This is not a correlated market. The dollar is Up+ and crude is Up+ which is not normal but the 30 year bond is trading Down-. The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa. The indices are Up+ and Crude is trading Up+ which is not correlated. Gold is trading Down which is correlated with the US dollar trading Up. I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down. I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don’t have a correlated market, it means something is wrong. As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open.

Asia traded mainly higher with the exception of the Singapore exchange which traded lower. As of this writing Europe is trading mixed with half the exchanges higher and the other half lower.

Possible Challenges To Traders Today

– CPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM. This is major.

– Core CPI is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is major.

– Capacity Utilization Rate is out at 9:15 AM EST. This is major.

– Industrial Production m/m at 9:15 AM EST. This is major.

– NAHB Housing Market Index is out at 10 AM. This is major.

– FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks at 11 AM EST. This is major.

– Beige Book is out at 2 PM EST. This is major.

– Fed Chair Yellen Speaks at 3 PM EST. This is major.

– TIC Long-Term Purchases is out at 4 PM. This is not major.

Treasuries

We’ve elected to switch gears a bit and show correlation between the 30 year bond (ZB) and The YM futures contract. The YM contract is the DJIA and the purpose is to show reverse correlation between the two instruments. Remember it’s liken to a seesaw, when up goes up the other should go down and vice versa.

Yesterday the ZB made it’s move at around 10 AM EST with no real economic news in sight. The ZB hit a high at around that time and the YM hit a low. If you look at the charts below ZB gave a signal at around 10 AM EST and the YM was moving higher at the same time. Look at the charts below and you’ll see a pattern for both assets. ZB hit a high at around 10 AM EST and the YM hit a low. These charts represent the newest version of Trend Following Trades and I’ve changed the timeframe to a 30 minute chart to display better. This represented a shorting opportunity on the 30 year bond, as a trader you could have netted about 30 plus ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $31.25. We added a Donchian Channel to the charts to show the signals more clearly. Charts Courtesy of Trend Following Trades built on a NinjaTrader platform Click on an image to enlarge it.

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets a downside bias as both the Bonds and Gold were both trading higher and this doesn’t bode well for an upside day, hence the downside bias. The markets didn’t disappoint as the Dow dropped 59 points and the other indices lost ground as well. Today we aren’t dealing with a correlated market however our bias is to the upside.

Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.

Commentary

Yesterday morning you could sense the negativity in the air as the futures were pointed downward and for good reason. The new British Prime Minister addressed the impending British exit (Brexit) from the EU in a speech yesterday morning. In essence she said that Britain still wanted to trade with the EU and buy their products and sell them British products but that Britain would no longer contribute any monies to the EU. It’s like saying I want a divorce but want to do so on friendly terms but don’t ask for money. Lots of luck with that. It appears as though the Trump Dump is in full swing as the concern is what will he do on Day One? Will he truly repeal Obamacare and if so what will replace it? He could surprise all of us and certainly has over the past year and a half but as we’ve stated previously he will have the most secretive administration that we’ll ever see and he’ll do so on the premise of “national security”…

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

EUR/USD: US Dollar to remain pressured until uncertainty fog dissipates

Unimpressive European Central Bank left monetary policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting. The United States first-tier employment and inflation data is scheduled for the second week of February. EUR/USD battles to remain afloat above 1.1800, sellers moving to the sidelines.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold: Volatility persists in commodity space

After losing more than 8% to end the previous week, Gold remained under heavy selling pressure on Monday and dropped toward $4,400. Although XAU/USD staged a decisive rebound afterward, it failed to stabilize above $5,000. The US economic calendar will feature Nonfarm Payrolls and Consumer Price Index data for January, which could influence the market pricing of the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook and impact Gold’s performance.

Week ahead: US NFP and CPI data to shake Fed cut bets, Japan election looms

US NFP and CPI data awaited after Warsh’s nomination as Fed chief. Yen traders lock gaze on Sunday’s snap election. UK and Eurozone Q4 GDP data also on the agenda. China CPI and PPI could reveal more weakness in domestic demand.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.