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Daily F.X. Analysis, January 29 – Europe’s GDP’s / Consumer Sentiment + Join Forex Academy’s Telegram Signal Channel! 

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The German Prelim GDP q/q, French Flash GDP q/q, and Spanish Flash GDP q/q report will remain in highlights today on the news front. Later Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment and Pending Home Sales m/m can drive market movements today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.21220 after placing a high of 1.21422 and a low of 1.20806. The EUR/USD pair remained higher on Thursday amid the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness and the positive macroeconomic data from the European side. Behind the gradual upward momentum in EUR/USD pair was the U.S. dollar’s weakness driven by the improvement in the market’s appetite for risk. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the greenback’s value against major currencies dropped by 0.3% and weighed on the U.S. dollar, supporting the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair on Thursday.

On the data front, from the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Advance GDP for the quarter declined to 4.0% against the forecasted 4.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further gains in EUR/USD pair. The Unemployment Claims from last week were declined to 847K against the forecasted 880K and supported the U.S. dollar that also limited the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair. The Goods Trade Balance from December declined to -82.58B from the forecasted -83.4B and supported U.S. dollar. For December, the Prelim Wholesale Inventories also fell to 0.1% against the forecasted 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar.

At 18:32 GMT, the Advance GDP Price Index for the quarter declined to 2.0% against the forecasted 2.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar hat added further gains in EUR/USD pair. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Leading Index for December came in line with a 0.3% forecast. In December from the U.S., the New Home Sales declined to 842K against the forecasted 860K and weighed on U.S. dollar to and pushed the EUR.USD pair are even higher.

From the European side, the German Prelim CPI in January raised to 0.8% against the expected 0.4% and supported Euro that ultimately pushed EUR/USD pair higher. At 13:00 GMT, the Spanish Unemployment Rate dropped to 16.1% against the expected 16.7% and supported Euro to add further gains in EUR/USD pair on Thursday. 

Moreover, Wall Street suffered its biggest one-day percentage decline in three months overnight, with declines accelerated in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy statement. The Fed signaled a worrying slowdown in the pace of recovery of the world’s top economy and sworn continued support until a full economic rebound was in place. This also weighed on the U.S. dollar and supported an upward momentum in EUR/USD pair.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2054      1.2167

1.1999     1.2225

1.1940      1.2280

Pivot point: 1.2112

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The direct currency pair EUR/USD is trading with a bearish bias at 1.2090, facing immediate resistance at 1.2132 level. The EUR/USD is again forming three black crows on the hourly chart, dispensing the selling trend in the EURUSD pair. On the downside, the pair is expected to go after the 1.2090 and 1.2055 level. The 50 periods EMA are signaling the selling trend in Euro today. Violation of 1.2050 will determine long term trend.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD closed at 1.37267 after placing a high of 1.37458 and a low of 1.36299. The U.S. dollar’s fresh weakness and the rise in British Pound against other major currencies lifted the currency pair GBP/USD on Thursday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced no schools until 8-March and laid out a lengthy exit strategy from the lockdown this week. However, a detailed plan will be out on the week of February 22. This showed that Johnson may have learned from past promises and was now going wrong on the side of caution. Because people were expecting an earlier exit from the restrictions and this announcement killed their expectations.

In December, Johnson rejected calls for a lockdown and refused to cancel Christmas, only to back down several days later. However, the U.K. has been vaccinating its population rapidly, which should have led to the lifting restrictions not extending them. Despite all these lockdown developments in the U.K., the British Pound remained amongst the top three best performing G10 currencies on Thursday and supported the upward momentum in GBP/USD pair.

On the data front, from the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Advance GDP for the quarter fell to 4.0% against the anticipated 4.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added more gains in GBP/USD pair. The Unemployment Claims from last week dipped to 847K against the anticipated 880K, supported the U.S. dollar, and capped further GBP/USD pair gains. The Goods Trade Balance fell to -82.58B from the anticipated -83.4B and supported the U.S. dollar from December. The Prelim Wholesale Inventories for December also fell to 0.1% against the anticipated 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar. 

At 18:32 GMT, the Advance GDP Price Index for the quarter fell to 2.0% against the anticipated 2.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that pushed the currency pair GBP/USD higher. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Leading Index for December came in line with the anticipation of 0.3%. The New Home Sales in December from the U.S. fell to 842K against the anticipated 860K and weighed on the U.S. dollar and supported the rising prices of the GBP/USD pair.

The declining GDP numbers from the world’s largest economy in the last quarter of 2020 added weight on the local currency U.S. dollar and supported the GBP/USD pair’s rising prices on Thursday. Furthermore, the market’s risk sentiment was somehow supported by the rally in precious metals markets triggered by speculation that retail traders who had been focusing on pumping stocks like GameStop were now turning their focus to silver. The rising risk sentiment in the market also helped the risk perceived GBP/USD pair rise on Thursday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3643      1.3746

1.3600      1.3804

1.3541      1.3848

Pivot point: 1.3702

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

A day before, the GBP/USD pair traded bullish after violating the narrow trading range of 1.3680 – 1.3670. It placed a high of around 1.3753 level, and it later reversed back to trade between the same trading range of 1.3696 – 1.3646. The GBP/USD may find support around the 1.3647 level, and violation of this level can extend selling bias until 1.3610. Approaching the 2-hour timeframe, the GBP/USD is holding below 10 and 20 periods EMA, and it may extend the selling trend today. Let’s consider taking a sell trade until 1.3645 and 1.361 level.  


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 104.259 after placing a high of 104.460 and a low of 104.053. The currency pair USD/JPY extended its gains on Thursday amid the pickup in risk appetite in the market that drove weakness in both the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen versus most of their major G10 counterparts due to their safe-haven status. 

However, nominal U.S. yields rose on Thursday, with U.S. Treasury yields on the 10-year note up more than 4bps at 1.06%. It drove an increase in U.S./Japanese rate differentials that favor Japanese Yen flows into the U.S. dollar, supporting the currency pair USD/JPY. On the data front, at 04:50 GMT, the Retail Sales from Japan in December dropped to -0.3% against the expected -0.4% and supported Japanese Yen, and capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair.

From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Advance GDP for the quarter decreased to 4.0% against the projected 4.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar and limited further upside momentum in the USD/JPY pair. Last week, the Unemployment Claims decreased to 847K against the projected 880K and supported the U.S. dollar that added further gains in the USD/JPY pair. The Goods Trade Balance from December decreased to -82.58B from the projected -83.4B and supported the U.S. dollar and pushed the currency pair USD/JPY higher.

 For December, the Prelim Wholesale Inventories also decreased to 0.1% against the projected 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar that extended gains in the USD/JPY pair. At 18:32 GMT, the Advance GDP Price Index for the quarter decreased to 2.0% against the projected 2.2% and weighed on the U.S. dollar and capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Leading Index for December came in line with the projection of 0.3%. In December from the U.S., the New Home Sales decreased to 842K against the projected 860K and weighed on the U.S. dollar and capped further gains in the USD/JPY pair.

Risk appetite in the market took a meaningful turn on Thursday, with U.S. equities erasing losses incurred on Wednesday leading up to the FOMC monetary policy decision event. The ultra-dovish tone of the Federal Reserve was actually seen as positive for the risk appetite as Wednesday’s risk-off was a result of overvaluation fears as well as because of the short-selling hedge funds being forced to liquidate profitable large-cap stock long positions as speculative retail trade-driven mania continued in the likes of GameStop. Furthermore, another reason behind the rising USD/JPY pair prices was that the U.S. stimulus package proposed by Joe Biden did not receive approval from Republicans as of yet. This also supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately added gains in the USD/JPY pair.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.71      104.34

103.33      104.58

103.09      104.96

Pivot point: 103.96

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

On Friday, the USD/JPY pair is trading with a bullish bias at 104.475, and it has violated the resistance level of 104.385. It’s likely to lead the USD/JPY pair until the 104.745 level. On the lower side, the USD/JPY may find support at the 104.300 level. The USD/JPY pair is likely to stay bullish as MACD and EMA suggest bullish bias in the USD/JPY pair on the four hourly timeframes. We can expect USDJPY to bounce off upon 104.300 to continue buying trend today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 29 – Dogecoin Skyrockets as r/Wallstreetbets Enters on Crypto; Bitcoin Jumps on Elon Musk’s Twitter Profile

The cryptocurrency space had a wild week, first because of the r/WallStreetBets community entering the market (and pumping Dogecoin’s price by over 1000%) and then because of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeting about Bitcoin and promoting it. This has, in turn, caused Bitcoin to spike from $31,000 all the way to $38,200 in a matter of one hour. An interesting fact is that Musk’s Twitter bio now has #bitcoin displayed for everyone to see.

The crypto sector ended the day with most of the top cryptocurrencies in the green. Most analysts speculate that the recent wave of buyers came as a result of Dogecoin’s incredible pump, which was caused by the notorious r/WallStreetBets subreddit. Bitcoin is currently trading for $32,964, representing an increase of 5.26% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 1.41% on the day, while Litecoin gained 5.11% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

3X Long Dogecoin Token gained 905.02% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Dogecoin’s 513.17% and DOGEFI’s 369.90% gain. On the other hand, 3X Short Dogecoin Token lost 99.85%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Panda Yield’s loss of 83.13% and Psychic’s loss of 72.46%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance decreased slightly from when we last reported, currently 62.8%. This represents a 0.1% decrease from our previous report.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has increased greatly since we last reported, with its current value being $979.02 billion. This represents a $54.27billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent the day attempting to push its price up as the market turned to green. Its price conquered the $32,350 level and pushed higher without hesitation. The move ended as bulls reached exhaustion near the $34,627 level. BTC’s inability to push past its immediate resistance has triggered a pullback, and the cryptocurrency is now most likely to retest the $32,350 level.

