EUR/USD: continued decline in the context of a long-term bearish trendAs part of a long-term downtrend, the EUR/USD pair experienced pressure, falling to the lower boundary of the channel near the 1.0600 mark, followed by a correction to the 1.0681 level. Amid expectations of changes in monetary policy, the market is tuning in to a possible rate cut by the European Central Bank as early as June, while the adaptation of the US Federal Reserve's policy is expected no earlier than September.Economic statistics support forecasts of an imminent correction: the March consumer price index of the eurozone showed a decrease to 2.4% per annum, the base index fell to 2.9%. In the US, by contrast, the consumer price index increased to 3.5%, while core inflation remained at 3.8%. Market expectations regarding the easing of monetary policy by Europe are supported by statements by ECB officials who are ready to cut rates in June, unless extraordinary events occur, such as increased geopolitical risks in the Middle East, which can cause an increase in energy prices.Resistance levels: 1.0742, 1.0864, 1.0925.Support levels: 1.0645, 1.0559, 1.0498.GBP/USD: annual inflation rate in the UK dropped to 3.2%In the Asian session, the GBP/USD currency pair shows moderate growth, which began the previous day, and is trying to overcome the level of 1.2470, reacting to the latest data from the British economy.In March, monthly consumer price growth in the UK remained at 0.6%, and the annual inflation rate fell from 3.4% to 3.2%, falling short of the expected 3.1%. Core inflation, which excludes the cost of food and energy, also increased by 0.6%, which led to an annual rate of 4.2%, slightly higher than the forecast of 4.1%. The retail price index decreased to 4.3%, which was worse than the expected 4.2%, indicating a slower than expected decrease in inflationary pressure, which limits the rise of the pound. The market's attention on Friday will be focused on retail sales figures, which, according to forecasts, should show an improvement of 0.3% after stagnation in February.Resistance levels: 1.2520, 1.2690.Support levels: 1.2430, 1.2270.NZD/USD: pair is gaining strength after losses at the start of the weekNZD/USD is showing moderate growth, continuing the positive trend that began after the pair rebounded from the lowest values since the beginning of November 2023. At the moment, the exchange rate is approaching the psychological level of 0.5920, accompanied by expectations of new economic signals.Investors will direct their attention to the upcoming statistics on the American labor market, in particular, data on primary and secondary applications for unemployment benefits are expected: forecasts indicate a slight increase in the number of initial applications from 211,000 to 215,000. In addition, a publication from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on the index of business activity in the manufacturing sector may show a decrease from 3.2 up to 1.5 points in April, which can affect the dynamics of the pair.On the other hand, recent inflation data in New Zealand caused pressure on the national currency: the consumer price index for the first quarter showed a slowdown from 4.7% to 4.0% per annum, which was below expectations, while the quarterly index showed an unexpected increase from 0.5% to 0.6%.Resistance levels: 0.5920, 0.5950, 0.5975, 0.6000.Support levels: 0.5885, 0.5858, 0.5830, 0.5800.AUD/USD: Australian currency is moving away from recent low valuesDuring recent trading, the AUD/USD pair is experiencing an uptrend, moving away from the lows reached on November 14, 2023, with quotes actively attacking the 0.6445 level. Investors are carefully studying the data of the March report on the Australian labor market, published on Thursday.The report showed a decrease in the number of employed by 6.6 thousand, which was a sharp restraint after the previous increase of 117.6 thousand, against the projected 7.2 thousand. At the same time, the number of full-time jobs increased by 27.9 thousand, while part-time employment fell by 34.5 thousand. The unemployment rate increased from 3.7% to 3.8%, which was below analysts' expectations of 3.9%, and labor force participation decreased from 66.7% to 66.6%.The US dollar also received support after recent statements by Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. Although he did not provide a specific time frame for the start of rate cuts, he stressed that it would take more time to stabilize inflation at 2.0%. This led to a revision by investors of forecasts regarding the time of the first interest rate cut this year, while the majority believes that monetary policy easing is possible in September, followed by a possible reduction no earlier than the end of 2024. Up to two rate adjustments of 25 basis points each are expected this year.Resistance levels: 0.6456, 0.6480, 0.6500, 0.6524.Support levels: 0.6420, 0.6388, 0.6356, ...
