AUD/NZD breaking down as risk appetite takes a plunge, Cohn departure rattling markets

Risk appetite sapped out of markets as Trump loses another supporter from a key position.
Aussie losing control, unsupported by a dovish RBA with nothing new on the horizon.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The AUD/NZD is declining in overnight trading ahead of the Tokyo market session, currently testing just beneath the 1.0700 level.

Risk sentiment has evaporated from markets on the heels of Gary Cohn's announcement that he is departing Trump's administration. The Aussie is tumbling against the broader market after climbing on positive markets through Tuesday's trading.

The Reserve bank of Australia (RBA) governor Philip Lowe gave a speech today where he highlighted everything the market already knew, that the Australian economy continues to lag behind global growth trends and the RBA has little choice but to stand pat on interest rates, though Lowe was at least able to conclude that the RBA is still currently leaning more towards rate increases than another decrease. Only time will be able to tell if the Australian economy requires another rate cut, and a further widening of current easy monetary policy if the economic picture for Australia doesn't begin to improve soon.

AUD/NZD Technicals

The pair looks set to continue drifting lower on AUD weakness, continuing to trade beneath the 200-day SMA, and H4 candles show a lower high pricing in, giving bears a better run at the soft double-bottom that formed over the last two weeks. Intraday support is thinning out quickly, sitting at 1.0665 and 1.0654, while resistance piles up from 1.0760 and 1.0820.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

GBP/USD off highs, back to 1.3620

GBP/USD remains slightly on the defensive at the end of the week, receding to the low 1.3600s after hitting fresh tops past 1.3670 earlier in the day. Cable’s correction comes after two daily gains in a row and amid a tepid advance in the Greenback, while poor UK data also accompany the downside.

EUR/USD treads water below 1.1700

EUR/USD now trades with modest losses around 1.1670 following another unsuccessful atempt to advance past 1.1700 the figure in a convincing fashion. The pair’s decline follows a maginal rebound in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess recent US data as well as developments from the US bond market.

Gold trims gains, recedes to the sub-$4,600 area

Gold rapidly leaves behind Thursday’s inconclusive price action and advances markedly on Friday, briefly surpassing the $4,600 mark per troy ounce to hit three-month peaks. Meanwhile, the precious metal’s solid performance comes despite marginal gains in the buck coupled with another day of rising US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP bulls accelerate rally amid rising ETF inflows

The cryptocurrency market remains bullish on Friday, led by Bitcoin’s surge above $77,000. Altcoins, including Ethereum and Ripple, mirror BTC’s positive outlook, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively.

Week ahead – Fed’s Jackson Hole and Nvidia earnings to dictate markets

Kevin Warsh to make his Jackson Hole debut amid confusing messaging. But a major hawkish surprise unlikely after bond market intervention. Nvidia earnings to also determine market direction as stock rally cools.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.