The overall change in market direction today came as a result of (as most speculate) Dogecoin’s insane upswing triggered by r/WallStreetBets.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on all time-frames are either neutral with a slight hint of bullishness or bullish with a slight hint of neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (51.01)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $34,627                             1: $32,350

2: $37,445                             2: $30,072

3: $38,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

After yesterday’s failed break of the top downtrend line, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap pushed past and broke its descending pattern. Its price (at one point) went past the $1,350 level, but as bulls couldn’t confidently hold this level, bears initiated a pullback.

Ethereum’s short-term price direction will be dictated by how the cryptocurrency handles the top downtrend line (which is now a support rather than a resistance line) as well as by Bitcoin’s price direction.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on all time-frames are bullish but also show a hint of bearishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (45.66)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,440                               3: $1047.6

Litecoin

Litecoin has confirmed its position above the $128.4 level after pushing its price above it yesterday. LTC is now in consolidation mode and is currently testing the 21-hour EMA. Its recent moves seem slightly unenthusiastic, meaning that its short-term price direction will most likely be determined by other cryptocurrencies’ movements.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s 4-hour and daily overviews are neutral/bearish, while its weekly and monthly overviews are completely bullish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (55.45)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $120

3: $181.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 28 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Advance GDP in Focus!

Later today, the focus will remain on the German Prelim CPI and Advance GDP figures from the U.S. both of the events are expected to perform worse than before as the data represents the economic activity of the lockdown period. So most of it is already priced in. However, the U.S. Jobless claims will remain in the highlights, and these are expected to rise again, perhaps due to the second wave of COVID19 in the U.S.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.21117 after placing a high of 1.21696 and a low of 1.20581. The EUR/USD pair posted losses on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark short-term interest rates unchanged near zero and maintained an asset purchasing program at $120 billion a month. 

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee released its statement from the January meeting that stated that the pace of recovery in economic activity and employment has moderate in recent months with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic. 

According to the statement, the coronavirus pandemic was causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and worldwide. The committee also stated that the economy’s path would depend significantly on the course of the virus, including the progress on vaccination.

The market’s reaction to the Federal Reserve policy decision kept the EUR/USD pair under pressure, and hence, the currency pair started to extend its losses on Wednesday. Whereas the single currency Euro faced mixed movements throughout the day, the currency remained under pressure with fresh speculations that the ECB could soon cut Eurozone interest rates. The Central Bank was reportedly concerned that markets were pricing out the chances of more interest rate cuts from the ECB. 

Furthermore, the fears for vaccine shortage in Eurozone also weighed on the single currency on Wednesday after the European Union called out vaccine makers AstraZeneca and Pfizer over delivery delays that could slow its recovery from the pandemic. Officials were even threatening to restrict exports and take legal actions as anger mounts. 

According to E.U. officials, AstraZeneca will not deliver as many doses as it promised and has put the government rollout plans and economic recovery at risk. The news came in after Pfizer said that it had delivered fewer doses of its vaccine than expected last week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen turned up the pharmaceutical companies’ heat and said that Europe had invested billions in helping develop the world’s first coronavirus vaccine to create a truly global common good, and now companies must deliver and honor their obligations. 

The European Union has devoted part of 2.7 billion euros emergency fund to assist with vaccine development. E.U. countries we recounted on the vaccines to rein in the health crisis and jumpstart their economies, but now they were forced to modify their plans. Furthermore, the E.U. urged the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to supply it with more coronavirus vaccine doses from U.K. plants to row over shortages. However, the company denied and said that the production delay in European plants could only deliver a fraction of the doses it promised for the first quarter of the year. However, the E.U. insisted that doses made elsewhere should make up the shortfall and d criticize the slow rollout of vaccination.

This vaccine drama in the European Union raised concerns over the delayed economic recovery and added weight on the single currency Euro that ultimately added EUR/USD pair losses on Wednesday.

On a data front, at 18:30 GMT, the Core Durable Goods Orders for December rose to 0.7% against the expected 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar that added more losses in EUR/USD pair. 

In December, the Durable Goods Orders dropped to 0.2% against the expected 1.0% and weighed on the U.S. dollar. From the European side, at 12:00 GMT, the German GfK Consumer Climate dropped in January to -15.6 against the forecasted -7.8. It weighed on Euro that ultimately dragged the currency pair EUR/USD further on the downside on Wednesday. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.2119 1.2189

1.2079 1.2217

1.2050 1.2258

Pivot point: 1.2148

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD pair is trading with a bearish bias at 1.2090, facing immediate resistance at 1.2120 level. The EUR/USD is closing three black crows on the hourly timeframe, suggesting selling bias in the pair. On the lower side, the pair is expected to go after 1.2095 and 1.2060 level. The 50 periods EMA are suggesting selling bias in Euro today.

GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.36887 after placing a high of 1.37586 and a low of 1.36590. On Wednesday, the currency pair GBP/USD dropped and posted losses for the day amid the broad-based U.S. dollar strength after the FOMC statement and Fed’s monetary policy decision.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee released its statement from January’s meeting on Wednesday that mentioned that the Fed will keep its interest rates near zero and maintain the asset purchasing program of $120 billion per month.

Federal Reserve said that the economic path would solely be decided by pandemic and vaccine rollout developments. Other than this, everything stated in the statement issued by FOMC was just as expected and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately kept the GBP/USD pair under pressure for the day. On the data front, at 18:30 GMT, the Core Durable Goods Orders for December surged to 0.7% against the anticipated 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately added weight on GBP/USD pair. In December, the Durable Goods Orders fell to 0.2% against the anticipated 1.0% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further GBP/USD pair losses. 

From Britain’s side, at 05:01 GMT, the BRC Shop Price Index for the year came in as -2.2% against the previous -1.8%.

The GBP/USD pair rose to its highest since May 2018 on Wednesday however failed to remain there and reversed its direction. The rise in the GBP/USD pair during the session’s early trading hours could be attributed to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest comments.

The PM has said that he hopes that a gradual and phased relaxation of coronavirus restrictions could begin in early March. Johnson said that he intended to set out a plan to ease the lockdown in England. The factors will include death and hospitalization numbers, the progress of vaccinations, and changes in viruses.

He also ruled out schools in England re-opening after the February half term instead set a target of 8-March. He also announced a 10-day self-funded quarantine restriction for all travelers entering the U.K. from high-risk countries under tighter border restrictions to combat new variants of coronavirus. The PM was under pressure from Tory MPs to spell out plans for how the current lockdown will end. Then PM replied that relaxing restriction would depend on emerging data about how effectively the vaccine stops virus transmission. These comments from UK PM raised the local currency, British Pound, to economic recovery and pushed the pair GBP/USD in early trading hours. However, the strength of the U.S. dollar due to the Federal Reserve’s decision in the January monetary policy meeting added pressure on the currency pair. It dragged GBP/USD to the downside.


Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.3647 1.3783

1.3560 1.3832

1.3511 1.3918

Pivot point: 1.3696

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

A day before, the GBP/USD pair traded bullish after violating the narrow trading range of 1.3680 – 1.3670. It placed a high of around 1.3753 level, and it later reversed back to trade between the same trading range of 1.3696 – 1.3646. The GBP/USD may find support around the 1.3647 level, and violation of this level can extend selling bias until 1.3610. Approaching the 2-hour timeframe, the GBP/USD is holding below 10 and 20 periods EMA, and it may extend the selling trend today. Let’s consider taking a sell trade until 1.3645 and 1.361 level.  

USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 104.108 after placing a high of 104.197 and a low of 103.579. The USD/JPY pair rose and reached its nine-day highest level on the back of the U.S. dollar’s broad-based strength. 

The currency pair USD/JPY touched its highest since January 19 and surpassed 104 level on Wednesday as the greenback became strong on board. The currency pair preserved its bullish momentum as the U.S. Dollar Index that measures the greenback’s value against the basket of six major currencies rose to a weekly top at 90.62 on Wednesday and boosted the safe-haven U.S. dollar. The strength in the U.S. dollar then ultimately pushed the currency pair USD/JPY on the upside.

The risk-averse market sentiment was confirmed by the declining S&P 500 futures that lost more than 1% on the day. Wall Street’s main indexes also started the day in negative territory and supported the U.S. dollar and USD/JPY pair. On the data front, at 18:30 GMT, the Core Durable Goods Orders for December advanced to 0.7% against the estimated 0.5% and supported the U.S. dollar, and added further gains in the USD/JPY pair. In December, the Durable Goods Orders plunged to 0.2% against the estimated 1.0% and weighed on the U.S. dollar. Nevertheless, investors largely ignored the data as the focus was solely on the FOMC’s policy announcement.

The first policy meeting under Joe Biden’s presidency had all the investors’ focus, and that kept driving the whole market on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made clear that the U.S. Central bank was nowhere near exiting massive support for the economy during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Reserve officials kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged near zero and flagged a moderating U.S. recovery in a statement released by FOMC for the January meeting. The bank repeated that it would maintain its bond-buying program at the current pace of $120 billion of purchases per month until substantial further progress towards its employment and inflation goals. 

After this announcement, the Yields on U.S. 10-year Treasury notes hovered just above 1%, and the U.S. dollar held its gains while the S&P 500 closed 2.6%, down from its steepest drop since October amid growing concerns that stocks have become overvalued. FOMC said in a statement that the pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in months, with weaknesses concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic. Central Bank also said that the path for the economy would depend significantly not just on the coronavirus but also on vaccination progress. There was no macroeconomic data from Japan to be released on Wednesday, so the pair USD/JPY continued following the developments made in the U.S. front and continued rising on the day.


Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

103.49 103.77

103.38 103.94

103.20 104.05

Pivot point: 103.66

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY pair is trading with a bullish bias at 104.350, and violation of this level is likely to lead the USD/JPY pair until the 104.745 level. On the lower side, the USD/JPY may find support at the 104.198 level. We can expect USDJPY to bounce off upon the 104.198 level today. On the 4 hour timeframe, the USDJPY pair is likely to close a doji candle below 104.368 level. If this happens, we may see a bearish correction in the USD/JPY pair. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 28 – Bitcoin Strong Bounce off the 30K level, Altcoins Reversals Followed

The crypto sector ended up almost completely in the red, though most cryptos barely lost any value. Bitcoin is currently trading for $31,200, representing a decrease of 1.13% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 0.95% on the day, while LTC lost 2.06% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Zero Collateral Dai gained 828.50% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by QuadrantProtocol’s 327.68% and 3x Long Dogecoin Token’s 137.80% gain. On the other hand, EveryCoin lost 89.97%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Zugacoin’s loss of 79.94% and TokenPay’s loss of 50.46%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance decreased slightly from when we last reported, currently 62.9%. This represents a 0.2% decrease from our previous report.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased very slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $924.75 billion. This represents a $10.78 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

 

After another day of its price moving towards the downside, Bitcoin attempted a rally towards the $32,350 mark. After its price establishing strong support at the $30,000 level, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap started surging. There is a strong chance that BTC will pass the $32,350 level if the hourly candle ends up above the 21-hour EMA.

Scott Minerd, the CIO of investment services firm Guggenheim, said that the institutional demand is insufficient to keep BTC above $30,000. Many analysts agree with this short-term assessment, while almost all of them are bullish in the long-term.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily overview is mostly neutral (with some hints of bearishness), while its weekly and monthly overviews are tilted towards the buy-side. On the other hand, its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (56.39)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $32,350                             1: $30,072

2: $34,627                             2: $30,000

3: $37,445                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap spent the day testing the $1,211 level multiple times. After the support level held up on various occasions, ETH bulls entered the market and started pushing its price up. However, it is still uncertain whether this push towards the upside will end as another lower high and a continuation of the downtrend, or a break from the trend.

Ethereum’s immediate downside is guarded by the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, while its first major resistance level is the $1,350 mark, as well as the descending line that connects ETH’s recent lower highs.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frames are tilted towards the buy-side but also show some neutrality. Its 4-hour overview, however, is slightly bearish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (57.04)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,440                               3: $1047.6

Litecoin

Litecoin managed to break out from its downtrend after breaking the $128.4 mark. What’s surprising is that such a strong trend was broken by just average volume. LTC found support in the 21-hour EMA, which currently stands right below the price level.

Litecoin has a zone of heavy resistance straight above it (above $130). It is very unlikely that it can “survive” without a major boost in volume, especially in these market conditions.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s daily overview is mostly neutral (with some hints of bearishness), while its weekly and monthly overviews are tilted towards the buy-side. On the other hand, its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (58.51)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $120

3: $181.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 27 – Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis

The crypto sector ended up either slightly red or slightly green, with only rare exceptions making significant moves to either side. Bitcoin is currently trading for $31,679, representing an increase of 0.51% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1.61% on the day, while LTC lost 3.33% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Coupon Chain gained 74575.19% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by YVS.Finance’s 683.5% and Chonk’s 198.23% gain. On the other hand, Narwhale.finance lost 72.98%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by 3X Short Matic Token’s loss of 67.68% and MangoChain’s loss of 66.24%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance increased slightly from when we last reported, currently 63.1%. This represents a 0.2% increase from our previous report.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased very slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $935.58 billion. This represents a $0.96 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

After a day of attempting to break out of its slightly descending channel, Bitcoin has returned to the downtrend. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap tried to regain the $32,350 level but failed in doing so. This created a strong sell-wall above its current price of just below $32,000.

Bitcoin’s immediate upside is guarded by the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, as well as the 32,350 level. Its downside, however, is a free-fall until the zone above $30,000.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily overview is mostly neutral (with some hints of bearishness), while its weekly and monthly overviews are slightly bullish. On the other hand, its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly under its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (46.41)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $32,350                             1: $30,072

2: $34,627                             2: $30,000

3: $37,445                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap returned to mirroring Bitcoin’s movement after entering its consolidation phase. Ethereum has, after failing to break the $1,350 level, returned to its slightly-downwards movement. The zone just above the $1,300 level mentioned yesterday was also broken, meaning that ETH is now trading between $1,211 to the downside and $1,350 to the upside.

Ethereum’s immediate upside is guarded by the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, as well as the $1,350 level. Its first major support level is sitting at $1,211.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frames are tilted towards the buy-side, but all have neutral oscillators. Its 4-hour overview, however, is completely neutral.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (46.02)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,440                               3: $1047.6

Litecoin

Litecoin has seemingly created a double bottom formation after hitting and staying above the $128.4 level twice. This may be a bullish signal for LTC traders, but the move needs to be accompanied by at least a slight increase in volume.

Despite creating a double bottom, LTC will have a hard time moving past the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, as they seem to be its immediate resistance levels. On the other hand, its $128.4 support level is holding up well for now, making it very uncertain where LTC will go in the short-term.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s daily overview is mostly neutral (with some hints of bearishness), while its weekly and monthly overviews are slightly bullish. On the other hand, its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (41.89)
  • Volume is slightly below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $120

3: $181.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 27 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Big Day, Fed Rate Ahead! 

On the news front, the eyes will remain on the FOMC Statement and Federal Funds Rate, which is not expected to change the interest rate. Still, it will help us understand U.S. economic situation and policymakers’ stance on it. Besides, the Durable Goods Orders m/m from the U.S. will also remain in highlights.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.21595 after placing a high of 1.21756 and a low of 1.21076. The EUR/USD pair edged higher on Tuesday as the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) dropped and the risk appetite in the market witnessed a major turnaround. After a mixed start on the session, the European equities embarked upon a recovery mode and brought back the market’s risk sentiment. The pan-European benchmark, the Euro Stoxx 50, rallied by 1% and lifted the overall market mood. Whereas, the safe-haven U.S. dollar came under pressure after a rise in European equities and come back of risk sentiment that ultimately added gains in the currency pair EUR/USD on Tuesday.

In the early Asian trading session, the main currency pair EUR/USD extended its previous day’s bearish sentiment and fell below 1.2108, on the back of the U.S. dollar’s strength gathered by the risk-off market mood driven by the deadlock over U.S. fiscal stimulus and the renewed US-China tensions over the South China Sea.

On Tuesday, China said that it would conduct military exercises in the South China Sea this week, just days after complaining that a U.S. aircraft carrier group has sailed through the disputed waters. These rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies raised the safe-haven appeal in early trading hours on Tuesday. They lifted the greenback that ultimately dragged the currency pair EUR/USD on the downside.

 However, during early European trading hours, the risk-sentiment started to come back as the positive shift in the tone of the news flow on the coronavirus front. Moderna and Pfizer announced that they were looking into coronavirus booster shots that would specifically target building immunity to variants of the virus, such as that discovered in South Africa a few weeks ago. 

Furthermore, Johnson & Johnson’s CFO has said earlier that they expect to release COVID-19 vaccine trial data next week. The company was very optimistic that they will be releasing a very robust data set. The J&J’s vaccine has been advertised as a game-changer in the vaccination race as it would only require one shot to acquire full immunity. This vaccine-related optimism helped risk sentiment in the market and supported riskier assets like EUR/USD pair on Tuesday.

On the data front, there was no macroeconomic data released from the European side. In contrast, from the U.S. side, at 19:00 GMT, the Housing Price Index from the U.S. for November rose to 1.0% against the forecasted 0.9% and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further upside in the EUR/USD pair. 

The S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year also rose to 9.1% against the forecasted 8.8% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:59 GMT, the Richmond Manufacturing Index for January declined to 14 against the forecasted 18 and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added gains in the EUR/USD pair. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Consumer Confidence in January rose to 89.3 against the forecasted 88.9 and supported the U.S. dollar and limited further gains in the EUR/USD pair on Tuesday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2108     1.2177

1.2077     1.2215

1.2039    1.2245

Pivot Point: 1.2146

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD pair is trading at 1.2156, facing immediate resistance at 1.2165 level. The EUR/USD has entered the overbought zone on the hourly timeframe, suggesting odds of bearish correction in the pair. On the lower side, the pair is likely to complete 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at 1.2150 and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at 1.2134. Selling bias seems strong.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.37363 after placing a high of 1.37443 and a low of 1.36092. GBP/USD pair rebounded on Tuesday during early European trading hours after falling below 1.36100 level. The GBP/USD pair’s comeback was due to the recovered risk appetite in the market and Britain’s strong job report.

However, despite the strong macroeconomic data from Great Britain, the GBP/USD pair benefited from the broad U.S. dollar’s weakness on Tuesday as investors focused more on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision. The risk appetite took a significant turn during the early European trading hours after a downbeat Asa Pacific session. It weighed on the safe-haven U.S. dollar that ultimately lifted the GBP/USD pair on Tuesday. U.S. stocks were high, European equities erased most of Monday’s losses, the crude oil market was also high, and bond yields were rising on both sides of the Atlantic. 