EUR/USD: eurozone reported an increase in GDP for Q1In early trading, the EUR/USD exchange rate is experiencing an adjustment, being at the level of 1.0655, although economic statistics from the European Union show positive trends.On the eve of the meeting, many EU states presented results on gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter. France showed an improvement of 0.2%, reaching 1.1% year-on-year, which is higher than the previous 0.8%. Spain recorded a 0.7% quarterly GDP growth and an increase from 2.1% to 2.4% per annum, while in Italy the quarterly growth was 0.3%, although the annual rate decreased from 0.7% to 0.6%. The German economy grew by 0.2% compared to the previous 0.5% decline, but the annual rate remained negative at -0.2%. As a result, eurozone GDP improved from -0.1% to 0.3% quarterly and from 0.1% to 0.4% per annum. These data may contribute to the decision of the European Central Bank to lower interest rates. In this context, the head of the Dutch Central Bank, Claes Noth, stressed the continuation of the disinflation process, making the upcoming rate cut in June likely, but called for caution in the further steps of the regulator.Resistance levels: 1.0710, 1.0810.Support levels: 1.0620, 1.0500.GBP/USD: UK Mortgage Loan record in 18 monthsThe GBP/USD exchange rate is at 1.2470 and continues to decline amid unfavorable economic data from the UK.April figures from Nationwide Building Society showed a decrease in the housing price index by 0.4% for the month, which is worse than the predicted 0.2% and the previous value of -0.2%. The annual index also fell to 0.6%, against the expected 1.2% and the previous 1.6%. This trend contributes to an overall slowdown in inflation, which now stands at 3.2% compared to the previous figure of 3.4%. This gives the Bank of England the opportunity to reduce interest rates more actively, ahead of market expectations. In addition, in March, the number of approved mortgage loans reached 61.33 thousand, updating an 18-month record. The growth in consumer lending amounted to 1.577 million pounds compared with 1.429 million pounds a month earlier, and net borrowing by individuals increased to 1,800 million pounds against the projected 1,700 million.Resistance levels: 1.2525, 1.2697, 1.2875.Support levels: 1.2322, 1.2058.USD/JPY: exchange rate forms a global wave of appreciationThe USD/JPY pair fluctuates horizontally near the 157.82 mark, while the yen continues its decline, reaching a new peak of 160.00 on Monday, followed by a sharp rise in the currency. A significant correction followed after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida avoided answering questions about potential currency interventions at a press conference. Despite this, taking into account trading volumes, it can be assumed that the Bank of Japan took measures to influence the market, which should be confirmed by the report on the current balance of operations of the regulator, which will be published next week.The yen has been under pressure for a long time, not finding support in macroeconomic data: retail sales growth slowed from 4.7% to 1.2% in March, falling short of the projected 2.5%, which was the result of the increasing impact of inflation on household finances. According to a report by the Bank of Japan, prices for services continue to rise, but a significant increase in wages offered by companies may increase citizens' incomes this year and help stabilize the consumer price index at the target 2.0%. It should be noted that April showed an improvement in the index of business activity in the manufacturing sector to 49.6 points from 48.2 points, but this did not bring significant support to the yen.Support levels: 157.00, 154.50.Resistance levels: 158.30, 160.20.Oil market analysisBrent crude oil prices have stabilized at $85 per barrel.Economic data from China are supporting oil prices: in the first quarter, the country increased oil imports by 0.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 137.36 million tons. At the same time, oil production in China increased by 2.3% to 53.48 million tons, refuting assumptions about a significant reduction in energy demand from the Chinese economy at the beginning of the year, which had a positive impact on market prices.However, the current local trend is under pressure due to the growth of strategic hydrocarbon reserves in the United States. According to information from the American Petroleum Institute (API), oil reserves increased by 4,906 million barrels over the past week, which contradicts analysts' expectations of a reduction of 1,500 million barrels. A new report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expected, where analysts predict an adjustment of -2.300 million barrels after the previous drop of -6.368 million, raising questions against the background of API data.Resistance levels: 86.50, 89.50.Support levels: 84.70, ...
