HotForex

Today’s Currency Movers

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EURUSD, Daily

EURUSD traded between the nearest support and resistance levels yesterday as was expected. The 1.0930 support attracted buyers and after printing a low of 1.0916 price rallied to 1.1052. Weekly pivot bar from end of May has been providing support but at the time of writing there are no definite signs of price reversing the current downtrend. Price is trending lower in a 4h 2 stdv regression channel and is at the time of writing near channel high and not that far from 1.1048 resistance level. The nearest support and resistance levels are at 1.0930 and 1.1048.

Greece gets until Sunday to reach a deal. Euro group and EU leaders meeting yesterday once again failed to reach an agreement with Greece amid a lack of concrete proposals from Tsipras. Greece is expected to present a formal request for ESM aid today and Euro group ministers will hold a conference call to discuss the proposals that are expected to be laid out in the request. The final deadline to reach an agreement at technical level seems to be Friday and a deal must be reached at a summit on Sunday. German Chancellor Merkel said she was not particularly optimistic and EU Commission President Juncker said Grexit scenarios have been prepared in detail. The ECB meanwhile stands ready to try and limit contagion. It seems this time the game really will be up Sunday if there is no miracle.

Eurogroup and EU summit yesterday once again didn’t get very far amid the lack of new proposals from Greece. EU President Tusk was left to say that a formal request for ESM aid was expected today, Thursday at the latest, while stressing the strict conditionality of ESM treaties. So if Tsipras thought by not extending the bailout and going to the ESM instead he would get more leeway he will have been disappointed. Greece said it will send a formal request for ESM aid today, while EU’s Dombrovkis said Greece was ready to present reform proposals tomorrow.

In an unusually clear way Tusk set Sunday as the very last deadline for a deal with Greece, while urging both sides to work together to come to an agreement. German Chancellor Merkel was not very optimistic however and EU Commission President Juncker said detailed Grexit scenarios have been prepared. The ECB meanwhile continues to stand ready to limit the fallout from the Greek crisis.

U.S. JOLTS report showed job rose 29k in May after a 225k increase in April to 5,363k (revised from 267k to 5,376k). The job openings rate was steady at 3.6 (April was nudged down from 3.7%). Hirings fell 34k following a revised 54k drop in April (was -81k). The rate fell to 3.5% from 3.6% (April revised up from 3.5%). There was a 10k decline in quitters after a 60k drop previously (revised from -100k). The quit rate was unchanged at 1.9%. The May data won’t have market impact.

U.S. trade deficit widened 2.9% to $41.9 bln in May, after narrowing 19.5% to -$40.7 bln in April (revised from -$40.9 bln). Imports dipped 0.1% following the 3.3% April decline. Exports slid 0.8% after the 1.1% gain in April (revised from 1.0%). Excluding petroleum, the trade balance fell to -$36.1 bln from -$33.9 bln in April (revised from -$34.1 bln).

Main Macro Events Today

EU Extraordinary Economic Summit: Greece is expected to present a formal request for ESM aid today and Eurogroup ministers will hold a conference call to discuss the proposals that are expected to be laid out in the request.

FOMC Minutes: The Fed is expected to be more optimistic about the US economy reaching their 2% inflation target. We are also likely to see some optimism on personal consumption.

US Consumer Credit: The May consumer credit report is out on today and should reveal a $18 bln (median $18.5 bln) increase for the month following a $20.5 bln increase in April and a $21.3 bln gain in March. Over the past year the headline has averaged $18.2 bln, about in line with our forecast.

Read the full analysis HERE: http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/07/08/todays-currency-movers-39/

b]Today’s Currency Movers[/b]

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EURUSD, Daily

After a smaller than previous gap opening EURUSD rallied to a resistance at Friday’s close and turned lower as the buyers failed to challenge the sellers at the resistance. Trading Greek related politics is difficult, if not impossible and that leaves us with technicals. Technically EURUSD is inside a potential support area but still relatively close to a weekly low from two weeks ago (1.1130) and is now trading outside the upward trend channel. This and the lower high in mid-June suggest that the pair might come lower this week. Current trading takes place just above a support (1.0948) but there isn’t much upside momentum and the nearest resistance at 1.1032 isrelatively close. This should may dampen the bulls’ readiness to bid the prices higher. This could lead to sideways trading today. Daily support and resistance levels: 1.0930 and 1.1135.

European markets in general are holding their breath ahead of today’s Eurogroup and EU leaders meetings. Bund and Gilt yields continue to decline as stocks remain under pressure, although losses on FTSE and DAX remain limited so far and peripheral Eurozone 10-year yields outside of Greece came off yesterday’s highs. Officials stress that they want to keep Greece in the Eurozone, but also that that still requires firm reform commitments from Greece. So all eyes are once again on Tsipras and his new Finance Minister.

The latter may represent more of a change in style than substance, however, and it remains unclear what proposals both will bring to Brussels. What is clear is that with the ECB tightening the pressure by raising the haircut on Greek collateral substantially today’s round of meetings really represent Greece’s last chance to prevent default and Grexit.

Greece’s last chance to come to an agreementand avoid bankruptcy is a quick deal or at least the firm progress of one at today’s Eurogroup meeting that will be followed by an EU summit in the evening. Hollande and Merkel stressed again yesterday that time is running out and the ECB tightened the pressure on banks by raising the haircut on Greek collateral – reportedly to 45%. Banks will remain closed today and tomorrow, but without a deal it will be almost impossible to open them again quickly and the government will likely face troubles at tomorrow’s T-bill auction. Grexit will almost become inevitable. If there is a deal, ECB’s Nowotny suggested that the ECB could provide bridge financing. So once again all hinges on Greece’s proposals and its willingness to compromise.

ECB also lifted haircut on Greek collateral, while maintaining ELA assistance to Greek banks for now. The decision will increase pressure on Greece ahead of today’s Eurogroup meeting and EU summit. It will also but local banks in a difficult position ahead of Wednesday’s T-Bill sale. The Greek government has been relying on rolling over T-bills to keep afloat, with Greek banks and institutions the only takers. With the fresh increase on the haircut, it will be increasingly costly for Greek banks to hold Greek government debt.

US June ISM services index edged up to 56.0 from May’s 55.7 as per yesterday’s release. However the 57.8 in April is still the highest of the year, while the 58.8 in November was cycle high since November 2005. However, components were mixed. The employment index fell to 52.7 from 55.3. New orders rose to 58.3 from 57.9, while new export orders declined to 52.0 from 55.0. Prices paid slid to 53.0 from 55.9. Also, US Markit services PMI fell to 54.8 in the final June print versus May’s 56.2 (and 54.8 June preliminary). It’s the lowest since January’s 54.2 and reflects continued slowing in the expansion. A year ago the reading was 61.0. Employment slid to 54.1 versus 55.5 in May, though the expansion in the job sector has persisted for 64 straight months. The composite index dropped to 54.6 from 56.0 in May (and 54.6 for the June preliminary). It is also the lowest since January.