The reason behind the turnaround of the risk sentiment was the positive vaccine news, as Moderna and Pfizer announced last night that they were starting investigating a booster vaccine shot that will come between 6-12 months after the second doses and will provide immunity against the new variants of coronavirus like the one emerged in South Africa in the past few days. Meanwhile, the Johnson & Johnson CFO also said on Tuesday that they expect to release the trail data for their coronavirus vaccine next week. They were very optimistic that the data will be robust and have claimed that their vaccine will be a game-changer in the vaccine race as it will provide full immunity in a single shot.

The rising risk sentiment in the market helped the risk perceived GBP/USD currency pair gain traction and rose to post gains for the day. On the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the Housing Price Index from the U.S. for November surged to 1.0% against the projected 0.9% and supported the U.S. dollar, and capped further upside in the GBP/USD pair. The S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year also surged to 9.1% against the projected 8.8% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:59 GMT, the Richmond Manufacturing Index for January decreased to 14 against the projected 18 and weighed on the U.S. dollar, which ultimately added more GBP/USD pair gains. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Consumer Confidence in January surged to 89.3 against the projected 88.9 and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further bullish momentum in GBP/USD pair.

From the Britain side, at 12:00 GMT, the Average Earnings Index for the quarter raised to 3.6% against the estimated 2.9% and supported the British pound that pushed the pair GBP/USD even higher on board. For December, the Claimant Count Change declined to 7.0K against the forecasted 47.5K and supported Sterling, which ultimately added more GBP/USD pair gains. In December, the Unemployment Rate from Britain also dropped to 5.0%against the forecasted 5.1% and supported British Pound that lifted the bullish sentiment in GBP/USD pair. AT 16:00 GMT, the CBI Realized Sales in January dropped to -50 against the estimated -32 and weighed on British Pound and capped further upside in GBP/USD pair on Tuesday.

Another reason that could also be attributed to the rising prices of GBP/USD pair on Tuesday was UK PM Boris Johnson’s latest announcement about new travel instructions. The incoming passengers in the U.K. will need to self-fund a quarantine for ten days in a hotel. The new policy was a part of a government strategy to prevent foreign strains of the virus from entering the U.K. This also helped British Pound gain strength and support the GBP/USD pair’s upward momentum on Tuesday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3641     1.3717

1.3607     1.3759

1.3565     1.3794

Pivot Point: 1.3683

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

On Wednesday, the GBP/USD pair continues trading with a bullish bias at 1.3733 level after violating the symmetric triangle pattern. The GBP/USD pair is trading with a bullish bias on the two-hourly timeframes, facing immediate resistance at 1.3749 area. A bullish breakout of this level is expected to trigger further buying trends until the 1.3807 mark. Today, we can expect to enter a buy position over 1.3749 and selling below the same. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.617 after placing a high of 103.826 and a low of 103.553. After rising for two consecutive sessions, the USD/JPY pair dropped on Tuesday despite the market’s rising risk-on market sentiment. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies, was up on Tuesday by 0.2% at 90.547 level and supported the U.S. dollar. The safe-haven greenback gained in early trading hours of the day as the rising tensions between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea prompted the risk-off mood. 

On Tuesday, China said that it would conduct military exercises in the South China Sea later this week. This announcement came in just days after they had complained that a U.S. aircraft carrier group has sailed through the disputed waters. This helped the Japanese Yen gain traction due to its safe-haven nature and weighed on the USD/JPY pair. 

The US-China relation also came under headlines after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against the new cold war. On Monday, Xi warned global leaders against starting a “new Cold War” and urged unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. He said that building small cliques or starting a new Cold War to reject, threaten or intimidate others will only push the world into division.

The words appeared to be aimed at U.S. President Joe Biden’s plans to revitalize global alliances to counter China’s growing influence. These comments added to the tensions between China and the U.S. and raised the need for safe-haven that ultimately supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen and dragged the pair USD/JPY on the downside. However, the market’s risk sentiment came back during early European trading hours after positive news from vaccine makers came into the market. Moderna and Pfizer announced that they have started working on the booster shots of vaccines that will provide full immunity even against the new variants of the coronavirus like the one that emerged in South Africa. Meanwhile, the Johnson & Johnson CFO also announced that they would release their vaccine data next week, and they were very optimistic that it will be robust data. J&J has claimed that their vaccine will provide full immunity in a single shot, and if the data suggested so, it would be a game-changer in the vaccine race so far.

The rising risk sentiment in the market could not lift the USD/JPY pair, and the pair continued moving in the bearish trend for the day.

On the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the Housing Price Index from the U.S. for November advanced to 1.0% against the anticipated 0.9% and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair. The S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year also advanced to 9.1% against the anticipated 8.8% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:59 GMT, the Richmond Manufacturing Index for January fell to 14 against the anticipated 18 and weighed on the U.S. dollar, adding more losses in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the C.B. Consumer Confidence in January advanced to 89.3 against the anticipated 88.9 and supported U.S. dollar.

From the Japanese side, at 04:50 GMT, the SPPI for the year in December came in as -0.4% against the predicted -0.6% and supported Japanese Yen that added further downside momentum in the USD/JPY pair. At 10:00 GMT, the BOJ Core CPI for the year dropped to -0.3% against the expected -0.1% and weighed on the Japanese Yen.

Furthermore, the losses in USD/JPY were also capped after the announcement from the U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday. He said that the U.S. would accelerate the delivery of coronavirus vaccines across the country as his administration plans to buy 200 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. However, Biden also warned that even with more Americans set to be inoculated sooner than previously anticipated due to additional doses, the pandemic would continue to worsen before it gets better. 

According to the Johns Hopkins University data, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has passed 100 million just over a year since the first cases of the mysterious new illness was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan. This weighed on market sentiment and supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately added the USD/JPY pair’s losses on Tuesday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.62     103.89

103.50     104.06

103.34     104.17

Pivot point: 103.78

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

On Wednesday, the USD/JPY continues to trade sideways inside a broad trading range of 103.900 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a symmetrical triangle pattern on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 26 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – C.B. Consumer Confidence Ahead! 

Investor’s eyes will stay on the Claimant Count Change and Unemployment Rate data from the U.K. as it’s likely to drive market movements during the European session. Later on, the C.B. Consumer Confidence from the U.S. will focus on the New York session today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.21415 after placing a high of 1.21831 and a low of 1.21158. After rising for two consecutive sessions, the EUR/USD pair dropped on Monday as the common currency remained under pressure due to the slow pace of coronavirus vaccination roll out in Europe. The slow distribution of vaccines and the new manufacturing issues lagged the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the old continent. After Pfizer told the E.U. that retooling in its Belgian plant would cause a delay, AstraZeneca made a similar announcement on Friday. The bloc has a substantial deal with the British pharmaceutical, and the European regulator was set to approve it on Friday.

Apart from the vaccine delays, the fears of new coronavirus variants were also of concern and could trigger another nationwide lockdown in France, the Eurozone’s second-largest economy. Berlin has also announced to extend its restrictions through mid-February. On the other hand, the safe-haven U.S. dollar was on the back foot across the board due to U.S. President Joe Biden pushing his $1.9 trillion relief program. Simultaneously, moderate Senators were pushing back against approving new expenditure only a month after they approved $900 billion of funds. However, Democrats were set to ram through the package via a reconciliation that would relieve them of the need to receive Republicans’ support.

Another option is to quickly approve the coronavirus-related funds and delaying the other aspects of the suggested package, such as a hike to the minimum wage. These options also kept the prospects of package delivery in the act and kept weighing on the U.S. dollar that ultimately capped further downside in the EUR/USD pair. On the data front, at 14:00 GMT, the German IFO Business Climate dropped to 90.1 against the forecasted 91.5 and weighed on Euro. At 19:00 GMT, the Belgian NBB Business Climate dropped to -7.5 against the expected -8.0 and supported Euro.

It seems like the German Business Climate went down because of the issues mentioned above, as the lockdown restrictions have badly disturbed the business community and weighed on the common currency that dragged the EUR/USD prices on the downside. Meanwhile, equity markets have posted healthy gains over the last few weeks on bets coronavirus vaccines will start to reduce infection rates worldwide and on a stronger U.S. economic recovery under President Joe Biden. 

However, the vaccine rollout has been uneven, with relatively rapid progress in the U.K. but a much slower rollout in France. AstraZeneca warned of further delays to deliveries of its vaccines in Europe on Friday due to production blockage at one of its manufacturing partners. Over the weekend, Italy threatened legal action against both Astra and Pfizer over delivery delays. On Sunday, France has announced to impose a third lockdown that was already under a national 12-hour curfew. All these developments turned the European futures red and weighed on risk sentiment that ultimately dragged the EUR/USD pair on the downside.

On Monday, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that Climate Change could create short-term volatility in output and inflation through extreme weather events and, if left unaddressed, can have long-lasting effects on growth and inflation. ECB announced on Monday that it was creating a team of around 10 ECB employees, reporting directly to Lagarde to set the central bank’s agenda on climate-related topics.

On Monday, the ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said that the European Central bank primarily focused on bank credit conditions ad bond yields when assessing if financing conditions were favorable. He added that naturally, the focus on credit conditions in the banking system on one side and the bond market on the other side was consistent with the main methods used by central banks in steering financial conditions. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve will meet for its first monetary policy meeting, and the decision of the meeting will be handed down on the next day. EUR/USD pair traders will keep an eye on Fed’s decision for future impetus.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2163       1.2173

1.2158       1.2178

1.2153       1.2183

Pivot Point: 1.2168

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD pair’s technical side has turned bearish as it trades below the support level of 1.2133 level. Formation of the bearish engulfing candle on the hourly timeframe can extend selling bias until the support level of 1.2115 area. Whereas, further selling trend can lead the EUR/USD pair towards the support level of 1.2090 mark. Selling bias seems to dominate the EUR/USD pair today.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD closed at 1.36757 after placing a high of 1.37232 and a low of 1.36485. The GBP/USD pair struggled to advance on Monday amid the concerns over the coronavirus pandemic that worsened and raised the safe-haven appeal. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed data that suggested the U.K. coronavirus variant actually may be deadlier than other variants. A British report found that the variant was associated with a higher death rate than other variants. But the United Kingdom’s chief scientist Patrick Vallance has stressed to reporters that the evidence was not yet strong. 

