|

Fed Comes and Goes Quietly

THINK AGAIN - If you thought the Fed would be a big event this week, you thought wrong. It was pretty much a given the decision would go off without a hitch, with Wednesday's FOMC viewed as nothing more than a place holder meeting ahead of the very important December meet. I had jokingly called this week's docket of central bank meetings 'non-event risk,' with no changes expected on policy across the board. Of course, we still have the Bank of England today, which might be a little more interesting considering all of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. I continue to like the idea of looking to buy the Pound, but more so against the Euro than the US Dollar and will be looking to sell EURGBP if it sets up today. 

REUNION - As far as the current positions go, I bought USDCHF and am holding an out of the money long position from 0.9791. I continue to hang onto my SPX500 short from 2173 and will be looking for an acceleration of declines towards 1990. Finally, I managed to jump back into one of my favorites (AUDNZD) into this latest dip. I had actually initially sold NZDCAD on Wednesday after that cross rate exploded higher, but with AUDNZD still dropping and NZDCAD unwinding the overbought readings, the opportunity was there to book profit on NZDCAD and roll into long AUDNZD instead. Weeks ago I exited my long AUDNZD position for a nice profit and am happy to get back in. Data out of New Zealand has been great this week, but it shouldn't change the overall picture which I believe favors the Australian Dollar. 

Author

Joel Kruger

Joel Kruger

MarketPunks

Joel is a global macro trader and chief market punk at MarketPunks.

More from Joel Kruger
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans. 

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.