Read the full analysis HERE: http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/07/07/todays-currency-movers-38/

Today’s Currency Movers

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EURUSD, Daily

Technical picture in EURUSD is bearish with price moving outside the bearish wedge I’ve had on the chart for quite some time now. Resistance area below 1.1239 is likely to turn price lower today and with no high quality support levels in proximity of current price action I am expecting to see another strong sell off today. My target for today’s move is 1.0937 as this level is likely to turn price higher again. Important daily support and resistance levels are at 1.1207 and 1.0930.

An agreement at technical level with Greece needs to be on the table today, in time for Finance Ministers to sign off the agreement at the Euro group meeting Wednesday evening ahead of Thursday’s EU summit. Even if this goes without a hitch, Tsipras will still have to get the deal through parliament in Athens and then through the German parliament. So plenty yet that could go wrong and trigger another flip in fixed income markets.

Yesterday US new home sales rose 2.2% to a 546k pace in May after rebounding 8.1% to 534k in April (revised from 517k) from the 9.4% March drop to 494k. That knocked the month’s supply to 4.5 from 4.6 (revised from 4.8). Regionally, sales were split with gains in the Northeast and West, and declines in the Midwest and South. The median sales price fell 2.9% to $282,800 from $291,100 (revised from $297,300). Prices are down 1.0% y/y versus the 6.0% y/y clip in April. Data are better than expected. The U.S. Markit flash PMI manufacturing index slipped to 53.4 in June from May’s 54.0 and is down from April’s 54.1. It’s a third straight monthly decline and is the weakest reading since October 2013. However, employment and new orders were higher, with the former at its fastest pace since November. Average cost burdens were up for a second straight month.

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Currency Pairs, Grouped Performance

USD strength yesterday turned into weakness this morning with EURUSD and NZDUSD leading the pack. EUR pairs are seeing some strength across the board even though the German IFO was a disappointment today. AUD performance has been mixed while JPY is the loser this morning as it is down against almost all the competitors.

EURJPY came close to a support level at 138 and has now bounced higher but struggles with a resistance at 138.90. GBPJPY is one of the performers this morning as it’s trying to break above a sideways range it has been bound for a week. As this has been caused by the pair trading at resistance this is not an ideal spot to be a buyer in this pair. CHFJPY moving higher from the bottom end of an ascending triangle formation.

Significant daily support and resistance levels for aforementioned pairs are:

EURJPY 138.00 / 140.63

GBPJPY 194.63 / 195.35

CHFJPY 131.50 / 134.35

Main Macro Events Today

German IFO came in much weaker than expected, with the overall confidence reading falling to 107.4 from 108.5 against consensus expectations for a drop to 108.1. The weaker than expected number is in stark contrast to yesterday’s better than expected PMI readings, which showed improved sentiment in both services and manufacturing sectors. The IFO reading showed the third consecutive drop in the forward looking expectations number, which was likely impacted by uncertainty about Greece and is now at the lowest level since the start of the year.Euro group meeting. An agreement between Greece and its creditors needs to be reached in time for Finance Ministers to sign off at the Euro group meeting this evening, ahead of tomorrow’s EU summit.US Gross Domestic Product. The Q1 GDP growth is likely to be revised to -0.4% from -0.7% in the second release, following 2.2% growth in Q4. Forecast risk: downward, given last year’s big downside surprise for the second revision that may be on track for a repeat. Market risk for USD: downward, as a weaker report could impact the already-fragile Fed rate hike timing.

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Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report.

TODAY’S CURRENCY MOVERS

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EURUSD didn’t move much yesterday even though some positive news was received from the negotiations on financing Greece. The pair rallied to 1.1410 but failed creating both a 4h and eventually a daily rejection candles. This was very much in line with what I have been saying over the last week about EURUSD being limited on the upside to 1.1435 and with downside potential to 1.1000. The bearish wedge supported the view and now price action has confirmed this analysis with a breakout from the wedge. Today’s price action is likely downward biased with upside limited to 1.1319 while I see support between 1.1112 and 1.1148. The nearest significant daily support and resistance levels are at 1.1050 and 1.1434.

ECB has increased Emergency Lending Assistance to Greece this morning while the country has been now given 48 hours to reach a debt deal. EU leaders see progress in the Greek talks after the latest reform list showed a narrowing of the gap between creditors and the Tsipras administration and have given Greece 48 hours to finalise a deal. Eurozone Finance Ministers will meet again on Wednesday and could sign off a package if there is a staff level agreement by then. EU heads of state will then meet again on

Thursday with the aim to finalise a deal by the end of the week. It is likely that this will include an extension of the current bailout agreement and financing of upcoming ECB and IMF repayments through existing ESM funds earmarked initially for Greek bank recapitalisation. Greek debt is likely to be lengthened or re-profiled, although given the current construction of the ESM holding most of Greece’s debt, an outright write off seems less likely.

The 5.1% May US existing home sales bounce to a 5.35 mln pace yesterday beat the prior 5.31 mln four-year high to leave the strongest pace since the spike to a 5.44 mln clip back in November of 2009 with the homebuyers’ tax credit. We also saw a 4.6% median price rise to $228,700 new cycle-high, as prices now..

Read the Full Analysis HERE http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/06/23/todays-currency-movers-31/

COFFEE FUTURES REACTING LOWER FROM RESISTANCE

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Coffee, Weekly

The last time I wrote about market moves in coffee the coffee futures were trading at 152.65 and based on the price action I suggested price should move lower and gave $145 and $125 as my downside targets. Since then target one was hit and price has moved as low as $128.80, close to the target II at $125. The first level was penetrated without any effort but then it turned into a resistance that has kept price capped for almost two months. Price of coffee found support at 161.8% Fibonacci extension level just above my target II at $125 and had a close outside the lower Bollinger Bands. Since then we’ve seen this market moving sideways inside the Bollinger Bands with roughly equal highs at $147. Price has made higher lows suggesting pressure is building against this resistance level.

Read the full analysis here: http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/04/23/coffee-futures-reacting-lower-from-resistance/

Copper’s Relative Strenght Due To China Read more here: http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/03/16/coppers-relative-strenght-due-to-china/

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Copper is in a long term bear channel and moved in February to a level that has supported price in the past. This was also the first time since year 2008 that Money Flow Index moved into overbought zone in Monthly timeframe. In February 2007 price touched 2.40 level and moved higher over the next two years. Now there was another bounce from the same level and the price of Copper is on the rise for the second month in a row. The nearest resistance level is approx. at 2.72 while the next major resistance is at 2.88.

