The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, softened to a 2.3-percent year-on-year growth in June, triggering concerns of broader monetary policy easing as a whole-year outlook points to a soft inflation rate.
Like the GBP/USD, the Aussie dollar is another currency pair which is now starting to break out from a recent phase of price congestion, but for the AUD/USD, this period of sideways price action has been in place for considerably longer than Cable, with the pair having been range-bound between 0.9150 to the downside and 0.9370 to the upside for some time.
With fear continuing to drain away from the VIX, it’s complacency that rules at present as the ultimate index of fear and greed continues to push ever lower and on towards the elusive single figures below ten.
Whilst the ongoing conflicts in both the Ukraine and Iraq are beginning to impact world markets, yesterday’s price action was less severe than expected. In other words, the price action was more of a pause than a major sell off.
As equity markets continue to ‘climb the wall of worry’ and with so many market commentators predicting the imminent collapse of the current bull run, this may be a good time to take a more dispassionate view based on the two leading technical indicators traders and investors have, namely volume and price.
Following continued bullish momentum for many of the major currency pairs, these are now approaching key technical levels, which if breached could prove to be the tipping points for some sustained and longer term trends to develop.
As we begin the first full week of trading for May one has to wonder if the old saying will hold true…”Sell and Go Away In May”.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for eurodollar traders, with the pair trading in a congested range, testing the 1.3780 floor to the downside and the 1.3870 ceiling to the upside on the daily chart.
China’s (FXI, quote) manufacturing activity continued to contract in April, but at a slower pace, according to HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released on Wednesday.
Last week was a volatile one for crude oil futures, with the April contract closing the week at $102.58 a barrel having touched $105 per barrel at the start of the week.
