Daily Market Notes Tickmill UK

[Tickmill-News]

US 10Yr bond auction could weaken USD support

Brisk recovery of risk assets on Tuesday, during which the Nasdaq recaptured almost half of the correction since February, gave way to more measured moves on Wednesday. Modest inflow into longer-maturity Treasury bonds caused the yield to retreat from local high of 1.6% to 1.54%. Yesterday’s auction of 3-year Treasury notes was a moderate success allowing bond investors to collectively breathe out:

However, bond yields resumed modest upside on Wednesday which apparently curbs optimism in risk assets and offers solid support to US currency. SPX and Nasdaq futures sway near opening, European equities also lack buying pressure. The Dollar sell-off on Tuesday drove the currency’s index to the lower bound of the current ascending channel. Potential break in the trend channel today or tomorrow could put an end to the short-term bullish USD move:

Three key events that will determine the way forward in the near term are US inflation report, the $38 billion 10-year bond auction due today and the 30-year bond auction due tomorrow. Weak demand for long-term Treasury debt may cause new volatility in rates, which in turn could limit advance in equities, however, strong rebound of risk assets on Tuesday indicates that investors discount that risk. Tomorrow will be followed by an auction for 30-year bonds, which will be of interest for the same reasons. Key indicators that need to be monitored are bid-to-cover ratio (an indicator of strength of the demand), foreign sector demand and the actual yield at which the securities were sold.

US consumer inflation is expected to accelerate to 1.7%, core inflation to 1.4%. The focus is on core inflation as the broad inflation could easily beat forecast due to higher fuel prices and cold winters in several US states which implies more spending on heating. An upward deviation from the forecast in core inflation will likely support upward trend in the USD and will probably initiate additional sales in gold, since in such a case, instability may reemerge in the Treasury market, where recent sell-off were caused by rise in inflation expectations and real rate. Recall that the markets are now worried about a possible spike in inflation due to a combination of pro-inflationary effects from a real economic recovery + fiscal stimulus from the government. Therefore, investors are now especially sensitive to inflation data.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

OPEC turns dovish on 1Q, 2Q oil demand, bond yields are on the rise again. Will stocks’ sell-off continue?

Oil prices were under pressure on Friday thanks to stronger USD, rising US oil inventories and negative short-term outlook in the OPEC monthly report. The organization expects oil demand to grow stronger in 2021 than previously thought, however, pessimism about the first two quarters increased.

Rising worries about short-term demand outlook appears to be the key reason behind extension of current output curbs in early March. According to the OPEC estimates, the demand for hydrocarbons will be noticeably weaker in the first half of the year than previously expected, but it will rebound strongly in the third and fourth quarters. The OPEC, apparently, counts on massive easing of lockdowns by that time:

An additional constraint is created by prospects for increasing production outside OPEC - by 370K b/d in the second quarter. It seems clear that the OPEC is likely to take a pause in increasing production for another couple of months, probably till the end of this quarter. Oil prices have already taken into account extension of curbs, so further near-term growth prospects will depend on how much the mass vaccination outpace expectations in key economies-consumers of oil and resumption of activity in China after the Lunar New Year (after relatively weak PMI for January and February).

Technically, the uptrend in oil has been extremely steep. Quotes drifted away significantly from key moving averages with the divergence from 200-day moving average increasing to the highest level since 2008:

Price last met MAs in November 2020 - when the markets hit a turning point - the vaccine was announced. Prices are now near their 2-year highs. In addition, the market entered a phase where key positive catalysts on demand and supply side have been priced in, which leaves little room to extend rise. In my opinion, the market is at best poised to enter on a sideways trend for 1 – 1.5 month.

EURUSD

Downtrend risks in EURUSD have risen markedly since the ECB meeting on Thursday. The recent rise in EU bond yields did worry the regulator, since Lagarde said the ECB will significantly increase PEPP asset purchases in the next quarter. In contrast, the Fed said that nominal interest rates rose in response to growth in the economy, so no intervention was needed. The resulting divergence in policy of the Fed and the ECB is a signal for further selling of EURUSD. In addition, epidemic curves and pace of vaccinations in the EU cause worries about the outlook for economy reopening. Take, for example, the reports about slow pace of vaccinations and expectations of a third wave of the epidemic in the EU. In my opinion, the pair has every chance to drift lower to 1.18 by the end of March:

Weaker-than-expected February US inflation and strong demand at the Treasury auctions failed to contain the rise of bond yields. On Friday, the sell-off on the sovereign debt markets resumed - 10-year bond yields in the US, Germany, Great Britain and Australia renewed uptrend. There is a risk of a new bearish retracement in equities and a wave of strengthening in the Dollar. Today and the beginning of next week, risk assets and gold are likely to stay in corrective mode, pushing USD back above 92.00, as it is not yet clear what could stop the renewed sell-off in bonds.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

EURUSD: tactical retreat continues on growing EU risks

In the past few weeks, risk assets were shaken up by wild moves in interest rate markets. The surge in volatility was caused by the dump of fixed income assets, primarily by the outflow from sovereign debt markets of developed countries. Although intensity of the sell-off eased on Monday, further upside in yields is likely if incoming data continue to point to quickening economic rebound. Consequently, risk assets remain vulnerable to potential downside caused by yield spikes, as increasing base interest rates feed into other credit markets as well, pushing up borrowing costs for firms. More expensive liquidity means higher risks:

In this regard, the main event of the week will be the Fed meeting on Wednesday. It seems that the Central Bank made it clear that the rise in yields is normal, however investors still expect the Fed at least to signal that it is ready to support the market (as the ECB did last week). The upcoming meeting in this sense will not be an exception.

