Thursday, September 2, 2010

FOREXYARD: Forex News Blog

FOREXYARD: Forex News Blog

Link to Forex Trading Education : Forex Trading Blog by FOREXYARD

ADP Foreshadows Sharper NFP Drop; USD Under Pressure

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 05:53 AM PDT

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The US Non-Farm Employment Change report, or Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) for short, is a strong indicator of market activity in one of the world’s largest economies. As such, this report carries a significant impact on the value of the US dollar (USD) through various channels, both direct and indirect.

These channels have very broad implications for analysts. For instance, if the number of employed people in the US is increasing, we can deduce that more jobs are being created and the US economy is on its way to recovery. A negative reading may be reflected with a sharp flight away from the greenback. A positive figure, however, could help the USD halt its latest decline against the other major currencies.

The US experienced a rapid rise in employment from January through June with the 10-year census hiring by the US federal government. However, those recently employed by the Census Bureau have now been counted, and we’ve seen US employment figures decrease just as rapidly over the past two months since those numbers are no longer included in the data.

With Wednesday's ADP report verifying the recent pause in employment growth across the US, a number of analysts are now expecting Friday's release to be a bit more ominous than previously thought. With private sector employment showing a cut of 10,000 jobs, the addition of the federal government's cuts from the Census Bureau should show nation-wide employment in a much worse position than ADP's private sector figures. We have seen the downward pressure building on the US dollar this entire week as a result.

At the moment, the NFP appears to be showing an expected 101,000 jobs lost in August. However, if today’s ADP figures are any sign of what to expect, a reading much lower than -101K may be developing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the NFP forecast revised before Friday’s release to reflect this expectation. Tied in with this expectation is a pricing in of a weaker USD. We’ve seen the greenback dropping steadily against most of its currency rivals this week, likely due to a rise in risk appetite following positive news from China and Australia, but also from an expected slow-down in American economic recovery.

Gold Testing All-Time High, Again

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 03:41 AM PDT

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Spot gold prices have surged and are closing in on their all-time high. Negative risk sentiment surrounding the recovery of the global economy and renewed inflation fears have caused traders to once again begin to bid the price of gold higher.

The price of spot gold yesterday up at $1,246.75, after opening the day at $1,236.75.

Spot gold prices have climbed off of their lows of $1,156. The rebound in the price comes as fears of a double dip recession and slowing global economic growth are weighing on the market, influencing traders to buy gold as a safe haven asset.

Negative fundamentals from the US housing sector may be influencing traders. A lack of confidence and spending has ensued since the US government ended the subsidies it enacted to support the lagging housing sector.

Yesterday's release of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes provided an insight into the Fed's thought. The Fed voted 9-1 to keep the Fed's balance sheet at its current level by purchasing treasuries as the MBS that the Fed hold on its books expire. Dissent was voiced during the 2 days meeting as many FOMC members felt deflation was not an issue. However, they did express their views that higher inflation could return if the Fed did not drain the excess liquidity from the money supply.

Other factors that may be moving the price of spot gold higher are heavier trade volumes as traders return to their trading desks from the summer holidays. Also wedding season in India during the fall months typically spurs an uptick in the demand for gold.

Turning to the weekly chart, a rising trend line begins at the end of September of 2009 with the price making 3 points of contact with the trend line. This indicates this is a significant trend line. Momentum points to a price move higher as the Momentum (7) is sloping higher.

The all-time high of $1,265 looks to be in range with support appearing at $1,224, (S1) followed by $1,156 (S2).

Gold Weekly

Will Crude Oil Reach A 2-Month Low?

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 02:49 AM PDT

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The sharpest trend that was observed during yesterday's trading is bearish crude oil. Crude oil has erased almost all of this week's gains, and has bottomed at $71.52 a barrel. Crude oil is dropping due to concerns that the U.S. economy, the world's largest oil consumer, is not recovering as fast as it should. Several leading economic publications from the U.S. have recently failed to reach expectations, and it is now commonly agreed that the recovery pace is slower than estimates.

However, this trend might reverse today, as a heavy news day, especially from the U.S. economy is expected.

Here are today's leading news events:

• 08:30 GMT, British Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Price Index (PMI – It is a survey of about 600 purchasing managers who are asked to rate their current business conditions. If the end result will beat expectations for 57.1, the GBP might be supported.

• 12:15 GMT, U.S. ADP Non-Farm Employment Change – It is an estimation of the Non-Farm Payrolls release which is expected by Friday. The ADP forecast is considered to be very reliable, and thus tends to have a large impact on the market. If the end result will be positive, the dollar might be boosted as a result.

• 14:00 GMT, U.S. ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) – This indicator is similar to the British one. Analysts have forecasted that the result will be 53.2. A higher result might support the dollar.

GBP/USD – Moving Average MACD Combo Trade

Posted: 31 Aug 2010 12:39 PM PDT

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The Cable continues to move lower and is setting up an opportunity to short the pair and enter into a trend at the beginning of the move.

Since the August high the price of the GBP/USD has fallen. The long term trend line has been broken and the trend has shifted to the downside. Now the GBP/USD is ripe for an entry short.

The trade setup uses the 50 and 100 day exponential moving averages (EMA) along with the MACD. The trade can also use a simple moving average, but the goal is to enter into a trend at the early stages in order to capture the most from the directional move. The exponential moving average adds more weight to the most recent close. This should help to get into the trade quicker.

Once the price falls below the farthest moving average by more than 10 pips, an entry short should be made. Currently the 100 day EMA is trading at 1.5335. Today the low for the GBP/USD was 1.5326, 1 pip shy of triggering our trade. It is apparent that the 100-day EMA is acting as a significant support level.

