FX Analysis by SGT Markets

EUR/USD


The dollar slumped broadly after U.S. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the dollar “is getting too strong” and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and now it is recovering thanks to promising job market’s data and consumer confidence data.

German ZEW Economic Sentiment very good but the outside chance of a victory by far-right parties in France is becoming a central topic. The market is also starting to factor in recent developments regarding North Korea and Syria.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row) but Inflation data on downbeat.

The dollar was supported after official data showed that the third estimate of fourth quarter gross domestic product was at 2.1%, up from the previous reading of a 1.9% expansion.

1.072 area is a very important resistance, we exclude a breakout of that barrier in the short-term. 1.067 support level breached: as we wrote in the previous commentaries, a breakout of 1.062 can lead down to 1.056 and 1.056 reacted. Now we are consolidating back around 1.065 in sideways market movements and in 1.072 area there is a very important resistance. Please, consider also that 1.062 area is a very weak support, a breach of that level would extend the fall down to our first support, which is 1.056.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 1.0679
2nd Resistance: 1.0724
1st Support: 1.0560
2nd Support: 1.0506


EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Core CPI + Retail Sales

GBP/USD


UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

UK Services PMI seen back to 55, far better than the 53.3 of previous month, while UK Manufacturing PMI dropped below previous one, for the second time in a row. UK GDP YoY was worse than Expected.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is formally filing paperwork to leave the European Union. Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 1.2530 is very important resistance and the consolidation around 1.238 area already exhausted. Now market is ranging between 1.238 and 1.253 levels waiting for the news and events scheduled next days.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2530
2nd Resistance: 1.2705
1st Support: 1.2380
2nd Support: 1.2200

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected. The dollar slumped broadly after U.S. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the dollar “is getting too strong” and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low and now it is recovering thanks to promising job market’s data and consumer confidence data.

Weeks ago Australia’s central bank held steady as expected in its latest interest rate decision: “The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment”.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected. Australia Retail Sales worse than Expected while Chinese factory activity grew at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months. Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expected a test around 0.7506 area. That happened and now we are back to the important resistance around 0.757 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7460
2nd Support: 0.7425

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


The dollar slumped broadly after U.S. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the dollar “is getting too strong” and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low, and lower-than-expected CPI confirmed that sentiment.

German ZEW Economic Sentiment was very good but the outside chance of a victory by far-right parties in France is becoming a central topic. The market is also starting to factor in recent developments regarding North Korea and Syria.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row) but Inflation data on downbeat.

1.072 area is a very important resistance, we exclude a breakout of that barrier in the short-term. 1.067 support level breached: as we wrote in the previous commentaries, a breakout of 1.062 can lead down to 1.056 and 1.056 reacted. Now we are consolidating back around 1.065 in sideways market movements and in 1.072 area there is a very important resistance. Please, consider also that 1.062 area is a very weak support, a breach of that level would extend the fall down to our first support, which is 1.056.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 1.0679
2nd Resistance: 1.0724
1st Support: 1.0560
2nd Support: 1.0506

EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

GBP/USD


UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

UK Services PMI seen back to 55, far better than the 53.3 of previous month, while UK Manufacturing PMI dropped below previous one, for the second time in a row. UK GDP YoY was worse than Expected.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is formally filing paperwork to leave the European Union. Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 1.2530 is very important resistance and the consolidation around 1.238 area already exhausted. Now market is ranging between 1.238 and 1.253 levels waiting for the news and events scheduled next days.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2530
2nd Resistance: 1.2705
1st Support: 1.2380
2nd Support: 1.2200

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


RBA Meeting Minutes showed caution and dovish tone.

China Industrial Production far above expectations drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Weeks ago Australia’s central bank held steady as expected in its latest interest rate decision: “The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment”.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected. Australia Retail Sales worse than Expected while Chinese factory activity grew at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months. Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expected a test around 0.7506 area. That happened and now we are back to the important resistance around 0.757 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7460
2nd Support: 0.7425

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


The dollar is in clear oversold area. We know that President Trump likes this situation, but as a matter of fact, talking about growth, job creation and domestic demand, U.S. economy is the most resilient compared to that of EU and UK. The market is factoring in recent developments regarding North Korea and Syria.