Previous research has shown that the variant was more contagious than the previous form of coronavirus. But scientists did not believe it was more deadly as it began spreading in the U.K. last fall. Several separate analysis from British researchers found that the patients infected with the variant have a higher risk of severe disease and death. However, U.K. scientists insisted that these researches have several limitations and that more research was needed to confirm these findings.

These reports raised concerns for economic recovery as the threats of new variants could mean new and stricter restrictions throughout the globe. That raised the risk-off market sentiment that ultimately weighed on the risk perceived GBP/USD pair on Monday.

The British Pound advanced last week against its major rival currencies due to a combination of higher market sentiment and hopes for Britain ramping up its coronavirus vaccination scheme. However, the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh heavily on the British Pound outlook due to the new variant and its association with the mortality rate. As a result, the U.K. government indicated that the current lockdown could last for quite some time as infection rates remain high in the country. These coronavirus fears continued weighing on the British Pound on Monday and dragged the GBP/USD pair on the downside in the absence of any macroeconomic data from both sides.

On the U.S. side, the safe-haven U.S. dollar was strong on Monday as investors were hesitant to sell it as global coronavirus pandemic fears boosted the appetite for safer assets. The greenback’s strength also weighed on GBP/USD pair and extended its losses on the day. However, the GBP/USD pair’s losses started to reverse in the late session on Monday, and the currency pair ended its day with zero loss or gained as it was closed at the same level it began its day with. The reversal in GBP/USD pair in late trading hours came in due to some good news from the U.K. side. 

The U.K. saw a sustained weakness in the infections and the death toll on Monday as the country reported the lowest cases since mid-December on that day. The British Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the latest measures to flash early positive signs while conveying heavy vaccination and lockdown success. However, the overall sentiment remained depressing as the delayed U.S. coronavirus aid package and AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine delivery raised fears for global economic recovery.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3677       1.3694

1.3668       1.3700

1.3661       1.3710

Pivot Point: 1.3684

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair continues trading with a bullish bias after violating the narrow trading range of 1.3680 – 1.3670. On the upper side, the GBP/USD may face resistance at 1.3736 level now, as the pair may form a triple top pattern here. At the same time, the support continues to hold around 1.3697 level. On the 2 hour timeframe, the GBP/USD has formed a symmetric triangle pattern, which is likely to provide resistance at 1.3701 along with support at 1.3613 level. Today, we can expect a choppy session in the Cable pair.   


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY closed at 103.756 after placing a high of 103.934 and a low of 103.670. USD/JPY pair extended its gains on Monday however remained depressive due to the risk-off market sentiment.

The demand for the greenback of risk-aversion pushed the USD/JPY pair to a daily high near 104 level. However, the U.S. treasury yields came under pressure with the yield on benchmark 10-year note down to 1.03% weighed by the news that U.S. President Biden’s stimulus plan faces opposition from Republican and Democrat lawmakers.

The $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposed by Biden is expected to get pass by the House of Representatives that is led by Democrats backing Biden. Still, the bill could face rejection at Senate as many senators were reluctant to pass another massive amount for spending just after a month of releasing $900 billion. However, Democrats were set to push through the package via a settlement that would relieve them of the need to receive Republicans’ support. Another option is to rapidly support the coronavirus-related funds and postpone the other suggested package features, such as a hike to the minimum wage.

Furthermore, the Federal Reserve monthly rate decision followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference is set to deliver later this week. Rates are projected to remain flat at a near-zero level that has stood there for almost a year now due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis. However, Powell’s words will be inspected for even the smallest signal of when recovery is likely expected, and as well as a narrowing of stimulus measures.

Over the past fortnight, Powell has claimed that tapering of stimulus measures will not happen anytime soon. Still, bond traders have completely ignored him and continued pushing yields higher in the hope of proving the Fed chief wrong that ultimately supported the U.S. dollar and raised the USD/JPY pair on Monday. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.77       103.82

103.74       103.86

103.71       103.88

Pivot Point: 103.80

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The safe-haven pair USD/JPY continues to trade sideways inside a broad trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 26 – Blood on the Streets: Crypto Market in the Red

The crypto sector ended up almost completely in the red as most cryptocurrencies pulled back to lower levels. Bitcoin is currently trading for $31,575, representing a decrease of 5.26% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 7.24% on the day, while LTC lost 6.79% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

EveryCoin gained 501.69% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by BBYS’s 280.04% and X Infinity’s 255.24% gain. On the other hand, ARTH lost 61.58%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Typhoon Cash’s loss of 44.07% and Aventus’s loss of 40.31%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance increased slightly from when we last reported, with its value currently being 62.9%. This represents a 0.2% increase from our previous report.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased greatly since we last reported, with its current value being $936.54 billion. This represents a $54.92billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s gains in the past two days were taken away when bears took over the market after BTC failed to break the $34,627 mark. The cryptocurrency declined to the $32,350 level but quickly lost hold of it as well. BTC is currently hovering right above the $31,000 mark.

Bitcoin’s 1-hour RSI is getting dangerously close to the oversold territory, while its volume is descending, indicating a possible price stagnation or a direction reversal.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily overview is completely neutral, while its weekly and monthly overviews are completely bullish. On the other hand, the 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is below its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is near the oversold area (31.21)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $32,350                             1: $30,072

2: $34,627                             2: $30,000

3: $37,445                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap spent the day retracing after posting a new all-time high at $1,477.30. ETH tested many levels but ultimately fell below the previous all-time high, and then the $1,420 and $1,350 levels as well. It is currently consolidating just above $1,300.

Ethereum seemingly created a zone of support just above the $1,300 level, which is holding up for 10 hours now. If this support holds long enough for BTC to change its price direction (or at least enter a sideways trading period), we may see ETH bulls reentering the market once again.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on all time-frames are slightly tilted towards the buy-side, with its oscillators taking a more neutral stance.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price near its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is very close to being oversold (39.73)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,440                               3: $1047.6

Litecoin

Litecoin has lost all of the gains it made yesterday, and then some. The eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap failed to pass the zone just under $150, which triggered a pullback and a dip below the $142.1 support (now resistance) level. On top of that, LTC also fell below the trading range it was in for the previous four days (excluding yesterday’s push).

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s short-term and long-term overviews have opposing stances: while its 4-hour and overviews show a slight tilt towards the sell-side, its weekly and monthly overviews are slightly bullish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is below its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to being in the oversold territory (33.05)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $120

3: $181.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 25 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – ECB President Lagarde in Limelight! 

On the news front, eyes will remain on the ECB President Lagarde Speaks and German Ifo Business Climate figures from the Eurozone. President Lagarde is due to participate in a virtual panel discussion titled “Restoring Economic Growth” at Davos 2021.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

 EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.21707 after placing a high of 1.21893 and a low of 1.21513. The EUR/USD tried to break above the strong resistance level of 1.2200 on Friday but failed as the U.S. dollar strength and the worsened pandemic situation around the bloc added pressure on the single currency Euro.

The U.S. dollar was strong across the board as investors were worried about the chances that President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal failed to gain traction. Hopes have raised that the package’s final deal could be smaller or just be dragged, and this supported the local currency U.S. dollar, which ultimately capped further upside in the EUR.USD pair on Friday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was also strong due to better than expected macroeconomic data release on Friday. At 19:45 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI rose to 59.1 against the forecasted 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar, and capped further gains in EUR/USD pair. The Flash Services PMI also rose to 57.5 against the forecasted 53.3 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Existing Home Sales also rose to 6.76M against the forecasted 6.55M and supported the U.S. dollar, and limited the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair. From the European side, at 13:15 GMT, the French Flash Services PMI dropped to 46.5 against the predicted 48.3 and weighed on Euro. The French Flash Manufacturing PMI raised to 51.5 against the expected 50.6 and supported Euro that added further gains in EUR/USD pair. At 13:30 GMT, the German Flash Manufacturing PMI remained flat at 57.0. The German Flash Services PMI raised to 46.8 against the forecasted 45.1 and supported Euro that ultimately provided additional gains to EUR/USD pair. At 14:00 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI remained flat with the expectations of 54.7. The Flash Services PMI raised to 45.0 against the projected 44.4 and supported Euro and pushed the EUR/USD pair higher. 

Meanwhile, the EUR/USD pair hit its highest in the week on Friday, but the day’s gains were small as the European leaders showed frustration about the slow vaccination pace. The new mutants of coronavirus raised fresh concerns in the European Union as the governments considered imposing stricter border controls and banning non-essential travel.

The European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde warned that the pandemic still poses severe risks to the Eurozone economy as concerns grow about new variants and sluggish vaccination campaigns. While many countries were struggling to reduce the number of infections, the emergence of more contagious virus variants first discovered in the U.K. and South Africa has added to nervousness. 

