Markets sank at the end of last week as plenty of concerns still linger over what exactly is going to happen with the trade wars this week. However, a fair bit of attention now turns back onto the FOMC with plenty of speakers on the calendar in the next five days.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks Monday night at the Atlanta Fed’s annual conference on Amelia Island in Florida and will be the main talking point for the session.

Markets are already pricing in multiple rate cuts this year as traders react to some of the weak economic data we’ve seen recently. That is despite the strong jobs growth that has been running along like nothing is happening.

I’m also not convinced that Jerome Powell himself actually wants to cut rates and I suspect he might maintain the status quo for as long as he possibly can.

There is also some German PPI data for the EUR/USD today, but overall it is a quiet start to the week outside the US on the data front.

Forex Signal Update

A great week for the FX Leaders Team who finished with 15 wins from 21 signals giving us a strike rate of 71%.

SPX – Pending Signal

The SPX gave back some gains on Friday, but overall, the reversal after China reneged on the trade deal has been a really positive sign for US markets. If markets can retest the highs, that is an incredibly bullish signal in my opinion and we will keep watching with interest for more upside.

US Markets appear to be gapping up early and are currently 0.3% higher (ES Futures), which is another bullish sign to start the week.

Cryptocurrency Update

As of Monday, it is starting to look like the big fall in BTC is all but forgotten as price has once again reclaimed the $8,000 level.

Bitcoin’s flash crash has apparently been caused by a big sell order placed on the Bitstamp exchange early on Friday morning, which caused selling action across the other exchanges. That even sounds a bit like a fat finger.

In reality, the fact that the reversal was so strong and price has pushed back through this support turned resistance level, then we really have to start looking at a possible further leg higher.

Clearly that means both the $9,000 level will be a target early in the week and of course, $10,000 is certainly not out of the question seeing how fast price is moving.

If we take these recent highs, then look out above.