Eyes on today Eurozone CPI release. German ZEW Economic Sentiment was very good but the outside chance of a victory by far-right parties in France is becoming a central topic.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row) but Inflation data on downbeat.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 1.072 area is a very important resistance, we exclude a breakout of that barrier in the short-term. Now we are consolidating around 1.07 in sideways market movements and in 1.072 area there is a very important resistance. Please, consider also that 1.062 area is a very weak support, a breach of that level would extend the fall down to our first support, which is 1.056.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 1.0724
2nd Resistance: 1.0782
1st Support: 1.0560
2nd Support: 1.0506


EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD

Last RBA Meeting Minutes showed caution and dovish tone.

Eyes on tomorrow New Zealand Consumer Price Index, inflation release. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Weeks ago Australia’s central bank held steady as expected in its latest interest rate decision: “The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment”.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected. Australia Retail Sales worse than Expected while Chinese factory activity grew at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months. Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expected a test around 0.7506 area. That happened and now we are back to the important resistance around 0.757 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7460
2nd Support: 0.7425


AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets


EUR/USD


Eurozone CPI release said nothing really on the upbeat. German ZEW Economic Sentiment was very good but the outside chance of a victory by far-right parties in French Elections is becoming a central topic.

The dollar is in clear oversold area. We know that President Trump likes this situation, but as a matter of fact, talking about growth, job creation and domestic demand, U.S. economy is the most resilient compared to that of EU and UK. The market is factoring in recent developments regarding North Korea and Syria.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 1.072 area is a very important resistance, we exclude a breakout of that barrier in the short-term. Now we are consolidating around 1.07 in sideways market movements and in 1.072 area there is a very important resistance. Please, consider also that 1.062 area is a very weak support, a breach of that level would extend the fall down to our first support, which is 1.056.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0724
2nd Resistance: 1.0782
1st Support: 1.0560
2nd Support: 1.0506

EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected
Eyes on today release: French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

GBP/USD


Eyes on today UK Retail Sales release.

Sterling jumped after recovering losses Tuesday as UK PM called for early general elections on June 8. Theresa May said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

UK Services PMI seen back to 55, far better than the 53.3 of previous month, while UK Manufacturing PMI dropped below previous one, for the second time in a row. UK GDP YoY was worse than Expected.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is formally filing paperwork to leave the European Union. Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.283 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the news and events scheduled next days which we think will push price down to 1.26 back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2830
2nd Resistance: 1.2978
1st Support: 1.2530
2nd Support: 1.2380

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

Eyes on today release: UK Retail Sales

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Last RBA Meeting Minutes showed caution and dovish tone.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Weeks ago Australia’s central bank held steady as expected in its latest interest rate decision: “The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment”.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months. Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, our important resistance around 0.757 area worked and next stop will be 0.746 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7460
2nd Support: 0.7425

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

USD

Recent Facts:

see above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The dollar is still in clear oversold area. We know that President Trump likes this situation, but as a matter of fact, talking about growth, job creation and domestic demand, U.S. economy is the most resilient compared to that of EU and UK. The market is factoring in recent developments regarding North Korea and Syria.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

We expect a consolidation between 1.095 and 1.085, with possible retests of 1.078 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0856
2nd Resistance: 1.0950
1st Support: 1.0782
2nd Support: 1.0724

EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

Eyes on today release: German Ifo Business Climate

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

GBP/USD


UK Retail Sales release pretty worse than expected.

Sterling jumped after recovering losses Tuesday as UK PM called for early general elections on June 8. Theresa May said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

UK Services PMI seen back to 55, far better than the 53.3 of previous month, while UK Manufacturing PMI dropped below previous one, for the second time in a row. UK GDP YoY was worse than Expected.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is formally filing paperwork to leave the European Union. Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.283 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the news and events scheduled next days which we think will push price down to 1.26 back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2830
2nd Resistance: 1.2978
1st Support: 1.2530
2nd Support: 1.2380

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Last RBA Meeting Minutes showed caution and dovish tone.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Weeks ago Australia’s central bank held steady as expected in its latest interest rate decision: “The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment”.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months. Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. A definitive break of it would lead price up to 0.77 area. Failure to break it would lead price down to 0.746 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7460
2nd Support: 0.7425

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. We know that President Trump is comfortable with a weaker currency, but as a matter of fact, talking about growth, job creation and domestic demand, U.S. economy is the most resilient compared to that of EU and UK.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