EUR/USD: negative factors support the downtrendThe EUR/USD currency pair follows a descending channel: the middle of the month showed that the price reached the minimum level of the channel at 1.0600, followed by a correction to the middle line of the Bollinger bands at 1.0725, where the quotes are now located.A corrective increase does not change the overall fundamental mood of the development of events, contributing to the support of a long-term downward trend. The market anticipates a difference in the approaches of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (FRS) to monetary policy, which strengthens the dollar's position against the euro. The ECB is expected to begin lowering interest rates as early as June, while the Fed will postpone these measures until at least September. Recent economic reports confirm the ECB's intentions to ease policy: the consumer price index for April maintained the level of 2.4% per annum, core inflation fell to 2.7%, falling short of the projected 2.6%. Eurozone GDP in the first quarter also showed better results than expected, confirming the economic recovery and a decrease in inflationary pressure, which may lead to a reduction in interest rates soon.Resistance levels: 1.0742, 1.0864, 1.0945.Support levels: 1.0645, 1.0559, 1.0498.GBP/USD: monetary policy strengthens the US dollarOver the past two months, the GBP/USD pair has been in a downward trend: last week was marked by the achievement of the minimum value of this channel, followed by an upward correction to the level of 1.2550. The current rise in the value of the pound is seen as only a short-term phenomenon and is unlikely to change the general vector of movement of the currency pair, as monetary policy continues to strengthen the US dollar. Experts expect that the Bank of England may begin lowering interest rates as early as June or August, despite the unexpected increase in inflation in March to 3.2%, against the projected 3.1%. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve may postpone easing its policy until the autumn. In the worst-case scenario, given the rise in inflation, the American financial regulator may not even reduce the cost of borrowing this year or decide to raise rates.In March, 61.33 thousand mortgages were approved in the UK, which was a record for the last 18 months. The volume of consumer lending increased to 1,577 million pounds compared with 1,429 million pounds a month earlier, and net borrowing by individuals increased to 1,800 million pounds, exceeding forecasts by 100,000 pounds. Despite these data confirming the recovery of the construction sector, the British currency did not receive support due to the cautious position of traders before the upcoming meeting of the US Federal Reserve. It is expected that if the US regulator keeps interest rates unchanged, confirming the postponement of monetary policy adjustments until the autumn, the GBP/USD pair may experience additional pressure.Resistance levels: 1.2573, 1.2695, 1.2817.Support levels: 1.2451, 1.2329, 1.2207, 1.2085.USD/CHF: decline of important Swiss economic indicators in AprilThe USD/CHF currency pair is hovering around 0.9126, intending to test resistance at 0.9142 due to the weakening of the Swiss franc against the background of disappointing economic data.Today's report by the Swiss Economic Institute KOF, covering 12 key indicators, including consumer confidence, manufacturing, new orders and the real estate market, pointed to the economic outlook for the next six months. The indicator value for April was 101.8, being lower than the expected 102.1 points, while the previous estimate was adjusted from 101.5 to 101.4 points. Despite this, the nominal wages index increased by 1.7% in 2023, reaching 102.4 points compared to last year. In the context of 2.1% inflation, real wages decreased by 0.4%, and the salary index fell to 96.9 points, which is below the stability threshold of 100 points. In June, the regulator is expected to keep the interest rate at 1.50%, which in the long term may weaken the national currency.Resistance levels: 0.9142, 0.9230, 0.9330.Support levels: 0.9015, 0.8878.NZD/USD: the exchange rate falls to 0.5928 following negative data from New ZealandFollowing disappointing economic indicators from New Zealand, the NZD/USD exchange rate is showing a decline, aiming for a reference point at 0.5928.The April business confidence index, prepared by the ANZ group from Australia and New Zealand, showed a value of 14.9 points, which is significantly lower than the expected 24.0 points and the previous result of 22.9 points. This indicates that business conditions in the country are deteriorating, causing increased sales of the New Zealand dollar and supporting the trend towards its depreciation. Despite the ongoing downward trend, the recent foreign trade report provided temporary support to the exchange rate: March exports increased to NZ$6.50 billion compared to NZ$5.79 billion a month earlier, while import growth stopped at NZ$5.91 billion. This made it possible to achieve a trade surplus again, which amounted to NZ$ 588.0 million.Resistance levels: 0.5981, 0.6005, 0.6069.Support levels: 0.5928, ...