Particular attention should be paid to the Central Bank decision on extension of temporary exemption from the so-called supplementary leverage ratio (SLR). If the Fed does not extend the exemption, US banks will have to look for extra liquidity to bring capital adequacy ratios to the required levels. It is believed that they will do this by selling Treasuries from balance sheets. We all know what happens when Treasuries are sold a lot and quickly. Yes, equity markets collapse.

To the day ahead the data highlights include US retail sales report. It is one of the biggest catalysts for short-term market volatility. Better-than-expected monthly growth of sales should add fuel to the US reflation story, adding bearish pressure on Treasury market, which may in turn affirm USD positions against other majors. Markets expect retail sales to nudge down by 0.6% and it is reasonable to expect that due to high-base effects. Recall that January growth was 5.3% and it should be difficult for retail sales to make additional gain.

It will also be interesting to see what happens to consumer inflation in the EU. The CPI report is due on Wednesday. Risks are skewed towards a weaker reading than the forecast (1.1%) as we saw some reports last week indicating that the EU made tactical retreat extending lockdowns due to the threat of a “third wave” and slow pace of vaccination. In general, coronavirus situation in the EU remains tough, which is reflected in the weakness of European currency. Therefore, it may be worth to expect a negative inflation surprise and downside in Euro after the release. By the way, the latest COT data showed that speculators trimmed long positions in the euro, so fast rebound in EURUSD looks unlikely. Risks are on the side of weaker euro against USD for the next couple of weeks due to Central bank’s policy discrepancy, slowdown caused by extension of lockdowns and risk of fading inflation impulse:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

B] Key takeaways from the Fed meeting for equity markets[/B]

The Fed meeting was not convincing enough to stop the rise in market rates. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries again renewed its local peak, exceeding 1.7% on Thursday. Acknowledging that GDP and inflation will grow at faster pace than previously forecasted, the Fed generally left its forecasts for a first rate hike unchanged - no earlier than 2024. QE at the current volume of $120 billion / month (80 billion Treasuries + 40 billion MBS) will continue until there is “significant progress in achieving unemployment and inflation targets.”

The Fed significantly raised its forecast for GDP growth - from 4.2% to 6.5% (Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020), and inflation - from 1.8% to 2.2%. Nevertheless, the dot plot showed that the majority of FOMC members would not have voted for a rate hike before 2024. That is, the opinion of the majority, compared to the last meeting, has not changed. The number of FOMC participants awaiting an increase by the end of 2023 increased from 5 to 7, and those who would vote for an increase by the end of 2022 - from 1 to 4 participants.

The situation is not easy for the Fed. On the one hand, recent economic data trumpet expansion and market participants demand that the Fed admit it by hinting at an earlier rate hike. We see this through the rise in market interest rates, growing inflation premium in bonds, various inflation swaps, etc.:

If the Fed pretends that early rate hikes are out of the question, inflation expectations will accelerate growth (low Fed rate + strong economy = high inflation). On the other hand, if the Fed hints at earlier QE tapering or a rate hike - the expectation that the Fed will start selling bonds from the balance sheet earlier => another jump in yields upward (“the Fed will soon join the bond sale”). In both cases, rising market interest rates (borrowing costs) will slow recovery. It would seem, why not then declare that it is still not so rosy and low rates are justified? This would contain the rise in bond yields, but it could sow anxiety among market participants and derail the recovery as well due to wrong guidance. In general, Powell has to carry out a difficult balancing work at press conferences - to combine recognition of expansion, uncertainty about the future and, as it were, leave the possibility of an early increase in rates.

The US economy is currently experiencing an increase in consumer spending and the number of jobs in the US, but on the other hand, the economy is still 9.5 million fewer jobs than it was a year ago. The unemployment rate shows an incomplete picture, as it does not take into account the unemployed who are not looking for work. So, for example, if unemployment in the United States fell from 10% to 6%, the labor force participation rate recovered from a minimum of 60.2% (May 2020) to only 61.4%, which is below the pre-crisis level of 63.4%. And if we look at the share of the employed in the working-age population (an even broader indicator), then it recovered even worse after the crisis:

In my opinion, the Fed would like to see this figure at 60% before starting to normalize policy. The catch is, it’s hard to predict when this will happen. With fiscal incentives - maybe this year. Then the markets will have to prepare for a rate hike. This is why markets tend to get ahead of the curve now.

As a result of the meeting, one thing became clear - long-term rates will continue to grow, which will neutralize the positive effect of fiscal stimulus on stock markets. Waves of sales in bonds, which, apparently, will still occur, since the path of yields upward is open, will cause, according to the well-known scenario, corrections in the stock markets as well. Growth is likely to be, but not as smooth as we would like.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Oil, USD and Gold: trading ideas for the week ahead

Relief in the equity markets after the Fed meeting was short-lived - yet another spike in Treasury rates knocked down oil, growth stocks. Nasdaq lost 3.02%, the biggest daily drop in several months. Oil closed with 7.6% loss, with maximum decline reaching 9%. Oil market rout was the most intense since October last year.