We expect a consolidation between 1.095 and 1.085, with possible retests of 1.078 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0856
2nd Resistance: 1.0950
1st Support: 1.0782
2nd Support: 1.0724


EUR

Recent Facts:

31st of January, German Unemployment Change
Better than Expected

31st of January, Eurozone’s CPI and GDP preliminary release
Better than Expected

1st of February, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

9th of February, German Trade Balance
Worse than Expected

10th of February, French Industrial Production + French Non-Farm Payrolls
French Industrial Production Worse than Expected, French Non-Farm Payrolls Better than Expected

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

Eyes on today release: New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence

GBP/USD


Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.283 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the news and events scheduled next days which we think will push price down to 1.26 back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2830
2nd Resistance: 1.2978
1st Support: 1.2530
2nd Support: 1.2380

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.


AUD/USD


AUD struggled on the back of dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report. Australian consumer prices are scheduled for release tomorrow and the CPI report is generally a big market mover for AUD.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. A definitive break of it would lead price up to 0.77 area. Failure to break it would lead price down to 0.746 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

Eyes on today release: Australia CPI

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. We know that President Trump is comfortable with a weaker currency, but as a matter of fact, talking about growth, job creation and domestic demand, U.S. economy is the most resilient compared to that of EU and UK.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.

We expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected


USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

GBP/USD


Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.283 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the news and events scheduled next days which we think will push price down to 1.26 back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2830
2nd Resistance: 1.2978
1st Support: 1.2530
2nd Support: 1.2380

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Australian consumer prices lower than expected.

AUD struggled on the back of dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. A definitive break of it would lead price up to 0.77 area. Failure to break it would lead price down to 0.746 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408


AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected


USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



EUR/USD


Eyes on ECB and Interest Rates in Europe, Press Conference ahead.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.
The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

Eyes on today release: ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

Eyes on today release: Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales

GBP/USD


Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the news and events scheduled next days which we think will push price down to 1.26 back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2830
2nd Resistance: 1.2978
1st Support: 1.2530
2nd Support: 1.2380

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Australian consumer prices lower than expected.

AUD struggled on the back of dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. Failure to break is driving price down to 0.746 area.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408


AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



EUR/USD


Eyes on today Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) and U.S. GDP (Preliminary).

The ECB left its interest rates and policy stance unchanged as expected, keeping its unprecedented stimulus in place as inflation remains below target, even if growth is finally accelerating.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.
The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. And this is currently happen, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

Eyes on today release: CPI (Preliminary)

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

Eyes on today release: GDP (Preliminary release)


GBP/USD


Eyes on today UK GDP and U.S. GDP (Preliminary releases).

Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the next bad news to push price down to 1.27 area back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978
2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

Eyes on today release: UK GDP (Preliminary release)

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


Eyes on today U.S. GDP (Preliminary).

AUD struggled on the back of consumer prices lower than expected , dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

New Zealand Consumer Price Index revealed a higher than expected inflation. China Industrial Production, far above expectations, drove YoY GDP to +6.9% (better than +6.8% Expectations).

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

Last reading of China Inflation data is lower than Expected with Chinese factory activity growing at fastest pace in nearly 5 years.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. Failure to break is driving price down to 0.746 area, which is an important Support. An even more important Support is becoming 0.7408.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



EUR/USD


Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro.
U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

The ECB left its interest rates and policy stance unchanged as expected, keeping its unprecedented stimulus in place as long as inflation will not increase over target, even if growth is finally accelerating.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.
The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. And this is currently happen, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

GBP/USD


UK GDP (Preliminary release) was worse than Expected.
U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the next bad news to push price down to 1.27 area back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978
2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, UK GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

AUD/USD


U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers are expected to decide this month whether to extend the accord beyond June. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Friday it was important to agree an extension. Higher crude output is offsetting the impact of the output cuts.
Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

On the other hand, AUD struggled on the back of consumer prices lower than expected, dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. Failure to break is driving price down to 0.746 area, which is an important Support. An even more important Support is becoming 0.7408.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



EUR/USD


Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro.
U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

The ECB left its interest rates and policy stance unchanged as expected, keeping its unprecedented stimulus in place as long as inflation will not increase over target, even if growth is finally accelerating.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.
The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. And this is currently happen, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

Eyes on today release: German Manufacturing PMI

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

GBP/USD


Eyes on today UK Manufacturing PMI.

