NZD/USD rebounds following PBOC

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
Perhaps, not surprisingly, it has been the Aussie and Kiwi which have responded the most to the PBOC (People's Bank of China) move to devalue the yuan, with the AUD/USD completely erasing last Friday's and Monday's gains to end yesterday's trading session just over the key 0.73 level. Further falls overnight has seen the pair tumble to 0.7224 since when it has staged a remarkable comeback in the London session to trade (at time of writing) at 0.7330. The move off the session lows has also co-incided with our last VPOC supoort line on both the daily and weekly charts. On the daily chart the first target for AUD/USD is the VPOC resistance at 0.7395, followed by further resistance at 0.7438, and yesterday's high. However, the extent of the comeback for both pairs can be seen on the hourly charts where it has been the NZD/USD which has proved the stronger of the two with the decisive move away from the...
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Central banks and GBP centre stage on currency matrix

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
We have four central banks on today's trading horizon, BOJ, RBA, BOE & later this evening we have interest rate decision, policy statement and a press conference from the RBNZ. I really must come up with a collective noun for the CB's! In between we have the Manufacturing Number for the UK where forecast is for 0.1% against a previous of 0.4%. This release can be very difficult to judge as there has been no clear trend since 2009 when the number was consistently awful. On the GBP matrix we have seen some strong buying of GBP against USD, which is not surprising given the alleged Obama comments at the G7. However, GBP buying actually started last week after NFP. It was the deep lower wick to Friday's candle which signaled a potential reversal for cable. This was given further impetus on Monday, & the buying was cemented as yesterday's candle ended the session with an even deeper lower wick. The current daily chart...
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The yen currency matrix in focus as equities fall

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
The overnight fall in the Nikkei 225 of 1.76% has resulted in an impressive two bar reversal (aka a shooting star) on the daily chart for the USD/JPY - so no surprise to see the pair move lower in this morning's trading session. What is perhaps more significant is this move in the JPY is not consistent across the JPY pairs we follow on our matrix, and in particular the EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY. The latter is a pair I am looking to short on a longer term basis, but patience is required not least because I want to see the JPY begin to move away from the bottom (oversold) on the currency strength indicator. This also highlights a key aspect of forex trading, namely individual currencies can stay overbought or oversold for much longer than we expect. Much, of course, will depend on risk sentiment, and in particular whether the current downwards trend in equities continues, and if so then we...
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EUR/NZD reverses recent trend for the New Zealand dollar

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
The EUR/NZD has delivered some excellent trading opportunities across all the timeframes this morning to the short side, following the recent heavily bearish sentiment towards the New Zealand dollar which has seen it weaken against all the major currencies. Indeed longer term the NZD is now looking increasingly oversold, so we may see this trend reflected on the slower timeframe charts in due course. This morning's move was signalled initially with a move below the volume point of control (VPOC) on the 30 minute chart ( the yellow line), a move that was duly supported with rising volume and confirming the bearish sentiment. In addition, the transition in the trend monitor indicator from blue to red also confirmed this reversal, coupled with a pivot high indicator prior to the move through the VPOC. Since then, momentum to the downside has increased with volumes also rising sharply and confirming the wide spread down candle as we approach a potential area of support...
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GBP gets a boost from retail sales

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
UK retail sales have given GBP a real boost higher & it's occupying six top spots on the currency matrix. Number was a great improvement & market has temporarily forgotten the negative CPI number. What's interesting is at 8.00 am at the London open, there was a huge buy of cable off an important order board level at 1.5520 with retail sales then just adding the momentum. Cable is also benefiting from USD pull back from its recent bullish move higher. The 4hr currency strength indicator is particularly revealing as the USD has been overbought for some time, but is now moving lower. The move higher in the London session has now moved to test the VPOC level in the daily chart, and we are now waiting to see if this afternoon's US data can help to push the GBP/USD through this key level. This is denoted on the chart with the yellow line.  ...
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USD now moving into overbought on the 4 hour chart

