
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


The GBP/USD pair seems to be in a corrective pullback on Friday, having tested multi-month highs at 1.4166 on March 11. Brexit remains a pain area for the cable, UK condemns EU over Brexit finance ‘threats’ and asks for its resolution in the latest developments. As for now, investors turn their attention to US Retail Sales and Industrial Production data to gain fresh trading impetus. EUR/USD has been able to stabilise as the market mood improved. Support for the pair awaits at 1.2075, which was a swing high in early May. It is followed by 1.2055, the weekly trough, and then by 1.2015 and the psychologically significant 1.20. Some resistance is at the recent high of 1.2110, followed by 1.2150, April's peak, and then by the current month's top line of 1.2180. The European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Yannis Stournaras noted on Thursday that markets show an increase in inflation expectations but added that inflation worries in Europe are not the same as in the US, per Reuters. This helped the regional currency traders to stay optimistic even as recent fears from the prices probes recovery moves. The ECB policymakers are not only less worried about inflation but also hope for a stronger recovery in 2021 and 2022, per the latest economic forecast. Though, the bloc accepts that the pick-up seems to lag behind the UK. The U.S. Dollar Index inched up 0.02% to 90.755 The USD/JPY pair edged up 0.14% to 109.61. The AUD/USD pair inched down 0.06% to 0.7724 and the NZD/USD pair inched up 0.04% to 0.7174. The USD/CNY pair inched down 0.08% to 6.4457.
GBP/USD edged lower for the second straight session, though lacked follow-through selling. The upbeat UK economic outlook underpinned the British pound and extended some support. A combination of factors capped the USD upside and assisted the pair to bounce off daily lows. EUR/USD struggles for direction amidst risk-off mood. The greenback remains bid post-upbeat April CPI.US Initial Claims, Producer Prices next in the calendar. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 90.775, around its highest level in a week. EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.2075, after dropping around 0.6% the previous session, GBP/USD was flat at 1.4052, and USD/JPY was up 0.1% at 109.73, close to its strongest level in five weeks. AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.7712, while NZD/USD rose 0.1% to 0.7160, benefiting from further plans to open the New Zealand economy. The main driver of these dollar gains has been the surge in U.S. inflation, and the concern this will force the Fed to move away from its ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than its current guidance suggests.
GBP has underperformed in Q2 to-date, being the 2nd worst performing G10 currency. We see scope for catch-up with the markets concluding the BoE outlook is too pessimistic leading to sooner taper speculation and the prospect of short-term rates drifting further higher, helping support GBP. EUR/USD is pressured under 1.2150 amid the greenback's strength and ahead of new economic forecasts from the EU. The headline Consumer Price Index is set to leap to 3.6%, a multi-year high, while Core CPI – which excludes food and energy – is forecast to advance from 1.6% to 2.3% YoY. Nevertheless, that would put it pre-pandemic levels, when inflation was considered healthy. The dollar index was up 0.2% at 90.287, just above Tuesday’s low of 90.130, seen for the first time since Feb. 26. USD/JPY rose 0.2% to 108.83, while AUD/USD fell 0.5% to 0.7804 and NZD/USD dropped 0.6% to 0.7234, with the commodity currencies cooling off after recording recent ten-week tops. Investors now await the latest U.S. consumer inflation data, due at 1330 BST, which is expected to show a 3.6% lift in year-on-year prices, boosted by last April's low base.
GBP/USD maintains its base above the March highs at 1.4001/17. Economists at Credit Suisse look a move back to 1.4238, then to the first core upside target of 1.4302/77. EUR/USD reverses the pessimism seen at the beginning of the week and manages to reclaim buying interest and re-visits the mid-1.2100s, or daily highs so far. Coupled with the soft note in the dollar, yields of the German 10-year Bund climb to the vicinity of monthly highs around -0.17%, all rendering into extra wings to the pair amidst the better mood in the risk complex. In the euro docket, the German/EMU ZEW survey will take centre stage later in the session. In the NA session, the NFIB Index comes up next followed by the JOLTs Job Openings and the API’s weekly report on US oil stockpiles. EUR/USD extended further the bounce off the 1.1985/80 band and faltered in the 1.2180 region so far, area coincident with a Fibo level (of the November-January rally). The dollar index was up 0.1% at 90.245, after dipping as low as 90.130 for the first time since Feb. 26. USD/JPY rose 0.1% to 108.91. Looking at the main commodity currencies, USD/CAD traded at 1.2096, close to its weakest in more than three years. AUD/USD gained 0.1% to 0.7833, near an 11-week high, while NZD/USD was quoted at 0.7269, which is near its strongest level since late February.
GBP/USD gained strong follow-through traction for the second straight session on Monday. The Scottish election outlook provided some relief to the GBP and remained supportive. A modest USD rebound – amid an uptick in the US bond yields – did little to hinder the move. EUR/USD pushes higher and advances to new highs near 1.2180. The weakness around the dollar props up the upside in spot. Yields of the German 10-year Bund climb to the -0.20% area. The dollar languished at around 2-1/2 month lows on Monday as investors bet that rising inflation would erode the currency's value as the U.S. Federal Reserve maintains its loose monetary policy. The five-year breakeven inflation rate - which measures expectations of inflation five years out - reached its highest since April 2011 on Monday. The 10-year breakeven inflation rate - a measure of expectations of inflation in 10 years time - rose to its highest since March 2013. A weaker-than-expected jobs report on Friday helped persuade market participants that the Fed would keep rates low and continue purchasing assets, even if inflation rises. The United States created a little more than a quarter of the jobs that economists had forecast last month and the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher. In recent years, rising inflation expectations have helped the dollar because investors have assumed interest rates would be raised in response to higher prices. The dollar index was last at 90.205, up 0.06% on the day, having earlier hit its lowest since Feb. 25.
