Daily Market Analysis from ForexMart (Fundamentals)

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 29, 2018


The British pound against the U.S. dollar has been declining in the past few days as the dollar strengthens, which seems to be the focus at the present time. Following the comments of Trump, the dollar is steadfast due to the positive economic data in the U.S. This resulted in a reversal of profit for the dollar.


The dollar has been behind since the middle of December and the pound has been one of the strong contenders for this period of time. It gained more than 800 pips against the greenback. There are indications of exhaustion and weakness for the pair. However, it is not just the weakened dollar that buoyed up the pair, the strong pound along with all the soft Brexit plans at the end of the talks.


This supported the pound to rise across markets, especially against the dollar which has been weak recently. However, besides the rhetorics from Trump, there is an increasing expectation for the new Fed chief Powell to take his post, as well as strong incoming data that would strengthen the dollar and induce Fed for rate hikes. The center of attention will be on the dollar in the next few days which is also anticipated to persist for a short period of time.


There is no major report anticipated from the U.S. or from the U.K. today, which is not surprising as it is the first day of the week. However, since the end of the month is approaching, a lot of flows is already expected and trades to be positioned prior the new month which would bring volatility to the pound. This is likely to persist in the next few days since the end of the month is near. Pressure will be eminent in trading but support will be in the area of 1.40.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: January 31, 2018


Yesterday, it was forecasted that the British pound major pair will find it support in the level of 1.40 and it was anticipated to the line dividing the bulls and the bears. This happened as the price plunged down towards the area of 1.40 and further down for a short period of time before bouncing upward again.


Buying and the rebound of the pair were strong which resulted in an upward trend of the pair towards the area of 1.41. The trade stays beyond this level as of the moment. The volume of purchases indicates the strong presence of buyers. Nonetheless, it is essential for traders to keep in mind the end of the month is near and the prices are likely to be influenced by the month-end flows and any move at this period of time, which should be not be overlooked by traders.


Although, fundamental factors did not strongly affect the pair, as well as economically, in the past few days which is already anticipated at the end of the month is approaching. These activities are moves largely are not part of the overall trend, which indicates that money flows have a bigger impact more than everything else. Hence, it is significant to wait on the sidelines and observe as this kind of trend will persist throughout the day since today is the last day of the month.


Regarding the economic news, ADP National Employment Report from the U.S. is anticipated to be released today but none from the United Kingdom. The ADP data is considered as a prerequisite to the NFP data, which will be published on Friday. Traders should anticipate for a strong data to keep their expectations for a rate hike from the Federal Reserve at a faster rate in the succeeding months. In general, the market is hoping for three rate hike for the year but a positive outcome through high figures on reports are necessary.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/GBP Technical Analysis: February 7, 2018


Volatility was predominant during the Tuesday trading session as the U.S. dollar dominates the market, which had an unfavorable effect on both currencies. The market shows the relative strength of the market.


It has been bullish during the Tuesday trading session as the British pound declined against the U.S. dollar. Nonetheless, the euro did not fall, as much as, the British pound. For now, the pair will be based on their relative strength but since the euro did not drop as low as the British pound, traders are anticipated to trade and push the pair higher. The market is close to the level of 0.89 which is a fair value in the consolidation area. The upward momentum implies the uptrend of the pair towards 0.90 level.


A massive resistance was seen at the area of 0.90 which has been the upper boundary in the past and it will be not easy to break this level. Although, there is a bit of noise found lower than the level of 0.8875 which proceeds to offer support in the market. I would suggest buying on the lows but it will be part by part instead of a big move. The pair will break out of the consolidation area and proceeds to move up towards the level of 0.95. Alternately, it is also possible to a have a new low which would send the market to reach the level of 0.86 based on the long-term charts.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: February 19, 2018


The single European currency and the British pound shared the same fate on Friday, as it showed high volatility during the first half of the day due to the weakening of the US dollar. While in the afternoon, the strength of the American currency prevailed which helped regain the profits of the sterling of the past few days. It further helped the GBP/USD pair to end the weak in a sluggish approach which indicates correction in the following days.


