Month: June 2013

Boeing scores over $10 billion in U.S. aircraft orders. GM Stock Sale Brings Government $3.2B This Year. Amazon’s LOVEFiLM Pulls Its Subscription DVD And Streaming Service Out Of Scandinavia

Maria Menounos Bikinis For Her 35th Birthday Bash, No One Complains. Lil’ Kim Involved in Minor Car Crash, Suffers Whiplash. Investors unimpressed by S&P’s brighter US outlook

Do We Really Need a Bigger IMF?. Brandi Glanville Gets New Dog While Search for Missing Dog Continues. Joan Rivers on Celebrating Birthdays: No Cake or Gifts That Disintegrate

Actress Helen Mirren turns ferocious in new ‘Monsters’ movie. Diplomatic intrigue: Where will unmasked NSA leaker go?. Amazon Unveils $299 “Prime Fresh” Membership as It Expands Grocery Business to Los Angeles

Hugo Boss signs up Michelle Obama dress designer Jason Wu. Cameron defends spy agencies over Prism cyber-snooping. Apple and Microsoft events on the same day

Deloitte buying advisory firm McColl Partners. McDonald’s says cheap eats helped lift sales. Britain to launch public sale of Lloyds shares

Nokia Lumia 925 kicks off with new Glance Screen. UK lawmakers to launch inquiry into central bank watchdog’s independence. Tangle of data puts policymaking on pause

UK lawmakers to launch inquiry into central bank watchdog’s independence. Tangle of data puts policymaking on pause. Benedict Cumberbatch Spends Day With Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace

By CountingPips.com

The US dollar’s strength had been cooling off for a few weeks and then sharply crystallized last week as the American currency dropped against the euro, British pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar. The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar continued to take it on the chin in the forex markets as these currencies saw more of the same last week in their steep decline.

This week’s fundamental outlook is highlighted by Japan’s monetary policy and interest rate decision on Tuesday which could provide ammunition to the already volatile Japanese yen pairs. Also on the docket for this week is the New Zealand interest rate decision on Wednesday, Australian employment report and US retail sales on Thursday, then Eurozone consumer prices as well as more data out of the United States coming on Friday. See our latest currency pair commentary & major economic highlights below.

Major Currency Pair Commentary:

EUR/USD: The euro rose higher against the US dollar last week for a third consecutive week and touched above the 1.3300 level for the first time since February 25th. Look for near-term support in the range of 1.3175 — 1.3200 area with overhead resistance coming in at the major level of 1.3250.

GBP/USD: The British pound also surged last week against the US dollar and rose for a second consecutive week. The pair touched the highest level since the middle of February and has increased by over 500 pips from it’s low point of two weeks ago. Look for near-term support at the 1.5500 level with further support to be found around the 1.500 area. The 1.5600 — 1.5650 area looks to be a level of overhead resistance.

USD/JPY: The dollar fell sharply last week against the Japanese yen and decreased for a third consecutive week. Last week’s volatile ride saw this pair touch below the 95.00 level and then close all the way up above 97.50. The 97.50 level presents near-term support with the 96.50 to the 97.00 area supporting below. Upward momentum this week could see the 100.00 level act as significant resistance.

USD/CHF: The US dollar lost ground against the Swiss franc for a third consecutive week last week. The pair had a volatile week with the low point reaching under the 0.9225 level and a high point roughly 400 pips higher above 0.9620. This week’s levels look to be 0.9250 as a major support level that may be tested while on upside momentum we look for a 0.9380 — 0.9400 area to see first resistance. Further momentum higher up would likely see 0.9450 area come into play also as resistance.

USD/CAD: The US dollar cooled off against the Canadian dollar last week and closed below the 1.0250 level. This pair has continued to range within this wedge pattern that looked to be a breakout only two weeks ago but then came last week’s correction. This week we look at the 1.0250 level as important overhead resistance with the 1.0175 — 1.0200 area potentially providing short-term support.

AUD/USD: The Australian dollar continued its strong decline against the US dollar and fell for a fifth straight week. This pair closed near the major 0.9500 level which will likely see this level act as support or resistance depending on the early momentum of the week. Potential support for this free-falling pair looks to possibly be around the 0.9365 — 0.9400 area that has acted as previous support and resistance a few times over the last 5 years. Upward momentum looks to be capped into the major 0.9650 level.

NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar also continued its fall against the US dollar and looks headed towards the 0.7750 level which it hasn’t touched in approximately a year. This pair will see an important pivot level around the 0.7850 level with overhead resistance at the 0.7900 major level. Lower levels for support are 0.7800 and the 0.7750 level.

This Week’s Economic Calendar highlights:

Sunday, June 9

Japan — gross domestic product

Monday, June 10

Switzerland — unemployment rate
Switzerland — retail sales data
Canada — housing starts

Tuesday, June 11

Japan — monetary policy statement and interest rate decision
United Kingdom — NIESR GDP estimate

Wednesday, June 12

New Zealand — interest rate decision
United Kingdom — employment data

Thursday, June 13

Australia — May employment data
Switzerland — producer price data
United States — retail sales data
Japan — Bank of Japan minutes
United States — weekly jobless claims

Friday, June 14

Euro zone — consumer price index
euro zone — employment data
United States — University of Michigan confidence survey
United States — current account
United States — producer price index

See our full economic calendar for more events.

Written by Zac Storella, CountingPips Forex Blog & Currency Pair Technical Analysis

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