USD/JPY: trend reversal in the pair has been confirmed
Continuing the downward trend after yesterday's drop in the US dollar, the USD/JPY pair is trading at 141.78.
The sentiment index of large Japanese manufacturers from Tankan increased from 9.0 to 12.0 points in the fourth quarter, while the indicator of their business activity decreased from 10.0 to 8.0 points. For large non—manufacturing companies, the sentiment index increased from 27.0 to 30 points, and for small businesses - from 12.0 to 14 points, highlighting the ongoing instability, which is confirmed by data on new orders. The core index in mechanical engineering increased by 0.7% in October, which is lower than the previous figure of 1.4% and 2.2% worse than last year in the same period, which does not portend a rapid recovery in the sector.
- Resistance levels: 142.80, 146.30.
- Support levels: 141.00, 138.00.
Silver prices
During the Asian session, the precious metal is experiencing an upswing, being around 23.85. Trading activity on Thursday morning is restrained, but analysts expect important decisions from global financial regulators that may affect the movement of the asset.
Meetings of the ECB, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank will be held today. No changes in monetary policy are expected from them, but market participants will closely monitor any changes in their rhetoric. Earlier, in response to the results of the US Federal Reserve meeting, where the rate remained at 5.5% per annum, silver showed an increase. Forecasts suggest that no rate hike is expected in the near future. The cost of borrowing is projected to decrease to 4.6% in 2024, and to 3.6% in 2025. The ECB and the Bank of England may also follow the example of the Fed and switch to a soft monetary policy, although the British regulator is likely to do this later due to the high inflation rate in the UK.
- Resistance levels: 24.00, 24.20, 24.42, 24.67.
- Support levels: 23.83, 23.60, 23.32, 23.00.
Cryptocurrency Market Analytics
Cardano continues to strengthen for the third month, reaching a new annual high of 0.6788, and has grown by more than 14.0% since the beginning of this week, becoming the growth leader among the major cryptocurrencies. During the year, the Cardano network token increased in price by more than 150.0%.
Experts attribute this growth to the growing interest in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, whose total capitalization in the Cardano blockchain recently reached $420.0 million. There is also an increase in key metrics on the network, including the amount of commissions, trading volumes and the number of active addresses. Yesterday's price increase was supported by the activity of large investors and the positive market reaction to the results of the last meeting of the US Federal Reserve this year. According to TheBlock, the total volume of large transactions on the Cardano network over the past 24 hours, each of which exceeded $ 100.0 thousand, amounted to more than $ 1.5 billion, and the total trading volume reached $ 19.47 billion, indicating an increasing interest in this blockchain from major market players.
- Resistance levels: 0.6835, 0.7812, 0.8789.
- Support levels: 0.5371, 0.4384, 0.3906.
Crude Oil Market Analysis
Brent crude oil prices are experiencing a correction around the 75.00 mark against the background of maintaining the level of oil production within the framework of OPEC agreements.
The November report shows that OPEC countries produced 27.837 million barrels, which is 57.0 thousand barrels less than in the previous month. A noticeable decrease in production was observed in Iraq (-77.0 thousand barrels), Angola (-37.0 thousand barrels) and Nigeria (-17.0 thousand barrels). The countries participating in the OPEC+ agreement in the same period reduced production by -2.67 million barrels compared to quotas set at the beginning of the year, thanks to voluntary reductions, resulting in total production from May 2023 decreased by another 1.67 million barrels.
In parallel, after three weeks of growth, the American Petroleum Institute (API) recorded a decrease in reserves by -2.249 million barrels, and the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy (EIA) indicated a drop of -4.259 million barrels.
- Resistance levels: 76.30, 81.40.
- Support levels: 73.25, 70.10.