Markets are increasingly nervous about the situation with coronavirus in the EU countries, where lockdowns, disastrous for economic activity, are either reintroduced or extended. Increasing incidence rate in Germany does not let the government to ease restrictions, with third lockdown in sight as hinted by the local Ministry of Health today. The outlook for economy reopening deteriorates. The recent backwardation in term structure of Brent and WTI (when short-range contracts are more expensive than long-range contracts), which indicated strong current demand, is either decreasing or turning into contango (short-range contracts become cheaper than long-range contracts). Basically, time spreads in oil indicate a pause in the uptrend.

On the daily chart, the drop was picked up exactly on the 50-day DMA:

In the short term, the former uptrend line (point 61.50) will already act as a barrier to growth. After such a strong fall, the shock to buyers is unlikely to pass quickly - the most likely development of the market is a sideline movement with a retest of $60 round support before the market gathers strength and continues to rise as there are plenty of reasons for this.

The dollar should also contribute to the moderate dynamics of oil. The fact of the approval of fiscal stimulus has been priced in, but it remains uncertain how much households will spend in consumption and how much will go into savings. In the data, this will manifest itself gradually. What has not been fully taken into account in asset prices is the high rate of vaccination in the United States, which will allow the lockdown to be completely lifted earlier than previously thought. We all know what consequences such expectations have for the Treasury market (continuing increase in nominal rates). By the way looking at weekly timeframe it becomes clear that the Treasury rates are at their historical low, so the recent increase is a drop in the ocean, so to speak. The growth in February-March on the scale of decades is just a minor rebound from the all-time bottom. Further expansion of interest rate differential (US rates minus other countries rates on fixed income) may turn more capital flows into US assets which is a factor in the demand for the currency.

Technically, the steep uptrend of the dollar broke off the week before last - the index went into the range, 91.40 - 92.00, the Fed could not help. Exit from the range in my opinion is upwards, we can consider the target 92.50 (the previous March high):

In gold, the main driver is related to the reasoning above - real interest rates in the US. This is the opportunity cost for gold (what we miss in terms of return with the same level of risk when we choose to hold gold). The real rate is rising and based on US growth forecasts, the coming consumer boom will be higher this year. Therefore, all upward movements of gold, within the framework of close correlation with the real rate, are rebounds in the downtrend:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

These moves in asset prices should put investors on alert

Risk assets were sold off moderately on Tuesday while there was a solid interest in debt assets, which is evident from synchronous fall of yields on sovereign debt of developed countries. This distinguishes Tuesday pullback from the dips that we saw earlier in February in March – in contrast, they were fueled by sharp sell-off in bond markets, i.e., rise in yields. If we assume that the idea of post-pandemic recovery still remains a dominant market theme, rising bond prices together with falling stocks should put us on alert, as the pattern belongs to classic risk-off environment. So maybe investors started to doubt about recovery? Looks reasonable, considering that oil has spookingly grown a second leg down, and small-caps, which have experienced a renaissance since November, were sold aggressively:

The yields on sovereign debt in developed countries began to decline at about the same time:

Oil prices bounced down from the trendline after the breakout, in line with the idea described earlier:

Based on the widespread pullback movements in assets or asset indices, which were used to bet on the recovery, we can conclude that recovery euphoria gives way to more cautious markets. At least in the near-term. A key ingredient of continuation of recovery is a clear timeframe of lockdown lifting in the key economies, which markets currently lack for. With recent developments in vaccination programs and lockdowns, expected dates of getting key positive catalysts were delayed again. In my opinion, the case of consolidation in one week – one month horizon strengthens. On the technical side, some equity indices are currently playing with key resistance areas with little fundamental backdrop to expect true breakouts. Also, strong performance of equities relative to bonds let us expect a significant quarterly rebalancing of large funds which buy stocks and bonds. The rebalancing will obviously lead to paring down share of equities in portfolios and increasing exposure in well-fallen bonds.

The risks that sell-off will develop into a full-fledged bear market are small. The main recovery impetus is still in stock and has not been used up. This is the complete removal of lockdowns and release of pent-up demand. For example, it can be seen that forecasts of leading central banks and oil agencies have the biggest optimism in the third-fourth quarter of 2021 – they anticipate that the bulk of social restrictions will be lifted by that time giving essential boost to consumer mobility.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Oil and EURUSD set to rebound next week but it may hide a selling opportunity

The news continues to be full of headlines that discourage risk appetite. Among them – a new all-time high in daily Covid-19 cases in Poland and gloomy forecast for the course of the third wave from the German Ministry of Health without additional restrictions. Nevertheless, risk assets are successfully developing a technical rebound on Friday. Why technical? First, the intraday growth is moderate, not exceeding 1% in the main indices. Secondly, a fairly spoiled news background can be fixed only by a decline in infection rates, which obviously will not happen overnight. The peak of pessimism in this regard has not been reached. Thirdly, the quarterly rebalancing of large funds, during which they will have to reduce the weight of shares in portfolio and increase the share of cheap bonds, has not yet been completed.

The blockage of the Suez Canal counterbalanced the virus story, causing prices to rise. Risk-on in the commodity market then spread to risk assets. But let’s keep in mind that supply chain disruptions are temporary. As soon as the movement in the channel recovers (1-2 weeks), the market will again be absorbed by fears of fragile demand due to the third wave, which will certainly not go anywhere by that time.

As for the technical picture for oil, a series of recent dips have invalidated the bullish trendline that has been running since November 2020. The breakout has led to a shift in sentiment in the short term, resulting in a short-term bearish channel:

The story with the blocking of the channel increases chances of a short-term rise in oil, however, the main resistance in this rise may be located at around 60.50 (the upper border of the channel). It should be borne in mind that on April 1, OPEC will again decide how to adjust production in response to the deteriorating market conditions. In my opinion, OPEC has already surprised by leaving the restrictions at the same level at the last meeting, so on April 1 there will be disappointment.