However, one factor that helped the common currency in this depressing environment to stay strong onboard was European Central Bank’s latest decision. ECB said that risks remain tilted to the downside, but they were less pronounced. The President of ECB also emphasized the need for more monetary support while the policy remained unchanged. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2127       1.2190

1.2086       1.2214

1.2063       1.2254

Pivot point: 1.2150

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD continues trading bullish at 1.2173 level and holding right above the 1.2158 support mark. Over this level, the EUR/USD has chances of bullish trend continuation until 1.2220 level. The pair has recently closed candles over 1.2158, and the continuation of the upward trend seems very likely as the 50 periods EMA supports the pair. On the higher side, the EUR/USD may find a target around 1.2220 level.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.36816 after a high of 1.37358 and a low of 1.36354. After rising for three consecutive days, the GBP/USD pair dropped on Friday as the coronavirus pandemic hit the country hard and raised concerns for economic recovery as the lockdown restrictions extended. 

The GBP/USD pair also fell on Friday amid the broad-based strength of the greenback triggered by the rising U.S. Treasury yields and the stronger than expected macroeconomic data. The U.S. dollar was also strong as the market’s investors shifted their focus from Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion massive stimulus package and rather ignored its prospects.

The GBP/USD pair saw selling pressure on Friday as the death toll around the country rose to an alarming level amid the coronavirus’s new variant. According to a rolling analysis by Oxford University, until Thursday, the U.K. had the highest per capita daily death toll of any other country globally, around twice that of the United States.

Given this state, the British government extended the nationwide lockdown till July 17 and also decided to quarantine travelers from high-risk coronavirus countries for at least 10-days as it failed to curb the rising number of coronavirus variant infections. Meanwhile, Britain’s hospitals were also struggling under an ever-growing flow of patients. In the extended lockdown situation, the economic concerns raised rapidly and weighed on the Sterling that ultimately dragged the currency pair GBP/USD on the downside.

Furthermore, on Friday, a U.K. report was released that stated a realistic possibility that the new U.K. variant had a higher mortality rate than other variants. While the data was not decisive but UK PM Boris Johnson said that there was some evidence that the new variant may be connected with a higher degree of mortality. This news added concerns about economic recovery and weighed on the British Pound that added GBP/SD pair losses.

On the data front, at 19:45 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI advanced to 59.1 against the projected 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar that dragged the GBP/USD pair even on the downside. The Flash Services PMI also advanced to 57.5 against the projected 53.3 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Existing Home Sales also advanced to 6.76M against the projected 6.55M and supported the U.S. dollar and added GBP/USD pair losses.

From Britain’s side, at 05:01 GMT, the GfK Consumer Confidence for January dropped to -28 against the expected -30 and supported British Pound that capped further downward momentum in GBP/USD pair. At 14:30 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI for January dropped to 52.9 against the forecasted 53.5 and weighed on the British Pound, ultimately pushing the pair GBP/USD lower. The Flash Manufacturing PMI also dropped to 38.8 against the expected 45.2 and weighed on British Pound and added GBP/USD pair losses.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3676      1.3763

1.3624      1.3798

1.3589      1.3850

Pivot Point: 1.3711

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair continues trading with a bullish bias after violating the narrow trading range of 1.3680 – 1.3670. On the higher side, the GBP/USD may find resistance at 1.3736 level now, as the pair may form a triple top pattern here. At the same time, the support continues to hold around 1.3697 level. Bullish bias dominates. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY closed at 103.769 after placing a high of 103.884 and a low of 103.446. After falling for two consecutive sessions, the USD/JPY pair rose on Friday amid the broad-based U.S. dollar strength; however, the sentiment remained depressing as the pandemic raised concerns for the economic recovery. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the greenback against the basket of six currencies was up by 0.1% on Friday to 90.243 level and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately added gains in the currency pair USD/JPY.

The U.S. dollar was also high onboard on Friday as the U.S. Treasury yields also rose on the day amid the idea of greater borrowing to fund the additional stimulus proposed by Joe Biden for %1.9 trillion as it could raise the inflation and change the Federal Reserve’s ultra-loose monetary stance. This supported the risk-on market sentiment that ultimately supported the USD/JPY pair as traders were prepared to buy riskier currencies on the idea of quicker than previously expected global economic recovery after the additional stimulus to the economy.

However, these hopes deteriorated after the new variants of coronavirus from the U.K. and South Africa raised global economic concerns in the market. According to a report released on Friday from the U.K., there was a convincing possibility that the new variant of coronavirus in Britain had a higher death rate than other variants. While the data was not conclusive, but UK PM Boris Johnson said that there was some evidence that the new variant may be related to a higher degree of mortality.

This prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to reinstate a ban on most non-US citizens entering the country from Brazil and the U.K., where more transmissible variants of the coronavirus have emerged recently months. According to public health officials, the U.S. also added South Africa to the restricted list as the concerning variant has already spread beyond South Africa. Arrivals from Ireland and 26 countries in Europe were also banned to protect the people of the U.S. as it has already faced the pandemic on an extreme level.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that these measures were taken to protect Americans and reduce the risks of these variants spreading and worsening the current pandemic that already affected about 25 million Americans. These developments raised the global economic recovery concerns and added in the risk-off market sentiment that ultimately capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair.

On the data front, at 19:45 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI increased to 59.1 against the anticipated 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar that added in the upward momentum of the USD/JPY pair. The Flash Services PMI also increased to 57.5 against the anticipated 53.3 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Existing Home Sales also increased to 6.76M against the anticipated 6.55M and supported the U.S. dollar that pushed the USD/JPY pair higher.

At 04:30 GMT, National Core CPI for the year from Japan came in as -1.0% against the projected -1.1% and supported Japanese Yen. At 05:30 GMT, the Flash Manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.7 against the forecasted 50.1 and weighed on the Japanese Yen, supporting the upward momentum in the USD/JPY pair on Friday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.33      103.67

103.16      103.84

102.99      104.01

Pivot point: 103.50

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

On Monday, the safe-haven pair USD/JPY continues to trade sideways inside a broad trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 25 – Ethereum Reaches a new All-Time High: What’s Next?

The crypto sector ended up mostly in the green as altcoins pushed up (while Bitcoin remained mostly stable). Several cryptocurrencies reached new all-time highs, including Ethereum and Aave. Bitcoin is currently trading for $33,335, representing an increase of 1/59% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 7.93% on the day, while LTC gained 2.12% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Foglory Coin gained 389.19% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Unifty’s 187.19% and MileVerse’s 160.11% gain. On the other hand, EveryCoin lost 76.45%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Zloadr’s loss of 62.48% and FUTUREXCRYPTO’s loss of 54.1%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance dropped further from when we last reported, with its value currently being 62.7%. This represents a 2.1% decrease from our previous report.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has increased greatly since we last reported, with its current value being $991.66 14.56 billion. This represents a $77.10 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent the weekend with its price slowly descending towards the $30,000 mark until a new surge of buyers changed the price direction. BTC has bounced from the $30,900 level and pushed up past the $33,250 level. Its price is currently consolidating in the $33,400 zone.

Bitcoin’s upside is guarded not only by the $34,627 level but the recent high of $33,865. Traders will have to be careful when taking long positions on BTC and will have to devote most of the time checking the order flow to properly gauge the resistance levels.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s 4-hour and weekly overviews are bullish and show some signs of neutrality or bearishness, while its monthly overview is completely bullish. On the other hand, its daily time-frame is pretty neutral.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly above its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is near the overbought area (64.47)
  • Volume is slightly below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $34,627                             1: $32,350

2: $37,445                             2: $30,072

3: $38,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap “decoupled” from Bitcoin and pushed up, surging to its all-time highs and briefly creating a new one at $1,477.3. Ether is currently fighting to stay above $140 and enter the price discovery mode yet again.

Ethereum has quite a lot of support levels right beneath its current price, most notably the $1,440, $1,420, and $1,350 levels. Its upside levels past the all-time high will, however, have to be determined by drawing Fib retracement levels.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the 4-hour, daily, and weekly time-frames are bullish and show some signs of neutrality or bearishness, while its monthly overview is completely bullish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price near its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is very close to being overbought (68.27)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,440                               1: $1,420

2: $1,477.3                            2: $1,350

3: $1,500                               3: $1,211

Litecoin

Litecoin’s weekend went without much price fluctuation, with LTC moving between $133 and $143.5. However, LTC bulls managed to push past the $142.1 level and bring its price to $145, where it is now consolidating. Litecoin’s volume also surged during the price increase.

Litecoin traders will have to pay attention to several factors, including LTC technicals, Bitcoin price movement as well as Ethereum price movement.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s overviews on all time-frames are bullish, with its 4-hour, daily, and weekly time-frames having some signs of neutrality, while its monthly overview is completely bullish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly above its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (63.36)
  • Volume is slightly above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $120

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 22 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Manufacturing & Services PMI Ahead!  

On the news front, eyes will remain on the Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI figures from the Eurozone, U.K., and the United States. Almost all of the economic figures are expected to perform poorly than in previous months. Price action will depend upon any surprise changes in the PMI figures.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

UR/USD pair was closed at 1.21671 after placing a high of 1.21728 and a low of 1.21022. Despite the rising fears of the Eurozone falling into recession due to the damage caused by pandemic across the bloc, as warned by the European Central Bank President Christin Lagarde, the Euro rose against the U.S. dollar to a one-week high.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the coronavirus pandemic was still posing serious risks to the eurozone economy as lockdowns were tightened across the region. She added that the start of vaccination campaigns across the euro area was an important milestone in resolving the ongoing health crisis. Nonetheless, the pandemic continued to pose serious risks to public health and the euro area and the global economies.