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Copper, Weekly

Copper (an industrial metal) has been stronger performer than precious metals since the latest US Jobs report came in with a surprisingly high number and strenhgtened the US dollar. While Gold and Silver have declined by almost 3% since March 5th Copper has at the time of writing gained 1.1%. However, the US rate hike expectations mean the US dollar strengthens and buying power amongst non-USD based investors decreases for dollar based assets such as Copper. This combined with slowing economic growth in China slows down the Copper bulls and has caused the price to fluctuate below resistance levels. On the other the hand price has held up and even edged higher as market participants believe that easier lending conditions should improve demand in China, the biggest consumer of Copper globally. The price of copper has made two weekly lower highs since touching the 2.72 resistance level (a former support from June 2010) while the MFI (7) is overbought and Stochastics are close to the same levels and hinting that the momentum is waning. This could lead to further fluctuation between the 2.59 support and a high of 2.73 from couple of weeks ago. Other support levels are 2.55 and 2.40, a high and low of the January pivot candle high and low.

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Copper, Daily

The price of copper is near to the upper Bollinger Bands and Stochastics is getting overbought. Price has just recently bounced from a support at 2.59 forming yet another higher low. This was technically a good sign as it confirmed the level that used to resist price moves higher is now a support. The fact that this level now coincides with the lower daily Bollinger Bands makes it more significant support area.

Conclusion

Fundamental factors that both support the price of Copper and resist its move higher translate into a ranging market, price action that honours the technical levels at both ends of the range. Levels near to 2.59 support level used to resist moves higher and are now providing support while the move to 2.72 resistance was rejected. This suggests that short term traders should look for trade opportunities at or close to these levels while longer term position traders might want to consider longs closer to the 2.40 support and shorts closer to the 2.88 resistance levels. This is the likely range copper futures over the coming weeks and months as major news stories or surprises on either the US Federal Reserve’s rate policy or Chinese consumption of Copper they might provide the trigger to move the price of Copper to these levels. Chinese premier Li Keqiang commented that the government will be ready to support the Chinese economy should the slowdown in growth affect employment and incomes. He wasn’t specific on the measures the government might use but a hope of economic stimulus in China should support the price of Copper. Against this backdrop traders might want to be buyers near support levels rather than trying to find shorts. This view would be negated if the US Fed indicated that it would hike rates more than expected. However, it is likely that the Fed will be cautious in raising rates.

Join me on Free Webinar on Tuesday 17th of March at 12:30 pm GMT. I will show you live how to analyse the markets and look for setups for high probability trades. Register HERE for FREE and as usual it is better to log in early to get your seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/landing-pages/webinar-market.html?id=118

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

EURGBP Setups Have Made Hundreds of Pips - http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/03/11/yet-another-eurgbp-setup-that-made-hundreds-of-pips/

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We got it right again in EURGBP. The pair rallied to a resistance level I gave in my last analysis and has then sold off heavily. My view on March 2nd EURGBP analysis was that out of major EUR crosses, it is the EURGBP that is the weakest and therefore makes it an ideal market to sell the rallies. I wrote then that the zone from 0.7300 to 0.7314 is an area we should be looking for momentum reversal signals as the channel midline and the upper Bollinger Bands coincide with the zone. EURGBP rose to 0.7301 on that day and has since dropped over 200 pips. We have now had two very good sell signals in EURGBP lately. The first sell signal as per my analysis came at just below 0.7596 and now the other in proximity of 0.7301. My analysis and the signals that I teach in my webinars have made several hundred pips in EURGBP for our traders. If you would like to learn how to catch moves like this you are welcome to join me to free webinars here.https://www.hotforex.com/en/landing-pages/hf-webinars.html?id=118

As the EURGBP is basically collapsing at the time of writing the weekly picture does not provide us with a lot to analyse. With trend lower indicators are oversold and price is hugging the lower Bollinger Bands. The nearest weekly support and resistance levels are 0.7022 a former resistance level from 2006 and 2007 and the last week’s low at 0.7183.

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EURGBP, Daily

Price has extended below the regression channel and has for the first time since January 26th closed outside the lower Bollinger Bands. This suggests that the trend has moved too far too quickly. This increases probabilities for a corrective move against the prevailing trend over the coming few days.

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EURGBP, 240 min

EURGBP trend is extended in 4h chart as well. In case there will be a move against the trend over the coming few days potential resistance levels that could turn price lower again are 0.7130 and 0.7180. The lower level is clearly a minor resistance level as it is a spot where price tried to hold the channel bottom. This caused a sideways move visible in the 60 min chart and could act as a resistance should the market be weak.

Conclusion

As long as the market keeps on moving lower and there is no price based evidence to the contrary there is no hurry to close the short trades. Exception to this would be price hitting the 0.7022 support level which could well bounce the price higher and therefore is a logical target level. Price is in a downtrend and we should be looking to sell rallies as long as the approach works. However, once the 0.7022 target is hit the pair is at a major consolidation level and selling rallies might get trickier. Currently I am looking at 0.7130 and 0.7180 as potential shorting levels in case there is a rally higher and 0.7022 area as a target for short trades.

Join me on Free Webinar on Tuesday 17th of March at 12:30 pm GMT. I will show you live how to analyse the markets and look for setups for high probability trades. Register HERE https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html for FREE and as usual it is better to log in early to get your seat!

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

S&P Moving Sideways Above The Dec 2014 High - http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/03/06/sp-moving-sideways-above-the-dec-2014-high/

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I suggested in my previous S&P 500 analysis http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/02/25/sp-500-in-new-all-time-highs/ that the market could be correcting lower. This was based on both technical and sector analysis. On February 25th I wrote: over the last six trading days the money flows have been once again favouring the Utilities and Health Care sectors over all the other sectors, while Energy and Financials have lagged the most. All this put together indicates that we could see the S&P 500 slowing down and possibly correcting lower in the course of the next few trading days. Index was trading at 2011.25 points at the time of my analysis and is trading at the time of writing at 2098.75 (-87 points).

Today’s an NFP Friday and the markets are likely to be in a waiting mode as the unemployment readings are important indicators for the Fed in deciding the timing of the first rate hike. Consensus expectation is 240K new jobs and should the number deviate strongly to the downside it’d be likely that the Fed would be more patient and delay the start of the rate hikes. Another important data point is the Average Hourly Earnings which will give an indication on the ability of consumers to consume. The Nonfarm Payrolls, Average Hourly Earnings, Labour Force Participation Rate and Unemployment Rate for the month of February are published today at 13:30 GMT. For other economic releases, see the HotForex Economic Calendar here.https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/economic-calendar.html

The last two weekly bars have been narrow bodied Dojis. This indicates lack of demand and increases probabilities that this market will correct lower. As there has been no upside momentum over the last two weeks, Stochastics is overbought and turning lower. In addition, the upper Bollinger Bands are near and have been limiting upside. Support and resistance levels in weekly picture are: 2062.50, 2088.75 and 2117.75.