EURUSD has reached the target proposed in yesterday post - the lower border of the current trend corridor. I expect the pair to rise next week to the level of 1.183-1.185 (a repetition of the previous scenario with testing 1.1955), followed by a drop back below 1.18:

The catalysts for the weakening could be data on inflation and the German economy or worsening epi curves or new measures in the EU to contain the virus.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Strong March NFP suggests more US data surprises to come

The US jobs market data in March were really impressive. Given momentum effect in the labor market and still incomplete recovery in consumer mobility, payrolls growth April may top 1 million. It means the odds of more economic surprises in the US from the key macroeconomic areas are quite high, which justifies elevated market expectations about US assets and USD performance. We cannot rule out that US labor market can achieve pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year which will certainly trigger premature Fed tightening. For now, it remains a tail risk.

The solid report on the US labor market for March indicated the growth of jobs by 916K against the 660K forecast. The payroll readings for the previous two months were revised upwards by 156K. Employment in the private sector rose by 780K, while the currently not very indicative unemployment rate fell to 6%.

Employment growth overtook the forecast thanks to warm weather which additionally boosted mobility and some economic sectors like construction, strong vaccination program in the US and economy reopening efforts from individual states, which boosted consumer sentiment, business climate, activity and labor demand.

Improved weather helped construction sector to boost hiring by 110K, continuing easing of restrictions led to an increase in jobs by 280K in the leisure and hospitality industry. Public sector employment increased by 136K. However, in no industry has demand for labor recovered to pre-crisis levels.

Expectations for the jobs market performance in April are high due to two reasons. Firstly, consumers mobility still has room to recover. Secondly, it’s reasonable to expect that recovery will continue given positive trend in reopening and non-stop supportive government measures. The following shows the dynamics of restaurant reservations for some key states, as well as the number of security checks at airports:

Source: ING

It can be seen from both charts that all the curves (with the exception of Miami table reservations) are still below the pre-pandemic level, so recovery still has a room to go. Consequently, the demand for labor should continue to grow.

Despite the positive NFP update, there are 8.4 million fewer jobs in the US economy than it was before the pandemic. The Fed has signaled that it will not raise rates until 2024 until there is substantial economic progress. Given their lukewarm attitude towards rising inflation, it is clear that they want to see jobs return to pre-crisis levels.

Officials’ comments make it clear that unemployment is now giving false signals due to the large number of demotivated workers. Now only 57.8% of the working population is employed:

This is very low and, in some respects, comparable to the employment rate of the 1980s. To reach pre-crisis levels (labor force participation rates above 60%), the labor market should add at least 6 million jobs.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Upbeat soft data in the EU fuels tactical retreat of USD

Indices of activity in manufacturing and services sector in the EU indicated a welcomed expansion in March. However, it came with a decent delay due to lockdown extensions. Compared to the pace of recovery in the US, it’s still just a minor uptick. Nevertheless, it was enough for Euro to break a series of falls as there was a bunch of risks associated with extended lockdown which were priced in the European currency. The March data eased concerns about worst-case scenario for the EU and helped to downplay impact of slow vaccinations and lockdown pressure on business sentiment. EURUSD is developing a rather rapid upward movement, while USD index broke the main uptrend channel which casts doubts on immediate continuation of the advance:

Improving demand for Treasuries also played against the US currency. The yield on 10-year notes continues to decline after reaching a local peak of 1.774% on March 30. In my view it’s just another break in the broad downtrend. Labor market data, ISM indices, in particular the components of new orders and expectations, consumer mobility indices call to prepare for new surprises in April, so the positive impact of the flight from long-date Treasuries on the dollar should still remind of itself in the near future.

The recovery in the Eurozone was quite synchronous: Markit pointed to the growth of business activity in Germany, Italy, Spain and Ireland, both in services and in manufacturing. Together, these four countries account for three quarters of the Eurozone’s economy. Firms see a surge in orders in the United States against the backdrop of the lifting of restrictions, so they are too very optimistic about the near future.

Today, clues about the further behavior of the dollar should be looked for in the minutes of the Fed meeting for March. Expectations are modest – reiteration of the mantra of ultra-easy monetary policy despite all the optimism taking place in the data. Still, there are fears that the dynamics of inflation will cause discomfort among officials. Therefore, if there is even a slight bias towards hawkish policy, even a hint of an earlier curtailment of QE, it will certainly resume the growth of Treasury yields and support the dollar. In general, it is too early to write off strong dollar.

On the other hand, the risks of weak vaccination rate in the European currency may be eliminated by news refuting the connection of the Astra Zeneca vaccine with blood clots. This will signal a recovery in vaccination rates - a key component of expectations that immunization targets will be met earlier and mobility will recover faster.

From a technical point of view, the upward correction in EURUSD may hit the 1.1930 - 1.1960 zone before we could start discuss resumption of USD rally:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Strong US CPI May Trigger Treasury Sell-off, Dollar Rise

Summary

• Long-dated bond yields picked up ahead of US CPI release, increasing odds of USD rebound;

• Solid China trade data, in particular growth of imports, underpinned oil prices.

Calm in the equity markets extended into Tuesday with US equity index futures swaying near the opening. However, debt markets appear to be strained. Bond yields advanced as the risk of higher inflation rates re-emerged in the past and this week’s data.

