Forget the euro, look at the British pound!

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...
Read More

Central banks and GBP centre stage on currency matrix

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

USD now moving into overbought on the 4 hour chart

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...
Read More
An interesting week ahead for the British pound

An interesting week ahead for the British pound

It was an interesting week for the British pound and in particular against the US dollar, with the pair selling off sharply on Friday and closing with a wide spread down candle on the daily chart. The move lower was in stark contrast to the recent trend for Cable which had been firmly bullish rising in tandem with the EUR/USD as US dollar weakness prevailed on the dollar index. The move on Friday came as no surprise to those traders using a currency strength indicator, with the British pound moving to a deeply overbought region on the indicator, and counterbalanced with the US dollar being equally oversold in the slower timeframes. With Thursday's election now on the horizon, and with a slew of opinion polls due for release in the next few days, these are continually signalling a close result with no party likely to have an overall majority in Parliament. As a result we can expect to see further...
Read More

Euro oversold in all timeframes on currency strength indicator

Ahead of the German ZEW data this morning, markets are positioning for a move in the euro dollar, with the euro now heavily oversold and the US dollar equally over bought in the faster timeframes. Using the currency strength indicator in multiple timeframes provides a fast and visual picture of currency strength and weakness, with the euro (the gold line) now deeply oversold from the the 5 minute to the 30 minute timeframe, and preparing to reverse the longer term bearish sentiment ahead of the news. Apart from the ZEW, the only other ongoing euro news is of course Greece which continues to weigh on the single currency. Finally remember that any market or currency can remain over extended for some time, and as always patience is the key coupled with the price action on the charts. The currency strength indicator is always the starting point to identify potential strength and weakness in an individual currency. Then it's time to consider...
Read More

Another great trade on the EUR/AUD

It's been another great day's trading on the EUR/AUD, which has continued the bearish tone from yesterday, following the RBA statement and a decision to keep interest rates on hold for the time being. The 60 minute chart has delivered a consistent trend today with the pair moving through the platform of support in the 1.4125 region and as defined with the accumulation and distribution indicator. The trend monitor at the bottom of the chart continues to confirm the bearish tone, supported by the trend dots indicator. Early this afternoon the wide spread down candle saw the pair close at 1.4016 on very high volume, and confirming the current bearish tone for the pair. To the left of the chart, the Quantum currency strength indicator confirms the technical picture, with the euro (the orange line) now deep in oversold territory, and with the Aussie dollar (the blue line) continuing to rise deep into the overbought region. A great trade on this...
Read More

Aussie dollar strengthens as RBA keep rates on hold

The main focus overnight was in Australia with the RBA deciding to hold the current cash rate at 2.25%, with no cut. This decision was against the backdrop of declining commodity prices and a slowdown in China with many expecting the rate to be cut to 2.00%. As a result the Aussie dollar strengthened on the news against many of the major currencies, with another nice move on the EUR/AUD on the 15 minute chart. The Quantum accumulation and distribution indicator initially defined the support and resistance region with the 1.4360 being the key level of support and a region that had been tested on several occasions prior to the news. The bearish sentiment was confirmed with the trend monitor to the bottom of the chart which continues to remain bearish in this timeframe with the move lower accompanied by high volume and confirming the short term bearish trend. To the left of the chart and the Ninjatrader currency strength indicator,...
Read More

NinjaTrader launches forex brokerage

Denver, CO, Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 - NinjaTrader Group, LLC has announced the addition of forex trading to the services available through NinjaTrader Brokerage. Users of the awardwinning NinjaTrader platform can now access the world’s largest and most liquid market directly through a NinjaTrader Brokerage trading account. “We are excited to expand our brokerage services offering with the addition of spot forex”, stated Raymond Deux Founder and CEO of NinjaTrader.    “NinjaTrader users have continually recognized the advanced analysis and automation capabilities of the platform are an ideal fit for the highly liquid forex markets. Combined with our Ecosystem of over 450 partners and add-on applications, NinjaTraders’ extensibility allows FX trader’s to customize the platform to match their evolving requirements.” As an Introducing Broker for FXCM, NinjaTrader Brokerage clients will have access to one of the industry’s largest networks of FX liquidity providers. This partnership will deliver savings to NinjaTrader clients through super tight spreads and deep discount commissions as low as...
Read More