In many of the European nations, the New Year began with stricter social restrictions and national lockdowns. This week, Germany extended a national lockdown until February 14, and the Netherlands announced that there would be a curfew starting from next week. France also chose to intensify its curfew hours earlier this month, while Portugal decided to close schools from Friday.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Europe has reported more than 16 million coronavirus infections, with more than 400,000 deaths so far. Lagarde said that it was ready to update its policies whenever necessary amid the economic uncertainty. She added that ECB’s main policy target was to achieve an inflation rate close to 2%. 

Meanwhile, at its policy meeting on Thursday, ECB kept its interest rates and its huge stimulus program unchanged. The main refinancing operations remained flat at 0.00%, the marginal lending facility at 0.25%, and the deposit facility at -0.50%. The Governing Council has also decided to continue the purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) with a total of 1850 billion euros until at least the end of March 2022.

In December, the bank estimated a GDP rate of 3.9% for 2021 and 2.1% for 2022. However, according to ECB, there were doubts over how the euro area will cope this year after a 7.3% GDP drop last year. ECB also signaled it might not need the full extent of its emergency purchase program to support the recovery. However, chances for an increase in the program were also mentioned to ensure the euro area economy remains well-financed. These comments from Lagarde failed to reverse the upward momentum of the EUR/USD pair on Thursday.

On the data front, at 19:30 GMT, the Consumer Confidence from Europe for January dropped to -16 against the expected -15 and weighed on Euro that capped further upside in EUR/USD pair. From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index for January rose to 26.5 against the forecasted 11.2 and supported the U.S. dollar that limited the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair. The Unemployment Claims from last week were decreased to 900K from the forecasted 930K and supported U.S. dollar. 

For December, the Building Permits rose to 1.71M against the forecasted 1.60M and supported the U.S. dollar. From December, the Housing Starts also rose to 1.67M against the forecasted 1.56M and supported the U.S. dollar that also weighed on the rising EUR/USD prices.

Despite strong macroeconomic data from the U.S., the greenback remained on the back foot on Thursday. It declined almost 0.2% against its rival currencies amid the rising hopes for a further stimulus package under Joe Biden’s administration. This weakness of the U.S. dollar also supported the EUR/USD pair’s rising prices on Thursday.

Furthermore, the U.S. recorded the death toll from coronavirus above 400,000, and it was expecting about 500,000 deaths from the pandemic by mid-February. This alarming situation prompted Joe Biden to sign orders to intensify the vaccination program that ultimately added to the market’s risk sentiment and supported the risk perceived EUR/USD pair on Thursday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2006      1.2091

1.2039      1.2106

1.2058      1.2139

Pivot Point: 1.2062

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a bullish bias at 1.2128 level. The EUR/USD is holding right below 50 periods EMA on the hourly timeframe, extending the EUR/USD pair’s resistance. On the lower side, the support level continues to hold around 1.2120 and 1.2062 level. The MACD and RSI are suggesting a mixed bias for the EUR/USD pair. Buying can be seen over 1.2115.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.37332 after placing a high of 1.37456 and a low of 1.36469. GBP/USD pair rose to its highest since May 2018 on Thursday amid broad-based U.S. dollar weakness and a rising appetite for risk. The GBP/USD pair rose for 3rd consecutive session on Thursday as the global appetite for risk was raised, with Joe Biden sworn in as 46th President of the United States. Another reason behind the rising GBP/USD prices was the weaker U.S. dollar driven by the rising hopes for a massive stimulus package under Biden’s administration.

The new President is expected to announce a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to help the American economy survive through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has cost more than 400,000 American lives. Markets were confident that the stimulus package would boost the global economic situation and, in turn, will also push the risk-sensitive Pound higher.

 Moreover, the British Pound was already strong onboard due to Bank of England’s governor Andrew Bailey who expected a pronounced recovery in Britain’s economy as vaccination against coronavirus is underway. On Thursday, the Bank of England released the credit conditions survey that indicated an increase in the mortgage payment default rates at the beginning of 2021 as the pandemic’s economic impact hit the households. This weighed a little over British Pound and capped further upside in GBP/USD pair on Thursday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3622      1.3717

1.3576      1.3764

1.3528      1.3811

Pivot Point: 1.3670

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair continues trading sideways between a narrow trading range of 1.3740 – 1.3703 level. On the lower side, a bearish breakout of 1.3703 level can extend the selling trend until the next support level of 1.3679 level. Conversely, a bullish crossover of 1.3740 can extend buying trend until the 1.3775 level. Let’s keep our eyes on the 1.3700 level today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.489 after placing a high of 103.666 and a low of 103.325. The currency pair USD/JPY remained under consolidation and posted small losses as the U.S. dollar remained weak throughout the day. The main driver of currency pair USD/JPY on Thursday remained the rising hopes for massive stimulus from the new President of the U.S. and the latest growth outlook from the Bank of Japan.

The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady on Thursday, upgraded its economic forecast for the next fiscal year, and warned of escalating risks to the outlook as new coronavirus emergency measures threatened to disrupt a fragile recovery.

Bank of Japan maintained its targets under yield curve control at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and around 0% for 10-year bond yields. The Governor of BOJ Haruhiko Kuroda said that the board had discussed the bank’s review of its policy tools due in March, though he also dropped a few hints on the outcome.

In the fresh quarterly projections, the Bank of Japan upgraded next fiscal year’s growth forecast to a 3.9% expansion from a 3.6% gain seen three months ago based on hopes the government’s huge spending package will soften the blow from the pandemic. This projection raised the Japanese Yen that ultimately weighed on the USD/JPY pair on Thursday.

However, BOJ offered a depressing view on consumption and warned that services spending would remain under strong downward pressure due to the fresh state of emergency measures taken this month. Kuroda said that the risk of Japan sliding back into deflation was not high and signaled the BOJ had offered sufficient stimulus, for now, to ease the blow from COVID-19.

On the data front, at 18:30 GMT, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index for January advanced to 26.5 against the anticipated 11.2 and supported the U.S. dollar. The Unemployment Claims from last week fell to 900K from the anticipated 930K and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further downside in the USD/JPY pair. For December, the Building Permits advanced to 1.71M against the anticipated 1.60M and supported the U.S. dollar. The Housing Starts from December also advanced to 1.67M against the anticipated 1.56M and supported the U.S. dollar and limited USD/JPY pair losses.

From Japan, at 04:50 GMT, the Trade Balance from December dropped to 0.48T against the expected 0.70T and weighed on the Japanese Yen that limited the downfall in the USD/JPY pair on Thursday. Despite the stronger than expected macroeconomic data from the U.S., the greenback fell by 0.2% against the basket of six currencies and weighed on the USD/JPY pair as the hopes for a massive stimulus package from Democratic President Joe Biden increased.

Joe Biden is expected to announce a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that will ultimately weigh on the local currency. Furthermore, the rising death cases from coronavirus in the U.S. also weighed on the U.S. dollar as the death toll surpassed 400,000 and raised fears. The weakness of the U.S. dollar dragged the USD/JPY prices on the downside on Thursday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53      104.16

103.31      104.56

102.91      104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

On Friday, the USD/JPY continues to trade sideways inside a wide trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 22 – Bitcoin Briefly Drops Below $30K; Market Sees Blood on the Streets

The crypto sector ended up almost completely in the red as Bitcoin’s drop below $30,000 (at one point) led the market down. Bitcoin is currently trading for $31,730, representing a decrease of 8.41% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 11.29% on the day, while LTC lost 4.76% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

EveryCoin gained 734.83% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Vox.Finance’s 132.94% and DACC’s 129.86% gain. On the other hand, PegsShares lost 99.20%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Mithril Share’s loss of 75.17% and Chimpion’s loss of 59.53%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance stayed at the same spot as when we last reported, with its value currently being 64.8%.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased greatly since we last reported, with its current value being $914.56 billion. This represents a $10.97 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has had a horrible day as bears took over the market. Its price dropped to as low as $28,800, but found support in its 50-day EMA. The downturn, however, means that the largest-cryptocurrency by market cap fell out of its triangle formation, most likely spelling a start of a short-term downtrend or sideways trading phase.

Bitcoin is very unpredictable at the moment, but traders could find an opportunity in looking for drastic volume increases and “catch the wave” of buyers or sellers (while taking into account all the support and resistance levels).

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s weekly and monthly time-frames are bullish but show some signs of neutrality or bearishness. On the other hand, its 4-hour and daily time-frames are completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral after returning from being oversold (48.04)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $32,350                             1: $30,072

2: $34,627                             2: $30,000

3: $37,445                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap followed Bitcoin’s direction, but with slightly less intensity. Ether’s price dropped below the $1,211 and $1,183.85 levels and found support in the $1,047.6 level. However, the bounce that came after the bulls came into the market was insufficient to break the $1,183.85 level, and Ethereum’s price is now trading just below it.

The $1,183.85 level could be considered a pivot point, and ETH’s short-term price direction will greatly depend on whether bulls manage to break this resistance.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals are still mostly tilted towards the buy-side, with its longer time-frames (weekly and monthly) being completely bullish, while its daily time frame’s oscillators are pointing to the sell-side. On the other hand, its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is below its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (45.02)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,183.85                          1: $1047.5

2: $1,211                              2: $960.5

3: $1,350                             3: $932.5

Litecoin

Litecoin’s movement in the past 24 hours much resembled Ethereum, with its price dropping below the $142.1 level and finding support slightly below the $128.4 level. While its push up did not reach the now-resistance level of $142.1, Litcoin did find support in the 21-hour EMA.

