By Orbex
The US dollar softened a little over the European morning on Thursday as risk assets stabilized somewhat following earlier weakness. Looking ahead today, the market is waiting on US GDP results for Q1 which are expected to have ticked down slightly from 3.2% to 3.1%. We also have the release of the Tardes Goods Balance today too. This could also draw special focus given the recent trade ar intensification. The index trades 98.03 last having found resistance once again at the 98.07 level.
EURUSD has taken advantage of some mild USD weakness today to trade higher off the 1.1129 level.However, the tone remains heavy and a break of that level looks to be forthcoming. Concerns around the health of the eurozone continue to weigh following a set of weak German employment readings yesterday.
GBPUSD has managed to stay in the green over the European session so far today following yesterday’s break below the 1.2658 level. GBP is still weighed upon political uncertainty in the UK both around domestic leadership and the outlook for Brexit. An absence of tier one domestic data should leave the pair down to USD data flows today.
Risk assets have stabilized a little today following further moves lower this week in response to fresh rhetoric from China. China is reportedly considering using rare earth exports as leverage in the ongoing trade war with the US. They have accused the US of “naked economic terrorism”. SPX500 trades 2789.58 last, up off yesterday’s 2765.43 lows.
The recovery in risk appetite today, albeit mild, has allowed USD to trade higher against the safe havens with both gold and JPY pressured by the dollar. USDJPY is now once again testing the 109.70 level having briefly pierced above it today. XAUUSD has turned lower beneath the 1280.58 level once again as the oscillation around the pivot continues. The lack of clear directional moves has become frustrating for longer-term players and opportunities at the moment appear restricted to intraday setups.
Free Reports:
Oil prices have fallen back a little today following a sharp recovery off yesterday’s lows. Crude traders are now waiting on the release of the weekly EIA report, due later today. Recently the report has weighed on price, reflecting unexpected builds in US crude stocks. Similarly, ongoing trade tensions between the US and China have exerted downward pressure also while tensions in the Middle East have provided sporadic upside pressure. Oil trades 59.02 last with price still sitting above the 58.06 support.
Despite subdued oil prices, USDCAD continues its decline lower today with price trading 1.3492 last as the correction lower from 1.3520 continues. Yesterday the BOC kept rates on hold, as was expected, and said that the recent slowdown was only “temporary”. The bank’s statement was met with relief from CAD bulls, given the general tide of dovishness which has swept many G10 central banks and as such, USDCAD continues to sell off.
AUDUSD continues to hold up much better against the US dollar trading .6928 last. Concerns around the US/China trade war have kept AUD pressured, leading to increased RBA rate cut expectations. Though, for now, the rate remains above the .6864 lows.
By Orbex