Today US consumer inflation report is due and there are good reasons to expect a surprise on the upside. The fact is that inflation on intermediate goods (PPI) in China and the United States came materially higher than forecasts in March, which is likely to affect the final prices due to cost-push inflation pressures. A strong CPI reading will most likely wake up the bears in the Treasury market, and again we will see a renewed uptrend in yields and USD. EURUSD will probably not hold at the current levels and likely go down to 1.1850-1.1860, given tepid behavior of the buyers after reaching 1.19 mark:

Accordingly, a breakout of 1.70% level in 10-year Treasury Note yield may become a technical signal for resumption of the rally to new local highs. The factor of Treasury sell-off, as shown by the dynamics of USD in March and February, is probably the most import in the currency’s strength.

ZEW report on corporate sentiment in Germany, which is usually of high importance, can be ignored, as investors focus on data on vaccination pace, as well as news on the European Recovery Fund, which still has a long way before approval and which could be the factor of Euro strength, similar to fiscal stimulus in the US.

China foreign trade showed mixed dynamics - export growth did not meet expectations, but imports accelerated significantly (38.1% versus 23.3%). Details also showed that China ramped up oil purchases, which came as a surprise. Oil prices rose moderately, but the focus is on successes or failures in suppressing the virus. The situation in this regard is very ambiguous - the deserted streets of India due to record daily growth on the one hand and the rapid recovery of mobility in the United States or Great Britain due to the weakening of the restriction on the other.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

Markets are not afraid of US inflation risks

Summary:

• Markets reaction to US inflation report was rather restrained, which came as a big surprise and has medium-term implications for USD;

• The basis of bearish pressure in GBPUSD is largely lockdown-related risks, the chances of which are falling.

Despite highly upbeat reading of US March CPI, markets’ reaction to the event was quite unusual – long-dated Treasury yields skid, pulling lower disappointed dollar. This suggests that the prospects for inflation and growth are largely factored into valuations - the market has gone far ahead in its inflation outlook and will be difficult to surprise. At the same time, the number of arguments against buying the dollar is growing - the net position of speculators in futures has approached neutral (net short is only 2% of open interest), which reduces the opportunity for short-squeeze, the Fed is resolutely rejecting speculations about tapering of asset purchases, and on the other side of the Atlantic, economic activity is reviving, making growth more synchronous, which takes the advantage off the USD.

EURUSD continued to rise, thereby completing the “flag” pattern (one of the trend continuation patterns). However, now the pair is in the area of overlap of the upper bound of the downward trend channel and key horizontal level. The previous attempt to break out and go beyond the upper border of the corridor in a similar situation ended unsuccessfully, and sellers retained control. Successful consolidation above the level of 1.1950 may be considered as a signal that the pair is returning to a medium-term uptrend:

The pound sterling came under pressure yesterday after news that the chief economist of the Central Bank is leaving his post. Andrew Haldane was one of the main hawks in the Central Bank of England, so the path to raising rates may be longer, due to decline in the general policy bias of the Central Bank to quickly normalize credit conditions. However, the main focus remains on the pace of vaccination and the UK is doing well in this. Among the latest news, England’s superiority in this regard is notable - take, for example, the fact that more than half of the adults in the country received the vaccine. In the GBPUSD pair, after the correction from 1.40, many risks related to the last lockdown remain priced in, which, as time shows, are unlikely to materialize. This justifies gradual strengthening of the pound against the main peers - EUR and USD.

On the technical front, the pound is likely to test the upper boundary of the correctional channel (1.3850) against the backdrop of retreating USD:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Shale oil is slow to recover removing on the key caps for oil price growth

The data on US crude oil inventories has brought noticeable relief to the market, once again hinting on lack of shale oil output rebound, despite warming weather and strengthening demand. Inventories dropped by ~5.9 million barrels last week, more than double than the forecast. Gasoline inventories declined more than expected as well, indicating that consumer demand remains strong.

The report apparently came as a surprise to the market. Oil prices jumped upwards on the release, breaking through the trading range that formed after the last oil mini-collapse:

Production in the US is indeed recovering slowly despite increasing rig count. It means that on the supply side, the picture is still quite favorable for price growth:

The IEA’s monthly report released on Wednesday also pushed prices higher. The agency has significantly raised its forecast for oil consumption in the second quarter of 2021, which makes it possible to expect the market to better cope with the forthcoming increase in OPEC production.

The geopolitical factor also accompanies the rise in oil prices. The chances of a quick conclusion of a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States have decreased due to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, which means that a quick return of Iranian barrels to the market (with a potential of 2 million bbl/d) is not to be expected.

Another piece of data on inflation in the US again exceeded expectations, but assets’ market lacked response. Import and export prices for March were significantly higher than the forecast, indicating that supply is not keeping up with demand. This is a perfectly reasonable assumption, given the series of fiscal stimulus in the US that has sparked a surge in consumer demand. By looking at prices in terms of their signaling function to producers, firms will start adjusting their output in response to price increases, so we first need to see inflation.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Fed to maintain the status quo against the backdrop of hints of inflation coming from “all the cracks in the economy”. Therefore, commenting on what is happening, officials are increasingly saying that inflation is not a problem and monetary stimulus are not endless. Yesterday the head of the Central Bank Powell said that the curtailment of QE will begin “much earlier” than the rate hike, and the Fed is going to keep rates at the current level at least until the end of 2022 (previously the deadline was until the end of 2023).