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S&P 500, Daily

After wedging a bit at the time of my previous analysis S&P 500 e-mini future (ES) moved out of the rising regression channel. Price has been supported by the pivot high at 2088.75 and 23.6% Fibonacci level with a new resistance at the latest high (2117.75). Support at 2062.50 coincides with the lower Bollinger Bands and the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement. Should ES correct further the next important support level is 2020.50. The fact that price has been reacting higher from the proximity of 2088.75 level in suggests that this level is seen as an important support.

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S&P 500, 240 min

Index futures have attracted buyers at 2085 area but the resistance from both the descending trendline and the previous support at 2101 level have this far blocked the moves higher. At the time of writing there isn’t much momentum to either direction as market waits for the NFP release but the moves from 2085 have been strong (hammer candles). This suggest there will be buyers at this level today. Should this level be broken the next support level at 2062.50 coincides roughly with the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level. It is also a former resistance which adds to the significance of this level.

Conclusion:

In the longer term picture US stock market is now fairly overbought and the last two weeks’ weekly narrow body candles indicate that there is not much willingness to pay higher prices for equities but no strong need to sell off either. At the same time technology, the heaviest sector in the S&P 500 index is close to channel top and Apple the heaviest weighted stock in this sector looks like it could correct lower after a bearish weekly candle last week. Even if this correction takes place I still believe this market can move higher and therefore look for buying opportunities at support levels.

Technicals and macro view are giving a slightly mixed message: if the employment numbers are weak the Fed is likely to start rate hikes later which would be good for the stock market. However, at the same time strong employment numbers would indicate an improving economy, which again is a reason to stay long in Stocks. Market reactions to today’s NFP release are therefore an important indicator of things to come in the near future. If market finds support either at 2085 or 2062.50 and reacts higher with good momentum (that takes ES into new highs) the technical picture stays positive and supports the long term bullish view.

In regards to short term trading ideas I am looking for minor time frame reversal signals at the above mentioned support and resistance levels once the employment numbers are released and the market is likely to have some volatility again. Market is not likely to move strongly before the employment release later on today. Should there be no strong deviation from the consensus expectation the nearest technical levels will be honoured but higher deviation from expectations will be translated into stronger whipsaws in price. If the latter is the case, then momentum reversal traders should be looking to trade levels further away from the current price.

Join me on Live Analysis Webinar on Tuesday 10th of March at 12:30 pm GMT. Register HERE for FREE and as usual it is better to log in early to get your seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Gold Trades Sideways At Key Support Level - http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/03/04/gold-trades-sideways-at-key-support-level/

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Lately many market participants have been focusing on this week’s jobs report from the US. This Friday the US Bureau of Labour Statistics releases the Non-Farm Payroll report, the most important piece of macro data before the next Fed meeting. This report is seen as an important indicator on when the Fed might start hiking the interest rates. Some participants expect the rate hike happen in June while most are looking to September as potential starting point for the Fed’s rate hike cycle. However, some prominent analysts believe that the Fed will be patient and start the rate hikes next year. Higher interest rates support the dollar and historically Gold has not done that well during the periods of rising dollar. At the same time demand for physical Gold is solid in Asia. India alone is consuming 800 to 1000 tons of Gold annually and imports to the country are increasing. In addition, China’s interest rate cuts in November 2014 and last Saturday are an indication that the Peoples Bank of China has moved into an easing cycle. This is a factor supporting demand for Gold in China.

The price of Gold reached the medium term ascending trendline a bit more than a week ago and has since been trading between the support at 1200 and a weekly low from the beginning of February. This level also coincides with the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. Gold is getting oversold in terms of Stochastics and I am looking for a move higher over this week or latest the next week.

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Gold, Daily

The resistance level at 1220 coinciding with the 50% Fibonacci level has held the price down while the 1200 area has supported price. Price is ranging sideways which is quite common after downtrend is broken and the market participants fight over the future direction of the gold price. At the moment we have a higher low in place (from yesterday) which indicates that buyers are ready bid for Gold between 1190 and 1200. There is further support from a daily pivot candle from January 2nd this year and the lower Bollinger bands (currently at 1179 and 1188).

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Gold, 240 min

Levels outside the lower Bollinger bands and a pivot candle from 24th February have been attracting buyers lately. There was an attempt to take the price higher last week and price was making higher lows and higher highs until the resistance at 1223 proved too much for the buyers. There was rejection candle yesterday (a candle with a long shadow below). This confirms the idea of 1190 to 1200 being an important range for buyers.

Conclusion:

Price is now at key levels and I am looking for a move higher from this support. In the recent past it has taken two to three weeks for the price Gold to turn from support levels. Therefore should there be a rally in not so distant future. But as the market participants are looking at this Friday’s jobs release from the US as a potential indication on when Fed might be raising rates the price of Gold might be moving sideways until Friday. Should Friday’s NFP figures be a disappointment, the likelihood of Fed raising rates early would be smaller and this should support the price of Gold. Levels close to or inside the 1190 – 1200 support range should be monitored for price action based buy signals. If you want to learn about price action based trading signals, just join me to educational and live analysis webinars.

Join me on Live Analysis Webinar on Tuesday 10th of March at 12:30 pm GMT. Register for FREE and as usual it is better to log in early to get your seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Traders Buy the USD as the US Core CPI Came in at +0.2% - http://analysis.hotforex.com/blog/2015/02/27/traders-buy-the-usd-as-the-us-core-cpi-came-in-at-0-2/

http://analysis.hotforex.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/EURUSD-W1.png

After a couple weeks of low volatility the EURUSD moved lower yesterday driven by the US inflation figures. The core CPI (change in the price of consumer goods and services excluding food and energy) rose by 0.2% instead of 0.1% expected by the economists. The CPI that includes the more volatile items (food and energy) fell by 0.7%, most since 1998. This is explained by the substantial fall in Crude Oil prices. The Fed policy makers focus on the Core CPI and therefore markets reacted to the higher than expected figure and bought the dollar as they concluded this will encourage the Fed to raise interest rates this year. However, economists believe that the effects of lower energy prices and a strong dollar will work their way to the Core CPI and cause low reading in the near future.

EURUSD has been really tame since the last time I wrote analysis on it. The weekly picture has not changed much as the downtrend still prevails and there is a shooting star candle indicating that the price will stay in the downtrend. The combination of resistance level at 1.1460 and the 23.6% retracement level held the pair down. The current support and resistance levels nearest to the current price are 1.1098 and 1.1460.

http://analysis.hotforex.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/EURUSD-4h1.png

EURUSD, 240 min

Now that the EURUSD has been moving sideways the daily and 4h charts are so similar that I will only comment on the latter. Price is currently resting at a pivot candle high at 1.1203 and the Stochastics are well into the oversold territory while price has moved inside the Bollinger Bands. This suggests that there should be an intraday rebound higher probably to the nearest resistance level at 1.1287. This level coincides with the 50% retracement level drawn from the Wednesday’s high to the latest low yesterday.

