US Futures Climb as Coronavirus Death Toll Continues to Rise

The euro rose today even after the market received relatively weak economic data from Europe. Data from Eurostat showed that the EU economy grew at the lowest pace in seven years. The single currency zone rose by just 0.1% in the fourth quarter. This was in line with expectations and lower than the previous quarter’s 0.3%. This growth was less than the US 0.5% growth in the quarter. Meanwhile, employment rates in the EU increased by 0.3% in the euro area and 0.2% in EU27. On trade, the euro area exported goods worth more than €186.1 billion. This was 4.8% higher than the €177.5 billion that was exported in the same quarter in 2018. This led to a €23.1 billion surplus with the rest of the world. 

US stock futures rose today as the market seemed to ignore negative news from China. The number of coronavirus cases continued to rise. Officials from China reported 5,090 new cases and 121 deaths in the past 24 hours. 1,700 medical workers have been infected by the disease. The number of people who have been infected is more than 64k while the number of those who have died is more than 1,400. At the same time, companies have continued to warn about implications from the disease. Kirin, a Japanese brewer said that there will be considerable damage from the virus. HSBC announced that some staff will be required to stay at home for more two weeks. Alibaba also warned of potential risks associated with the disease.

The US dollar was little moved today as the market reacted to inflation numbers that were released yesterday. Data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) showed that the headline CPI rose by 0.1% in January. This was slightly lower than December’s 0.2% gain. This was the smallest gain in four months. Consumer prices rose by 2.5% in the past 12 months. This was higher than the previous 2.3%. Core CPI which excludes volatile food and energy prices rose by 0.2% after rising by 0.1% in December. It rose by 2.3% in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims increased by 205k in the past week. This was slightly higher than the 203k recorded in the previous week.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair moved upwards slightly even as we received relatively weak economic data from Europe. The pair is trading at 1.0840, which is slightly above this week’s low of 1.0826. This price is still near the lowest level since 2017. The RSI has emerged from the oversold level of 24 to 42. The short and medium-term moving averages appear to be making a bullish crossover. The pair may reverse this week’s losses in the coming week.

XBR/USD

The XBR/USD pair rose today as traders ignored the risks of coronavirus. The pair has been moving upwards this week. It has risen from a low of 53.18 to today’s high of 57.15. The price is above the 14-day and 28-day exponential moving averages. The average moving directional index, which was moving downwards previously, rose to 30. The momentum indicator has remained above 100. The pair may continue moving higher during the American session.

AUD/NZD

The AUD/NZD pair declined slightly today. The pair has moved from 1.0396 to a high of 1.0453 in the past two days. As shown on the chart below, the pair has formed an equidistant channel on the hourly chart. It is at the lower side of the channel today. The price is along the 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement level. At this stage, the pair may resume the upward trend to test the previous resistance level of 1.0453. It may also move lower past the current support.