The pound was secured because of the dollar instability and pushed the Cable pair to reach the 1.38 zone until the psychologically important level of 1.40. Briefly, the pair moved away from any danger for good and the pound bulls attempt to stabilize the momentum in continuing the upward movement in the near term.


As the decline of the dollar does not have enough economic data or fundamentals to support it, the rebound in the US currency did the same. This resulted in the downturn of the pound, pushing through the 1.41 mark and traded underneath the 1.40 area for a short period of time. Subsequently, the pair successfully closed the week above the 1.40 level. As of this writing, the Cable pair continued trading on top of that region and the price level is expected to remain on that point, relative to the bulls and bears. In case the pair remained steady above 1.40, the bulls will take control which would likely to be seen in the coming weeks.


Ultimately, there is no major news from the United Kingdom while there is a bank holiday in the United States today. It is safe to say that consolidation and ranging are possible while market players anticipate for bigger investors to show up its intentions and start to move in a certain trend in order to tag along. It is believed that the USD will gain strength in the medium term.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: February 27, 2018


The euro against the U.S. dollar has been trading closely on either side at the level of 1.23 as the market presumes the pair to move further.


The EUR/USD pair is moving within a tight range in the past 24 hours which is already anticipated in Monday trading session. Low volatility is not surprising in the current market condition. Traders are likely to position themselves for this week on Mondays which causes low volatility.


Similarly, trading remained the same despite the speech of ECB President Draghi yesterday. The speech met the expectations with him saying positively on the growth of the economy in the eurozone. He is recognized to be dovish but the fact remains of the steady growth of the economy as reflected in the incoming data and remains positive in the past few months. This has preserved the euro to keep afloat in the past 24 hours although the movements have been very minimal.


The market is also anticipated to gain volatility and liquidity as the end of the month is approaching. At the same time, price fluctuations to be inundated by trade positioning and monthly end flow. Options are also about to expire in the upcoming days, which will keep the market busy on particular price range.


The market will probably focus on the dollar with the new Fed chief, Jerome Powell, to testify and engage the market waiting for signals on monetary policies and future rate hikes in the next few months. As for the economic data, both the durable goods data and the trade balance data from the U.S. will be published and if it did not meet expectations, the dollar is likely to roll downward.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: March 6, 2018


The EUR/USD pair constantly trading in a strong manner as it moves away from the election results in Italy. The focus remains to be on the dollar weakening felt across the markets. It is somewhat surprising for those who expected that the Italian election will bring an impact towards the euro area but the results of further led concerns of the EU leaders.


Italy is the third biggest economy in the European region and the election results indicate the increasing anti-establishment votes. This event is common from all over the countries especially from the United States to Asia. Hence, this should be one of the main concerns of the Euro officials since this kind of trend may grow continually which could hurt the euro and its existence in the following years. However, this does not necessarily mean that the euro is free from any burden while traders appear to be happy about the maintained current situation. This the reason behind the move of the euro/dollar pair through the 1.2350 level as of this writing


Ultimately, there are no important economic news or data from the EU or the US for this day but this reflects some ranging and consolidation in the near-term. Also, the markets anticipate further set of data in the second half of the week from the United States, indicating a short-term trend for the greenbacks.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: March 7, 2018


The British pound resumes its uptrend amid the weakened dollar across all market in the past 24 hours. Although the increase was not as high as it can be, it was able to move steadily which has assisted the British currency to recover from its lows and have a steady uptrend over the past few days. These gave the investors more confidence during the said period of time.


Meanwhile, the sterling pound has been moving steadily and further boosted by the lack of economic data. The ongoing Brexit negotiation following the set plan also supports the pound. Euro leaders have been busy with their domestic concerns and at the same time, rumors and commentaries about them have also lessened At the same time, the Brexit negotiation has assisted the dollar to move steadily.