Conclusion:

This market is still in a downtrend which means that the support levels are more likely broken and resistance levels honoured. However, the price is now relatively close to the weekly low and sitting at a 4h pivot candle. In addition the price is outside the daily lower Bollinger Bands and the 4h Stochastics are oversold. Therefore a move higher should be in the cards. This should however, be only an intraday rebound as we resistance levels and a sideways range above. Should this move take place I would be looking to benefit from the weekly trend by selling short at the resistance levels, providing the lower time frame charts confirm the idea.

Join me on Live Analysis Webinar on Tuesday 3rd of March at 12:30 pm GMT. Register HERE for FREE and as usual it is better to log in early to get your seat!

https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

NFP Release Not Enough to Excite the Stock Markets https://blog.hotforex.com/nfp-release-not-enough-to-excite-the-stock-markets/

The weekly trend in S&P500 is still contained in the bullish regression channel and the weekly support level has formed roughly to the area of the previous pivot high. Financial sector ETF (XLF) has rallied from the rising trendline. This is important as the markets rarely rise without the support from the banking stocks. Friday’s reaction to Non-Farm Payroll figures wasn’t very encouraging as the S&P 500 closed lower and so did the XLF. The support at 1961 to 1974 area has been holding well which will add pressure to the resistance level at 2063 area. In an uptrend it is more likely that a resistance level will give in and the support levels hold. Other key sectors such as energy (XLE), industrials (XLI) and basic materials (XLB) look technically sound in the weekly picture. The utilities sector (XLU) lost 4,12% on Friday suggesting that the run for the safety is now over as the long only funds move money from safety oriented investments to higher beta (more riskier) stocks. Many sectors have risen a lot over the last few days so we might well have a reaction lower from the current levels.

S&P500, Daily

Sideways move has been pretty well defined with the support at 1974 and resistance at 2062.50. Friday’s candle was a no demand candle at resistance and indicates a move lower from the current levels. The daily Bollinger bands coincide with the resistance level and the overbought Stochastics support bearish indication by the no demand candle.

S&P500, 240 min

The short term trend higher from the 1974 support was reversed at resistance and we are looking at support levels that could stop the decline. There is support at 2025 region where a pivot low and the daily Bollinger bands coincide. The pivot low is at 2020.75 and the 1.5 stdv Bollinger band is currently at 2028. This area also has the 50% Fibonacci level at 2021 which together with the other technical factors suggests that this region is a potential support level. Should this level not hold, then the support at 1974 area would come into play.

Conclusion:

The long term technical picture in the US stock market is still healthy but in the short term picture we still have signs of indecision (range bound trading). Friday’s market reaction to better than expected employment figures wasn’t brilliant but at the same time we have money moving away from dividend paying safety stocks (utilities sector) into banks, basic material related stocks and energy stocks which means that the risk appetite is increasing. The overall picture is therefore slightly mixed. This means that the market remains as a traders’ market with opportunities at technical support and resistance levels. The daily no demand candle from Friday indicates that the levels above the current market price have resistance and we should therefore see a move lower today. The levels with most potential are those at the edges of this sideways move. However, the levels inside the range can provide opportunities as well. Just look for price based confirmation to confirm the analysis before taking trades.

You are warmly welcome to join me to a Live Analysis Webinar tomorrow at 12:30 GMT. Book your seat here! - https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html?refid=37217

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Apple’s Record Breaking Results and Forex Worries

Apple posted record breaking results yesterday after US markets closed. The company sold 74.4 million iPhones and 21.4 million iPads in the last quarter. The earnings per share ($3.06 vs. $2.60) were even better than the most optimistic expectations from Wall Street analysts. This lifted the stock by 5% in the aftermarket trading. The rise might have been even higher, but for the worries of investors, who are reported to have started having concerns about the impact of strong dollar in future earnings.

Since my last analysis, the financial sector rallied a bit from the rising trend line but then fell back again from resistance. Utilities and healthcare stocks are overbought when compared to the rest of the market, while technology stocks fell back down to the support after rallying since my last report. The energy sector broke out of the wedge formation and the industrials look to me as if they’d be ready to move higher.

All this gives slightly mixed signals. As the dividend paying healthcare, utilities and consumer staples are still very much overbought in relation to the S&P500 index (both in one and three month periods), it suggests that market participants are still safety oriented and hesitant about the future trend. No wonder the market has been in a sideways mode. At the same time the small caps (Russell 2000 index) have been stronger than the S&P over the last week, which means that some of the risk appetite is coming back into the market.

S&P 500

In the weekly picture the index is still inside the uptrending regression channel but has moved sideways since I suggested this in November last year. This also the same period of time that the safe have sectors (Utilities, Health Care and Consumer Staples) have been sucking money from other riskier sectors. We now have another higher weekly low from last week, which is technically an encouraging sign and a support level relatively close at 2014.50. This is also a new potential pivot low in the daily time frame.

S&P 500, 240 min

The four hour picture reveals a sideways move with lower highs below the 2060 target area. This target was hit after my latest analysis and the market has since formed a lower high suggesting that we could see another move lower to the 2026.50 and 2014.50 support area. Should the correction be deeper the next support level is at 1997.50.

Conclusion:

I am still positive on this market eventually moving higher but first we might see some volatility or sideways move accompanied a test (or tests) of the support area between 2026.50 and 2014.50. I would be interested in long entries inside this support range and should we get the signals to go long, then the target levels I am looking at are: Target 1 at 2062 and Target 2 at 2088.

For those who would like to learn how to trade professionally, please join me at my free trading webinars. Over the course of the series, I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do. Click *HERE to register and secure your seat!https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html?refid=37217

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

HotForex client wins big by achieving a gain of 1,355 pips!

HotForex is pleased to announce that many of our clients profited from the volatility caused by the Swiss National Bank’s sudden reversal of the Swiss franc cap.

We would like to congratulate Ayodele Odingboro, who, with an impressive 1,355 pips in profit ranked first among HotForex clients trading CHF pairs on that day.

Markets move sideways before the ECB meeting tomorrow https://blog.hotforex.com/markets-move-sideways-before-the-ecb-meeting-tomorrow/

A lot of the European Central Bank (ECB) QE program is already priced in to the EURUSD but the fact remains that the European economies are in mess when compared to the US. Some commentators have suggested that the reason ECB has delayed its QE program is not in fact the Germans, but the fact that they themselves don’t believe the QE would have a significant impact on European economies. It is true that the problems in the euro area are structural, i.e. relating to labour laws and inflexible policies coupled with the aging European population. All of this combined results in degrading competitiveness in the euro area. The Chinese economy (an important export area for EU countries and Germany especially) is slowing down and in addition to this, it is unlikely that bringing lending rates even lower via QE will result in a significant enough increase in lending that would translate into economic growth. The only measurable impact of the QE has already been seen in the value of euro. The lower the value of the euro against the other currencies, the better the chances that European countries, that depend on exporting will benefit.

