US dollar holds steady ahead of Fed’s Jackson Hole summit

The US dollar rose slightly as investors reacted to relatively strong durable goods order numbers from the United States. According to the commerce department, the headline durable goods orders rose by 11.2% in July after rising by 7.6% in the previous month. Further data showed that core durable goods orders rose by 2.4% during the month. It had risen by 3.6% in the previous month. The data came a day after the US released strong new home sales numbers but disappointing consumer confidence data. Also, the US dollar reacted to a report that the Fed will leave interest rates near zero for the next five years. 

The New Zealand dollar was little changed today after New Zealand released mixed trade numbers. The data showed that the country’s exports dropped by $0.17 billion to $4.91 billion in July. The country’s imports declined to $4.63 billion from the previous $4.61 billion. Surprisingly, the country did not import any crude oil in July. As a result of falling exports and rising imports, the trade surplus declined to $282 million. The data came as the country is implementing a strict lockdown in Auckland to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Global stocks were mixed today as investors looked ahead to the central banks’ symposium in Jackson Hole. In Europe, the DAX index rose by 0.50% while the CAC 40 and Stoxx 50 rose by 0.30% and 0.35%, respectively. The FTSE 100 declined by 0.20%. Meanwhile, in the United States, futures tied to the Dow Jones are down by 0.205 while those toed to the Nasdaq 100 are up by 0.40%. A major mover is Salesforce, which reported strong corporate earnings. The company’s revenue rose to $5.15 billion while its earnings per share increased to $1.44. Another key mover in the UK was Polymetal, after the company doubled its dividend because of the higher prices.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair is little changed ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. The pair is trading at 1.1810, which is slightly above the intraday low of 1.1800. On the four-hour chart, the price is between the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages. The price is above the ascending white trend line. It is also forming a bearish consolidation pattern that is shown in yellow. Therefore, the price is likely to continue falling as bears target the next support at 1.1750.

XBR/USD

The XBR/USD pair dropped to an intraday low 46.20 from the previous high of 46.50. On the four-hour chart, the price has moved from the upper side of the ascending wedge pattern. It also remains above the short and medium-term moving averages that are also at the lower side of the wedge. The signal and main line of the MACD have also moved above the neutral line. Therefore, the price is likely to continue falling as bears attempt to test the support at 45.00.

XAU/USD

The XAU/USD pair dropped to an intraday low of 1,917. On the daily chart, the price has moved below the 25-day EMA but it remains above the 50-day EMA. The price also appears to be struggling to move above the YTD high of 2,075. The DeMarker, on the other hand, has moved to the oversold level. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue falling as bears attempt to move below 1,900.