US government agrees a short term budget

Halo Financial Team Halo Financial

Today's Highlights

Sterling recovers
US government agrees a short term budget
UK government borrowing data awaited

Current Market Overview

Could it be the coffin for crypto currencies?

Every few days there is another nail being hammered into the coffin of crypto-currencies. The latest is that South Korea is clamping down on anonymous banking as a means to trade in these volatile electronic currencies. Central banks and treasuries don’t like them because they are an anonymous way of shuffling funds around and that is manna from heaven for money launderers. The average price of crypto-currencies has fallen 18% in the last three days.

US government compromise doesn’t help US Dollar

As I suggested yesterday, the US government reaching a compromise to stop the shutdown and keep the civil service in business until 8th February wasn’t enough to strengthen the US Dollar. In fact the Pound made gains against the beleaguered USD yesterday; a day with almost no other data to look at. The Euro-USD rate was less bullish but is still above $1.22.

UK awaits positive data - Pound is up

The Sterling – Euro exchange rate is back up flirting with €1.14 as traders prepare for UK public sector borrowing data which is forecast to be quite positive. A substantial drop in borrowing is expected. We will also get the CBI industrial trends survey, which should remain in positive territory; albeit a tad down on the December reading. The GBPUSD rate could test the $1.40 level and the GBPEUR rate has the chance to break above €1.14 as well. Watch this space.

Euro could get a boost today

This morning will also bring the German ZEW survey results and the economic expectations index is forecast to be strong but a tad down on last month’s. Whether that, or something that comes out of the ECOFIN meeting of the EU finance ministers will be enough to boost the Euro is another matter. However, there is a feeling that this afternoon’s Eurozone Consumer Confidence survey will be very upbeat and that could be the catalyst that starts the Euro gaining ground.

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Halo Financial Team

Halo Financial

EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness

EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.

GBP/USD hovers near 1.3600 as UK government crisis weighs on Pound Sterling

GBP/USD moves sideways after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3610 during the European hours on Monday. The pair could come under pressure as the Pound Sterling may weaken amid a fresh government crisis in the United Kingdom.

Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data

Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery

Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.