Monday, November 10, 2014

USD/JPY trades in the mid-114 range

The Japanese yen is steady on Monday, as USD/JPY trades in the mid-114 range early in the North American session. On the release front, Japanese Current Account will be released later in the day. There are no US releases on Monday.
US Nonfarm Payrolls disappointed on Friday, as the key employment indicator slipped to 214 thousand, well short of the estimate of 235 thousand. On a brighter note, the unemployment rate slipped to 5.8%, its lowest level in six years. On Thursday, Unemployment Claims fell to 278 thousand. This was better than the estimate of 285 thousand and marked a three-week low.
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan released the minutes of its previous policy meeting, which took place earlier in October. That event sent the yen tumbling and the currency has yet to recover. At the meeting, the BoJ surprised the markets by increasing monetary stimulus from JPY 60-70 trillion to 80 trillion per year.
USD/JY lost ground in the Asian session but has recovered in European trade.
114.65 is a weak resistance line. 115.75 is stronger.
113.68 is providing support. 112.94 is next.
Current range: 113.68 to 114.65
USD/JPY is pointing to gains in long positions on Monday. This is not consistent with the lack of movement shown by the pair. The ratio currently has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards USD/JPY breaking out of range and moving upwards.

Friday, November 7, 2014

gold as a hedge against the dollar

Many hold gold as a hedge against the dollar and indeed the traditional negative relationship has been very evident this year - the negative correlation particularly strengthened in H2. At the moment gold's 20-day correlation with the trade-weighted dollar index is hovering near the lowest levels since September 2012. This also means that the relationship between gold and the euro is near its strongest - right now the 20-day correlation sits at 0.62, which is near the highs for the year. With the dollar appreciating strongly, helped by BOJ and ECB easing, it should be no surprise that gold is coming under tremendous pressure.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

USD/CHF Daily

Nov  USD/CHF  Daily
13::50 GMT - Significant break higher in recent trade with prices now  above 0.97. Next focus is the tops at 0.9751 and 0.9790 and we could  see a trade near here once overbought indicators have unwound. Sup. should be in the 0.9670/90 band. N.I.
R4: 0.9898  2 Aug 12 high
R3: 0.9790 * 29 May 13 high
R2: 0.9751 * Jul 13 high
R1: 0.9720  minor projection
S1: 0.9670/90  recent tops
S2: 0.9600  intraday level
S3: 0.9578  Tues low
S4: 0.9539 * 30 Oct low
S5: 0.9520  recent highs

Platinum ETF holdings increased

In the week to November 5: Gold ETF holdings declined 0.34moz to 56.53moz. Investors liquidated 211koz of their holdings from the SPDR fund, 56koz from the Source fund, 48koz from the ETFS (LSE) fund, 29koz from the iShares fund and 28koz from the Sprott fund. On the contrary, inflows were seen in the GBS (LSE) fund to the tune of 60koz. Total ETF holdings were down 0.26moz, month-to-date. The rolling monthly change stood at -1.03moz against -1.11moz of the previous week.
Silver ETF holdings remained steady at 628.05moz. Investors added 93koz to their holdings in the ETFS (NYSE) fund. All of these inflows were set-off by outflows of 37koz from the Julius Baer fund, 31koz from ETFS (LSE) fund and 17koz from UBS fund.

Platinum ETF holdings increased 31.92koz to 2821.65koz, due to inflows in the ETFS (LSE) fund. In the same week, palladium ETF holdings climbed 62.04koz to 3088.68koz. Inflows of 56koz came in the ETFS (LSE) fund and 15koz in Standard bank fund.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

EUR/USD has posted losses on Wednesday

EUR/USD has posted losses on Wednesday, wiping out the gains seen a day earlier. In the European session, the pair is trading in the high-1.24 range in the European session. In the Eurozone, Services PMIs met expectations, but Retail Sales looked awful, posting a sharp decline of -1.3%. In the US, there are two major events – ADP Non-Farm Employment Change and US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI.
Eurozone and Spanish Services PMI were almost unchanged from last month and met expectations. The Italian release improved to 50.8, pointing to expansion in the services industry for the first time in three months. The news was not as positive from Retail Sales, which came in at -1.3%, much worse than the estimate of -0.6%. This marked the indicator’s sharpest decline since January. Consumer spending is a key component of economic growth, and is one more indication of the poor state of the Eurozone economy.
EUR/USD lost ground late in the Asian session and this trend continues in European trade.
1.2518 continues to be active and is a weak resistance line. 1.2688 is stronger.
1.2407 is the next support level.
Current range: 1.2407 to 1.2518 EUR/USD ratio is unchanged on Wednesday. This is not consistent with the pair’s movement, as the euro has lost ground. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the euro reversing direction and moving higher.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

EUR/USD

EUR/USD is showing little movement on Tuesday, continuing the trend which started the week. In the European session, the pair is trading in the low-1.25 range in the European session. On the release front, the EU issued its economic forecasts, which project continuing weakness in the Eurozone. In Spain, Unemployment Change posted a dismal reading of 79.2 thousand. In the US, Trade Balance is expected to show little change, with an estimate standing at -$40.0 billion.
EUR/USD edged higher early in the Asian session, testing resistance at 1.2518. The pair is steady in the European session.
1.2518 was tested earlier and remains fluid. We could see the pair break above this line during the day. 12.688 is a strong resistance line.
1.2407 continues to provide strong support.EUR/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Tuesday. This is consistent with the limited movement we’re seeing from the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the euro breaking out and moving higher.

Monday, November 3, 2014

USD/JPY continues to rally on Monday

USD/JPY continues to rally on Monday, as the pair trades in the mid-113 range late in the European session. USD/JPY has gained a remarkable 500 points in the past week, as the yen finds itself trading at its lowest level since December 2007. On the release front, On the release front, Japanese markets are closed for a holiday. In the US, today’s highlight is ISM Manufacturing PMI. The markets are expecting little change in the upcoming release, with an estimate of 56.5 points.
The dollar surged against the yen on Friday, gaining over 300 points. The yen took a tumble after the BoJ surprised the markets with a move to increase monetary stimulus. The BoJ increased the monetary base from JPY 60-70 trillion to 80 trillion per year. The Japanese central bank said that the move was needed to increase inflation, which remains short of the central bank’s target of 2%.
Japanese data was a mix last week. Preliminary Industrial Production sparkled in September, with a gain of 2.7%, compared to a reading of -1.5% a month earlier. The estimate stood at 2.3%. Earlier in the week, Japanese Retail Sales was unexpectedly strong in September, climbing 2.3%, its strongest gain since March and well above the estimate of 0.9%. There has been concern about consumer spending in Japan after the sales tax was raised in April from 5% to 8%. The government plans to increase the tax to 10%, but is wary about hurting the economy, which has been marked by modest growth. Meanwhile, Household Spending, an important consumer spending indicator, fell 5.6%, well below expectations.
USD/JPY continues its impressive rally on Monday. The pair was steady in the Asian session and has posted strong gains in European trade, breaking past resistance at 11.294 and 113.68.
114.65 is a strong resistance line.
113.68 has switched to a support role as the dollar continues to move upwards. This weak line could see more activity during the day. 112.94 is stronger.
Current range: 113.68 to 114.65 USD/JPY ratio is pointing to gains in long positions on Monday. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the dollar continues to post strong gains against the yen. The ratio currently is close to evenly split, indicative of a lack of trader bias towards what direction USD/JPY will take.