The early withdrawal of monetary incentives is one of the main threats to the growth of risk assets. An important component of their fundamental assessment is the cost of credit, which justifies their high sensitivity to any hints about an early tightening of the Central Bank’s policy.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Falling yields open opportunity to short Gold

The most notable move in asset markets this week was collapse of US yields. The 10-year Treasury yield, which has exploded since the start of the year on accelerating inflation expectations, tumbled to the lowest level since early March:

Most interestingly, this happened against the backdrop of the release of quite pro-inflationary reports - strong US CPI, stellar retail sales, US labor data. Recall that in March, consumer inflation in the US accelerated to 2.1% YoY, retail sales by 9.8% in monthly terms while unemployment claims rose by 576K (the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic). All three indicators beat forecasts, however expected sell-off in bonds never happened. Moreover, investors began to flow back en masse to long-term bonds. As a result, gold skyrocketed due to lower opportunity costs and the dollar came under pressure.

The strange bond move could be explained by heightened geopolitical tensions, in particular, between Russia and the United States over the Ukrainian issue. There were also reports that the downward movement of yields triggered coverage of short positions in the Treasuries, one of the backers of which was “Bond King” Bill Gross. At the beginning of the year, he advocated shorting Treasuries on a potential surge of inflation. Inflation did accelerate, but there was no surge, so his bond position and his followers could be under pressure.

In my opinion, yields will not be able to hold out for a long time at the levels where they are now after a fairly rapid pullback. The reason for this is unchanged inflation trend in the United States. Recent economic data marked beginning of the accelerating trend in price growth. There are no potential catalysts on the horizon for a sharp slowdown in inflation or that could lead to inflection points in the trend. Considering the instruments most available to trade this idea, gold is striking. It is currently approaching the upper border of medium-term downward trading corridor ($1800) …

…which could be a good selling opportunity if we bet on integrity of the channel. Surely this will require a resumption of growth in yields, but there are all the prerequisites for this. The most important of these is continuing trend in lifting of social restrictions and subsequent emerging consumer impulse that generates price increases. In Europe and in a number of other countries, it is still waiting for its moment.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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EUR, GBP and JPY: near-term technical setup against USD

The most notable event in FX market on Monday was steep fall of the greenback. The currency index erased half a percent through rather sharp downward moves, which could indicate a large dump. The US currency has been taken away one of the key footholds – ssell-off in long-dated US Treasuries. Massive sales observed in February and March has been fueling demand for cash, however, this driver has suddenly lost steam last week - strong pro-inflationary data in the US (CPI, retail sales) for March met relatively tepid reaction of the bond market. Apparently, this forced dollar holders to ditch the currency.

Analyzing the possibility that the dollar will continue to fall, it is worth paying attention to the technical situation in the pair with the main rival - the euro. Earlier, we discussed a scenario where price after breakout of the horizontal + sloping resistance level (1.1950-60) may set the stage for protracted euro rebound if it stays above the level for several days. Price action on Monday indicates realization of this setup:

The ECB decision this week may open up additional growth prospects for the European currency. If the Central Bank sees optimism in the data and speaks less about the need to maintain huge asset purchase stimulus, the euro will get a support factor in the form of the European Central Bank’s slightly less dovish stance. Chances abound due to unexpectedly strong European data for March.

The dollar’s downward jerk also affected GBPUSD - the pair broke through from the bottom up the correctional channel, which has been going on since March, which opens the way to 1.40 after a technical pullback:

The movement could be catalyzed by employment and inflation data on Tuesday and Wednesday. Particular attention should be paid to the inflation report, as due to the rapid pace of vaccinations, the chances of seeing a consumer boost in March are high.

USDJPY did not stand aside either. However, it should be borne in mind that technically the yen was strengthening extremely quickly against the dollar (hourly RSI is below 20 ppoints), which increases the chances of a rebound. Potential entry area - intersection with the medium-term trend line (107.60-70):

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.
High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Pressure on USD rises ahead of possible dovish Fed move

The CFTC data showed that net long speculative position on EURUSD rose last week, which suggests the shift in sentiment on the pair is under way after protracted squeeze of long positions. Historically, the euro net long position is within one sigma, i.e., far from extreme levels and there is still room for bulls to ramp up pressure. Speaking of the short term, there was no particular rush of buyers after the test of 1.21 on Monday - the major move is most likely set for Wednesday, when the Fed will clarify the course of US monetary policy. And again, the main question is when to expect unwinding of current pace of QE purchases. Long-dated Treasury yields advanced on Monday, signaling return of inflation concerns as well as worries about possible Fed meeting outcome where the regulator hints that reduction in credit stimulus could begin in the less distant future.

The European currency is also drawing strength from progress on the fiscal front. Positive news on the European recovery fund (large-scale fiscal stimulus) triggered some sell-off in European bonds, due to reassessment of inflation expectations. The yield on 10-year German bonds is again moving towards the local high of this year (-0.217%), while the sell-off appears to be stronger than in long-dated Treasuries:

The dollar index is moderately correcting downwards, having touched the lowest level since the beginning of March (90.65). Despite the coronavirus crisis in one of the largest emerging economies (India), expectations for a global recovery persist, as evidenced by the positive dynamics of industrial metals prices. Iron ore and copper have resumed their uptrend since early April, reflecting expectations that demand will continue to rise:

The theme of recovery this week may be supported by the data on the US economy, in particular GDP, orders for durable goods and claims for unemployment benefits. Output growth in the US economy for the first quarter is expected to be an impressive 6.1%. Given benign environment, better-than-expected data updates should fuel risk appetite. If the Fed gives a signal that it will tolerate overheating of the economy, there will be even less sense to stick to USD positions till the next meeting.

