Fundamental Analysis & Market Sentiment
I wrote on 23rd June that the best trade opportunities for the week were likely to be:
- Long of the USD/JPY currency pair. This produced a gain of 0.67%.
- Long of the AUD/JPY currency cross. This produced a gain of 1.13%.
- Long of the NZD/JPY currency cross following a daily close above ¥97.79. This did not set up.
- Short of the USD/ZAR currency pair following a rejection of the resistance area at 18.18 to 18.25, targeting 17.60. This trade produced a loss.
- Long of the NASDAQ 100 Index following a daily close above 20,000. This did not set up.
- Long of the S&P 500 Index following a daily close above 5,500. This did not set up.
The overall result was a net gain of 1.80%, minus whatever was risked on the USD/ZAR trade.
Last week’s key takeaways were:
- US Core PCE Price Index data increased by 0.1% month-on-month, per market expectations. This is the Fed's favourite inflation indicator, so it is closely watched. The increase was lower than the previous month’s.
- Australian and Canadian CPI data came in higher than expected. Australia's annualized rate increased from 3.6% to 4.0% when a rate of only 3.8% was expected. Canadian CPI saw a month-on-month increase of 0.6% when an increase of only 0.3% was expected. The data may have contributed to a sense that global inflation is not declining as hoped for.
- US Final GDP data confirmed that the US economy is growing at an annualized rate of 1.4%, as expected.
Another key event is the strong showing by far-right parties in polls concerning the general election in France following the far-right's victory in the European Parliament elections. The final opinion poll before today's vote shows the National Rally party taking 37% of the vote, which could even give the party a Parliamentary majority after the second round of voting next week.
Other important data releases last week were:
- US Pending Home Sales – this came in well below expectations, suggesting slower demand for housing, which in turn suggests a slowing economy.
- US CB Consumer Confidence – this came in almost exactly as expected.
- US New Home Sales – came in just slightly below expectations.
- US Unemployment Claims – as expected.
- Canadian GDP showed a 0.3% month-on-month increase, exactly as expected.
Top Forex Brokers
The Week Ahead: 1st – 5th July
The most important items over this coming week will be:
- US FOMC Meeting Minutes.
- US Non-Farm Payrolls / Average Hourly Earnings.
- Eurozone CPI Flash Estimate.
- German Preliminary CPI.
- Swiss CPI.
- French Parliamentary Elections, first round. The far right's weaker-than-expected showing might boost the Euro.
- UK Parliamentary Elections. A Labour landslide is a forgone conclusion.
Other major data releases due this week are:
- Chinese Manufacturing PMI
- US ISM Manufacturing PMI
- US ISM Services PMI
- US Unemployment Claims
- Canadian Unemployment Rate
Thursday will be a public holiday in the USA.
Monthly Forecast July 2024
I made no monthly forecast last month.
This month, I forecast that the USD/JPY currency pair will increase in value.
Weekly Forecast 30th June 2024
Last week, I made no weekly forecast, as there were no unusually large swings in any Forex currency crosses, which is the basis of my weekly trading strategy. Again, I have no weekly forecast, as this situation is unchanged.
Directional volatility in the Forex market fell last week, with only 11% of the most important currency pairs fluctuating by more than 1%.
Last week, the Australian Dollar showed relative strength, while the Japanese Yen showed relative weakness.
You can trade these forecasts in a real or demo Forex brokerage account.
Key Support/Resistance Levels for Popular Pairs
Technical Analysis
US Dollar Index
The US Dollar Index printed a doji candlestick last week, which closed just above the previous week’s high. A doji candlestick at a swing high or low, such as this one, suggests indecision. This analysis is reinforced by the fact that the price action was contained just below the descending trend line above, the horizontal resistance level at 105.80, and the round number at 106.00. This suggests that the price is trying to make a bullish breakout beyond this area, which would be technically significant, but is failing to achieve it so far.
There is a bullish long-term trend as the price is above its levels from 3 months ago and its price of 6 months ago. This trend is now looking more solid. However, bulls need to generate a sustained breakout beyond 106.00 before we will see truly strong technical bullishness here.
It may make sense to trade the US Dollar long now, but I will feel much more comfortable doing that once we get daily closes of this Index above 105.80, a bit below 106.00. I see the Dollar as a bit of a sideshow, with the Forex market currently driven by weakness in the Japanese Yen and strength in the Australian Dollar.
USD/JPY
The USD/JPY currency pair printed a bullish candlestick last week, again making a record-high weekly close, closing not far from the high of its weekly range. The closing price was only about 35 pips below the multi-decade high price earlier in the week.
