In this webinar, we used price action to look at macro markets in the aftermath of this morning’s US CPI report. That report showed continued strength in US inflation as we’ve now had the sixth consecutive month of at-or-above-target inflation as we approach next week’s FOMC rate decision. But, despite the backdrop for higher rates as driven by consistent inflation gains, the US Dollar remains weak as the year-long down-trend remains in order.
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US Dollar Takes a Hit After CPI
This morning’s CPI print out of the US was not all that bad, as we saw the sixth consecutive month of at-or-above target CPI growth ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve rate decision. But the reaction in the Dollar was a pronounced move of weakness that syncs well with the timing of this morning’s CPI release, even though many are attributing this downdraft in the Greenback to the morning announcement of the firing of Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. And while there may be something there, the fact of the matter is that most drivers, both positive and negative, have brought upon the same net result of USD-weakness. This alludes to the fact that there is something else going on here helping to drive weakness into USD even in-light of seemingly positive factors, like inflation pushing the Fed towards tighter policy options. This can help to keep the bearish trend in the US Dollar at the forefront as we near next week’s FOMC rate decision.
US CPI: Sixth Consecutive Month At-Or-Above Target, USD Falls in Response
Chart prepared by James Stanley
EUR/USD Support Bounce Runs to 1.2400
Last Thursday we looked at support in EUR/USD, and we’ve since seen a respectable recovery from the ECB-fueled dip to 1.2280. The problem at this point is the fact that we’re so far away from support that bullish setups could be difficult to justify. A pullback to the prior support zone of 1.2335-1.2350 keeps the door open for additional topside in the pair; perhaps even to another approach towards the 1.2500 psychological level.
EUR/USD Four-Hour Chart: Approaching Last Week’s Highs After 2280 Support Visit
Chart prepared by James Stanley
GBP/USD Catches a Bid After Spring Statement
Growth forecasts were upgraded this morning in the UK’s Spring Statement, and this has brought some life into the British Pound. This helped GBP/USD to break above a bearish trend-line that’s held in the pair since late-January. This can start to open the door for short-term top-side setups, but for the longer-term move, traders will likely want to await a bullish break of the 1.4000 psychological level, as stops can be difficult to justify given recent swing-lows.
GBP/JPY Approaching Under-Side of Post-Brexit Trend-Line
For short-side GBP plays, GBP/JPY may be getting close to a point of interest, as there is a bit of confluence around 149.41, as we have both the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the February sell-off along with the projection of the post-Brexit trend-line that had previously done a good job of helping to carve-out support.
AUD/USD Rallies to Resistance Zone
While the US Dollar has been exuberantly weak this morning after that CPI report, AUD/USD has started to show what could finish as an indecision candlestick on the Daily chart. Resistance is coming-in around a zone that we’ve been following around the .7900 level, and this can start to open the door to short-side setups. We looked at how lower time frames can be used to assist with timing into the setup; allowing for traders to let the move start to show before looking at fading what’s been a really strong short-term trend. This was previously a favored long-USD candidate, and with today’s resistance starting to show even as the US Dollar remains weak, that door may be re-opening around the Aussie.
NZD/USD Testing Longer-Term Fibonacci Resistance
We’ve been following a level in NZD/USD that’s started to come into play, and now its time to watch what the pair does to see if this is a workable theme. The level in question is the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the 2009-2011 major move at .7335, and this level has done a great job of helping to form resistance on the weekly chart over the past couple of years. With a really weak US Dollar running into a strong NZD in February, the pair was able to temporarily eclipse this value, leading to a fall to .7200. But since that support showed at .7200, prices have been on the way up and we’re now re-testing .7335 again.
We looked at the hourly chart to focus-in on this recent strength, and how a break below a short-term trend-line can start to open the door to short-side setups.
USD/CAD Comes Back to Life After 1.3000 Resistance
Last week saw a really weak Canadian Dollar as USD/CAD testing the 1.3000 psychological level. After three days of tests Monday-Wednesday, USD-weakness took over and drove the pair down to 1.2800. Since then, we’ve seen more recovery as CAD-weakness has remained a dominant theme. We’re now catching resistance around 1.2928, which is the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the May-September sell-off from last year. We looked at how shorter-term charts can be used to work with the current setup in USD/CAD.
Yen-Weakness Pronounced Ahead of BoJ Minutes
There appears to be a brewing theme around the Japanese Yen that should get some more information tonight with the release of BoJ meeting minutes from last week’s rate decision. Yen-strength has become quite pronounced in 2018, and this goes along with a consistent rise in inflation that saw January come-in at 34-month highs. This is similar to the Euro and the ECB last year, where stronger growth and inflation led markets to buy the Euro in anticipation of an eventual move away from stimulus. While we’re still waiting on confirmation of that move away from stimulus, Euro-strength remains; and in the Yen, that strength has crafted a fresh yearly-high against the US Dollar. Starting around the Tokyo open last night, however, was a spate of Yen-weakness that had begun about 24 hours ahead of the release of those meeting minutes.
USD/JPY Weekly Chart: Support Holding on at a Long-Term Area of Interest
Chart prepared by James Stanley
To read more:
Are you looking for longer-term analysis on the Euro, the British Pound or the U.S. Dollar? Our DailyFX Forecasts for Q1 have a section for each major currency, and we also offer a plethora of resources on our EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD and U.S. Dollar pages. Traders can also stay up with near-term positioning via our IG Client Sentiment Indicator.
--- Written by James Stanley, Strategist for DailyFX.com
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