EUR/USD lost ground ahead of the April ECB meeting. The Euro Zone central banking authority has mentioned that negative rates are a potential option in a bid to boost the euro and make it stronger by creating an incentive for the purchase of bonds.
The euro has been trading in a bullish range, at first it turned to the red zone this week, breaking support levels on the way. The pair advanced on Monday; however it was sent back down on Tuesday after positive US data release. It has traded its way back up after Draghi’s speech and his announcement that a consistent strategy they will achieve their target and the worry should disappear.
The U.S. Consumer Confidence data came in above market expectations, causing the pair to fall down to a support level of 1.3745. The pair has been narrowed by sharp declines in New Home Sales.
Emerging stocks advanced and Ukraine’s sovereign bonds rose as well after the International Monetary Fund announced the bail-out of $14B.
European shares have been falling down, chasing the Dow as emerging currencies and commodities were climbing higher. U.S. Stocks fluctuates have been fluctuating at the moment after US lion, Buffett, earned on Wells Fargo in total $123 million.
GBPUSD
The GBP/USD gained this week, climbing towards the resistance level of 1.6660. The cable is indecisive, last week has been heading down, and today we have seen a large spike. Traders fear the questions of the Bank of England in regards to interest rates and their intentions.
Cable has been stable lately, trading choppy within a bearish channel. The UK has benefited from optimistic economic conditions; inflation seems to be declining which puts a bit of pressure on the next BOE meeting and traders waiting for any hints with what’s in store with interest rates and the confirmation of keeping them low.
AUDUSD
The AUDUSD advanced after the speech of the Governor of the central bank, his positive outlook boosted the currency. The Aussie rallied and tested the high of 0.9270 after interest rates are expected to remain unchanged.
RBA Governor, Steven, has been calm and seemed satisfied about the domestic economy. He stated that, ‘despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy, which could bring risk to Australia’, they remain within neutral monetary policy. The Chinese Yuan is gaining and trading at 0.9997 creating a see-saw action. China reported slower profit growth to 9.4% as traders and investors worries about a slowdown in the Asian economy.
USDJPY
The USD/JPY eased off, but seems to be recovering. The dollar yen pair hit a one week high at 102.647 after the U.S. President Barack Obama and his G7 ‘compadres’ stopped their co-operation with Russia. They also warned of more sanctions being placed onto Russia if they move deeper into Ukraine.
USDCAD
The USD/CAD edged down testing a one week low as demand for oil is rising, which strengthened the Loonie. Disappointing housing data also helped the Canadian dollar to rise. The Loonie seems to be gaining on interest rates issues in the US and benchmark level lowering. The unemployment figure has lowered in the US and country’s main stock index is trading higher in a range of 80-80.20, which gives us a hint that the US economy might be recovering and improving.
Further reading: 5 Most Predictable Currency Pairs – Q2 2014
