Where does gold go if the Gaza war escalates and are downside targets for gold pointless to think about right now? Perhaps it is prudent to think about some short-term retracements, but it does appear that the war will escalate or at least tensions remain heightened for quite some time, which is bullish for gold. The latest event that could escalate the Gaza war...
Fake news sent Bitcoin up about 10% on Monday, surging from $27,900 to over $30,000 after Crypto news site Cointelegraph posted on X that the Securities and Exchange Commission had approved BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF application. In response to the rumor, BlackRock had to clarify that no decision had been made regarding their ETF application. Even though the...
Fancy selling into uncertainty? This could be a scenario for the NZD/USD in the lead up to the election in New Zealand which is way too close to call for either major political party right now (Labour vs National). Voting has been open all week and closes October 14, with the winner called the same day (but after the close of this trading week). Polls have the...
WTI and Brent crude futures both jumped more than 4% to above $86 and $88 per barrel, respectively, on Monday, after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel over the weekend. More than 900 Israelis have lost their lives, with 130 more held hostage, and nearly 700 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliation. A truce is unlikely in the short term....
Did the BoJ secretly intervene in USD/JPY on Tuesday? And is there more to come? For now, Bank of Japan officials have avoided explicitly stating whether they had stepped into the market to strengthen the yen. After the USD/JPY crossed 150.000 (its weakest levels in a year), a huge candle appeared on Tuesday touching as low as 147.300 before closing at 149.100. ...
Gold has now hit a seven-month low at $1,830 just as the US government avoids a shutdown. Over the weekend, the U.S. Congress passed a stopgap funding bill. This means that important government information won't be delayed, and it won't make it harder for the Federal Reserve to decide what they might do with interest rates. Traders are starting to believe...
WTI crude futures surged by 3.5% on Wednesday, briefly reaching above $94, marking their highest settlement price of 2023. This impressive rally followed the release of EIA data indicating a larger-than-expected decrease in US crude inventories, showing a 2.17 million barrel drop in the past week. In parallel, Brent crude futures saw a substantial increase of...
On Monday, the USDJPY dollar hit an 11-month peak, a move triggered by the Federal Reserve's recent signaling of another potential interest rate hike and an intention to maintain higher rates for longer. Then, (counter to expectations) the yen faced pressure when the Bank of Japan, on the preceding Friday, decided to maintain its ultra-low interest rates and its...
The big story of the day is of course the Fed signaling one more rate hike this year. At the conclusion of its FOMC meeting a few hours ago, The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged, but projected another rate increase by the end of the year. Additionally, higher for longer is probably the new reality, with projections showing rates falling only...
A huge gap in USD/JPY has appeared to start the week after comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda about a possible end to its negative interest rate policy (NIRP). In a Saturday Yomiuri newspaper interview, Governor Ueda mentioned that by the end of the year, the BOJ could accumulate enough data to assess whether the conditions are present to raise...
British Pound supported at $1.25? The US dollar index is poised to reach a new multi-month peak. Contributing to DXY’s rise the most is the GBP/USD, with the pound losing 0.45% against the USD due to recent comments from the Bank of England’s governor. On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Bailey spoke in front the Treasury select committee, saying " I think we are...
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep its rate on hold in its meeting today, so there might not be anything interesting here. Do we think this rate decision is going to make more of an impact on the Aussie than the Australian GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures that are released tomorrow? There has been talk of the Australian dollar being undervalued,...
Focus is growing on the upcoming nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. In August, it's expected that there will be about 170,000 new jobs (compared to 187,000 in July). The days leading up to this report have had some not-so-great job-related data, like the JOLTS and ADP reports. This has heightened expectations that the NFP might show fewer jobs than expected. The US...
The 4-hour chart on the EUR/USD displays a possible bearish bias, but there are some indications of consolidation after the small rebound observed on Friday. At present, the price is lingering around the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). To improve its bullish outlook, it would be necessary for the Euro to hit 1.0840 and for other technical indicators (that have...
Gold is possibly still within its descending channel, though it has discovered a foothold at $1885 and demonstrated an upward shift this week due to a decline in bond yields. However, the anticipation is for the Fed funds rate to remain higher for longer, so gold’s upside potential might be short-lived. Butting up against this hypothesis is the very recent...
With treasury yields hovering close to their highest point in the past 15 years, attention is squarely focused on the forthcoming policy speech by Fed Chair Jay Powell this Friday at the Jackson Hole event. The primary interest lies in gauging the current level of hawkishness exhibited by the Federal Reserve. Anticipations are that Fed Chair Jay Powell will...
The Yen's struggle against the US Dollar persists this week, as the USDJPY settles above 143.00 and reaches a new high for the third consecutive day. After some sideways trading, traders are now resuming a bullish push aimed at reaching the recent high of 143.9000, followed by potential targets at 144.00 and 145.050. Last week, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) surprised...
Will US Inflation Data Spark EUR/USD Recovery? In Monday's early trading session, the euro showed a slight weakening against the U.S. dollar, influenced by a prevailing sense of pessimism following disappointing industrial production figures in Germany. As the largest economy in the eurozone, Germany's struggles in the manufacturing sector have been evident...