By Orbex
The economic data on the day was sparse. Spain’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 14.5% which was better than the forecasts of 14.6%. The NY trading session showed that the U.S. consumer confidence index fell to 120.0, below forecasts of 125.0 and down from 126.6 previously.
Crude oil prices jumped on the news that the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm, PDVSA. WTI Crude oil settled at $53.31 on Tuesday.
The British pound was seen posting declines for a second consecutive day as British lawmakers rejected a deal that would postpone the Brexit deadline in case no deal was reached with the EU.
Earlier today, Japan’s retail sales report showed an increase of 1.3% on the year, beating forecasts of a 0.9% increase.
Australia’s inflation report for the fourth quarter ending December 2018 showed a 0.5% increase. This was a slightly better reading compared to forecasts of a 0.4% increase.
Free Reports:
The European trading session ahead will see the flash GDP estimates from France coming out. The GDP data covers the fourth quarter of last year. Economists forecast that French GDP slowed to a pace of 0.2% during the period.
The German Gfk consumer climate data is followed by import prices and a preliminary inflation report.
The NY trading session will see the ADP private payrolls report coming out. Private sector hiring is expected to rise 180k for January.
Later in the evening, the FOMC meeting will be concluded by the release of the Fed’s statement and a press conference. No changes are expected at today’s meeting.
EURUSD (1.1436): The EURUSD currency pair is seen maintaining strong gains following the decline below 1.1334 level of support. Having breached the resistance at 1.1397, the common currency is expected to post further gains. The next main resistance is seen at 1.1461 which could be tested in the near term. However, we expect that the EURUSD will settle into a range within the said levels unless price breaks out strongly above 1.1461.
AUDUSD (0.7185): The AUDUSD currency pair was seen retracing the gains as price action is back near the resistance level of 0.7191. This would mark the second retest of this level as resistance. As long as this resistance holds, the AUDUSD could be seen posting further declines. The lower support at 0.7022 remains a key level of interest. Establishing support at this level would indicate that the bottom is in place for AUDUSD. Alternately, a breakout above 0.7191 would signal further gains targeting 0.7292.
XAUUSD (1312.99): Gold prices have continued to post strong gains as price action was seen trading near the 1312 level. Further gains could potentially push gold prices toward the 1322 level in the near term. However, there is a possibility that gold prices could post some declines back to the 1296 level where support could now be established.
By Orbex
