The Bank of Japan’s fourth quarter tankan survey is due at 2350 GMT on Thursday. Big manufacturers’ confidence in business conditions in Japan stood at a decade high in the third quarter, with fourth quarter projections indicating that positive momentum is to be maintained. The Tankan big manufacturers index is expected to come in at […]
On Wednesday, we listened to Janet Yellen’s final statement as the Fed chair. To many, it was an emotional farewell for a chair who has performed extremely well. Under her tenure, she has brought the unemployment rate to 4.1% – the lowest point in 17 years – and tamed inflation which remains below 2%. She […]
NZDUSD surged more than 1% on Wednesday to hit its highest level since October 20 at 0.7027. The strong up-move happened after a break out of a consolidation phase and has shifted the bias to the upside, though today’s down move is attempting to threaten the positive bias. Short-term trend signals on the 4-hour chart (20 and 50-period moving […]
EURUSD has a neutral to bullish bias in the very short-term timeframe as it struggled within the 38.2% and the 50.0% Fibonacci retracement levels with high at 1.1960 and low at 1.1716. During yesterday’s trading session, the common currency pair penetrated above the descending trend line that was holding since December 1st, on the 1-hour chart, and hit the 1.1843 […]
Here are the latest developments in global markets: FOREX: The pound hit a one-month high at $1.3463 in the wake of better than expected retail sales in November. However, it soon slipped back to 1.3420 after the BOE held rates steady but signaled that GDP growth in Q4 “might be slightly softer than in Q3”. The […]
This winter XM brought forex education to Morocco once again by visiting Marrakesh on 6th December and Tangier on 9th December with the seminar titled Introduction to the Avramis Swing Trading Techniques. The two Moroccan cities were the last two destinations of a long forex trading seminar series started earlier this autumn by XM in […]
As I sip my overpriced latte cursing the fact that despite my best attentions I now have jingle bell rock stuck in my head I force my mind to think of other things other than how sick I am of Christmas music already. Not that I don’t like this time of year, I enjoy it […]
On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) started its final meeting of the year. To them, it will be a celebration after having an excellent year. This year, after years of lagging, the European economy is firing on all cylinders. It has outperformed the U.S. and the U.K. without high inflation. The unemployment rate is […]
Yesterday, the EUR/GBP pair started the day heading south. It fell to the 0.8781 level. It then rose to the 0.8812 level. It ended the day higher at the 0.8829 level. This interesting move was attributed to several things. First, the United Kingdom released mixed employment data yesterday. The jobless rate of 4.3% – which […]
Here are the latest developments in global markets: FOREX: The dollar index was little changed after recording sharp losses the previous day as investors expected a more hawkish rate outlook by the Federal Reserve. The aussie was on a positive footing versus the greenback after better-than-anticipated employment figures. STOCKS: The Nikkei 225 finished lower by […]
USDJPY has come under increased downside pressure after sharply reversing a recent rally from the 111 to 113 handle. Near-term momentum has stalled as can be seen by the RSI which did not fall to far below the 50 line. USDJPY has consequently stabilized near the mid-112 handle. But additional weakness cannot be ruled out […]
The Federal Reserve, as expected, raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 1.25% to 1.5%. The latest hike continues the Fed’s gradual move toward higher rates, which were cut to virtually zero during the financial crisis. The latest hike is the 3rd time this year that […]
Two days ago, the credit card company Visa said that Black Friday’s sales failed to boost British spending in November, while consumers paid less on Christmas traveling and on new vehicles, sending the inflation-adjusted Visa consumer spending index down by 0.9% y/y. Even if November’s decline was softer than October’s when the index tumbled by 2.1%, the […]
Monetary policy meetings by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England this week have had their limelight stolen by the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to move on rates while no action is anticipated from the ECB and the BoE. Both central banks took historic decisions at their last respective meetings, with […]
China will see the release of figures on November fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales on Thursday at 0200 GMT. The data are not just important for the world’s second largest economy, but also Australia, which has China as its major exports destination. The annual pace of growth for fixed asset investment in […]
