
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


GBP/USD bounces off lows, trades with modest losses just below 1.3900, and witnessed some selling on Wednesday, albeit showed some resilience at lower levels. The formation of a symmetrical triangle points to indecision over the pair’s near-term trajectory. EUR/USD has been drifting lower as the dollar gains ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision. The dollar index was 0.2% higher at 91.050, bouncing from Monday's low of 90.679, its lowest level since March 3. USD/JPY rose 0.3% to 109.00, extending its recovery from a seven-week low of 107.48 touched last week, with the yen on the back foot as Japan's economic recovery is hampered by lockdowns across its most populous prefectures. The risk-sensitive AUD/USD fell 0.3% to 0.7741 after Australia’s consumer price index data, released earlier in the day, missed forecasts, rising 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 1.1% year-on-year respectively during the first quarter of 2021. The dollar's recent decline has been largely based on the market starting to believe that the Federal Reserve will look through rises in inflation and delay future policy tightening even as the U.S. economy rapidly recovers. With this in mind, attention now turns to the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy-setting meeting later Wednesday, and in particular the accompanying comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell given the U.S. central bank is widely expected to maintain its policy settings.
GBP/USD: Boris kills the pound with his words ahead of the Fed. Initial support awaits at the daily low of 1.3680, followed by 1.3820 and 1.3810. Resistance is at 1.3925, the weekly peak, followed by 1.3950 and the all-important double-top of 1.4010. Euro/dollar continues benefiting from upside momentum on the four-hour chart while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has drifted away from 70 – thus outside overbought territory. The currency pair continues trading above the 50, 100 and 200 Simple Moving Averages. Some resistance awaits at 1.2080, which was a peak in mid-April. The recent peak of 1.2117 is the next level to watch. Support awaits at 1.2050, which was a swing high several weeks ago. The round 1.20 line is a significant cushion. The dollar was 0.2% higher at 90.918, after dipping to the lowest since March 3 overnight at 90.679. AUD/USD fell 0.1% to 0.7793, after a 0.7% rally overnight that took it just shy of a five-week peak. USD/JPY rose 0.1% to 108.20, continuing its rise from Friday’s seven-week low of 107.48, after the Bank of Japan held policy steady and took a more positive view on growth while cutting inflation forecasts.
Three British developments set to boost sterling - Optimism about the NI protocol, Britain's vaccine milestone and bullish BoE comments. EUR/USD retakes the 1.2100 mark and above on Monday. USD-selling continues to support the upside in the pair. German Business Climate improved a tad in April. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was 0.1% lower at 90.778, near levels not seen since the end of February. USD/JPY was 0.1% lower at 107.81, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.3% to 0.7769. Risk appetite has been boosted of late by strong signs of a global economic improvement, to the detriment of the safe haven dollar, with early April manufacturing activity indicators, released late last week, hitting record highs in the United States and also showing impressive improvement in Europe. A survey from Germany's Ifo institute due later on Monday is expected to show business conditions continued to improve in Europe's largest economy. Attention this week will be centred around the latest policy-setting meeting of the Federal Reserve, with the two-day get together scheduled to finish on Wednesday.
GBP/USD regained positive traction on Friday and stalled its recent slide from multi-week tops. The prevalent bearish sentiment surrounding the USD was seen as a key factor lending support. The British pound got an additional boost following the release of upbeat UK PMI prints for April. UK Manufacturing PMI beats estimates with 60.7 in Apr. Services PMI in the UK jumps to 60.1 in Apr, a beat. GBP/USD keeps its range below 1.3900 despite the upbeat UK PMIs. EUR/USD has been bouncing off 1.20 as markets digest the news of US tax hikes. The dollar index was 0.2% lower at 91.155, remaining just above the seven-week low of 90.856 seen on Tuesday. USD/JPY was flat at 107.95, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.3% to 0.7728.
GBP/USD set to tackle 1.40, fundamental picture remains favourable for cable bulls. Some resistance awaits at the daily high of 1.3950, followed by the fresh April peak of 1.4010. Support is at this week's swing low of 1.3880, followed by 1.3850 and 1.38. EUR/USD moved to fresh peaks around 1.2080 before losing some traction amidst the resurgence of dollar demand and volatility on fresh coronavirus woes. The continuation of the rally has been so far supported by the renewed offered bias in the dollar along with the investors’ shift to the growth prospect in Europe now that the vaccine campaign appears to have gained some serious pace. In addition, solid results from key fundamentals and the improvement in the sentiment in the euro area as of late also appear to bolster the momentum surrounding the single currency. Dollar was 0.1% lower at 91.013, just above the seven-week low of 90.856 seen on Tuesday. USD/JPY was down 0.2% at 107.84, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.1% to 0.7755, after touching a seven-week high of 1.2079 earlier in the week. Investors have also turned away from the greenback as U.S. Treasury yields reversed their climbs in March 2021, and an auction of 20-year Treasuries drew strong demand on Wednesday, which also helped to cap yields.
