EUR/USD: We have reduced our year-end expectation to 1.24 from 1.27 - TDS

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

"Reflecting the global trend toward more cautious central bank hikes, we revise down our expectations for ECB rate hikes, with a single 15bps hike to the depo rate in December," note TD Securities analysts.

Key quotes

"We expect the ECB to then hike at a cautious pace, with 25bps hikes occurring every six months thereafter. We do not expect the ECB to introduce TLTROs should macroeconomic data recover as we expect."

"Rates: Given the change in our ECB rate forecast, we revise our Bund forecast for 2019. We now look for 10y Bunds to end 2019 at 55bp compared to the previously envisaged 70bp."

"FX: We are revising lower our EURUSD forecasts on the back of our downgraded ECB expectations. We retain a broadly constructive outlook for the pair, but we have reduced our year-end expectation to 1.24 from 1.27. Near-term risks to our view are still skewed to the downside, but we could see upside risks emerge on longer horizons."

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Breaking: US and Israel attack Iran, risk aversion to sweep global markets

Early Saturday, United States (US) President Donald Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, following Israel’s pre-emptive missile attacks against Tehran.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.