Swing Trades: EUR/USD, NZD/USD

Dukascopy Bank Team Dukascopy Bank SA

EUR/USD: US Building Permits

The US Dollar was slightly weaker against the Euro in the wake of the country's real estate market data. The EUR/USD exchange rate added 6 pips to touch the intraday high of 1.2265.

Building permits were down 0.1% to a 1.30M units rate in December, adding to a total 4.7% rise to a rate of 1.26M units in 2017, the strongest level in ten years. The reports also revealed that the US homebuilding activity decreased more than anticipated by the end of 2017 to mark its largest drop in just a year, due to a steep fall in the single-family housing units construction. Housing starts dropped 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted yearly rate of 1.19M units, which is expected to be transitory amid solid demand for housing, driven by a strong labour market.

NZD/USD: Business NZ Manufacturing Index

The Kiwi depreciated against the US Dollar on a fading activity in the New Zealand's manufacturing sector. The NZD/USD currency pair dropped 0.21% or 15 base points to the 0.7291 mark, but kept trading in the 0.7300 area.

New Zealand's manufacturing activity grew at its weakest pace in nearly five years in the last month of 2017. The Business NZ survey showed that the seasonnaly adjucted Manufacturing Index decreased to 51.2 from 57.7 in the prior month. The stark downturn in growth was mostly caused by a surprise election results, which ended the era af National Party, providing the helm for the Labour-led governemnt with uncertainties over its decisions on emmigration and foreign investment.

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Dukascopy Bank Team

Dukascopy Bank SA

Dukascopy Bank stands as an innovative Swiss online banking institution, with its headquarters situated in Geneva, Switzerland.

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.