EURUSD

In the previous EURUSD analysis I wrote that it is likely that the problems in the euro area together with the verbal QE from Mr. Draghi will drag the EURUSD even lower than the latest lows at the time. I expected some sideways move before that taking place but the removal of EURCHF peg by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) accelerated the decline.

The weekly pivot low at 1.1639 from November 2005 has acted as a resistance both on Friday last week and Monday this week. Even though the price has been moving sideways it is forming a descending triangle, a bearish formation. The current sideways move that forms the triangle is a reaction to huge market move caused by the SNB actions last week. It is common that the markets take a breather after fast and furious moves.

The nearest daily support and resistance levels are at 1.4600 and 1.1639, with the next resistance levels being at 1.1754 and 1.1870. The 1.1754 level coincides roughly with 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level (measure from November 2014 weekly high to the latest low). The next significant weekly resistance level is the weekly pivot low from July 2013 at 1.2042 which coincides with the 50% Fib retracement level. These levels could come into play should the ECB decide not to move forward with the QE program. At the moment the trend is down and we should keep on selling rallies until we have evidence the trend has changed.

EURUSD, 240 min

Price is moving sideways in a narrow range and is likely to do so until the results of tomorrow’s ECB meeting are published. Today should be pretty much flat as the market participants don’t want to commit to any view before an important meeting.

Conclusion:

We don’t know what kind of volatility we will have tomorrow but it makes sense to seek for shorting opportunities (momentum reversal signals) at daily and weekly levels identified in this analysis and stay away from the middle of the ranges. Outside of the QE considerations it remains a fact that the US economy will be in a much better shape than Europe. We therefore should have no reason to be bullish on EURUSD. The only reason that could flip this equation on its head would be a new QE program from the US and at the moment there are now signs of it happening.

For those who would like to learn how to trade professionally, please join me at my free trading webinars. Over the course of the series, I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do. Click HERE to register and secure your seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html?refid=37217

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

HotForex Update following the SNB CHF Cap Reversal

Following the Swiss National Bank’s decision yesterday to remove the Swiss Franc cap and the subsequent spike in volatility, the market experienced a period of extreme lack of liquidity for trading in CHF pairs. This led to significant losses for many market participants.

We would like to reassure you that HotForex is operating as normal, and was not affected in any material way.Our strict Risk Management procedures minimized the impact of this event.

Furthermore, we have stayed true to our motto of Honesty, Openness and Transparency. As testament to our commitment to fairness, all negative account balances have been reset to zero and any clients that bought CHF have been paid in full.

We are very proud of our reputation in the market and we are confident that after this event our reputation will grow even stronger. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients and partners for their continued loyalty and we are looking forward to a strong 2015.

As a last note, please exercise extreme caution if entering the markets today as the volatility seems to be set to continue.

The Sideways move in S&P 500 Continues

It is common that market is soft whenever a higher time frame Doji candle forms after a sizeable move higher. This has happened in several occasions over the last seven years and the investors should pay attention. For traders however, this means usually more opportunities as the lower time frames tend to have more price fluctuation. We have plenty of economic releases today from the US, which should help the traders in that regard and cause more volatility in the market. We have import and export data, business inventories, Fed Beige Book, Crude Oil Stocks Change but the most interesting and the publication of Retail Sales data, an event that has potential to move the markets the most. The analysts are expecting the figure to come in at -0.1%, which is considerably lower than the previous 0.7%. A strong deviation from the expectations should move the market significantly and create more opportunities to trade the market.

S&P 500, Monthly

Trend wise the market is still inside the rising regression channel, even though it has had one move outside of it in October last year. The last completed candle from December is an interesting one. The long term stock market Bulls don’t really want to see something like this developing in the world’s most important stock market, especially not combined with a plunge in the price of copper (down almost 5% today). The December candle is what’s known as a Doji, a candle with open and close near to each other. When such a candle appears after an uptrend we know one thing: the demand and supply were in balance. In other words the bulls were not in control anymore. The last time a similar monthly candle appeared after a long uptrend was in October 2007. Then the candle marked the end of the previous bull market. Is it likely that the Monthly Doji candle will again turn the market lower? The importance lies in the price action over the coming two months. If we get lower lows and lower highs followed with increasing volatility, then the probabilities of uptrend being over are much higher. We don’t yet know if this will be the case, but what we know is that the market usually corrects lower after these kinds of candles after the market has been trending higher.

The RSI has been overbought since the beginning of year 2013, which is what often happens in a strong uptrend. Now RSI is breaking below a level of 66.58 that has supported the index in August 2013 and January 2014. The RSI has also diverged from the S&P500 with lower highs while the stock market has been moving higher. This is known as bearish divergence. The nearest monthly S/R levels are at 1961.50 and 2088.75 and a couple of Fibonacci levels cluster at 1845 – 1832. This is not much of a cluster but the fact that they coincide with a monthly low from October makes the level between 1813 and 1845 significant.

S&P 500, Monthly

Trend wise the market is still inside the rising regression channel, even though it has had one move outside of it in October last year. The last completed candle from December is an interesting one. The long term stock market Bulls don’t really want to see something like this developing in the world’s most important stock market, especially not combined with a plunge in the price of copper (down almost 5% today). The December candle is what’s known as a Doji, a candle with open and close near to each other. When such a candle appears after an uptrend we know one thing: the demand and supply were in balance. In other words the bulls were not in control anymore. The last time a similar monthly candle appeared after a long uptrend was in October 2007. Then the candle marked the end of the previous bull market. Is it likely that the Monthly Doji candle will again turn the market lower? The importance lies in the price action over the coming two months. If we get lower lows and lower highs followed with increasing volatility, then the probabilities of uptrend being over are much higher. We don’t yet know if this will be the case, but what we know is that the market usually corrects lower after these kinds of candles after the market has been trending higher.

The RSI has been overbought since the beginning of year 2013, which is what often happens in a strong uptrend. Now RSI is breaking below a level of 66.58 that has supported the index in August 2013 and January 2014. The RSI has also diverged from the S&P500 with lower highs while the stock market has been moving higher. This is known as bearish divergence. The nearest monthly S/R levels are at 1961.50 and 2088.75 and a couple of Fibonacci levels cluster at 1845 – 1832. This is not much of a cluster but the fact that they coincide with a monthly low from October makes the level between 1813 and 1845 significant.