Joe Biden’s first speech to Congress will also take place this week, in which he can provide more details on tax reform. For risk assets, the details are likely to be negative, so US indices are likely to decline ahead of the speech.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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“Frozen” USDCAD and the upcoming Fed meeting: markets overview

FX and sovereign debt markets are bracing for the bout of turbulence ahead of the Fed event today. Despite success in spurring inflation growth, the Fed’s message will likely remain unchanged – substantial observed progress in employment is an essential condition to depart from accommodative policy. Yield differential between the 10 and 2-year Treasuries will likely extend gains on a dovish message - which should support EM currencies as well as Norwegian krone and CAD.
US long-dated yields have rebounded ahead of the Fed, halting decline which lasted about a month:

The US dollar were also offered support thanks to signs of renewed bond market rout and set to test the upper bound of downward channel in which it currently resides:

Inflation premium in long-dated Treasuries could be fueled by the US consumer sentiment report released on Tuesday. Consumer sentiment index jumped to 121.7, the highest since February 2020. The report reinforced fears that supply in the economy is not keeping pace with rebounding consumer demand, which should result in faster inflation. There are signs on the supply side that justify those fears: for example, quickly rising maritime shipping rates or, for example, updated profit forecast of the largest container operator Maersk. The company has doubled its profit forecast for 2021 due to “exceptionally strong” demand for its logistic services.
Given these findings, if the Fed continues to cling to the transient inflation argument today and leaves QE timeframe unchanged, the US real rate will be under pressure again. This time, however, we have less patchy global growth, so there are plenty of alternatives to US fixed income assets. This should stimulate the search for yield abroad. The effect on the dollar appears to be negative.
However, pressure on USD will likely be uneven. Given positive correlation of yielding currencies with the spread between 10-year and two-year US government bonds, in particular the Canadian dollar, today’s message from the Fed may open way for their further rally. By the way, the CAD has been behaving strangely in the couple of last days, fluctuating in a very narrow range after strong sweeping moves earlier:

Continuation pattern?

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Continuing US bond rout may offer some support to USD next week

Incoming economic data of developed economies in the second half of the week, dynamics of commodity prices (record price of steel futures) added fuel to the flight from long-dated bonds:

US GDP growth beat forecast in the first quarter of 2021, averaging to 6.4%, while quarterly inflation measured through GDP growth accelerated to 4.1% against expectations of 2.5%. Despite weak output in Germany and threat of technical recession in the first quarter, price growth there also accelerated above expectations in April.

US unemployment claims that came on Thursday were slightly weaker than the forecast - both initial and continuing claims gained more than expected, nevertheless, the markets are bracing for a very strong increase in the April NFP of 925K. The report is due for release on next Friday. If job growth meets expectations or even beats forecast, rumors that the Fed will move to tapering earlier than previously expected should increase, as according to the Fed, substantial progress in employment is the key goal of ultra-easy credit policy. Inflation expectations are also set to accelerate in this case, fueling more upside in yields which in case of rapid movements may offer support for USD.

It is clear that US debt market became more concerned about the threat of inflation this week. However, in the current environment, inflation is a synonym of expansion, which means demand for risk is likely to stay here as the dominant market theme. At the very least, it is difficult to expect that there will be a reason for a collapse and even a correction. The Fed added fuel to the fire on Wednesday, once again declaring that “it is not time to even discuss the changes in QE purchases”. Cheap credit policy, coupled with economic pickup will likely continue to push prices up and the risk that inflation will accelerate haunts bonds. The Fed stubbornly denies that inflation will be here for a long time and is trying to convince market participants of this. As you can see, it doesn’t work out very well.

The dollar sank after the Fed meeting, but is trying to recover for the second day in a row. Yesterday, consolidation above the upper border of the descending channel failed, but on Friday the chances of this are much higher:

Next week we may see a slight strengthening of the dollar towards 91.00-91.20 amid bond pressure ahead of a possible NFP surprise. The bar to surprise is very high and if the report fails to meet expectations, USD will likely start to drift lower from those levels.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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USD set to stay range-bound given moderate US data updates

The buying wave in USD emerged last Friday appears to be losing punch as US currency retreats against major peers. However, resumption of sales may take longer than bears could expect. To bet on further USD slide, markets may need data updates that would shift risk-seeking flows to assets outside the US. However, this week, key reports will be related to the US economy and weak US currency should be expected in case of a downside surprise in Friday Payrolls.

In general, post-pandemic recovery in the United States is going well. Last week, this was indicated by data on consumer spending and U. Michigan consumer sentiment report, which came a tad stronger than forecasted. Long-term market rates in the US generally sway near opening Monday and US currency has not been offered support from this side.

At the same time, markets learned last week that the European economy is getting out of the recession faster than forecasted. Key macroeconomic variables more than met expectations - GDP for the first quarter, inflation and unemployment in April, which sets the stage for appreciation of the Euro as EU recovery momentum catches up with the US.

We have entered a new month, so it is also worth to consider seasonality factor. May usually turns out to be favorable for the dollar, this is probably due to the fact that corrections in risk assets often occur in May. Keep in mind the well-known saying “Sell in May and go away”, which this year may remind many investors of itself.