EUR/USD: economic mood in the eurozone improved to 43.9 pointsThe EUR/USD currency pair is showing moderate strengthening, recovering from a strong bearish trend that began last week and led to an update of the minimum values since November 2 of the previous year. The pair has now tested the 1.0625 level, waiting for new catalysts to move.The euro is supported by the latest data from the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW): the index of economic sentiment in the eurozone increased from 33.5 to 43.9 points in April, which significantly exceeded analysts' expectations of 37.2 points and was the highest result since the spring of 2022. This strengthens expectations of an improvement in the economic situation in the next six months. In addition, the region's trade balance showed a surplus of 23.6 billion euros, almost doubling compared to January, due to an increase in exports of cars and equipment, as well as due to a decrease in energy imports. Today, data on the German wholesale price index for March were also presented, which remained at the level of 0.2% monthly growth, which exceeded analysts' expectations for a decrease to -0.1%, and the annual figure was -3.0%.Resistance levels: 1.0630, 1.0660, 1.0700, 1.0730.Support levels: 1.0600, 1.0561, 1.0530, 1.0500.USD/JPY: stabilization at historically high levelsThe USD/JPY currency pair shows mixed trends, holding near the level of 154.60. Buyer activity remains significant, but new positions are being opened cautiously in anticipation of potential interventions from the Bank of Japan. The regulator expressed concern about the speculative weakening of the yen, which, despite the recent interest rate increase, did not lead to a strengthening of the currency due to bias towards a soft monetary policy. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki confirmed that the monetary authorities are ready for decisive measures to stabilize the yen.Support for the Japanese currency also came from trade data for March: exports increased by 7.3%, despite a slight slowdown compared to February, and imports decreased by 4.9%, resulting in a trade surplus of 366.5 billion yen. In the US, on the contrary, the March data on the construction sector turned out to be less satisfactory: building permits fell by 4.3%, and the start of new construction decreased by 14.7%, which further weakened the dollar against the yen.Resistance levels: 155.00, 155.50, 156.00, 156.50.Support levels: 154.50, 154.00, 153.50, 153.00.USD/CAD: US dollar continues to dominate the currency pairThe USD/CAD currency pair is experiencing a correction, stabilizing at 1.3820 amid the activity of the US dollar and ambiguous Canadian economic statistics.March inflation data in Canada showed a 0.6% monthly increase in consumer prices and an increase in the annual index from 2.8% to 2.9%. However, the base index excluding food and energy prices showed a 0.5% monthly change and a decrease from 2.1% to 2.0% per annum, which was in line with market expectations.On the other hand, the US dollar reached a high level of 106.10 on the USDX index, which was confirmed by retail sales data. Sales in the United States increased by 0.7% monthly in March, exceeding analysts' expectations of 0.4%, and accelerated significantly year-on-year from 2.11% to 4.02%. Underlying sales also showed an increase from 0.6% to 1.1%. In addition, industrial production increased by 0.4% on a monthly basis and recovered to the level of 0.00% per annum after a previous decrease of 0.30%, which adds dynamism to the US dollar in the market.Resistance levels: 1.3850, 1.3960.Support levels: 1.3780, 1.3610.GBP/USD: analysis for the quarterWe present an analysis of the investment prospects of the GBP/USD pair for the medium term.The UK continues to experience economic difficulties caused by persistently high inflation. The actions of the Bank of England to stabilize it have not yet brought the expected result, and the current fluctuations in the pound are due to falling electricity prices on the stock market. Nevertheless, given the recent rise in oil prices, it is possible that the value of the pound will resume rising. The interest rate set by the regulator at 5.25% is likely to be supported at the next meeting on May 9, according to experts' forecasts. The consumer price index in March showed a decrease to 3.2% from 3.4%, and the main index excluding the cost of food and fuel remained at 4.2%. The pound is also feeling pressure from the retail sector: the core retail sales index increased by only 0.2% in February after rising by 3.4% a month earlier and fell by 0.5% in annual terms after an increase of 0.5% in the previous month. At the same time, the volume of retail sales in February remained unchanged, which led to an annual decline of 0.4%, and the GDP indicator for the same period decreased from 0.3% to ...
