TRENDING:

XAU/USD

EUR/USD

COVID spread weighing on market's risk appetite

Risk-off could be the order of the day as markets follow Friday's sullen mood.
Covid cases on the rise and threat to global recovery have been marked in forex.
AUD/JPY bears could get the boost they need towards the weekly support structure.

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The start to the week might well be more of the same from `Friday, risk-off, which will bode well for risk-off FX such as short AUD/JPY (more below).

Forex Today: Risk-off to continue leading the way

Acceleration of coronavirus

As per the above article, Friday's markets were risk-off pertaining to investor's concerned for the slower pace of growth and the acceleration of coronavirus cases.

In recent months, a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been making headlines as it has spread across the world.

The Covid delta variant has exploded in the UK and investors are worried that it could be a blueprint for other nations, such as the US.

Ahead of the lifting of lockdown rules in England from Monday, the UK reported 54,674 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest one-day increase since January, and 41 new deaths.

The current wave of coronavirus infections could see up to 200,000 new cases a day, Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson has warned.

Prof Ferguson told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show that it was “almost inevitable” that daily infection rates would hit a record 100,000 within a week, and that cases could spike at more than double that figure.

The warnings come despite the UKs vaccination programme.

Besides Asia, where the delta variant has been a dominant risk theme in markets, cases attributed to the delta strain now make up around 20% of newly diagnosed cases in the US.

This is according to White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Fauci warned last week that the delta variant is set to become the dominant strain in the US in a matter of weeks.

“It just exploded in the U.K. It went from a minor variant to now more than 90% of the isolates in the UK.,” Fauci said on NBC’s “TODAY” show.

“Similar to the situation in the UK, the delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19,” he said.

AUD/JPY technical analysis

As per the prior analysis, AUD/JPY Price Analysis: Bears in control, eye daily extension, the cross is back under pressure and heading towards weekly support structure as per technical analysis below.

Prior analysis, AUD/JPY daily chart

The price is in a bearish trend and given the recent correction that has started to run out of momentum, there are prospects of a continuation to the downside.

Live market update

The above chart illustrates the progress made since the original article on the 15 July.

Bears will eye between the 80.90 and 80.50 weekly target area at this juncture following the prior week's bearish weekly close.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

USD/JPY retreats from nearly two-year high on hawkish BoJ Minutes

USD/JPY drifts lower during the Asian session on Friday, retreating further from its highest level since July 2024, set the previous day. Minutes from the April BoJ meeting keep further policy normalization firmly on the table amid expectations for a pickup in inflation over the coming months, due to higher energy costs. This offsets Japan's softer National CPI print and lifts the Japanese Yen amid intervention fears, exerting some pressure on the currency pair.

AUD/USD awaits 0.7000 breakdown before the next leg down amid bullish USD

AUD/USD holds above 0.7000 during the Asian session on Friday, though it remains close to the weekly low and seems poised to register modest weekly losses. The US Dollar sits near its highest level since May 2025 as the Fed's hawkish tilt overshadows optimism over the US-Iran peace deal, capping the currency pair. However, the RBA's signal that additional rate hikes were possible if inflation persists lends some support to the Aussie.

Gold refreshes weekly low as Fed's hawkish tilt underpins USD

Gold attracts sellers for the third consecutive day and weakens below $4,200, hitting a fresh weekly low during the Asian session on Friday. Despite the latest optimism over a US-Iran peace deal, the Fed's hawkish tilt helps the US Dollar to preserve its strong weekly gains to the highest level since May 2025. This, in turn, undermines the non-yielding bullion and backs the case for further losses.

XRP vulnerable below key EMA resistance levels

Ripple (XRP) ticks down below $1.20 with short-term support at $1.16 intact at the time of writing on Thursday. An early-week rally was rejected at $1.28, weighing on sentiment as traders broadly de-risked.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.

The next big AI trade may not be about chips or software

Artificial intelligence has already created some of the biggest winners in modern market history. Chipmakers have surged, data centre construction is booming, and electricity demand forecasts are changing globally.