The upper border of USD index strengthening this week will most likely reside at 91.55 points. This is a two-week high. For EURUSD it is approximately 1.1990 and 1.3780 for GBPUSD. These levels may not hold in case of a correction in US equities, which would open the door for rally in the index towards 92.00. However, this is difficult to expect morally, given that the consensus on Payroll’s growth in April is almost 1 million jobs. There are also many anecdotal evidences indicating that the service sector in the United States simply lags behind the consumer boom, failing to hire required number of workers.

Investors also listen to Powell, but continue to do their own thing. Weekly inflows to funds investing in inflation-protected bonds continue to remain at historically high levels:

In our case, elevated inflationary expectations reflect the investors’ opinion that there is strong demand in the economy, which, of course, is barely a macroeconomic basis under which a correction should be expected.

Commodity markets are on the rise, as can be seen from highest in years reading of the Bloomberg Commodity Price Index, which basically forces investors to expect continued rise in cost-push inflation in the coming months:

The largest threat for further USD dump is a fresh sell-off in Treasuries. However, we have to see material gain in Payrolls above forecast to see another leg of inflation concerns. In addition, bond pressure could emerge after the release of ADP and PMI in the US non-manufacturing sector on Wednesday. The focus will traditionally be on the employment component. Moderate data should take away support from USD as any sign of cooling in the US momentum is what bond bulls exactly want for.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Developed economies compete in the pace of recovery. Which one will win?

Developed economies keep competing in the pace of recovery. UK data showed on Tuesday that manufacturing activity rose to its highest in more than 26 years:

Interestingly, the Markit report mentioned the same challenge also faced by US and EU producers: supply chain bottlenecks, resources and inventory shortages. This results in the rise of intermediate prices and response to this is the same everywhere - push the increase further in the price chain, i.e. hike end prices. However, the temporary consumer boom against the background of lifting of the pandemic restrictions makes it easy to do this, so cost-push inflation does not yet run into demand constraints, causing steady upward inflation trend.

The data on activity of manufacturers in the US and German economies were somewhat disappointing, but still it was quite strong. Looking under the hood, primary drivers of growth of the broad index were extremely high readings of new orders and prices components, while components of inventories and customer inventories made negative contribution:

Nonetheless, central banks have been slow to sound the alarm and tighten credit conditions in response to the threat of inflation pickup. But there is still some progress in this matter. Yesterday the head of the New York Fed Williams spoke, who admitted that the Fed could raise interest rate on excess reserves for banks or reverse repo rate. Both measures are intended to remove excess liquidity from the banking sector, although they are quite technical in nature. However, in the past, they preceded the start of normalization of credit conditions, so the dollar bulls took this hint with great optimism.

On Tuesday, we saw increased demand for greenback thanks to Williams comments, USD index climbed to 91.40 which is highest level since the start of the week. Today, the report on activity in the US service sector from ISM is due which should help to prepare better to the NFP surprise as well as give an idea of what is happening with services sector inflation in the US. Strong reading, especially driven by prices and hiring components will likely to push USD index higher with potential test of 91.55 resistance level, however further upside is under question and will require more reflation optimism, i.e., strong NFP surprise.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

[Tickmill-News]

US data may drive EURUSD lower, providing good buying opportunity

Another leg of USD rally took place yesterday amid sell-off in US equities. The bout of risk aversion was fueled by the comment of the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that a rate hike may be needed to prevent economy from overheating. The caused market turbulence in various asset classes, including stocks and USD, revealed lack of trust of investors to the Fed comments, showing that the Fed pledge to keep rates low and the stance on inflation (“we see inflation as temporary factor”) are taken with a grain of salt. Yellen later clarified that her comment was not a recommendation or a forecast for an interest rate hike, which is not surprising, because just a week ago we saw very cautious Fed rhetoric regarding rate hikes. Fed Speaker Charles Evans’ speech today is likely to address market rumors sparked by the Yellen remark.

The last three upside swings in USD were distinguished with length of the waves getting progressively shorter, while meeting resistance at the two-week high of 91.40:

Such a price action, together with the stabilization of ATR and RSI near their averages, often precedes a breakout move. Taking into account the pressure of buyers its vector will likely be positive. The breakdown catalyst is expected to be the Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday.

Two other reports to look out for are the ADP US Job Growth Data and the ISM Service Sector Index. They will play an important role in shaping expectations for the NFP. The ADP is expected to point to an increase in jobs of 850,000 in April, while the ISM index is expected to rise from 63.7 to 64.3 points. Particular attention should be paid to the hiring component of the ISM index, as its predictive power in relation to the NFP report is quite significant. The two strong reports also once again could cast doubt on the Fed’s ability to maintain current degree of monetary easing, which, in particular, may result in faster growth in long-dated bond yields. As I wrote on Monday, news and data flow this week favors tactical strengthening of USD as the reports on the US economy take central place in the economic calendar this week and risks are shifted towards positive surprises in the data.

For EURUSD, the breakdown of lower border of the trend channel disabled it for some time, but there was no particular rush to sell near the critical 1.20 level as seen from little pressure in RSI:

In this regard, the level can equally act as a foothold for growth after completion of the correction. The 1.1950 test on the release of US statistics looks like a logical scenario, but let’s not forget what drove the recent strengthening of EURUSD - progress in vaccinations, European fiscal stimulus and economic data. Next week, the news background is expected to be more favorable for the growth of the European currency.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.