The foreign exchange market is better known as Forex or FX. Trading in this market has become very popular in recent years. However, this is not the case - Forex trading raises a number of questions. For example: what is the foreign exchange market? Which currency pairs are best to trade? Is currency trading risky? Some of the answers to these questions will be found in this article.What is the Forex market?The foreign exchange market is also called the Forex market or the English foreign exchange market. It is simply a market where currencies are exchanged. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the foreign exchange market is the largest market in terms of total volume, with up to USD 5 trillion traded daily. It is not a physical place, but rather an electronic network where institutions or individuals trade with each other.The left-hand currency is called the base currency and the right-hand currency is called the quote currency. The second currency indicates the value relative to 1 unit of the base currency. For instance, the formula EUR/USD = 1.4000 implies that EUR/USD trades at 1.4000, i.e., 1 Euro has a value of $1.40. The first currency is always expressed in the second currency. USD/JPY at 110.50 means that one USD is worth JPY 110.50. EUR/USDWhat are the best currency pairs to trade?The best currency pairs to trade effectively depend on your trading style. If you have a short term strategy, for example, if you like to scalp, then the major currency pairs will be most profitable for you because of the low spreads.On the other hand, for a fundamental trader, smaller currency pairs will be of interest based on long-term analysis. The most profitable currency pairs may be those involving the Australian dollar, Japanese yen or Canadian dollar.The best forex currency pairs:EUR/USD: this pair has the lowest spread and is not very volatile.GBP/USD: this pair is interesting in terms of spreads and possible gaps, but it is quite volatile.USD/JPY: this pair has low spreads and offers some interesting possibilities. GBP/USDHow to get started trading currencies online?To start trading currencies online, follow these steps:- Choose a regulated and reputable broker- Choose a broker by the quality of execution of trading instructions- Decide on the trading style that suits you best (scalping, intraday trading, swing trading - you keep your position open for several days)- Determine the appropriate leverage effect in the stock market according to your strategy and experience.- Do not invest more than you can afford to lose.- Choose an intuitive, simple and secure trading platform such as MetaTrader 4.- Try all the above steps on a demo account, before trading live.Read more: Features of intraday trading on the Forex marketGoldIs online currency trading dangerous?Like any financial investment, currency trading online is subject to risks. However, there are different methods to control these risks:- Determine the price of the currency pair at which you want to close a position if developments are unfavourable (for example, if you buy and the price falls, or if you sell and the price rises),- Determine the size of the trade so that your potential loss should not exceed 2-3% of your capital per trade,- Estimate your risk/return ratio (loss/profit) before you open the trade. By default you should have a greater potential for profit than loss, e.g. risk 50 pips, but try to make a profit of e.g. 100 pips.For proper money management and risk reduction it is advisable to start trading on a demo account and try things out on the dirt first. Such an account will allow you to trade in real market conditions, but with fictitious capital, so that you have a complete understanding of the foreign exchange market without any risk.Read more: Forex broker: how to choose a good ...