S&P 500, Daily

The daily trend is sideways as I suggested some months ago. The price moved briefly to new highs in the end of December but has since formed a lower high and is now possibly forming a bullish hammer candle. The levels below the pivotal high from September last year (2014.50) seem to attract buyers as evidenced by the last rally from the current levels. However, that was followed by a lower high which dampens the bullishness of the current picture. The 38.2% Fibonacci retracement together with Bollinger Bands supported the price in the previous daily pivot low and now the price is fairly close to the same levels and trying to create a higher low. This indicates that the bulls are looking to take this market to test the 2060.75 resistance. If that is cleared and held (a higher low above the level) the picture becomes much more positive. This is negated if the last week’s low is taken out.

S&P 500, 240 min

Stochastics indicate some bullish divergence and the last complete candle is a bullish hammer. This suggests that the current levels could be a new base for a move higher. The price action however over the last hour has not exactly been explosive to the upside. That is due to the fact that the market participants are waiting for the economic releases.

Conclusion:

The long term picture is getting weaker with a monthly Doji candle appearing. The market now would need a higher high with an ability to main the new highs should the bearish indications in a monthly Doji were to be negated. The weakness indicated by the Doji candle should lead to increased volatility in smaller time frame charts and provide the traders with more opportunities in both directions (long and short). In the daily and 4h charts the price is now close the previous pivot low and we therefore should be looking for short term long trades. The four hour hammer candle confirms the trade idea but there has been no follow through as the market waits for the economic releases. We should be looking for signals to go long at or close to the January 6th pivot low.

For those who would like to learn how to trade professionally, please join me at my free trading webinars. Over the course of the series, I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do. Click HERE to register and secure your seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html?refid=37217

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

HotForex Webinar Schedule | January 2015

HotForex is starting the new trading year with an exciting schedule of FREE trading webinars! Availability is limited* so register now to reserve your place.

- 13 January 12:30 GMT - Exit Strategies with Janne Muta

- 14 January 12:30 GMT - Money Management in FX

- 20 January 12:30 GMT - Position Management

- 21 January 12:30 GMT - Trading the News Effectively in FX

- 27 January 12:30 GMT - Live Analysis with Janne Muta

- 28 January 12:30 GMT - Short Term Scalping Strategies in FX

Book your FREE Place Now: https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html

Verbal QE has been weighing on Euro - HotForex Blog:https://blog.hotforex.com/verbal-qe-has-been-weighing-on-euro/

The EURUSD has reached a support area that has been psychologically important in the past. The level acted as a resistance in 1998 and in 2003 and in 2005 the level turned a downtrend in EURUSD to an up move that lasted for more than two years. This could mean that chances for immediate and extensive moves lower are now limited. The last time EURUSD reached a historical weekly pivot it moved sideways for three weeks before breaking lower. The trend is still down and there is no reason in the charts to turn bullish with Euro. In addition, the economic problems in the euro area together with the verbal QE from Mr. Draghi are likely to drag the EURUSD even lower.

EURUSD, Monthly

The EURUSD is at a support area that has been psychologically important in the past. The level acted as a resistance in 1998 and in 2003. In 2005 the level turned a downtrend in EURUSD to an up move that lasted for more than two years. The pair has created lower highs since 2007 and has now moved below an important support area that was able to turn the market higher in three separate occasions.

EURUSD, Weekly

The weekly trend is down but is has extended outside the regression channel. This means that the trend is now more vulnerable for retracements. The 1.1795 level that has provided support is a weekly pivot high from November 2005. With Stochastics and RSI firmly oversold and price at a historical weekly support extensive and immediate downside could be limited.

EURUSD, D

EURUSD, Daily

The daily short term daily trend is down with price inside the regression channel. Price has retraced back to a daily low from 5th January at 1.1868. The oscillators are oversold. The last time Euro was able to move against the prevailing trend it lasted for two days, if the current resistance holds now it is likely that the Euro will at least test the recent lows but there is a likelihood that the problems in the euro area together with the verbal QE from Mr. Draghi will drag the EURUSD even lower.

EURUSD, 240 min

The price has moved out from the descending regression channel to resistance that coincides with the 20 period Bollinger Bands. The resistance is created by pivotal low at 1.1868. Now that price has moved to the level momentum is drying up with Stochastics being ready roll over and 4h bar ranges becoming very narrow. We have a daily resistance at 1.1868, but a weekly support at around 1.1795 is still relatively fairly close. Oscillators are overbought as price moves sideways at the upper Bollinger Bands. There is also a cluster of Fibonacci levels that coincide with the current resistance level and another between 1.1934 and 1.1949. I have left the levels off to increase the readability.

EURUSD, 60 min

A minor uptrend that has reached the 1.1868 and shows signs of weakening. Now the price is about to create a shooting star at the resistance which indicates price will move lower from here.

Conclusion:

The EURUSD has reached a support area that has been psychologically important in the past. The level acted as a resistance in 1998 and in 2003 and in 2005 the level turned a downtrend in EURUSD to an up move that lasted for more than two years. This could mean that chances for immediate and extensive moves lower are now limited. The last time EURUSD reached a historical weekly pivot it moved sideways for three weeks before breaking lower. The trend is still down and there is no reason in the charts to turn bullish with Euro. In addition, the economic problems in the euro area together with the verbal QE from Mr. Draghi are likely to drag the EURUSD even lower. In the intraday chart (240 min) price has moved out from the descending regression channel to a resistance that coincides with the 20 period Bollinger Bands. The resistance is created by pivotal low at 1.1868. Momentum is drying up with Stochastics being ready roll over and 4h bar ranges becoming very narrow. In a 60 min time frame we can see that as the minor uptrend has reached the resistance it shows signs of weakening (a lower high). In the process price also created a shooting star candle at the resistance. This indicates that price will move lower from here. Traders looking to short against the 1.1868 resistance should monitor the levels around 1.1795 for Momentum Reversal Signals to exit short trades as the weekly support possibly provides temporary support to the market.

For those who would like to learn how to trade professionally, please join me at my free trading webinars. Over the course of the series, I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do. Click HERE https://www.hotforex.com/en/trading-tools/trading-webinars.html?refid=37217 to register and secure your seat!

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

HotForex Free Live Webinar | Exit Strategies, 13 January 2015 12:30pm GMT

Join Janne Muta for this highly focused, in depth session that will introduce you to the key aspects of setting price targets and understanding exit signals.

- Learn how to set simple and multiple price targets.

- Understand what signals are and why to use them in your exit strategy.

- Discover time based exit signals.

Book your Free Place Now: https://www.hotforex.com/en/landing-pages/webinar-market.html?id=102&refid=37217

Low Energy Prices Pressuring Corn - HotForex Blog https://blog.hotforex.com/low-energy-prices-pressuring-corn/

Weak US exports and falling energy costs have reduced the appeal for renewable fuels which are largely made from grains and oilseeds. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, ethanol stockpiles have had risen by 751,000 barrels to 18.85 million barrels by 2nd January. This was the largest weekly rise in nearly two years. Corn prices have been coming down since the beginning of the year as low oil prices mean that demand from ethanol manufacturers is reduced. According to industry analysts, it is unlikely that ethanol manufacturers and blenders will be able to pay close to $4 for corn. This has put a damper on price. Furthermore, the recent rise in the price of corn is likely to encourage farmers to increase the acreage of corn. This would lead to an increase in supply over the year 2015 and put pressure on corn prices.