UK GDP (Preliminary release) was worse than Expected.
U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the next bad news to push price down to 1.27 area back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978

2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, UK GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

Eyes on today, Manufacturing PMI

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



AUD/USD


Reserve Bank of Australia holds Interest Rates at 1.5% as Expected.

U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers are expected to decide this month whether to extend the accord beyond June. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Friday it was important to agree an extension. Higher crude output is offsetting the impact of the output cuts.
Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected.

On the other hand, AUD struggled on the back of consumer prices lower than expected, dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. Failure to break already drove price down to 0.746 area, which was an important Support. Now we are ranging between an even more important Support (0.7408) and the same Resistance (0.757).

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

2nd of May, RBA Interest Rate Statement
RBA holds Rates at 1.5%

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI + FOMC Meeting Minutes
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


German Manufacturing PMI pared again the expectations. Eyes on today German Unemployment Change and Eurozone GDP preliminary release and U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment and FOMC Meeting Statement: while the Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates, investors were eyeing hints on the pace of future rate hikes.

Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro. Also Manufacturing PMI is keeping the expected pace.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

The ECB left its interest rates and policy stance unchanged as expected, keeping its unprecedented stimulus in place as long as inflation will not increase over target, even if growth is finally accelerating.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually are aimed at sustaining full employment and near-2-percent inflation without letting the economy overheat.
The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. And this is currently happen, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0950
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

2nd of May, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

Eyes on today: German Unemployment Change + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary)

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

Eyes on today release: ADP Nonfarm Employment + FOMC Meeting Statement

GBP/USD


Last UK Manufacturing PMI significantly higher than expected. Eyes on today Construction PMI, U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment and FOMC Meeting Statement.

UK GDP (Preliminary release) was worse than Expected and this looks to have been ignored too quickly.
U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

Even though retail sales fell sharply in March, data in general has been relatively healthy, allowing GBP to recover from its lows following the report. That said, the softness in retail sales and trade points to a weaker first-quarter GDP report.
Some unresolved tension with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for the next bad news to push price down to 1.27 area back again.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978
2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, UK GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

2nd of May, Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Construction PMI

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



AUD/USD


w Home Sales and Trade Balance, U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment and FOMC Meeting Statement.

Reserve Bank of Australia holds Interest Rates at 1.5% as Expected.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers are expected to decide this month whether to extend the accord beyond June. There are concerns over rising U.S. oil production and the possibility that OPEC may terminate its output cut plan. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Friday it was important to agree an extension.

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected but, on the other hand, AUD struggled on the back of consumer prices lower than expected, dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, 0.757 area is an important resistance. Failure to break already drove price down to 0.746 area, which was an important Support. Now we are ranging between an even more important Support (0.7408) and the same Resistance (0.757).

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Neutral
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7472
2nd Support: 0.7408

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

2nd of May, RBA Interest Rate Statement
RBA holds Rates at 1.5%

Eyes on today release: Australia New Home Sales + Trade Balance

USD

Recent Facts:

See above.

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD



EUR/USD


Today Nonfarm Payrolls day.

Retail Sales and German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (the latter confirms a positive 7-month strike). Eurozone GDP preliminary release stable at 1.7%, as expected.

U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment slightly better than expected. In the last FOMC Meeting Statement the Fed reiterated its view that monetary policy remains accommodative to support both an uptick in labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.

Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro. Also Manufacturing PMI is keeping the expected pace.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. Now we are in clear overbought over 1.09 and we think that this situation wll be corrected ahead of important U.S. data, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0990
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782


EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

2nd of May, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

3rd of May, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary)
German Unemployment Change Better than Expected (for the 5th time in a row)
Eurozone GDP (Preliminary) As Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Nonfarm Payrolls + Employment Change

Lucas Carter
SGT Markets Forex Broker & CFD


EUR/USD


Today Nonfarm Payrolls day.

Retail Sales and German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (the latter confirms a positive 7-month strike). Eurozone GDP preliminary release stable at 1.7%, as expected.

U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment slightly better than expected. In the last FOMC Meeting Statement the Fed reiterated its view that monetary policy remains accommodative to support both an uptick in labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.

Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro. Also Manufacturing PMI is keeping the expected pace.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The “best” scenario for EURO would be: Macron wins with a comfortable margin. The “worst” scenario would be: Le Pen wins (this could happen).