The dollar got behind against other currencies following the resignation of Trump’s economic advisor, John Cohn, which is not favorable for the president and his team as they have had some difficulties in handling situation in the past few months. On the other hand, this is advantageous for the dollar as the overall market which is the reason for the dollar’s decline during this period of time.


The market is getting ready for the slew of data in the upcoming days with a new month has begun. The ADP employment report expected to be released today will hint at the results of another incoming data of Friday. If the data came out weakly, this would further push the GBP/USD pair towards the area of 1.40.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: March 21, 2018


The British pound against the U.S. dollar had a downward correction due to the pressure from the dollar which has been strengthening across markets yesterday. The pair positions just over the area of 1.40 and there seems to be no threat for the bulls but it is still uncertain who will lead the trend.


There will be high volatility in the market with the expectation of the FOMC rate announcement which would then be followed by a press conference. It is highly anticipated that the Fed will raise their rates for the first time, which is highly possible. However, we cannot be certain if the market expectations of a hawkish decision would be met, which the market bulls area also hoping for.


However, if the greenback weakens, this would come about just for a short period with the incoming data to dominate the market and boost the dollar. For tomorrow, we have the BOE meeting to look forward to but it is yet to be known if this will have a hawkish tone, in consideration of the Brexit talks in the past few weeks. If this happens, traders should expect for volatility.


Considering all this, traders are suggested not to presume any outcome or direction and trade deciding on the how the situation presents. It is best to wait for the markets to settle down then decide later on when the market has stabilized. For today, the FOMC meeting will be the center of attention that could result in consolidation in the market.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: April 2, 2018


The GBP/USD pair continued trading around the 1.40 support zone which is expected to be the battleground between the bears and the bulls in the near term. However, it is difficult to make a conclusion since today is a holiday in many countries in celebrating the Easter Sunday. Hence, liquidity and volatility are predicted to be extremely low.


The Cable managed to move over the 1.42 level in the past few weeks amid the dollar weakening and also because the BOE’s hawkishness which continues to become a stronger economy as the Brexit process become smoother. The process resumed a slow, steady and continuous manner and it would take less than a year prior to the completion of the process.


So far, the British economy supported for such improvement as the process continue to smoothen and the UK had a positive performance which helped the Bank of England to conduct a rate increase during this period.


The resumption of a stable economy is beneficial for the central bank to consider further rate hikes ahead and this helped the BOE to maintain a hawkish stance. These events pushed the pair near its highs in the short-term range but it met a lot of selling as the American currency strengthen. As a result, the GBPUSD pair hovered around the significant level of 1.40. In case that the support was broken, the bears will have an opportunity to dominate again the market.


Ultimately, there is no major news from the UK or the US since its holiday in most parts of the world which indicates that the volatility and liquidity would be low for that day.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: April 16, 2018


Missile launch directed to the specific target in Syria from the U.S. and their allies although the effect is not that big impact. Last week, there are topics regarding the possibility of a war between the U.S. and Syria. The situation is worsening that resulted in choppiness in the market.


A lot of investors has become anxious because of choppiness and the market has become more appealing. Hence, the trend was seen to have consolidated and trades in a range. The attacks over the weekend were said to be from the United States. On a lighter note, this is just for short-term which happened one time that cooled down concerns about a war. This has largely calmed down the market that is reflected in the market in the present condition.


Euro has been trading in a range for a number of weeks already and the tendency to break out in any direction is not clearly visible at this time. Although, there are breakout attempts on either side but did not come out with anything due to uncertainties caused by various factors including the area of Syria, the trade war between China and the U.S. as well as, the QE program.


For today, the retail sales data from the U.S. is unexpected to be released today as the first day of the week. Nonetheless, there is a slow data for today. Excluding the geopolitics concern, this data is anticipated to be more appealing that could initiate the trend for short-term.