Corn, Weekly

Price rallied 30% from the September low and has since hit a resistance at around 415’6, which was a weekly support in the Q4 2013. The price has reacted lower from the resistance and sits now at a minor support at 392. The outside reversal bar in the weekly picture took the market lower by almost 6% in one week and suggests that the corn price will be under pressure in the coming weeks. The Stochastics, MFI and RSI are rolling over from overbought levels.

Corn, Daily

The daily chart reveals how there was a rally from the 392 support, but the rally couldn’t penetrate the bottom of the rising regression channel. This created a lower high and confirmed that the uptrend is over. A lower high after the price has had a strong move lower from a resistance level tells about the balance of supply and demand being in favour of the bears. The levels close to the 38.2% Fib level (at around 380) could be significant support as it was a resistance in August 2014 and price pivoted at this level on 18th of August last year. When price moved higher from this level the last time (4th December), a pivot candle was formed and was followed by a gap opening higher. The current daily support at 392 coincides with the Bollinger Bands and the 23.6% Fibonacci level, but in the light of the price moving so strongly down from resistance and creating a lower high, it seems unlikely that the support will hold.

Conclusion:

The potential increase in the acreage and the low energy prices suggest that Corn will be under pressure. The technical picture is weak with the price reaction lower from a resistance and creating a lower high in the daily chart. The first target level for short trades is at around 380, close to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level. This view would be negated by market moving above the latest weekly high 417. I look forward to seeing you in the webinars where I will teach you how to take advantage of trading opportunities that occur daily in Corn and other markets.

Those wanting to learn how to trade professionally open an account with HotForex and gain access to my past and future educational webinars. Over the course of the webinars I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do. Click HERE to register and be early to secure a seat! https://www.hotforex.com/en/landing-pages/webinar-market.html?id=102

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

Portfolio Diversification Supports Gold Price: https://blog.hotforex.com/portfolio-diversification-supports-gold-price/

I wrote in the beginning of December how the price of gold was supported by many technical factors. I also pointed out that even the negative news that Swiss voted against increasing the country’s gold reserves couldn’t push the price lower. Instead it actually rallied on the next trading day after the results of the vote came out. If negative news can’t push the price down, then the market sentiment is rather positive. This combined with the fact that the price action was showing signs of downtrend running out of steam helped me to conclude that the downside is limited and that the price should move towards the higher end of the long term trend channel. At the same time the analysts focusing only on the fundamentals kept on repeating the same arguments about the improving U.S. economy, the continued better labor picture, the lack of inflation, very strong stocks and the very strong dollar pushing the price of gold lower. By this they justified their views that gold is going to keep on moving lower.

Now analysts are focusing on renewed fears over the EU economics and the potential exit of Greece and suggest that the weakness in equities globally will support the gold prices. This is what typically happens with analyst expectations and market moves. The market reacts first and those who know how to read the market will have an advantage over the analysts that are still focused on something the markets as a whole have already dropped from the radar. At the time I wrote my analysis on Gold (5th December) the internet was flooded with analyst views on how the price of Gold will depreciate further due to strong dollar and low inflation and continued economic recovery, of which the strong stock market was a proof. Since the publication of this article the US Dollar index (DXY) has risen over 4% and Gold is up by 2%, so much for the strong dollar sending Gold prices lower. In addition, the so called strong stock market has not been that strong. I pointed out in my analysis on 12th November that there was underlying weakness in the stock market (S&P emini futures traded at 2021 at the time and are now 1.5% lower) and in another piece from 29th October I suggested that there might be sideways markets ahead. The S&P 500 has not been able to maintain the levels it moved to since then and is now trading only roughly 1.7% higher.

All this supports the view that the appetite for risk is gone and the market participants are looking for ways to diversify their portfolios by selling equities and adding exposure to Gold.

Gold, Monthly

Gold is still relatively close to a historical support (provided by a monthly pivot candle high from February 2010), while the monthly candle for November was a narrow range candle with open and close only $4 apart. This indicates that supply and demand were in balance in November. Even though Gold is still inside a long term downtrend channel we now have a monthly pivot candle (one higher monthly low value on both sides) right at the Bollinger Bands, which is a rather significant technical indication of momentum change. If this month’s trading closes above 1167.30 we have yet another higher low which would further indicate that the price of Gold is gaining upside momentum.

Gold, Weekly

Price of Gold has now moved above the down sloping regression channel that formed a medium term downtrend. This week price has been moving outside the channel while the last week’s candle created a third higher low since it pivoted at 1131.50 in November. There is a symmetric triangle created with lower weekly highs and higher weekly lows. The fact that the price is relatively close to a historical support and in a process of reacting higher from this support, we might well see that the price will break out to the upside. A weekly close above the last week’s high would be a further bullish sign. Should the breakout happen the Fibonacci Extension Levels of 1.00 and 1.618 (drawn by using the points a, b and c) would indicate potential short to medium term target levels. Their significance is increased by the fact that they coincide with monthly pivot candle high and low from July 2014. The nearest weekly resistance is at 1226.30 (a weekly shooting star candle low from October).

Gold, Daily

The trend in the daily chart is sideways but the price making higher lows each time it retraces to the Bollinger Bands and moves inside the 7th November pivot candle range (the green highlight). The weekly resistance and support levels limit the current sideways move with assistance from the daily Bollinger Bands. Look for Momentum Reversal Signals inside the green support area to either go long or exit the short trades. The area to look for short MR Signals would be above the 1226.30 level.

Conclusion:

Even though Gold is still inside a long term downtrend channel we now have a monthly pivot candle (one higher monthly low value on both sides) right at the Bollinger Bands, which is a rather significant technical indication of momentum change. This week price has been moving outside the medium term downward channel while the last week’s candle created a third higher low since it pivoted at 1131.50 in November. The trend in the daily chart is sideways but the price makes higher lows each time it retraces to the Bollinger Bands and moves inside the 7th November pivot candle range (the green highlight). At the same time the stock market has been sluggish which suggests that the market participants are not that eager to buy stocks but they might instead be diversifying their portfolios and moving money into safe havens such as Gold. All these factors point to the price of Gold moving higher over the coming weeks and months, however the sideways range could provide actionable trade setups at both ends for traders who understand the Momentum Reversal Signals and Multi Time Frame Analysis. Those wanting to learn how to trade professionally open an account with HotForex and gain access to my past and future educational webinars. I will take you through all the aspects of analyzing the markets and trading them the way the professionals do.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of purchase or sale of any financial instrument.

Janne Muta

Chief Market Analyst

HotForex

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