2017 has been an interesting year for the financial markets. Stocks in the developed countries have broken records, currencies that lagged in the previous year jumped, and commodities are in recovery mode. All this has happened while volatility has remained at a record low. In this article, I will look at some of the best […]
BTCUSD is extending its gains with an aggressive bullish move and is creating the third straight green month. The price has soared more than 173% since October and every single month is printing a new all-time high. On the medium-term timeframe, the bitcoin is currently trading lower and the technical indicators seem to be in confusion. The […]
ETHUSD is has been edging sharply higher since October and added 98% to its performance. Ether launched in 2015 and surged more than 8,000% since the start of 2017. During this month, the price recorded another all-time high at $687.41 but lost some momentum and is currently developing near the $646.10 price level, and especially over the last three trading days the […]
Bitcoin prices briefly touched the $17,428 level on Tuesday, marking yet another fresh all-time high for the cryptocurrency, following the launch of the first bitcoin futures contract on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) this week. The launch was widely seen as a major step towards making Bitcoin – and cryptocurrencies in general – more […]
Here are the latest developments in global markets: FOREX: The dollar remained flat near intraday lows, last trading around 113.30 versus the yen (-0.21%), as the Democrats Senate win in Alabama weakened Republicans’ majority, threatening the Trump administration’s future economic agenda. The pound climbed higher towards 1.3350 (+0.23%) after the UK employment data showed that in […]
This week, the AUD/JPY pair has added to the bullish gains it started on Thursday last week. The pair has added 1.3 points. The bullish moves by the Australian dollar came after several bullish calls by top banks. On Friday, analysts at ANZ released a note calling AUD ‘grossly undervalued’. The same sentiments were issued […]
EURJPY has been in a neutral phase for the past three months as the pair has been trading sideways in the 131-134 area when the uptrend from April to September lost steam. Looking at the 4-hour chart, EURJPY is capped at the 50-period moving average at 133.33. Support is in the zone between the key […]
The Federal Open Market Commission (FOMC) started its final meeting yesterday. Today, they will release the final interest rate decision. Traders and analysts expect the fed to raise rates from the current 1.25% to 1.50%. So, a rate hike – which is already expected – will not be major breaking news. To her credit, under […]
The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to raise interest rates for the third time this year and for the fifth time since the end of 2015 on Wednesday. But what seems to matter the most to investors regarding the outcome of the meeting, is the update on the country’s economic outlook and the speed of the delivery of stimulus reduction […]
Here are the latest developments in global markets: FOREX: The dollar was losing ground relative to majors after Republicans lost a Senate seat in Alabama, resulting in a narrower Senate majority for them. Still, there were no sharp movements amongst majors as European traders were starting their trading day, with markets awaiting fresh catalysts to […]
President Trump suffered a major setback as the once strictly Republican state of Alabama has, for the first time in 25 years, elected a Democrat to the US Senate. Democrat Doug Jones staged a stunning come-from-behind win against GOP Roy Moore in, what many believe, will trigger a political earthquake that will be felt nationally […]
AUDUSD is clearly in a downtrend since falling from the multi-year high of 0.8124 to the 0.7500 area. The crossover of the 50-day moving average below the 200-day MA highlights the bearish outlook. Immediate downside pressure has eased and the market has moved out of oversold conditions, as both the RSI and stochastics have risen […]
WTI and Brent crude have recorded strong gains since roughly the completion of the first half of the year. Year-to-date, they’re up by 8.6% and 14.9% respectively, while their appreciation from the year’s lows in late June stands at 38.7% and 47.2%. Both benchmarks currently trade around 2-½-year highs. Energy stocks have been beneficiaries of […]
The most recent news out of the Brexit camp is that U.K.’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox wants to preserve the current trade arrangement the country has with the EU. Now is it just me or does that seem a bit conflicting with previous statements made by certain UK officials (*cough* Brexit means Brexit *cough* […]
On 9th December, XM hosted its latest free seminar in Athens, Greece, dedicated to imparting useful knowledge on trading Contracts for Differences (CFDs) on different financial instruments. For online investors genuinely dedicated to consistently improving their trading knowledge is not only a must in today’s world but also a way to keep up with the […]