 

[Andrea ForexMart]

GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis: June 11, 2018


The pound/dollar pair continued to trade around the 1.3430 region on the back of the failure to create bullish momentum in the previous week, as it was beaten by the major handle and the markets are waiting for further progress in Brexit this week. Due to the scheduled FOMC rate hike in the upcoming week, the interest rate differential of the GBP and the USD is predicted to move in different directions which could hold the Pound on its starting position and push the British currency into the recent lows. Following the recently rejected Irish border solution, market participants await for further news within this week while the United Kingdom continue to negotiate in looking for the middle ground for the hard-line Brexiteers and the EU leadership in Brussels. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Theresa May was caught in between and trying to find fair solutions for both sides.


The upcoming week is projected to be really busy for the Sterling pound since 4 out of 5 trading session this week brought extreme impact to the UK calendar that could support a high level of volatility for market players. Today has plenty of data for Britain which will be all published at 08:30 GMT, however, the focus will be on the Manufacturing Industrial Production data which is expected to remain unchanged at 2.9%. The US session today appears to be in smooth sailing according to the economic calendar, but traders might deal with the G7 summit blowout, wherein US President Donald Trump leave the summit earlier and depart the US’ support of the G7 communiqué, following a Tweet from POTUS aboard Air Force One heads to Singapore for the Trump-Kim summit.


At the same time, the figures for Average Earnings Index +Bonus (Apr), Claimant Count Change (May), Core CPI & PPI input and Core retail sales in the next three consecutive trading sessions. Moreover, the daily chart indicates that the GBP/USD currency pair corrected higher from the lows of 1.3205 alongside the diverging technical oscillators. On the other hand, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) had an unexpected move towards the oversold area and bounced back to the GBP, which descends to the levels of the beginning of last week. The Slow Stochastic resumed moving in an upward trajectory. The daily chart of the 50-day and 100-day moving average formed a death star crossover, this means that there is an initial downside potential of the Cable pair to break the 1.3300 region prior attacking the area of 1.3200. The upside of the pair is necessary to break back above the 1.3380 to the 1.3450 target, which is the last week’s high.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

GBP/JPY Technical Analysis: July 17, 2018

The British pound rallied a little during the Monday session and reaches the level of 149.50 before apparent signs of exhaustion. Higher than 150 signifies exhaustion in the market with expected resistance. Thus, we could strike on the opportunity to short this pair. It looks like the market has overexpanded and faces strong psychological level above 150.

Although it is still suggested to short this pair in a smaller move, the long-term selling will bring the rates back to 150. A break higher would give the green light to traders in applying the “buy and hold” strategy yet, the strong political tension around Britain could strengthen the Sterling pound for long-term. The pair will continue to chop around and eventually make way for some clarity that the trend lacks as of the moment. For the short term, sellers are anticipated to be present while more sellers will join in the long-term above the trend. Nevertheless, we should keep the possibilities open as it may change anytime. Noise will still be present because of the political tension in the U.K. and global risk appetite. Hence, small trades will be the ideal approach for this market since noise will be the main impulse in overall trading while headlines will likely cause sudden movements in short-term.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

EUR/USD Technical Analysis: July 18, 2018

The euro rallied at the beginning of the Tuesday session and reach up to 1.1750 prior to retreating back at 1.700 below, which were the trades began for the day. We can expect noise to be present in the pair considering that there are Brexit negotiations and a strong dollar. Yet, looking at the charts, clearly, it shows that the true resistance would be above 1.1850 while the floor of the pair can be found at 1.15 below.

Given the high frequency in trading, there is a huge amount of volatility in the EUR/USD pair. At the end of the day, the 1.17 level offers support which is a good indicator or further goes up on Wednesday. Also, the 1.1675 level offers support where there is also a high demand. I assume that the market will look for value on dips, especially for hunters. Yet, traders should still be careful in putting money at stakes. Hence, I would suggest to trade slowly and then gradually add more to reach new fresh highs.