The Japanese Yen has been showing a real long-term weakness as the Bank of Japan continues to stall in really changing its ultra-loose monetary policy.
The US Dollar has become a better currency to use on the long side to exploit the Yen's weakness, as it is moving within a long-term bullish trend. However, there are other Yen crosses that it may be better to be long of over the coming week, as the Dollar Index seems somewhat stuck below key resistance.
Long trades may work out well here over the coming week. However, bulls need to beware of potential sudden intervention by the Bank of Japan or profit-taking when key psychological levels such as ¥162.00 or the high of ¥161.23 are reached.
As a trend trader, I am very happy to be long of this currency pair.
AUD/JPY
I expected that the AUD/JPY currency cross rose strongly last week, continuing its long-term bullish trend as it reaches new long-term high prices. It is worth noting that the Australian Dollar was the strongest major currency last week and has consistently gained over the past year against other currencies, so it is showing a bullish long-term trend and is in focus.
On the other side of this currency cross, the Japanese yen is weak, which is the major defining feature of the Forex market right now.
These are good reasons to be long of this currency cross – both the short-term momentum, best of momentum, and the long-term trends in the market all support taking this position. I see this cross as a buy.
EUR/JPY
The EUR/JPY currency cross rose firmly during the week, continuing its strong long-term bullish trend as it reached new long-term high prices. Interestingly, the Euro performed quite well last week when France seems set to elect a government that will cause a political earthquake at the heart of the Eurozone. If the result is not as favourable to the far right as polls suggest, we could see a stronger bullish move in the Euro tomorrow.
The Japanese yen is weak, which is the major defining feature of the Forex market right now. This is a good reason to be short of the Japanese Yen. As the Euro is showing some momentum, this cross may be a good one to use to try to exploit that, but it makes sense to watch for the exit polls from France first before entering any new trade here at the start of this week.
CAD/JPY
The CAD/JPY currency cross rose firmly last week, continuing its long-term bullish trend as it reached new long-term high prices. The Canadian Dollar performed quite well last week after Canadian CPI data showed inflation is running a bit hotter than expected, which caused a small hawkish tilt on rates, boosting the relative value of the Loonie.
The Japanese yen is weak, which is the major defining feature of the Forex market right now. This is a good reason to be short of the Japanese Yen. As the Canadian Dollar is showing some momentum supported by data, this cross may be a good one to exploit over the coming week.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD currency pair hardly moved much last week. However, the coming week could be much more interesting, with the markets expecting a strong showing by the far right in today's French Parliamentary election. If their performance is even stronger than expected, we could see the Euro take a hit. If significantly worse, the Euro could get a bounce.
The US Dollar is in a bullish long-term trend which could reassert itself with short-term momentum soon, and if the Euro is also being sold, this could produce a strong move here.
It is worth keeping an eye on the EUR/USD this week. The biggest opportunity is likely to be a short trade below $1.0686.
AUD/USD
I expected the AUD/USD currency pair to have potential support at $0.6631.
The H1 price chart below shows how an inside bar, marked by the up arrow in the price chart below, rejected this support level near the start of last Monday's Tokyo session, signaling the timing of this bullish rejection.
This trade was nicely profitable, giving a maximum reward-to-risk ratio of approximately 3 to 1.
Although the Australian Dollar is strong and in a long-term bullish trend, the action here is likely to stay quite choppy, as the US Dollar is also relatively strong and moving within a long-term bullish trend.
NASDAQ 100 Index
The NASDAQ 100 Index reached a new all-time high two weeks ago above the huge round number of 20,000. However, although the price briefly traded above the huge round number at 20,000 last week, the price quickly fell back to end the week as an indecisive doji candlestick.
The price action suggests there continues to be strong profit-taking above 20,000. However, the bearish price movements we see are not large drops, and the price remains relatively close to the high made earlier in the week.
It makes sense to be bullish on this major stock market index when it has recently made a new record high. Historical precedent shows this tends to produce further gains quickly. However, it will be prudent to wait for a daily close above 20,000 to prove that bulls truly seem to be in control.
I, therefore, see the NASDAQ 100 Index as a buy following a daily close above 20,000.
Bottom Line
I see the best trading opportunities this week as follows:
- Long of the USD/JPY currency pair.
- Long of the AUD/JPY currency cross.
- Long of the CAD/JPY currency cross.
- Long of the NASDAQ 100 Index following a daily close above 20,000.
Ready to trade our Forex forecast? We’ve shortlisted the best Forex trading platforms for beginners for you to check out.