On the other hand, the dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June. The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. Now we are in clear overbought over 1.09 and we think that this situation wll be corrected ahead of important U.S. data, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0990
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

2nd of May, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

3rd of May, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary)
German Unemployment Change Better than Expected (for the 5th time in a row)
Eurozone GDP (Preliminary) As Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Nonfarm Payrolls + Employment Change

GBP/USD


Today Nonfarm Payrolls day.

UK Services PMI and Construction PMI better than expected, and also last UK Manufacturing PMI was pretty higher than expected.
In the last FOMC Meeting Statement the Fed reiterated its view that monetary policy remains accommodative to support both an uptick in labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.

UK GDP (Preliminary release) was worse than Expected and this was probably ignored too quickly.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

There are still some unresolved tensions with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. Theresa May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

UK Job Market with stable Unemployment Rate but toughly increasing Job Claimants.
UK Inflation Data on the upbeat while last Manufacturing Production data and Trade Balance were below expectations.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for either finally good news from the U.S. or bad news for the UK so to get down to 1.27 area back again. In the opposite case, a strong breakout of 1.2978 will lead up to 1.3185 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978
2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, UK GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

2nd of May, Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of May, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

4th of May, Services PMI
Better than Expected


USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Nonfarm Payrolls + Employment Change

AUD/USD


Today Nonfarm Payrolls day.

The Reserve Bank of Australia signalled that further interest rate cuts were off the table as wage gains are weaker than hoped, though house prices in some markets remain a worry. Australia New Home Sales and Trade Balance below expectations.
On the other hand, in the last FOMC Meeting Statement the Fed reiterated its view that monetary policy remains accommodative to support both an uptick in labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.

Reserve Bank of Australia holds Interest Rates at 1.5% as Expected.

Crude price fell quite a lot recently: OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers look likely to extend their agreement to limit supplies beyond its June expiry to help clear a glut, but downplayed the chances of additional steps such as a bigger cut in the face of a massive supply response from the U.S. to higher prices.

Australia Employment Change growing higher than expected but, on the other hand, AUD struggled on the back of consumer prices lower than expected, dovish RBA minutes and lower copper prices. Because of volatility, the central bank wanted to look past the healthier jobs report.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, now we are ranging between a very important Support (around 0.7408) and the Resistance around 0.757. 0.74 still under test in a clearly oversold setup.

Our special Fibo Retracements are confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Oversold
1st Resistance: 0.7570
2nd Resistance: 0.7735
1st Support: 0.7408
2nd Support: 0.7310

AUD

Recent Facts:

1st of November, RBA Interest Rates Statement
RBA’s Governor Lowe signals tolerance for weak inflation and bets seem off for future rate cuts

3rd of November, RBA Monetary Policy Statement + Retail Sales
RBA said it is focused on the medium-term inflation target
Retail Sales better than Expected

8th of November, ELECTION OF THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Donald Trump elected President

9th of November, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates cut to 1.75% from 2.00% as Expected

19th of December, Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Scott Morrison announced lower than an original prediction of A$37.1 billion, investors see it as promising to stave off a downgrade of its AAA (triple A) rating from S&P Global

9th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

19th of January, Employment Change
Better than Expected

25th of January, CPI (Consumer Price Index measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer)
Lower than Expected

1st of February, AIG Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

2nd of February, Building Approvals + Trade Balance
Better than Expected

7th of February, RBA Interest Rates Decision + RBA Rate Statement
RBA held steady as expected at a record low 1.50%, while noting better economic conditions with China

8th of February, New Zealand Interest Rate Decision + RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
Interest Rates Unchanged and RBNZ’s agenda contains no changes for 2017

16th of February, Employment Change
Better than Expected

28th of February, New Home Sales, Current Account, Private Sector Credit

1st of March, Australia GDP
Better than Expected

16th of March, Employment Change + Unemployment Rate
Worse than Expected

2nd of April, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

4th of April, RBA Interest Rate Decision
Interest Rates Unchanged, as Expected. Dovish tone in Philip Dowe’s Speech

9th of April, Home Loans
Worse than Expected

13th of April, Australia Employment Change
Better than Expected

18th of April, RBA Meeting Minutes
Dovish

26th of April, Australia CPI
Lower than Expected

2nd of May, RBA Interest Rate Statement
RBA holds Rates at 1.5%

4th of May, Australia New Home Sales + Trade Balance
Worse than Expected


USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI + FOMC Meeting Minutes
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

Eyes on today release: Nonfarm Payrolls + Employment Change

EUR/USD


Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister won French elections.

US. Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate solid better than expected.
The dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June (depending on labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation). The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

Retail Sales and German Unemployment Change again better than Expected (the latter confirms a positive 7-month strike). Eurozone GDP preliminary release stable at 1.7%, as expected.

Spanish growth + Eurozone Inflation Data (CPI, Preliminary) higher than Expected boosted Euro. Also Manufacturing PMI is keeping the expected pace.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

As we wrote in the previous commentaries, we expect a consolidation around 1.095, with possible retests of 1.085 area. Now we are in clear overbought over 1.09 and we think that this situation will be corrected ahead of important U.S. data, with a possibility to get lower and retest our Second Support in area 1.078.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2012:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.0990
2nd Resistance: 1.1112
1st Support: 1.0856
2nd Support: 1.0782

EUR

Recent Facts:

14th of February: German GDP (Preliminary release) + German ZEW Economic Sentiment + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary release)
German GDP Worse than Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected, Eurozone GDP Worse than Expected

15th of February, Eurozone Trade Balance
Better than Expected

21st of February, German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of February, German GDP
Worse than Expected

1st of March, German Manufacturing + German Unemployment Change
German Manufacturing Worse than Expected, German Unemployment Change Better than Expected

2nd of March, Eurozone Inflation data
In line with Expectations

3rd of March, German Services PMI + Eurozone Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

7th of March, Germany Factory Orders
Worse than Expected

8th of March, German Industrial Production
Better than Expected

9th of March, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Interest Rates Unchanged, ECB President Dovish (can be cut again in the future if necessary)

14th of March, German CPI + German ZEW Economic Sentiment
German CPI as Expected, German ZEW Worse than Expected

24th of March, German Manufacturing PMI
Significantly Better than Expected

30th of March, German CPI
Lower than Expected

31st of March, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone CPI
German Unemployment Change better than Expected (for the sixth time in a row), Eurozone CPI Worse than Expected

3rd of April, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

11th of April, German ZEW Economic Sentiment
Better than Expected

21st of April, French Manufacturing PMI + German Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

23rd of April, French Elections (first round)
Centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU ex-banker and former economy minister, emerged as the leader of the first round of voting and qualified for a May 7 runoff alongside the second-place finisher, far-right leader Marine Le Pen

24th of April, German Ifo Business Climate
Better than Expected

27th of April, ECB Interest Rate decision + ECB Press Conference
Unchanged, eyes on next Inflation data

28th of April, CPI (Preliminary)
Higher than Expected

2nd of May, German Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

3rd of May, German Unemployment Change + Eurozone GDP (Preliminary)
German Unemployment Change Better than Expected (for the 5th time in a row)
Eurozone GDP (Preliminary) As Expected

7th of May, French Elections
Centrist pro-EU Macron Won French Elections

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

5th of May, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

GBP/USD


US. Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate solid better than expected. The dollar is still in clear oversold area. The Federal Reserve is still expected to raise interest rates again this year with the rate hike likely to occur in September rather than June (depending on labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation). The U.S. tax reform package will simplify the tax system, lower rates, and make the system fairer, however the administration is still working with the House and the Senate to agree final details.

UK Services PMI and Construction PMI better than expected, and also last UK Manufacturing PMI was pretty higher than expected.
In the last FOMC Meeting Statement the Fed reiterated its view that monetary policy remains accommodative to support both an uptick in labour market conditions and a sustained return to 2% inflation.

UK GDP (Preliminary release) was worse than Expected and this was probably ignored too quickly.
On the other hand, U.S. GDP (Preliminary) lower than the expectation but remarkably the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index QoQ (which measures the annualized change in the price of all goods and services included in gross domestic product, so it is the broadest inflationary indicator) was higher than expected.

There are still some unresolved tensions with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted against leaving the EU. Theresa May provided no clear plan about the comprehensive “free-trade” partnership with EU members she wants to achieve.
Sterling jumped as Theresa May called for early general elections on June 8. She said Britain needed a strong and stable leadership going into Brexit talks and beyond.

Now market is ranging between 1.253 and 1.285 levels, in general overbought setup waiting for either finally good news from the U.S. or bad news for the UK so to get down to 1.27 area back again. In the opposite case, a strong breakout of 1.2978 will lead up to 1.3185 area.

