Author: FX

The Australian Dollar spent this week as a passenger in someone else’s trade. A hawkish Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and a surging US Dollar dragged the Aussie down to the 0.7000 handle, with the pair’s sharp mid-week drop owing more to events in Washington than to anything out of Canberra. Yet the Aussie is not quite the pure risk-proxy it tends to get treated as. It carries a domestic inflation problem of its own; next week hands it a rare chance to trade on that rather than on the Greenback’s momentum.The RBA is not done being hawkishThe Reserve Bank…

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Gold is supposed to be the asset you want when the world looks dangerous, which makes this week’s price action quietly remarkable. Bullion ended the week down close to 1.5%, its sixth straight week of lower or flat closes, even as a Middle East war ran into its fourth month and an unsigned ceasefire kept geopolitical risk firmly on the table. The metal that is meant to thrive on exactly this backdrop is instead grinding toward the $4,000 handle, well off the February record near $5,600. The explanation has almost nothing to do with fear and almost everything to do…

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The US Dollar Index (DXY) spent the back half of this week doing something most desks had written off six months ago: rallying on the prospect of a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike. The index pushed to a fresh 13-month high before easing back; the move owed less to safe-haven flight than to a cold read on rate differentials. With the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) leaning hawkish at its June meeting, the Greenback has become the cleanest way to play the only major central bank still willing to tighten into an energy shock.A yield gap, not a panicUnderneath the…

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The week ahead will bring a fresh test for major currency pairs as investors digest the first Federal Reserve (Fed) policy decision under Chair Kevin Warsh and look ahead to the United States (US) Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, global PMI releases, and central-bank commentary.The US Dollar Index (DXY) trades near the 100.70 price zone on Friday after reaching a 13-month high of 101.13 earlier in the day. The Greenback rose sharply this week following the Fed’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged in the 3.50%-3.75% range, and removing its previous reference to “additional rate adjustments” . A hotter-than-expected PCE…

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Silver (XAG/USD) price tumbles for the third consecutive trading day, down over 3.32% on Friday, courtesy of broad US Dollar (USD) strength and rising US Treasury yields, which have aimed higher since Wednesday amid the Fed’s hawkish tilt.XAG/USD Price Forecast: Technical OutlookSilver price continued to trend lower after clearing the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $69.11, which was tested three times this week, but buyers surrendered, and sellers are gaining the upper hand, pushing the white metal below $65.00.Momentum shows that bears have continued to gain traction, as indicated by the Relative Strength Index (RSI), though it’s worth noting…

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Markets:Gold down $49 to $4160WTI crude oil up 94-cents to $77.54US markets closedS&P 500 futures down 0.2%JPY leads, CAD lagsThe US was on holiday on Friday and that limited market moves to wrap up the week. There was news though as Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire. The market took at that as good news initially with oil falling more than $1 but those moves slowly unwound as the fighting in Southern Lebanon continued virtually unabated. As of the time of writing there were reports of ongoing shelling so that’s worth watching over the weekend. Other reports continue to…

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I thought we might see some real currency intervention today after Japanese Finance Minister Katayama said he was prepared to take ‘decisive action’ on speculative moves in the yen.That comment caused a quick fall to 161.00 from 161.70 but the pair soon rebounded to 161.30 and it’s traded there since. If we finish around those levels, today will market the highest weekly close since 1986.It’s a dangerous game buying USD/JPY around these levels given the intervention threats but the market doesn’t seem afraid, even going into a weekend. Japan has spent about $73 billion defending the yen so far this…

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