USD/JPY flat-lines below 151.50 after soft Japanese CPI data
USD/JPY stays defensive below 151.50 after the release of a soft Japan's CPI report and mixed Industrial Production and Retail Sales data on Friday. Japanese verbal intervention also weighs on the pair amid the holiday-thinned conditions on Good Friday. US PCE inflation awaited.
AUD/USD buyers lack vigor above 0.6500 amid Good Friday trading lull
AUD/USD is trading listlessly above 0.6500 in the Asian session amid light trading on Good Friday. The Aussie pair shrugs off encouraging comments from China's FX regulator, as price action remains subdued ahead of the US PCE inflation data.
Gold flirts with record highs above $2,230, all eyes on US PCE data
Gold price flirts with record highs around $2,230 during the Asian session on Friday. The uptick of yellow metal is bolstered by the safe-haven flows amidst growing economic concerns and the prospect of interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.
Optimism price could fall as nearly $90 million worth of OP tokens is due flood markets
Optimism volatility has shrunk in the ours leading to the network’s cliff unlock. It joins the likes of dYdX and Sui, which have similar events on their calendars. As token unlocks are often considered bearish catalysts, investors should brace for a reaction after the event.
Will they won’t they cut rates is the question of Q2?
There has been some significant push back from Fed and Bank of England members around the timing of rate cuts, and the Bank of Japan still haven’t physically intervened in the FX market to stem yen weakness although they are threatening to do so.
DEEPER DIVE
Cyclical outlook: Known unknowns
In the US, the latest Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia paints a rather upbeat picture of the economic outlook. A similar survey of the ECB points towards a gradual pickup in growth this year.
Building the future
There is a construction boom underway that is quietly transforming the production capabilities and other aspects of the US economy. The fastest-growing category within nonresidential construction in recent years has been manufacturing.
Addressing the public debt challenge in the EU
Recently an agreement has been reached between representatives of the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission on a new economic governance framework.
FXS Signals
Technical Confluences Detector
Gold ends Q1 2024 at record highs, what’s next? Premium
Gold price is sitting at an all-time high of $2,236, lacking a trading impetus amid holiday-thinned conditions on Good Friday. Most major world markets, including the United States (US) are closed in observance of Holy Friday, leaving volatility around Gold price highly subdued.
All eyes on US Core PCE inflation for next Gold price move
However, traders keenly await the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index due later on Friday to gauge the market’s pricing of a potential US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut in June.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Prisma price tanks 25% after nearly $9 million exploit
Prisma Finance (PRISMA) is being exploited, and the attacker has so far pulled $9 million in Ethereum from the borrowing protocol. Prisma asked vault owners to take the necessary steps to protect funds from the ongoing attack in an official tweet on X.
Meme coins gain traction after SEC’s partial win in Coinbase lawsuit: DOGE, SHIB, BRETT, POPCAT, BODEN
US SEC pocketed a partial win in its lawsuit against Coinbase, ushering a correction in crypto prices on Thursday. Despite the broad pullback, prices of meme coins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Solana-based BRETT, POPCAT and BODEN increased.
Ondo moves $95 million worth of OUSG assets to BUIDL as tokenized fund attracts $245 million since debut
Ondo Finance (ONDO) announced on Wednesday that it's shifting about $95 million worth of its OUSG's underlying assets to the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
XRP price stuck below $0.65 resistance, Ripple lawsuit could suffer from Coinbase defeat
XRP price falls slightly to $0.61 on Thursday after its landmark programmatic sales ruling in July, which gave Ripple a partial victory against the US SEC, failed to reverberate in a similar legal battle between the regulator and crypto exchange Coinbase.
THE STOCK OF THE DAY
AMC sheds 14% after offering to sell $250 million in common stock
AMC Entertainment stock is at it again. The heavily indebted cinema chain and once-loved meme stock is heading to the market to sell another $250 million worth of shares in order to pay down its strangling debt load obtained during the heights of the covid pandemic.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
WEEKLY FORECAST
EUR/USD: US Dollar gains to continue amid a strong US economy Premium
The EUR/USD pair fell for a second consecutive week, ending Friday just above the March low of 1.0796. The pair peaked at 1.0942 early on Thursday, in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy announcement, but turned south afterwards.
GBP/USD: Dovish BoE voting pattern weighs on Pound Sterling Premium
The Pound Sterling (GBP) failed to hold its upswing against the US Dollar (USD), as the GBP/USD correction from seven-month highs of 1.2894 regained traction in the central banks’ bonanza week.
US Dollar: Inflation returns to the fore Premium
Throughout another notably productive week, the US Dollar (USD) successfully regained more stability, concluding its second consecutive week with gains and managing to reclaim the area beyond the 104.00 barrier when tracked by the US Dollar Index (DXY).
Gold: Record-setting rally loses steam on USD resilience Premium
Gold turned south following a record-setting upsurge on Wednesday and erased the majority of its weekly gains, as the upbeat data releases from the US offset the negative impact of the Fed’s policy decisions on the USD's valuation.
Bitcoin: BTC may have recovered, but is it out of the woods?
Bitcoin’s (BTC) upward momentum has shown a significant decline for the past two weeks or so. This development led to a bearish signal on the weekly and an uncertain outlook on the monthly.
Quiet week ahead in the markets
Compared to last week’s bumper slate of event risk, this week will be considerably more subdued, influenced not only by limited global asset drivers but also by liquidity thinning ahead of the long Easter weekend.