Currencies
- The euro (EUR) continued its bullish trend for a second consecutive day reaching as high as 1.2599 against the US dollar (USD) yesterday after the Federal Reserve Market Committee (FOMC) released the Meeting Minutes in public. The Fed is worrying about investors and the public losing their confidence in the ability of keeping the prices stable, resulting into a fall in inflation rates. Today the German and French Flash Manufacturing PMI will be announced with expectations at 51.5 and 48.9 respectively.
- The US dollar (USD) continued climbing against the Japanese yen (JPY) and is currently trading at 118.56 as the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan postponed a sales-tax hike, while started making plans for increasing fiscal stimulus measurement. The Governor of Bank of Japan (BOJ) Haruhiko Kuroda, spoke at the Press Conference that was held yesterday, putting the blame on Abe for the delay of the sales-tax hike. Today the US monthly CPI with expectations at -0.1%, while the US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index and the US Unemployment claims will be announced and are expected to be at 18.9 and 286K respectively.
Equities
- Asian equities fell on FOMC Meeting Minutes release, while Japan equities gained on yen fall. The Japan 225 (NKI) advanced to 17509, the Hong Kong 50 (HSX) fell to 23294, the China 50 (CNX) went to 7409 and the India 50 (IND) to 8385.
Commodities
- WTI Crude (OIL) remained range bound at 74.30 USD per barrel, despite the expansion in inventories at 2.6 million barrels, where it was expected to fall by -0.7.
Mover & Shaker with forex options
- Gold (XAU) dropped yesterday to 1182 after a big shake. The precious metal fell from 1196 before the FOMC Meeting Minutes announcement to 1175, then it rebound back to 1200 and closed at 1182 after the FOMC announcement. The holdings of SPDR Gold Trust continue to shrink as the US economy seems to recover faster.
- Option traders may consider buying a Put on the XAUUSD and gain if the pair moves lower, while the risk is limited to the premium paid.
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AUD/USD: The hunt for the 0.7000 hurdle
AUD/USD quickly left behind Wednesday’s strong pullback and rose markedly past the 0.6900 barrier on Thursday, boosted by news of fresh stimulus in China as well as renewed weakness in the US Dollar.
EUR/USD refocuses its attention to 1.1200 and above
Rising appetite for the risk-associated assets, the offered stance in the Greenback and Chinese stimulus all contributed to the resurgence of the upside momentum in EUR/USD, which managed to retest the 1.1190 zone on Thursday.
Gold holding at higher ground at around $2,670
Gold breaks to new high of $2,673 on Thursday. Falling interest rates globally, intensifying geopolitical conflicts and heightened Fed easing bets are the main factors.
Bitcoin displays bullish signals amid supportive macroeconomic developments and growing institutional demand
Bitcoin (BTC) trades slightly up, around $64,000 on Thursday, following a rejection from the upper consolidation level of $64,700 the previous day. BTC’s price has been consolidating between $62,000 and $64,700 for the past week.
RBA widely expected to keep key interest rate unchanged amid persisting price pressures
The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to continue bucking the trend adopted by major central banks of the dovish policy pivot, opting to maintain the policy for the seventh consecutive meeting on Tuesday.
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