USD Suffers as EUR and GBP Soars, Trump Slams OPEC - US Market Open

2018-09-20 13:54:00

MARKET DEVELOPMENT – GBP SOARS ON BREXIT OPTIMISM

GBP: UK retail sales printed above expectations, while previous figures had also been revised higher, which in turn took the Pound above 1.32 against the greenback. Alongside this, markets have been growing more optimistic that a Brexit agreement will be by November, consequently taking GBP to within a whisker of the 1.33 handle.

EUR: The optimism surrounding a Brexit deal has also helped buoy the Euro, which took out notable resistance at 1.1720, before breaching the 1.1734 level, which marked the August 29th high. Eyes now set on the 1.1790 (July 9th high).

USD: The trend is most definitely the USD bears friend with the DXY falling to the lowest level since early July. Gains in both the Euro and GBP have contributed to the weakness in the Dollar, which now looks to 93.65 for key support.

NOK: The first in hike in 7years from the Norges Bank failed to spur upside in the NOK. Largely this was due to the fact that a hike was fully priced by the markets and as such focus had been on the rate path, which had been surprisingly lowered relative to the June MPR. As such, EURNOK rose above 9.60, however, with the Norges Bank signalling that 2 hikes will take place in 2019 and 2020, the EURNOK rise has been faded.

Crude Oil: Gains in the Brent and WTI crude futures have been pared following comments by President Trump, who yet again slammed OPEC over high energy prices. However, with Iranian sanctions looming a key resistance breached, momentum continues to remain on the upside for now.

DailyFX Economic Calendar: Thursday, September 20, 2018 – North American Releases