In general, the pair could stay long in consolidation range which should be considered given that there will be a lot of noise and headlines could influence the pair for sudden movements.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

EUR/USD Technical Analysis: July 19, 2018

The euro against the U.S. dollar is traded slightly in the area of 1.1650 but profits can be gained during the European session. The uptrend took place in the early hours of Asian market session due to recent bullish trend across the globe booking profits on the dollar. Yet, the outlook of the greenback is still optimistic because of hawkish rhetorics from the U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell, which would probably affect the European and American session. Stocks on major world market reached a one-month high on Wednesday after strong corporate earnings. Meanwhile, the U.S. surpassed the levels on a three-week high against major currencies with more bidding involving the dollar. Yet, the profit booking activity slowed down the momentum of the dollar for a while. According to Powell, the United States would go for a steady growth in the course of trading and held back risks of the U.S. economy on worsening trade conflict.

The dollar index grew towards 95.4, reaching a three-week high against other currencies and then settled in the area of 95.08 with an increase of 0.2%. Two more rate hikes are anticipated this year from the Federal Reserve in reaction to rising inflationary pressures. On the other hand, the ECB is presumed to raise their rates only in the middle of next year. The eurozone grew for the first time last year since the financial crisis between 2007 and 2008. Yet, the most recent survey of 100 economists results showed growth momentum has already reached the highest point. Nonetheless, the worsening trade war between the U.S. and their trading partners still presents real risks to the eurozone and influenced economists to lessen their growth forecast.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

EUR/USD Technical Analysis: July 20, 2018

The single European currency had broken down amid trading course on Thursday while a lot of negativity continue to be in this market. Forecasts say that the market would likely continue to be volatile but the market is determined to move lower near the 1.15 region, an area which has been a significant support in the past and a little bit of buying pressure can be seen in this zone. While the current point of at issue is whether or not traders can break down beneath that level. A successful break down will be a great destruction for the Euro.

Otherwise, a rally from that level and regain the 1.16 zone has a high probability to happen. In that case, we could determine a move on top of the 1.1660 region followed by a potential rally. We can see the overall consolidation below the 1.15 area, which serves as the floor and 1.1850 above as the ceiling of consolidation where we are currently fixed.

It looks like that we will be stuck in this range for the next couple of days or weeks since it's already mid-summer and there many large traders from all over the world who are out of their offices. Aside from that, there are also varying issues regarding the Brexit which causes trading quite noisy and difficult for the EUR/USD currency pair.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

AUD/USD Technical Analysis: July 23, 2018

The Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar trades a bit higher during the Monday session. A bit of a reaction was observed as the dollar weakened due to the added pressure on the Trump’s remarks to the Fed policy and his struggle with the strengthening of the greenback.

Investors reaction to Trump’s rhetorics lead to the tight trading of the pair against the different monetary policy between the hawkish Fed and a dovish central bank of Australia that makes the dollar appealing for investment to traders alike.

Also, traders are hesitant about their positioning prior to the weekly quarterly consumer inflation data of Australian and increasing Treasury yields from the U.S.

The major trend has decline based on the daily swing chart. The trend will move up on trades towards .7443 and if it further reaches the level of .7318, the downtrend is likely to continue.

Short-term trading of the pair will be between .7310 and .7484 with 50% pivot level at .7397. It seems that pair is being traded strongly at this level that could assist an early uptrend tendency. Traders should act on it to counter the support level on the first test today. However, if it fails to hold this level, the price could weaken with the main range at .7677 to .7310. If the trend goes up, then we can expect the retracement zone to be at .7494 to .7537 which will become the primary target in the upside.