A filter for the trade is the MACD histogram. The MACD histogram is currently trading at -34. If the histogram had not moved into the negative territory, the trade would be rejected.

A stop can be placed at the 5-day high of 1.5600 to limit losses if the price goes against the trade.

Profits should be taken at 2x risk, or roughly the early June high at 1.4770.

GBPUSD Daily

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

FOREXYARD: Forex News Blog

FOREXYARD: Forex News Blog

Link to Forex Trading Education : Forex Trading Blog by FOREXYARD

Swedish Consumer Confidence at 10-Year High; SEK Climbing

Posted: 31 Aug 2010 05:35 AM PDT

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The Scandinavian economies have seen a modest boom over the past several months in relation to their southerly neighbors. Europe's debt woes have persisted in making investments in the euro zone less stable, driving a large amount of investment into safe havens and other high-performance assets.

The Scandinavian kroner appear to be on the safer side of currency investing since the value of the Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish kroner all gained against their European and American counterparts in recent trading.

Steady oil prices have helped stabilize and strengthen the Norwegian krone, which is a commodity-linked currency since Norway is a net exporter of crude oil. Swedish interest rates have been raised this year, helping the value of the SEK increase in value as well. Sweden's recent 10-year-high consumer confidence figures have also played a prominent role in recent valuations.

The USD/SEK has fallen towards 7.3450, but currently trades higher at 7.4125 due to gains made by the US dollar in late-trading hours. The EUR/SEK, on the other hand, has continued to move in favor of the krona for weeks now, hitting a recent low for the pair around 9.3600.

If the level of investment in the Scandinavian economies persists on its present course, then the kroner should also continue gaining against their primary rivals. As Europe is due to see a few positive data releases, and as risk appetite appears set for an increase, we could see some kroner losses, however, towards the beginning of next week.

EUR/SEK May be Poised for an Upward Correction

Posted: 31 Aug 2010 05:07 AM PDT

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The euro has been steadily declining against its Swedish counterpart for several months as risk aversion has dominated the marketplace. In the last two weeks alone, EUR/SEK has dropped almost 1500 pips. According to a number of technical indicators, this trend, while not quite over yet, may soon be coming to an end.

We will be looking at the daily EUR/SEK chart, provided by Forexyard, for our analysis. The technical indicators being used are the Williams Percent Range, Stochastic Slow and Relative Strength Index (RSI).

1. The Williams Percent Range is currently below the -80 level. Anything below -80 is usually a sign that the pair is oversold. Traders can take this as a sign that an upward correction could occur in the near future.
2. The Stochastic Slow indicates bearish or bullish movement when the lines cross above or below the 80 and 20 line respectively. As can be seen, the lines are very close to crossing below the 20 level, indicating that an upward correction is very close to happening.
3. The Relative Strength Index is trading right around the 35 level on our chart. Typically anything below the 30 level indicates that the currency pair is in oversold territory. Traders will want to pay attention. If the RSI should drop below 30, a long position is advisable.

eur sek tech

GBP/CHF Bullish Correction May be in the Making

Posted: 31 Aug 2010 01:01 AM PDT

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The GBP has dropped significantly versus the CHF in the past 3 weeks, and it is currently traded around 157.35. And now as evident in the data below, the 4-hour chart is giving bullish signals, indicating that GBP/CHF pair might go up. Forex traders can take advantage of this impending movement by having their Entry Orders in place to capture this reversal.

• Below is the 4-hour chart of the GBP/CHF currency pair.

• The technical indicators that are used are the William Percent Range and Slow Stochastic.

• Point 1: The Slow Stochastic indicates an impending bullish cross, signaling that the next move may be in an upward direction.

• Point 2: The Williams Percent Range has peaked near at the -100 marker, which means that there may actually be a strong level of upward pressure.

• The volatile downward movement which occurred prior to this upward correction has generated these indicators, and there appears to be room for this correction to continue.

GBP/CHF 4-Hour Chart
GBP-CHF 31-8

BOJ Easing Program Fails to Halt the Yen’s Appreciation

Posted: 30 Aug 2010 07:13 PM PDT

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The Bank of Japan pledged 10 trillion worth of new loans in the local currency to Japanese financial institutions. However, traders scoffed at this initiative and continued to bid up the yen. Perhaps only direct intervention by the BOJ will provide some respite for Japanese exporters who are feeling the sting of a strong local currency.

Today's Major Data Releases:

EUR – German Unemployment Change – 07:55 GMT
Expected: -19K. Previous: -20K.
Germany is Europe's largest economy and therefore has the most influence on the direction of the euro.

CAD – GDP m/m – 12:30 GMT
Expected: 0.2%. Previous: 0.1%.
America's largest trading partner is reports Q2 GDP today. Expectations aren't high with only 0.2% growth forecasted due to the slump in oil prices.

USD – CB Consumer Confidence – 14:00 GMT
Expected: 50.7. Previous: 50.4.
Consumer spending is the engine of the US economy. Strong numbers should be favorable for the greenback

EUR/USD – The pair has broken out of a bearish flag pattern. The 1.2610 support should be tested today. A breach below this level could send the pair to the 1.2465 support level.

Yen – Until the BOJ starts selling yen on the open market, there is no reason to be short on the Japanese currency.

Spot Crude Oil – 3 days of consecutive gains were snapped yesterday, but this shouldn't stop the rising price. The next resistance level for spot crude oil rests at $75.50.