Is AUD/USD finally preparing to reverse higher?

The Aussiedollar weekly chart is another classic example of how patience can be richly rewarded following the extended congestion phase of March to August 2014 which saw the pair trade in an increasingly tighter range around the VPOC (volume point of control) in the 0.93 to 0.94 price area. This type of price action is always a signal of an explosive move once the breakaway occurs. And as we can see clearly on the chart this phase of price action came to a dramatic end with a wide spread down candle which triggered the volatility indicator (the purple arrows top and bottom), as the price action moved outside the average true range in this time frame. The price action to the downside was duly confirmed with a close well outside the volatility candle and further confirming the inherent weakness in the pair. Since last August the trend lower has also been perfectly confirmed and defined by the dynamic price pivots in a...
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Cable finally finds some support (& buyers!)

Following longest fall since 2008 no surprise to see British pound and the 6B move higher in this morning's trading, on the back of profit taking and closure of US and Canadian markets for the Labor Day holiday. From a VPA (volume price analysis) perspective the recent move lower has also been associated with falling volume suggesting the downwards pressure is, for now, running out of steam, with the platform of support at 1.5160 providing the reason for the pullback. Longer term, however, the outlook remains bearish for Cable, and should the 1.5160 price point fall to hold we may see a move towards 1.50 and even a possible re-test of the 1.46 region in due course.  ...
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CSI highlights GBP sell off

Ahead of the release of the Monetary Policy Minutes from the RBA, and tomorrow's CPI number for the UK, it's been interesting to see how the Aussie and British pound have been behaving in today's trading session. And of the two currencies it has been the British pound which has seen some heavy selling against both the USD and the Aussie. The hourly chart of the CSI (currency strength indicator) highlighted the extent to which the British pound was overbought, and Cable's failure to take out the resistance at 1.5688 signaled the start of a reversal in fortune for the pair and a move lower of over 100 pips.  And it has only been a combination of the VPOC at 1.5585 and support at 1.5578 that has prevented any further move lower for Cable. Moving to the GBP/AUD  here too we have seen a move lower for the British pound with the pair eventually finding support at 2.1094 from which we have...
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USD looks set to move higher

In the current media speculation surrounding the impact of the PBOC decision to revalue/devalue the yuan, particularly on how this may (or may not) affect the FED's decision about raising interest rates, it is easy to forget two things. First, the fundamental news releases which too will add their own layer of volatility, and second Greece, which today is back centre stage as the Greek parliament meets today in emergency session to ratify the latest bail out deal. Today's key releases are primarily in the US with retail sales, core retail sales and the unemployment claims due. And of these it is the retail sales numbers which the market will be focused on primarily because they may give some guidance as to the FED's thinking about interest rates. Meantime in this morning's trading the USD has been broadly higher against all the major currencies except the British pound, but with the US session due to start shortly, Cable too may simply fall...
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The yen currency matrix in focus as equities fall

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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GBP now awaits BOE this morning

The combination of poor retail sales and a worse than expected Trade Balance number has resulted in a unanimous sell of Aussie overnight, with big moves across all the AUD pairs.Now focus shifts to the UK, US & Canada. First up is GBP with an interest rate decision from the BOE and statement. Market not expecting any change, but statement will be interesting given recent run of poor PMI. On the GBP matrix of six pairs we monitor cable's recent reversal off the VPOC indicator for MT4 at 1.5145 has now stalled & is waiting for today's news.Of the others GBP/JPY has been in consolidation and testing the deep resistance at the 190.71 area. And of the three GBP commodity pairs, all look pretty similar and testing key resistance levels with the trend monitor below confirming the bearish picture at present. The decision, as always, is whether to sit out the news, or if you are already in a trade whether...
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Aussie dollar now in sharp focus ahead of Trade Balance

If you come along to our forex webinars you will always hear David & I explain the importance of the fundamental news & how easy it is to be ambushed by 'events'. But I must admit so far it's been absolutely relentless & it's only Wednesday! Coming up we have Aussie retail sales & Trade Balance - both very important numbers, and so far it's been a buy of the Aussie except against the euro - a trade we've been following. Of the two releases - the Trade Balance number has been negative since July last year, and whilst February's number was encouraging, coming in at -0.44b against a forecast of -0.85b, the subsequent releases have been dire. Tonight's headline number is -2.17b against a forecast of -1.32b, in fact a further deterioration, and with AUD/USD having moved strongly higher yesterday as a result of USD weakness. it's no surprise to see a doji on today's daily chart, which by coincidence is...
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EUR/NZD reverses recent trend for the New Zealand dollar

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

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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Volume point of control (VPOC indicator MT4) confirms bearish sentiment for USD/CAD

In a relatively quiet day of trading in the forex markets with both the UK and Japan closed for public holidays, it's been the Canadian dollar which has moved significantly during the session, and picking up the longer term bearish tone once again. In early trading, the pair moved in a tight range, before finally breaking through the platform of support in the 1.2145 area and continuing lower to currently trade at 1.2095 at the time of writing. The price action has now continued lower with the volume point of control indicator (VPOC indicator MT4) remaining firmly in place above in the 1.2110 area on the 30 minute chart, and signalling further downside momentum in due course. The trend monitor has remained firmly red throughout the trading session, and with the currency strength indicator to the left confirming further strength for the CAD and weakness for the USD, the volume point of control (VPOC) is likely to move to the next...
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