Previous: On Friday the 1st of September, trading on the euro/dollar pair closed slightly up. Volatility increased after the US jobs report was published. 156,000 new jobs were added in the US outside the agricultural sector in August against a forecast of 180,000. The value for June was revised from 231,000 to 210,000 and for July from 209,000 to 189,000. The aggregate revision for the 2 months amounts to -41,000. The workforce participation rate remained unchanged at 62.9%. Unemployment rose from 4.3% to 4.4% (forecast: 4.3%). The average hourly earnings index in the US fell from 0.3% to 0.1% (forecast: 0.2%). This news brought a 70-pip su...
When I described U.S. Concrete (USCR) as a strong play on the U.S. economy, I noted I would wait for a dip in the stock before picking a spot to buy. That opportunity came a lot faster than I expected as USCR dipped down on rising volume to the top of its previous trading range. The stock rebounded the very next day and appeared to confirm support at the top of the trading range. However, I never pulled the trigger. The dip happened to coincide with the approach of record-breaking Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall on the northward shores of Texas and ravaged Houston, America’s fourth largest city. I scrambled to understand the connec...
The threat of total abandonment of NAFTA took on a second front today as Canada’s biggest private-sector union said NAFTA should be scrapped if Mexico cannot agree to better labor standards. Please consider Sharp Differences Over Labor Surface at NAFTA Talks in Mexico. Tensions over sharp differences in pay between Mexican workers and their Canadian and U.S. counterparts surfaced on Sunday as negotiators discussed labor market rules in talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada’s biggest private-sector union said NAFTA should be scrapped if Mexico cannot agree to better labor standards, clashing with Mexican busi...
In an echo of last week’s move following North Korea’s testing of missiles across Japan’s territory, futures markets are opening in a decidedly risk-off manner following North Korea’s “hydrogen bomb” test. Dow Futs down 100 points, Gold jumping and Treasury bonds bid… All major US equity indices are down… Gold is back above $1340… USDJPY broke below 110.00 And VIX futures are spiking back into last week’s Korea crisis region… Of course, what happens next is anyone’s guess as last week saw the BTFDers panic-buy stocks to their best week in 10 months....
Gold prices struggled to make hay of disappointing US labor-market statistics Friday, echoing the impressive resilience of the US Dollar following the outcome. Geopolitical jitters have pushed the metal an 11-month high however after North Korea conducted another nuclear weapon test. That sent capital fleeting to the safety of government bonds and pushed down yields, boosting the appeal of non-interest-bearing assets. Looking ahead, risk aversion may continue to give prices a boost as European exchanges take their turn to price in the latest developments on the Korean peninsula. Indeed, futures tracking the FTSE 100 stock index are poin...
WTI Crude Oil The WTI Crude Oil market initially fell during the day on Friday but turned around to form a hammer. This is a very bullish sign, and I would also point out that the weekly candle is a hammer. That tells me that there is plenty of buying pressure underneath, and I think that at least in the short run, the market should continue to go higher. It’s going to be choppy, and it’s not to be easy to hang on to the trade, but I think we will probably go looking towards the $50 level above. I suspect that there is quite a bit of resistance in that area, so it would not surprise me at all to see the market turn right back around at th...
South Korea announced on Monday that it was planning new military drills in conjunction with the United States and increasing its ballistic missile defenses after North Korea executed its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. North Korea explained the test as an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile. The United Nations will be meeting later on Monday to weigh the possibility of additional sanctions against North Korea. Traders flocked to safe havens in early Monday trade on fears that the sanctions would not suffice to deter North Korea from its aggressive stance and that U.S. President Trump’s plan to force a dialogue with North Korea wo...
USDCAD broke below 1.2413 support and reached as low as 1.2339. Further decline could be expected in the coming days, and next target would be at 1.2050 area. Near-term resistance is at 1.2500, only break above this level could trigger another rise to test 1.2778 key resistance....
To be sure, whatever you thought was going to dominate the news flow in the week ahead is probably going to take a backseat to North Korea, for obvious reasons. Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test means all eyes will be on Donald Trump’s Twitter feed and all ears will be perked up for any further statements like this one from Jim Mattis: Defense Secretary James Mattis with a message to America’s allies and North Korea out front of the West Wing @WhiteHouse.#USA?? pic.twitter.com/RwvTaiGoQi — Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) September 3, 2017 So there’s the Secretary of Defense reiterating that America can wipe North Korea off the map ...
The week ahead will be a busy one with three central bank meetings lined up. The RBA starts off the week with its monetary policy meeting, followed by the Bank of Canada and eventually handing over the spotlight to the ECB. On the economic front, important GDP numbers are expected out of Australia and Japan. For AUD, it is going be a busy week as retail sales numbers are also expected during the week. The RBA Governor Lowe is expected to speak on two separate occasions as well which could keep the volatility alive in the AUD. The US dollar will be taking a backseat, but a lot of Fed speeches are lined up. This includes FOMC voting members, Ka...