The GBP/USD pair built on its intraday positive move through the first half of the European session and shot to fresh daily tops, around the 1.3925-30 region in the last hour. Following the previous day's post-BoE two-way price moves, the pair caught some fresh bids on the last trading day of the week and was supported by a combination of factors. The British pound was underpinned by the Bank of England's more upbeat economic forecasts and decided to slow the pace of weekly bond buying. EUR/USD has essentially held price support at 1.1995/90, just ahead of the 38.2% retracement of the March/April rally at 1.1980. Dollar Index was down 0.1% at 90.905, near its lowest level this week. USD/JPY rose 0.1% to 109.16, the risk-sensitive AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.7766, while USD/CAD rose 0.2% to 1.2176, having fallen to a 3-1/2-year low of 1.2145 overnight, helped by the Bank of Canada's recent tapering of its asset purchases and its shift to more hawkish guidance. The greenback has traded in narrow ranges Friday, with traders focusing on the release of U.S. payrolls data, at 1230 GMT, which are expected to confirm the U.S. labour market is on a solid path towards recovery from the pandemic.
GBP/USD: Critical support at 1.3880 appears at risk on BOE, Scottish elections according to Confluence Detector. Sterling ticked up against the dollar yesterday as a poll showed Scotland’s main pro-independence party was unlikely to win an outright majority in Thursday’s election, undermining its hopes for a referendum on separating from Britain. The Scottish National Party (SNP) wants a majority in the devolved parliament to demand another referendum, although British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated that he will not grant one. Policymakers at the Bank of England meet today where it will publish its May Monetary Policy Report. Analysts however believe it is probably too early in the economic recovery cycle for the BoE to announce a reduction of its bond-buying scheme, let alone raise interest rates. Euro area growth forecast at 4.3% in 2021 and 4.1% in 2022. The dollar hovered near a two-week high overnight, consolidating ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that may provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will dial back monetary stimulus. The greenback has rebounded from a one-month low over the past week, swung by U.S. economic data that has largely supported the case for a rapid recovery from the pandemic, with traders weighing whether a lift in inflation may force the Fed’s hand earlier than policymakers have so far suggested.
GBP struggles around $1.3900 despite triangle breakout, as the US dollar picks up bids and resumes Tuesday’s uptrend. Ongoing Brexit concerns over the Northern Ireland border issues and strong US economic data also weigh on the cable. The dollar's bounce on Tuesday put pressure on the euro, which dropped to $1.2021 and threatened to breach important chart support in the $1.1995/1.2000 area. The dollar indexwas last at 91.319 after rising as high as 91.436 earlier in the session, its highest since April 19.The earlier bounce was partly prompted by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that rate hikes may be needed to stop the economy from overheating. Yellen later downplayed their importance, but even the slightest mention of U.S. tightening has an outsized impact in markets that have become so dependent on monetary stimulus.Three Fed officials spoke on Wednesday, with Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans saying that while he was more optimistic about U.S. economic growth than he was a few months ago, he expects monetary policy to stay super-easy for some time.
GBP/USD drops to 1.3900 neighbourhood, fresh session lows. EUR/USD set to climb towards the 2021 high at 1.2349 – Commerzbank. The slide from 1.2150 to 1.21 is probably not the usual "buy the dip" opportunity. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 90.648, trading around levels last seen in late February. The index is on course to end the week 0.2% lower, bringing its losses for April to 2.8%. A four-week losing streak would be the longest since the six-week slide to the end of July. In part that's because of the gains of commodity currencies, amid surging prices for both industrial and agricultural products. The dollar's biggest losses this week have been against the Canadian and New Zealand dollars. USD/JPY fell 0.1% to 108.77, just off the two-week high of 109.22 from Thursday. The risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.2% to 0.7779, climbing back toward the six-week high of 0.7818 seen on Thursday. This dollar weakness was helped by the decision of the Federal Reserve to leave its ultra easy monetary policies in place even while it acknowledged that there had been an improvement in the economic conditions, as typified by first-quarter GDP growth of 6.4%, released Thursday.
GBP/USD: Poised to test the March highs at 1.4001/17. EUR/USD has broken key resistance from its March high, 61.8% retracement of its Q1 fall and downtrend from the beginning of the year at 1.2103/18. Analysts at Credit look for further strength to 1.2212, potentially the 1.2243 February high. EUR/USD removed key resistance at 1.2103/18 yesterday and completed a bullish ‘outside day’ in the process, reasserting an upward bias again. With the USD itself also under pressure and expected to weaken further into month-end we look for further strength to the 78.6% retracement of the Q1 fall at 1.2212, with scope for the 1.2243 February high, which we then look to try and cap to define the top of a fresh sideways range. The dollar index was flat at 90.610, trading not far away from a nine-week low. USD/JPY rose 0.2% to 108.78. The risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.1% to 0.7794 and NZD/USD climbed 0.1% to 0.7258. The Federal Reserve decided on Wednesday to leave the policy interest rate near zero and kept a $120 billion monthly pace of asset purchases, while acknowledging that there had been an improvement in the economic conditions Fed chairman Jerome Powell continued to signal that policy will remain steady for some time, to the benefit of the global economy, with inflation risks distorted by the pandemic-related decline in prices last year.
From the publisher's feed