US Dollar firmer, eyes on 97.00

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

The greenback – in terms of the US Dollar Index – is trading on a firm footing on Monday and is now looking to regain the key handle at 97.00 the figure.

US Dollar on its way to close the gap

The index has opened with a gap lower and tested fresh daily troughs in the vicinity of 96.80, where it seems to have found some decent support for the time being.

Some risk-on trade following Macron’s win at the French legislative elections on Sunday appears to have weighed on the buck at the beginning of the week although the rebound of US yields have been collaborating with the recovery somewhat.

In the meantime, as market participants continue to adjust to the recent decision by the Federal Reserve to hike rates, the Fed’s plans to start reducing its balance sheet as well as its timing appear poised to drive the price action in the medium term, while the prospects of another rate hike in Q3 2017 remains well and sound.

Later in the session, NY Fed W.Dudley (permanent voter, centrist) will be the first governor to start this week’s queue of Fed-speakers.

On another direction, USD speculative net longs kept losing ground for yet another week, this time retreating to levels last seen in early October 2016 during the week ended on June 13, as per the latest CFTC report

US Dollar relevant levels

The index is up 0.08% at 96.94 facing the next up barrier at 97.56 (high Jun.15) followed by 97.63 (38.2% Fibo of the May-June drop) and then 98.04 (50% Fibo of the May-June drop). On the flip side, a breach of 96.31 (2017 low Jun.14) would target 95.91 (low Nov.9 2016) and finally 94.95 (low Sep.22 2016).

Author

Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

AUD/USD turns lower toward 0.7000 after mixed Australian jobs data

AUD/USD is losing ground toward 0.7000 in the Asian session on Thursday, following the release of the Australian August jobs report, which showed that the Unemployment Rate rose to 4.6% versus 4.5% expected, while Employment Change beat estimates, arriving at 39.5K. Traders also remain unnerved ahead of the critical Trump-Xi meeting.

USD/JPY keeps the red near 158.00 as Japanese Yen firms up

USD/JPY retreats from three-week highs and holds losses near 158.00 in the Asian session on Thursday. Surging Japanese bond yields lift the Yen amid looming intervention risks, while the US Dollar preserves overnight gains to a two-month high amid hawkish Fed bets and elevated US bond yields.

Gold struggles near one-week low as traders await Trump-Xi meeting amid Fed hike bets

Gold sticks to a negative bias for the second straight day, trading below the $4,300 mark or a one-week low during the first half of the European session as traders await a crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Expectations for a major announcement are low, though market players will look for any progress on rare earths, technology restrictions, and an extension of the current US-China truce.

Bitcoin slips to $84,000 on rate hike bets – Worldcoin, Pepe lead losses

Bitcoin (BTC) price trades below $84,000 on Thursday, extending losses after a 2% decline the previous day. The pullback aligns with renewed inflation and rate-hike concerns, as US composite and services PMIs rose to 58.4 and 58.7 in September. Worldcoin (WLD) and Pepe (PEPE) recorded double-digit losses over the last 24 hours, emerging as the worst performers.

SNB leaves interest rates unchanged at 0%

Swiss National Bank leaves its key policy rates unchanged at 0%, as expected by market particiapnts. The key highlights of SNB’s monetary policy assessment are as followed: Banks' sight deposits held at the SNB will be remunerated at the SNB policy rate up to a certain threshold. SNB sees 2026 inflation at 0.7% (previous forecast was for 0.6%). The main risk to the economic outlook for Switzerland stems from developments in the global economy.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.