On a technical aspect, the AUD/USD pair will be based on the reaction of the pair for short-term trading at .7434.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

USD/JPY Technical Analysis: July 24, 2018

Once again, the U.S. dollar dropped against the Japanese yen in day trading on Monday session. There was sufficient support found on the trendline and crossed below the level of 111 yen. It seems that the market is attempting to recover from here. Thus, a short-term bounce might still be far from happening. Predominant selling activity is due to the currency war but, nonetheless, hunters will still find this appealing to reverse the situation.

As shown on the chart, the price plunged to the uptrend line with intention to bounce up. This can actually be considered as a perfect test of the uptrend line and it looks like value hunters are will attempt to join the market now. A rebound can be bought but there will still be some noise around regardless of what happens next in the days to come. Hence, it is ideal to trade in smaller trade. Although there is sufficient amount of demand below, a lot of noise is present above. In long-term trades, there is a tendency of the pair to move because of the risk appetite. Therefore, in case that trade tension mitigates, the market might turn around.

On the other hand, if the market breaks lower than the uptrend line, the next target of the market will be the level of 110, which can serve as a support. Hence, it is likely for a correction to happen given the oversold condition of the pair, at least the in the next few trading sessions. Assessing the trend as a whole, there are higher risks on the upper channel than below but with high volatility around, traders should still be careful in trading this market.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

GBP/JPY Technical Analysis: July 25, 2018

The sterling pound moved sideways amid trading session yesterday, with an exception for a slight reversal and bullish pressure. As of this writing, the ¥146 level above was unable to break. While the previous ascending trend line was broken through which stimulate a little bit of resistance. In case of a slice above the ¥147 region will prove the strength of the recovery. On the contrary, we can expect for a lot of sideways action in the near term.

There are forecasts that the area under the ¥145 will be supportive which would likely require some pressure to cut through that region. Generally, the market will contain plenty of noise with a slightly downward proclivity as to the concerns about trade battles and the like.

It should be noted that the GBP/JPY currency pair is very sensitive to global risk appetite alongside the added issue of political chaos in Great Britain, which slightly puts off this market downwards. The presence of some reversal is very difficult to deal with but if we reach higher than the ¥147 level, then new profits will pour in the trading place and would accelerate further. While a break down underneath the ¥145 level would probably open a way through the ¥142.50 region.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

GBP/USD Technical Analysis: July 26, 2018

The British currency drove higher amid trading course yesterday and attempt to grind above the 1.32 level. Generally, we can expect for the resumption of short-term pullbacks which may act as buying opportunities with a slower motion. In this case, shorting this market is not recommended due to the recent formation of some “basing pattern”. Also, there is a possibility of a move through the 1.32 region or 1.3250 eventually.

Traders should take note about the headlines which could possibly trigger issues with the sterling pound aside from the conflict between the Conservative Party and Theresa May, which argues for the common ground of the Brexit. Forecasts show that the market will begin searching for the level below 1.30 as the “absolute floor” of the GBP, hence, longer-term traders will buy the dips based on its value.

For some time, the pound became quite oversold and the “buy-and-hold” traders in the longer-term will return to the market to acquire benefits from lower prices. Ultimately, the dips can be seen turning around with impulsive trends and the top of 1.33 handle would likely be broken but may require a series of attempt to overcome that level.

 

[Obasi FXMart]

GBP/USD Technical Analysis: July 27, 2018

The British currency had initially rallied yesterday but the 1.32 region appears to be slightly expensive. Moreover, the level around 1.3150 would likely have a lot of support underneath. It may take some time prior the buyers to return and push this market higher. Upon clearing the 1.32 zone, it is possible to trail through the 1.3250 area. This market appears to be bullish in general, however, the political issues with Great Britain may cause problems for the sterling pound. In the longer-term, there will be some resolution to the political theater which could help to resume an upward trend.

According to forecasts, the level below 1.30 is massively supportive since the figure is characterized as large, round, and psychologically significant. As expected, the weekly charts showed that it rebounded, indicating a higher possibility of buying pressure in that region. That area could be the “floor” of this market and considered as the most appropriate zone to begin purchases if there is any intention to move back there.