The dollar index ( DXY ) fell to 106.3 (-0.7% on the day), its lowest level since July 6th, as traders reduced expectations for a full percentage point rate rise by the Federal Reserve next week and risk appetite returned. Fed interest rate futures now price in a 75-basis-point-hike in the next FOMC meeting with a 67% probability, according to the latest CME...
The latest Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes, which opened the door to more interest rate hikes, may provide only marginal support to the Australian dollar when compared to the US dollar ( AUD/USD ). Stronger global economic growth, a Chinese industrial recovery, more risk appetite among investors, and widespread gains in commodity prices are required for...
Gold prices enjoyed a good start to the week, as investors scaled back their expectations for a massive Fed rate hike by a full percentage point in July, and after China announced further liquidity stimulus to cope with rising Covid-19 cases and housing debt problems. The latest economic events have all helped to alleviate worries of an imminent recession in the...
Gold is seeking to establish support at the psychological $1,700/oz level, the lowest price since August 2021. It is the fifth consecutive week that bullion has been in the negative, with prices now 17% down from their February highs. The latest slump in the yellow metal was exacerbated by market repricing on Federal Reserve interest rate rises, as the U.S....
The euro-dollar pair ( EUR/USD ) achieved parity today, an occurrence not seen in nearly two decades (November 2002), as a fresh energy crisis in Europe threatens the onset of a recession. It's been a rough year for the euro, losing nearly 11% of its value versus the dollar since January and 15% over the last 12 months. The short-term (2-year) bond yields...
US NATURAL GAS prices plunged by 13% to $5.5/MMBtu, the lowest level since March, as a result of investors' unfavourable reactions to recent EIA data that revealed a larger-than-expected storage build. Last week, utilities in the United States added 82 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas to storage, well beyond analysts' projections of 74 bcf. NATURAL GAS ...
The euro-Swiss franc ( EUR/CHF ) exchange rate is in the spotlight today as the pair returned to hit parity for the second time since early March. The eurozone's worsening economic outlook continues to push ( EUR/CHF ) lower, and the market appears to be giving more credit to the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) ability to continue rising rates to curb...
This week, copper plummeted to fresh 52-week lows, breaking below the $4 per pound support level held since April 2021. Prices have now reached oversold territory as the 14-day RSI went below 30 this week, and is currently trading at 22, reflecting the brown metal’s severe sell-off. Moving averages have also created a so-called death-cross pattern, with the...
The USD/JPY daily chart shows a bearish divergence pattern as prices surged to new 20-year highs this week, while the relative strength index (14-day RSI) declined significantly from overbought levels. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is nearing a bearish crossover, as the MACD line (blue line) is sloping lower and may intersect the signal line...
The AUD/USD daily chart formed a double bottom at 0.685 last week, a level reached by the pair in mid-May before rebounding to 0.727. A double bottom is a chart pattern that consists of two pretty equal lows separated by a tiny peak that creates a 'neckline.' It often occurs near the end of a downward trend and may foreshadow a positive reversal. The last...
The Swiss franc ( USD/CHF ) rallied against the dollar in London morning trading, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly raised interest rates by half a percentage point to -0.25%, shocking the market which had anticipated rates to remain unchanged. Rising inflationary pressures prompted the SNB's unexpected rate rise, after Switzerland's inflation...
US natural gas prices posted their worst daily performance since mid-November 2018 today, plummeting 17% to $7.2/MMBtu, as of writing, after Freeport LNG announced early Tuesday morning that it does not expect the export facility to resume full plant operations until late 2022 due to the explosion occurred on June 8. The Freeport LNG facility has a production...
The euro-yen exchange rate ( EUR/JPY ) hit new year-to-date highs, surpassing the psychological level of 144, as monetary policy divergences between the European Central Bank, which has already widely telegraphed its first rate hike in over a decade, and the Bank of Japan, which remains imprisoned by an extremely dovish monetary policy, widened further. The ...
In recent sessions, a technical bullish divergence has emerged on the GBPCAD pair, with prices reaching fresh lows at 1.575 while the momentum oscillator (14-day RSI) gaining pace, indicating that bears may have lost a bit of steam. As of this writing, the GBPCAD exchange rate is down around 8% year-to-date and 9.5% from its February highs. Since February...
WTI crude surpassed the resistance level of $115.7 per barrel (highs of March 24) and reached an intraday high of $118 per barrel before retreating to $116 per barrel as of this writing. Earlier today EU leaders agreed to ban about 90% of Russian seaborne oil by the end of 2022, renewing worries of a tighter global energy market. Germany and Poland decided to...
The EUR/USD pair has crossed over the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at the 1.074 level, following preliminary data showing Germany's overall inflation rising 7.9% year-on-year in May, reaching its highest level since winter 1973 and above expectations of 7.6%. German inflation has sparked speculations about a 50 basis point increase in ECB interest rates,...
Copper has attempted a rebound from technical oversold levels in recent days, following a 20% drawdown from its all time highs, thus officially entering a bear market. Is this an indication that investors have already priced in a global economic downturn and that the worst is now over? Or are we merely experiencing a copper bear market rally, with further...
The New Zealand dollar (NZD/USD) has been one of the poorest performing major currencies in recent months, losing approximately 7% versus the dollar since mid-March and closely tracking the decline in global equities markets. The 30-day correlation between the NZD/USD pair and the S&P 500 index was nearly equal to one in May, but it has recently began to...