Our special Fibo Retracement is confirming the following S/R levels against the Monthly and Weekly Trendlines obtained by connecting the relevant highs and lows back to 2001:

Weekly Trend: Overbought
1st Resistance: 1.2978
2nd Resistance: 1.3185
1st Support: 1.2705
2nd Support: 1.2530

GBP

Recent Facts:

4th of August, Bank of England Interest Rates decision (expected a cut)
Bank of England lowers Interest Rates as Expected (record low of 0.25%) and increases purchase program

20th of January, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

26th of January, GDP (Preliminary release)
Better than Expected

1st of February, UK Manufacturing PMI
As Expected

2nd of February, Construction PMI
Worse than Expected

3rd of February, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of February, Manufacturing Production
Better than Expected

14th of February, Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Worse than Expected

15th of February, Job Market
Better than Expected

17th of February, Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

1st of March, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

2nd of March, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of March, Services PMI
Worse than Expected

10th of March, Manufacturing Production + Trade Balance
UK Manufacturing Production Worse than Expected, Trade Balance Better than Expected

15th of March, Job Market
Better than Expected

16th of March, Interest Rates Decision + BoE Meeting Minutes
A Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates

21st of March, CPI
CPI Higher than Expected

23rd of March, Retail Sales
Better than Expected

31st of March, GDP YoY
Worse than Expected

3rd of April, Manufacturing PMI
Worse than Expected

5th of April, Services PMI
Better than Expected

7th of April, Manufacturing Production
Worse than Expected

11th of April, UK CPI
Higher than Expected

12th of April, UK Job Market
Worse than Expected

21st of April, UK Retail Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, UK GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

2nd of May, Manufacturing PMI
Better than Expected

3rd of May, Construction PMI
Better than Expected

4th of May, Services PMI
Better than Expected

USD

Recent Facts:

2nd of December: Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

27th of January, GDP + Durable Good Orders
GDP Significantly Worse than Expected, Durable Good Orders as Expected

1st of February, ADP Nonfarm Unemployment Change + U.S. Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing
Better than Expected (ISM Manufacturing at its highest level since November 2014)

3rd of February, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls better than Expected, Unemployment Rate Worse than Expected

14th of February, Producer Price Index (PPI)
Better than Expected

15th of February, Core CPI (Consumer Price Index) + Retail Sales
Better than Expected

16th of February, Building Permits + Initial Jobless Claims + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Better than Expected

21st of February, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI
Worse than Expected

27th of February, Core Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of February, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected

3rd of March, ISM Non-manufacturing PMI + Fed Chair Yellen Speech
ISM Non-manufacturing PMI Better than Expected, Yellen noted that a rate increase at next meeting “would likely be appropriate” insisting on the condition that data on employment and inflation have to move in line with expectations.

8th of March, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
Better than Expected

10th of March, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected

14th of March, Producer Price Index
Higher than Expected

15th of March, Core CPI + Retail Sales
As Expected

15th of March, FOMC Economic Projections + FOMC Statement + Fed Interest Rate Decision + FOMC Press Conference
The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.25% to a 0.75-1% range. Dovish speech of Chairwoman Yellen

16th of March, Building Permits + Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Building Permits Worse than Expected, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Better than Expected

24th of March, Core Durable Goods Orders
Worse than Expected

24th of March, Manufacturing PMI + Services PMI (preliminary release)
Worse than Expected (4th time in a row)

28th of March, Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Better than Expected (the highest since December 2000)

30th of March, GDP
Better than Expected

5th of April, ADP Nonfarm Employment Change + ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Better than Expected
ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment + ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI Worse than Expected

7th of April, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Nonfarm Payrolls Worse than Expected, Unemployment Rate Better than Expected

14th of April, Core CPI + Retail Sales
Core CPI (Inflation) Lower than Expected
Retail Sales Worse than Expected

20th of April, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Worse than Expected

25th of April, New Home Sales + CB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales Better than Expected, CB Consumer Confidence Worse than Expected

27th of April, Durable Good Orders + Pending Home Sales
Worse than Expected

28th of April, GDP (Preliminary release)
Worse than Expected but Price Index Higher than Expected

3rd of May, ADP Nonfarm Employment
ADP Nonfarm Employment better than Expected

5th of May, Nonfarm Payrolls + Unemployment Rate
Better than Expected