% and the previous reading of -1.5%. However, the unemployment rates for the country remain stagnant at 3.1%. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan chose to maintain its current benchmark interest rates at -0.10%, a move that was generally anticipated by the majority of market players. The central bank also increased its GDP forecast to 1.4% as opposed to its past prediction of 1.0% back in October. In addition, the BoJ also stated that it is expecting an inflation surge of around 2% come the fiscal year 2018.


Interest rate differentials could have a positive effect on the USD/JPY pair since the central bank chose to maintain its interest rates while the Fed hinted at high-frequency rate hikes for 2017. In the short term, the USD/JPY could be driven by volatility coming from the equity markets. However, the dollar-yen relationship could possibly be influenced by the positive interest rate differentials.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 31, 2017


The GBP/USD pair’s activity has been very disappointing during the past 24 hours, which could be largely due to the fact that the market is nearing the end of the month. Towards the end of every month, the UK government is required to pay its membership fees to the European Union, and this usually amounts to 1 billion euros, and this usually induces volatility in the movement of the sterling pound. These monthly dues from the UK are usually masked by the banks which process these transactions, but these show more often than not, and this contributes to the drop in the value of the GBP.


Market analysts have constantly saying that the direction of the sterling pound would most likely be influenced by the Brexit process, and this has been already seen with the increased pressure on the GBP/USD pair. This particular pressure on the pound is expected to continue until such time that the Brexit process is finally completed, and this is also the reason why the pound climbed up to trading highs near 1.2700 but eventually corrected and is now expected to hit 1.2300 points in the short term. The GBP will remain to be one of the weaker currencies, and although there might be a few intermittent reversions at the expense of the dollar weakness, these are not expected to follow through in the long term.


There are no major news releases from the UK set to be released today but the US will be releasing its consumer confidence data. Month end flows are expected to come in today as this is the last day of the month, and traders are advised to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves from the onslaught of additional volatility today.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis: February 3, 2017


The market has been generally expecting the USD/CAD pair to undergo a period of ranging and consolidation as the US prepares to release its NFP report, and this was what happened with this particular currency pair during the past trading sessions. The USD/CAD is currently trading at over 1.3000 and is headed in a generally disappointing trading streak, but then again this region has strong support barriers, and this region might be a good place for traders to go long with a stop loss.


Oil prices have already settled down last month and has exhibited little activity on both directions. As a result, the Canadian dollar was able to obtain some support and the economic data scheduled to be released from Canada are also expected to be generally positive, and there are no major changes expected to occur within the Canadian economy. The drop in the value of the USD/CAD was mainly due to the weakness of the dollar, and once Trump makes major changes in the NAFTA agreement, then the trade relationship between US and Canada could be up for some major adjustments. This has no positive effect on both economies whatsoever, and this uncertainty has been fueling the drop in the value of the currency pair.


There are no major news expected to be released from the Canadian economy today but the market is expecting the release of the NFP report as well as the average earnings data and the non-manufacturing PMI data from the US. If these data comes out as positive, then this could further affirm an interest rate hike from the Fed in the near future, but a weak reading could cause the USD to further decrease in value.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: February 3, 2017


The GBP/USD pair is currently trading at 1.2500 points after briefly reaching 1.2700 points after traders took sell opportunities every time the GBP/USD exhibited reversions. The Bank of England released its statement yesterday and maintained its current rates as expected, while the monetary policy meetings and inflation reports did not deliver anything significant to the economy and did not induce any market activity. However, these neutral readings had adversely affected the currency pair since the majority of market players were expecting hawkish comments from the BoE as well as from the inflation reports, but since both of these data came out as neutral, the market was generally disappointed and this put a significant amount of downward pressure on the value of the sterling pound. However, it was a good thing that the dollar was weak, since if the dollar were stronger then the pound might sink even lower.


The pound is expected to continue its losing streak, and any reversions are expected to be met with major sell-offs, especially with the oncoming volatility which will be caused by the implementation of the Brexit process. For today’s session, UK will be releasing its services PMI data and US will be releasing its NFP reports and wage earnings data. These string of economic readings set to be released today are expected to increase the pair’s volatility. The market is expecting a positive US labor report, and if this happens, then the GBP/USD pair might be able to break through 1.2500 and move further towards 1.2400 points.