GBP/USD trades with modest losses, still above 1.3900 mark. The European Internal Market Commissioner Breton has stated that at least 12 of the 27 countries in the bloc are confident that they will be able to vaccinate 70% of their adult population by mid-July. Although such good news is likely to be EUR supportive, we do not expect the EUR to react in the same bullish way as GBP did at the start of the year as the UK’s vaccine roll-out accelerated. This was linked with a push higher in gilt yields which in turn coincided with rising treasury yields and, in February, a less dovish than expected tone from the BoE. Germany’s export sector was already well supported last year from Chinese demand, suggesting there is less scope for a spike in GDP than in the UK. Rabobank expects the pound to continue appreciating, forecasting GBP/EUR at 1.1765 on a 3-month view. EUR/USD has extended its recovery further than expected after holding the 38.2% retracement of the 2020/2021 uptrend at 1.1695, clearing with relative ease resistance at 1.1990/97. The dollar edged lower in early European trading Wednesday, retreating once more near to seven-week lows as lower bond yields reduced its attractiveness. The dollar index was 0.1% lower at 91.175, after slumping as low as 90.856 on Tuesday for the first time since March 3. USD/JPY was down 0.1% at 108.03, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD fell 0.1% to 0.7713.
GBP/USD eases from multi-week tops, flat-lined below 1.4000 mark. Sustained USD selling, upbeat UK jobs report pushed GBP/USD to multi-week tops on Tuesday. Rebounding US bond yields extended some support to the USD and capped gains for the major. The EUR/USD pair extended its advance to 1.2079, a fresh one-month high, retreating afterwards but holding on to substantial weekly gains in the 1.2040 price zone. The dollar index was 0.1% lower at 90.925, having earlier fallen as low as 90.858, the weakest since March 3. USD/JPY was up 0.1% at 108.30, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.6% to 0.7800, hitting a new one-month high as the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes from its latest policy meeting earlier in the day. The dollar had already been losing traction as U.S. bond yields have slumped from the 14-month peak touched last month, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield trading around 1.60%, reducing the greenback's yield attraction. This followed repeated assurances from Fed policymakers that near-term price pressures will be transitory, and can be 'looked through'. Attention will soon turn to Thursday’s meeting of the European Central Bank, although few fireworks are expected.
GBP/USD gained strong positive traction for the sixth consecutive session on Monday. Reduced Fed rate hike bets continued weighing on the USD and remained supportive. A sustained move beyond monthly swing highs will set the stage for additional gains. EUR/USD finally surpasses the key barrier at 1.20 the figure. Further north of 1.20 comes in the 100-day SMA around 1.2050. The dollar traded largely flat in early European trading Monday, remaining near a one-month low, with Treasury yields hovering near the lowest levels in five weeks. The dollar index was marginally lower at 91.523, not far from last week’s low of 91.484, a level not seen since March 18. USD/JPY was down 0.2% at 108.53, while AUD/USD rose 0.1% to 0.7741. The 10-year Treasury yield last traded at 1.55%, a sharp fall from the high of just short of 1.78% seen at the end of last month, reducing the appeal of dollar-denominated assets as an investment. The Federal Reserve has been persistent in communicating with the market that it will look through rises in inflation, considering them temporary, keeping the central bank’s ultra-easy monetary policies in place for some time. Fed Governor Christopher Waller continued the theme on Friday, saying the U.S. economy "is ready to rip" as vaccinations continue and activity picks up, but a rise in inflation is likely to be transitory.
GBP/USD risk looks to be already shifting lower again and below 1.3750 would warn of a retest of key support from the March low at 1.3670/63, the Credit Suisse analyst team reports. Eurozone inflation arrives at 1.3% YoY in March. Monthly CPI in the bloc rises by 0.9% in March. EUR/USD defends minor bids, unfazed around 1.1975 on the data release. According to Eurostat’s final reading of the Eurozone CPI report for March, the consumer prices came in at 1.3% on a yearly basis, meeting the flash estimate of 1.3% and 1.3% expectations. While the core figures steadied at 1.4%, also matching the 0.9% consensus forecasts. The dollar index inched up 0.10% to 91.713. The USD/JPY pair inched up 0.06% to 108.81. The AUD/USD pair edged down 0.16% to 0.7738 and the NZD/USD pair inched down 0.10% to 0.7162. The USD/CNY pair edged up 0.12% to 6.5296. Chinese economic data released earlier in the day said that the GDP for the first quarter grew 18.3% and 0.6% year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter respectively in March. Although both figures were lower than forecasted, economic growth soared on a yearly basis while slowing down on a quarterly basis.
As GBP softened, GBP/USD found solid support in the 1.3670-00 area. However, rebounds are likely to be limited until there is clarity on the 6th May elections. GBP recent softness, notably versus EUR, coincided with a slide in vaccinations since Easter, partly due to a reduced vaccine supply from India while alternatives are yet to be approved. However, the rollout remains above prior targets and weekly vaccinations are still around 3M per week. EUR/USD moves closer to the key 1.20 mark on Thursday. Extra gains remain on the cards if 1.20 is cleared. The dollar index dipped to its lowest since March 18 at 91.535 in the European session before recovering to be basically flat at 91.590. The dollar changed hands at 108.87 yen, after hitting a three-week low of 108.755 on Wednesday. Following the muted USD reaction to the March inflation numbers earlier in the week, it seems that the positive U.S. inflation and growth stories are now largely priced into USD.
From the publisher's feed