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USD/JPY recovers as trade worries subside

Recent development on the trade war front did not lead to a more serious risk-off episode. Apart from the Chinese stock market, which was hit quite hard yesterday, risk assets recovered at least part of the lost ground. USD/JPY bottomed near 109.5 and is now back above 110. 200 DMA is the immediate resistance on the way to 110.5 and 111.
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Risk off as trade wars continue

Trump is said to have ordered 200B worth of tariffs on Chinese goods. That's an escalation from previous 50B - 100B clips. Risk markets understandably don't like it, and have sold off. Yen is the preferred currency so far today. USD/JPY fell below 200 DMA and 110, to as low as 109.70. We'll see if we get any follow-through as European markets open.
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Yen the most wanted currency this week

U.S. dollar ended the week lower against European currencies and yen, and higher against the commodity bloc. If we look at these currencies from the yield perspective, it was actually a typical risk-off week, albeit with reduced volatility.
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USD/CHF nearing 0.95 level

Yesterday's bout of risk-off in markets didn't impact USD/CHF as much as USD/JPY. The former continues to move in tandem with EUR/USD, especially since U.S. dollar weakness has been driving most pairs recently.
USD/CHF broke the six-month consolidation to the downside and fell below 2011 - 2016 trendline in the process. No sign of SNB as yet but EUR/CHF is well off the floor anyway. Area near 0.95 looks like a strong support with 0.97 the initial resistance.
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Yen breaks 110

USD/JPY broke below 110 in yesterday's risk-off trading. Stocks fell but later recovered, gold soared, but the main driver remains 10-year UST yield, which closed below 2.30% for the first time since November. Oil continues to recover amid geopolitical uncertainty.
The pair extended its decline overnight. The pullbacks have been shallow so far. 110 is also 50.0% retracement of the Trump rally. A possible target is 1.0850 - 1.09 (Channel support, 200 DMA). Area around 110 should now act as a resi…
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Swissie pulls back

Swissie staged a massive pullback yesterday, worth about 135 pips with a daily range of 170 pips. Position squaring at quarter-end and before FOMC meeting and U.S. election were all cited as factors for the risk-off move.
The pair broke and closed below 50, 100 and 200 DMA and stalled ahead of 0.9725. It made a marginal new low overnight before a weak rally. 0.9750 - 0.98 looks like a good sell zone. 0.97 is the initial support.
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Loonie still in a range

After falling in five consecutive days, from 1.31 last Tuesday to 1.2825 on Monday, USD/CAD snapped more than half of the decline yesterday.
Nearly 5% fall in oil amid more general risk-off environment saw the pair rising back above 1.30. That puts 1.32 back into view and possibly 1.35 on a successful breakout.
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Traders buying yen, franc and dollar into the weekend

We have seen some risk-off in the markets today with equity indices and JPY pairs lower. Yen, Swiss franc and U.S. dollar have been the preferred currencies. Latest Brexit poll showed Leave ahead (55% vs. 45%) and that prompted a 150+ pip decline in Cable and a 200+ pip fall in GBP/JPY.
Commodity currencies have continued yesterday's pullback as did the oil while the gold remains supported. Canadian labour market data came in better than expected but the post-release dip was quickly bought into …
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AUD/USD to start the year with gains

Monthly chart
As most major pairs, Aussie accelerated its decline in the first month of the year and convincingly broke below 0.80 level and 50.0% retracement of the 2001 to 2011 uptrend. In the following four months it traded mostly between 0.7550 and 0.7950, but tried to break higher in the end of April. The breakout proved to be fake as the pair returned back to the range in May and then broke in the opposite direction in July to resume the downtrend. It is currently holding near 61.8% retrac…
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UPDATE 4: U.S. labour market report for December came out much stronger than expected as implied by ADP Non-Farm Employment Change which was released on Wednesday. Knee-jerk was to buy the dollar but moves were quick to reverse in lower yielding currencies. A classical risk-off mode that will likely continue well into next week and perhaps beyond it, all things being equal.

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UPDATE 5: There was quite a lot of movement for a Monday right after the open. Moves across major pairs were similar with the dollar gaining against higher yielding currencies and losing against lower yielding ones. The moves were then more or less reversed. Aussie opened with a gap up but promptly lost 50 pips to 0.6925 before it then turned back up again and surged towards 0.6980 - 0.7000. It looks supported since.

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UPDATE 6: Australian currency continues to be offered. It so far declined more than a cent from yesterday's high, though it has moved mostly sideways during the past couple of hours. Marginally better than expected labour market report didn't manage to turn the sentiment around. Cycle-low, set last September near 0.6910, is within reach of few pips and is an immediate support ahead of the April 2009 low (~0.6850) and 0.68 level. Broken 0.6950 level (also previous day and week low) is now acting as a solid resistance.

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UPDATE 7: Currencies opened the week with with risk-off gaps: euro, franc and yen gained about 10 pips, pound lost a couple of pips while commodity currencies lost 20-60 pips. All gaps have been already closed as risk sentiment improved. U.S. banks will be closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Day - that means thin liquidity and tight ranges but not without a possibility of an outsized move.

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UPDATE 8: Major currencies opened with gaps again but this time around with smallish ones in what appears to be the quietest open so far this year. Improvement in risk sentiment seemed to come after China managed to stabilize its currency and stock market. Given the magnitude of the bounce in stocks, oil and risk sensitive currency pairs it seems that an interim bottom may be in place. However, all macroeconomic themes are still ongoing, so it may be too early to speak of a reversal.

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AUD/USD looks bullish while still consolidating

Monthly chart
As most major pairs, Aussie accelerated its decline in the first month of the year and convincingly broke below 0.80 level and 50.0% retracement of the 2001 to 2011 uptrend. In the following four months it traded mostly between 0.7550 and 0.7950, but tried to break higher in the end of April. The breakout proved to be fake as the pair returned back to the range in May and then broke in the opposite direction in July to resume the downtrend. It is currently holding near 61.8% retrac…
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UPDATE 8: Last two weeks of a year are known to be the quietest in most markets. Low participation means low liquidity and usually low volatility. However, it's easier to move markets in such conditions and if someone decides to execute a big order, the move could be big too. That move is more often than not faded or at least retraced to a great extent as liquidity returns.

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UPDATE 9: The pair started the last day of the year on a solid footing, continuing the strength that has been seen throughout both holiday weeks. December's high (~0.7385) is the initial target ahead of 200 DMA (currently ~0.7415) though we probably won't see either of them achieved before next week. Buyers are likely to start coming in at 0.73 and below, keeping the pair well contained.

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UPDATE 10: Moves on the last day of the year were relatively big, reflecting final adjustments for the year in low liquidity. However, Aussie was not where the greatest action was. It's daily range was in fact the second smallest (~60 pips), behind the Kiwi (~45 pips) - as opposed to Swissie (~155 pips) and Cable (~120 pips). Last bid price before the end of the contest period was 0.72864, that's 38.6 pips below my target (0.7325). A good prediction with decent accuracy.

foreignexchange avatar

Great  Analysis : )
Tanti auguri al_dcdemo
Do you think that the Oil retracement could improve at the opening session the forecast ?

al_dcdemo avatar

foreignexchange Thank you! I too expect some oil strength in the first week of the year. It may definitely lend some support to the Aussie, but won't matter for this forecast though. :)

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