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
Without wishing to downgrade this evening's FOMC minutes, which will no doubt result in the usual volatile market moves, stop hunting & general shenanigans, the main FED event takes places on Friday at 6.00 pm London time. This is when Janet Yellen is due to give an important speech about the US economic outlook, and so one to watch. Meantime USD strength has continued overnight across the majors and into this morning, with German PPI helping to give the eurodollar a shove lower. Other items of note this morning include the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) of the BOE playing their standard formation (football parlance) of 0-0-9. In other words 9 defenders, no midfield & no strikers. For FED watchers FOMC Member Evans has been speaking in Munich and has been simply repeating his call for a delay in raising interest rates. No moves expected as he is re-iterating his well known stance as a dove. This is why we need to know where...
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More selling of the US dollar

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
Despite it being a holiday across most of Europe for Ascension Day - it's quite lively out there at the moment. We've also just had an unscheduled comments from Mark Carney (not shown on Forex Factory), but came up on Forex Live feed. Greek Fin Min Varoufakis also speaking & even mentioning the word 'reform'. Meanwhile on the charts it's been more selling of USD which is propelling euro & gbp higher with volatility candles on faster time frames. For cable 1.5788 is a key level being tested up to and including the daily chart. Have reading how a lot of traders are looking to short cable since it went over 1.5550, but it's just not co-operating & the principle reason is the USD which continues to be sold off. It's only in the EUR/GBP that we have seen some serious GBP selling. This is an aspect of forex trading David & I will be covering in tomorrow's forex webinars - the importance...
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Aussie dollar and the AUD/NZD the ones to watch

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
Here in UK election day is almost here & we can expect reactions as soon as the exit polls start posting as well as the actual results. Heaven only knows what is going to happen. So far GBP has been fairly well behaved - moving more as a result of USD & EUR. Meanwhile in Asia - AUD has employment data to contend with. On 4hr CSI we have seen the AUD pull back & is also showing the NZD as hugely oversold, but as mentioned many times before a currency can stay stubbornly over stretched for a considerable time. And in the case of the Kiwi where it is still falling on the weekly and daily charts it is likely to stay down on the 4 hr chart. Of course AUD/USD is the one to watch, but expect to see moves in the AUD/NZD cross with some interesting volume/price action now developing in the slower timeframes, and with the NZD (...
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Bearish tone for GBP/USD continues in early trading

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
As the markets get under way in London this morning, and with a relatively thin day for fundamental news, the US dollar is once again advancing on the fast time frame charts and providing some excellent intraday scalping opportunities across the currency majors. Both the British pound and the euro have been selling off sharply against the US dollar, with the currency strength indicator on the 15 minute timeframe showing the US dollar, the red line rising firmly and moving towards the overbought region, with the euro (orange) and the pound (yellow) both moving strongly lower along with the Swiss franc (green). The chart alongside is of the GBP/USD in a slightly slower time frame (30m) and reflecting the current bearish sentiment at present for this pair, with the Trend Monitor at the bottom of the chart remaining firmly red, with the current volume rising, and confirming the current move lower. In addition, Cable is now breaking below the recent platform...
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Cable very bearish on the longer term charts

by Quantum Trading Comment Closed
Ahead of the manufacturing production number the British pound has been particularly lively in the past couple of hours with 6 volatility candles alone being triggered on Cable on the 3 min chart. For Cable, yesterday's rally which saw the pair bounce off support in the 1.4760 region was a move more akin to a 'dead cat bounce' as once the pair hit the major resistance at 1.4840 at the start of the US session opened the floodgates for some heavy duty selling. This took cable down 1.4684 before it finally managed to find some support as the market moved into Asia. A number of reasons have been suggested for this move, including the tensions and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming UK election, and as highlighted yesterday, we are seeing a major sell off in UK gilts. In the face of such uncertainty It appears foreign investors would much rather move their money into US Treasuries and Asia, and Japanese investors in particular...
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