US Session Forex Brief, Jan 30 – Hanging on the Sidelines Ahead of the FED Meeting

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Today is that time of the month again when the Federal Reserve meets to discuss the economic outlook and they decide on interest rates. For this reason, the financial markets have been pretty quiet today. Although, Brexit doesn’t let things get too boring. Yesterday, the British Parliament passed some of the amendments which diminish the chances of a no-deal Brexit.

On the other hand, it means that the UK government will ask for an extension of Article 50. This seems like a positive outcome, but it also stretches the period of uncertainty further which is bad for the British economy and for investment. Hence the 150 pip decline in [[GBP/USD]] yesterday in the evening. Although, the European and Irish officials repeated today that the Brexit deal won’t be renegotiated, so no one knows how this will end up.

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US Session Forex Brief, Jan 29 – GBP Waiting for Brexit Amendments

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday the markets were trading the hangover from last Friday. The US Dollar was dumped heavily on Friday for no apparent reason because the US Government shutdown ended, but the market has its own mind and that’s what’s happened that day. Gold was the first to make a move and benefit the most, surging 25 cents higher on Friday breaking above the big resistance level at $1,300. Yesterday, Gold sellers tried the $1,300 level again which has now turned into support, but failed and today the bullish trend has resumed again as Gold pushed above $1,310.

ECB’s Draghi and Carney from the BOE held speeches yesterday but they didn’t impact the market much. Another fundamental event which surfaced yesterday was the Brexit amendments which are being discussed today at the British Parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to pass the Brexit deal with whatever means necessary and the amendments might convince enough British MPs to get enough votes to do so.

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US Session Forex Brief, Jan 28 – A Monday Hangover After Last Friday’s Volatility

Posted on January 28, 2019January 29, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Last Friday we saw some strange price action in financial markets. The USD had been on a slight uptrend during the week, but on Friday, the Gods turned against the US Dollar. The USD lost around 100 pips across the board that day which seemed like a run for safety first, as Gold was the first to make a move, which ended up climbing around 250 pips higher for the day.

Gold even broke above the big round level at $1,300 that day and now it is flirting with that level from the upside. So, that level has turned into support for Gold now. But, soon after, the risk currencies joined Gold on that bullish move and it soon became clear that it was the USD which was being sold aggressively and by the end of the day, the Buck was at the end of the table. Continue reading “US Session Forex Brief, Jan 28 – A Monday Hangover After Last Friday’s Volatility” →

US Session Forex Brief, Jan 25 – Closing the Week in Quiet Tones

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday we saw some decent moves which started early in the Asian session with [[AUD/USD]] tumbling lower despite an impressive employment report. But that was due to the fact that the major banks in Australia are hiking interest rates while the central bank can’t.

Later on in the day, we had the presidents of the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank confirm the economic weakness in Europe as well as globally. As a result, Euro tumbled around 100 pips lower, which sent [[EUR/CHF]] 70 pips lower.

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US Session Forex Brief, Jan 23 – Weakening Eurozone Economy and the ECB in Focus

Posted on January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

The market sentiment seems to be leaning slightly on the positive side side today once again. Safe havens such as [[Gold]] and the JPY have been losing ground as Gold reversed down from the 100 SMA on the H1 chart which used to provide support until last week. Now it seems to have turned into resistance sending Gold lower, while [[USD/JPY]] is heading higher. The GBP is continuing to stretch the recent bullish trend further to the upside as markets get increasingly convinced that there will not be a no-deal Brexit. Continue reading “US Session Forex Brief, Jan 23 – Weakening Eurozone Economy and the ECB in Focus” →

US Session Forex Brief, Jan 23 – Risk Sentiment is Back On

Posted on January 23, 2019January 23, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday the sentiment was leaning towards the negative side in financial markets as [[Gold]] retraced higher while [[USD/JPY]] retraced lower. Stock markets were also retracing lower yesterday which was the second day of pulling back after trending higher since the beginning of the month. Commodity currencies were also on a downtrend which had been going on for more than a week. Today though, everything has reversed as the sentiment improves in forex and other financial markets. What could have reversed the sentiment today?

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US Session Forex Brief, Jan 22 – Markets Remain Cautious Today

Posted on January 22, 2019January 22, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

We entered the European session today with markets feeling heavy as the sentiment had turned negative in the Asian session. The Huawei issue continues as the Canadian press commented early this morning that the US will probably ask for extradition of the CFO who apparently has been stealing Intellectual Property from the US business partners, such as a robotic device from US T-Mobile which tests smartphones. This wouldn’t normally be such a big deal, but given the easing trade tensions between the US and China, the market fears another escalation of those tensions, hence the importance. Otherwise, this would be just another arrest of a high profile company executive, which the public usually loves. Continue reading “US Session Forex Brief, Jan 22 – Markets Remain Cautious Today” →

US Session Forex Brief, Jan 21 – Theresa May’s Brexit 2.0 Coming Up

Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

The forex market has been pretty quiet today and with the US on bank holiday for Martin Luther King Day, the volatility is expected to die out normally. But, British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to publish her plan B for Brexit after the European session closes, so it’s probable that there will be some decent moves in GBP pairs towards the end of the day. Continue reading “US Session Forex Brief, Jan 21 – Theresa May’s Brexit 2.0 Coming Up” →

US Session Forex Brief, Jan 18 – Safe Havens Suffer as Sentiment Shifts to Positive Today

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

Just like Gold has been shifting from bearish to bullish and vice versa everyday, the sentiment in financial markets has been shifting as well. Yesterday, we saw a run for safe havens during the Asian and the European session as Gold moved higher while USD/JPY moved lower. They reversed during the US session as sentiment started to improve and today we see that the sentiment has improved considerably.

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US Session Forex Brief, Jan 17 – Risk Sentiment Falters as Brexit Gets Dragged on Once Again

Posted on January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 by Skerdian Meta

The Brexit deal that British Prime Minister Theresa May had agreed with the EU was voted off by the British Parliament on Tuesday and yesterday she went through a confidence vote. She won the confidence vote yesterday, but I suppose markets were expecting or wishing that she would fold her cards and go this time, even though she had more support for this vote compared to the Brexit deal.

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