CSI Highlights GBP Sell Off
The Currency Strength Indicator (CSI) highlights GBP sell off clearly. It ranks currencies by relative performance. GBP drops sharply in rankings. This signals heavy selling pressure. Traders see weakness early.
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...
In all the brouhaha about Greece and the euro it's easy to forget what else is going on in the forex market. Sometimes I feel Greece is taking up too much space in traders' heads at the expense of other markets and currencies. And for a perfect example of what I mean look no further than the continued strength in GBP which has seen some great trends in GBP/NZD & GBP/CAD & I'm still waiting for the GBP/JPY to turn lower, but only once we see a major reversal in risk sentiment.
On both charts the NinjaTrader trend monitor has remained firmly bullish with only a minor transition on the GBP/CAD reflecting the recent pause in the longer term trend. However, moving to the NinjaTrader currency strength indicator to the left of the chart, here we can see that the British Pound, the yellow line, is now moving ever deeper into the oversold region on the daily timeframe, so this trend...
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...
USD/CAD Now Testing Key VPOC Level
USD/CAD is now testing a key Volume Point of Control (VPOC) level. VPOC marks the price with highest traded volume. It acts as strong support or resistance. Price often reacts here with bounces or breaks.
Once GBP data is out of the way we can then look forward to the unemployment claims in the US and the Ivey PMI from Canada. Both items are released at the same time & here expect to see the biggest reaction in the USD/CAD. On the daily chart for the pair the resistance in the 1.2470 - 1.25 region (which also coincides with the VPOC), is putting a temporary brake on any move higher. On our daily currency strength indicator, we do appear to have more downside for the CAD, particularly against the euro, where we recently had a strong move away from the resistance in the 1.38 region.
As always the Canadian dollar will also reflect price trends for oil,...
EUR/NZD Reverses Recent Trend for the New Zealand Dollar
EUR/NZD reverses the recent trend for the New Zealand dollar. This cross pair shows shifting momentum. NZD weakness fades. Euro gains relational strength. Traders spot potential upside in EUR/NZD.
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
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...
GBP Gets a Boost from Retail Sales
GBP gets a boost from strong retail sales data. Positive figures signal consumer spending strength. This supports economic growth expectations. Traders see it as bullish for the pound.
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 tested the VPOC level on the daily chart, and we are waiting to see if this afternoon's...
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...
USD buying has continued into US session, and despite it being a holiday in Canada the USD/CAD has done really well. Question now is how far is USD likely to move higher. The key level is 11,750 on the USDX index which is the support platform which was breached last week & of which we may see a re-test.
Focus overnight is back to AUD & NZD, with a monetary policy statement from the RBA for the first, & inflation expectation for the second. Both AUD/USD and NZD/USD have had a bearish day, although Aussie dollar less so. In addition, whilst we can expect a reaction in both these pairs, we can also expect some interesting moves in the AUD/NZD cross which today has had an 80 pip move to the upside.
Since last Tuesday the pair has traded in a relatively narrow range, 1.0865 to the top & 1.0776 to the bottom, and I do believe the overnight news may be...
More Selling of the US Dollar
More selling of the US dollar continues across pairs. Bearish pressure builds steadily. This reflects shifting sentiment. Traders watch for continuation or exhaustion.
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...
Aussie Dollar and the AUD/NZD the Ones to Watch
The Aussie dollar and AUD/NZD are the ones to watch right now. AUD shows relative strength. This cross pair highlights relational dynamics. Traders spot opportunities in commodity currencies.
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...