Litecoin’s volume increase in recent hours is negligible compared to the increase that Bitcoin and Ethereum saw. This may indicate less intensity in the moves to come, regardless of the price direction.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s weekly and monthly time-frames are completely bullish and but show no signs of neutrality or bearishness. On the other hand, its 4-hour and daily time-frames are completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly below its 50-period EMA and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (51.31)
  • Volume is slightly above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $120

3: $181.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 21 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – ECB Policy Ready to Play! 

The market’s news is likely to offer high impact events from the U.S., while the major focus will remain on the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index and Unemployment Claims. U.S. dollar may exhibit mixed bias until the release of these events as Philly fed manufacturing is expected to perform badly, and the Jobless claims are likely to perform well.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD continues to trade higher at the 1.2160 level, and a bullish breakout can extend buying trend until the 1.2229 level. The market trading sentiment still represents positive performance on the day as the positive environment around the Asia-Pacific stocks. All-time high upticks in the S&P 500 Futures highlight the risk-on mood, which was being supported by optimism over a potential vaccine/treatment for the highly infectious coronavirus. 

Meanwhile, the increasing hopes over more U.S. stimulus package under Joe Biden’s presidency also played its major role in supporting the market trading sentiment. The hopes of further U.S. stimulus package sparked after the Biden entered the White House, without any losses, which could be considered as one of the major reason behind the latest positive mood in the market,

In response, the broad-based U.S. declined to stop its long bearish bias and remained bearish on the day. The dip in the greenback was further sparked by the optimism over vaccines’ rollout for the highly contagious coronavirus disease, which eroded demand for safe-haven currencies. Therefore, the losses in the U.S. dollar becomes the key factor that kept the currency pair lower. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the dollar versus a bucket of other currencies dropped by 0.19% to 90.300 by 11:26 PM ET (4:26 AM GMT).

As per the report, the Secretary of the Treasury nominee Janet Yellen urged Congress to “act big” on the Coronavirus relief program and shouldn’t worry about debt through her Senate confirmation hearing. These positive remarks helped the market trading bias to stay bid. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2006     1.2091

1.2039     1.2106

1.2058     1.2139

Pivot Point: 1.2062

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a bullish bias at 1.2128 level. The EUR/USD is holding right below 50 periods EMA on the hourly timeframe, extending the EUR/USD pair’s resistance. On the lower side, the support level continues to hold around 1.2120 and 1.2062 level. The MACD and RSI are suggesting a mixed bias for the EUR/USD pair. Buying can be seen over 1.2115.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD continues to hold its bullish tone through the first half of the day as the pair ran into the weekly highs around the 1.3710 mark. It’s mostly due to the weaker U.S. dollar. The trader hopes for further U.S. fiscal incentive immediately intensified after the U.S. Treasury Secretary candidate Janet Yellen urged lawmakers to act high on the COVID-19 relief package and not bother too much regarding debt. The remarks of Yellen were was seen as one of the critical factors that weakened the safe-haven U.S. dollar and added to the GBPUSD gains. 

Besides this, the dollar losses bolstered by the confidence over the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which confer some further support to the GBP/USD pair. The U.S. failed to stop its long bearish bias and remained bearish on the day. The losses in the U.S. dollar were further sparked by the optimism over vaccines’ rollout for the highly contagious coronavirus disease, which eroded demand for safe-haven currencies. Therefore, the losses in the U.S. dollar becomes the key factor that kept the currency pair lower. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a bucket of other currencies dropped by 0.19% to 90.300 by 11:26 PM ET (4:26 AM GMT).

Conversely, the anxieties regarding increasing COVID-19 cases and economically-painful hard lockdowns in the U.K. keep questioning the pair’s upside impulse. The U.K. coronavirus strain has been discovered in at least 60 countries so far, as per the WHO report. The Kingdom announced 33,355 fresh virus cases and 1,610 deaths on the day. Globally, the number of cases has exceeded 96 million, prompting the pair’s upside momentum. Besides, the reports of likely shortage of vaccine in New York and postponement of Pfizer’s vaccine to Canada also seems to question the Sterling bullish bias.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555     1.3722

1.3445     1.3781

1.3387     1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is also heading north amid a weaker dollar, as it trades at a 1.3655 level. Continuation of an upward trend can lead the Cable towards the next target area of 1.3700 level. At the same time, the Cable may find support at 1.3628 level today. On the higher side, the bullish breakout of 1.3701 level can extend buying trend until 1.3736. The GBP/USD is supported by 10 and 20 periods EMA on the two-hourly timeframes, suggesting further buying in the pair. Let’s consider trading bullish over 1.3715 level today. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

Today in the early European trading session, the USD/JPY currency pair failed to stop its previous-session selling bias and remained depressed around two-weeks low around below 103.5 level as the U.S. dollar faced some follow-through selling pressure, which, in turn, was seen as one of the key factors that exerting downside pressure on the USD/JPY currency pair. The bearish bias surrounding the U.S. dollar was mainly sponsored by the increasing optimism over the massive U.S. stimulus measures under the newly inaugurated Joe Biden administration, which undermined demand for safe-haven currencies. 

Simultaneously, the prevalent risk-on environment undermined the Japanese yen and helped the currency pair limit deeper losses. Meanwhile, the dovish comments by the BoJ Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, added further burden on the JPY and extended some additional support to the USD/JPY currency pair to halt its bearish rally. Currently, the USD/JPY currency pair is currently trading at 103.47 and consolidating in the range between 103.33 – 103.67.

Conversely, the equity market’s positive performance weakened the Japanese yen and helped the currency pair limit its deeper losses. Also capping the currency pair’s losses could be the dovish comments by the BoJ Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, which further weighed on the JPY and extended some support to the USD/JPY pair to stop its bearish rally. As per the latest report, Kuroda repeated that the BoJ observes the coronavirus’s impact very closely and will not hesitate to ease further if needed. The Japanese central bank updated its GDP target for the fiscal year 2020 to -5.6% from the previous projection of -5.5%.

On the different page, the concerns about rising COVID-19 deaths and re-imposing the economically-painful hard lockdowns keep challenging the upbeat market mood, which could change the currency pair’s direction.

Looking forward, the market traders will keep their eyes on updates from the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy and U.S. Unemployment Claims will also be key to watch. In addition to this, the risk catalyst like geopolitics and the virus woes will not lose their importance.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53     104.16

103.31     104.56

102.91     104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY continues to trade sideways in between a wide trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 21 – BTC in a Triangle Formation – What do the Analysts Say?

The crypto sector was split between slight gainers and slight losers, but overall lost some value as the market cap dropped below $1 trillion. Bitcoin is currently trading for $34,644, representing a decrease of 2.39% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 4.12% on the day, while LTC lost 5.41% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Cocos-BCX gained 107983.76% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by HAPY Coin’s 383.49% and Vox.Finance’s 371.42% gain. On the other hand, PegsShares lost 59.35%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by KIMCHI.finance’s loss of 44.21% and EveryCoin’s loss of 34.88%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down slightly since our last report as altcoins started to outperform, with its value currently being 64.8%. This value represents a 0.1% difference to the downside when compared to the previously reported value.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $955.53 billion. This represents a $69 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s daily time-frame shows that the cryptocurrency is still contained within the triangle formation, which will be a major determinant in BTC’s future price movement. If we zoom in to the hourly time-frame, we can see that BTC moved down, broke the $34,627, and pushed towards the downside, but got instantly stopped by the triangle formation’s bottom line.

While Bitcoin’s short-term overview seems slightly bearish, many analysts call for a push towards $60,000 before any major pullback. However, judging by the current trading session, BTC has a higher chance of breaking the triangle formation to the downside at the moment.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s weekly and monthly time-frames are completely bullish and show no signs of bearishness. On the other hand, its daily time-frame oscillators point to “sell” while the rest of the overview is still bullish, and its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.21)
  • Volume is average (low)

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $37,445                             1: $34,627

2: $40,000                             2: $32,350

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap went into retracement mode after creating a new all-time high of $1,440 two days ago. Ether’s price moved in a straight descending pattern at first but then bounced back up and tried to retest the $1,350 level. As time passed, it was more and more evident that ETH failed to break $1,350 to the upside and that its price is now contained between $1,350 to the upside and $1,211 to the downside.

Ether’s current upside is heavily guarded, not only by the $1,350 level but also by the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on all time-frames are bullish, but only its daily time-frame shows no signs of neutrality or bearishness. The rest of the time-frames (4-hour, weekly, and monthly) have their oscillators pointing to a neutral or bearish stance.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.30)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,440                              3: $1047.5

Litecoin

Litecoin spent the day trading on very low volume compared to the previous days, with its price contesting the $142.1 level twice. At the moment, LTC traders can face two scenarios, one being LTC falling below $142.1 level and pushing towards $128.4, and the second one being that LTC acts on the double bottom it created and pushes up to regain some of the lost value.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals are pretty split, with its 4-hour and daily indicators showing almost complete bearish sentiment and its weekly and monthly overviews showing complete bullishness.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (41.78)
  • Volume is below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 20 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Economic Sentiment Under Spotlight!

On the news front, the eyes will remain on the U.K. Monetary Policy reports due during the late European hours. BOE isn’t expected to change the rates, and it may keep them at 0.10%; however, it will be important to see MPC Official Bank Rate Votes. Besides, the European Final CPI data will remain in focus today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

Today in the Asian trading session, the EUR/USD currency pair extended its previous-day bullish streak and refreshed daily tops around the 1.2150 regions. However, the prevalent bullish bias around the currency pair was mainly tied to the weaker U.S. dollar. The prevalent upbeat market mood was seen as one of the key factors undermining the safe-haven U.S. dollar. However, the global risk sentiment was being supported by the increasing prospects of massive fiscal spending in the U.S. Across the pond, the buying interest around the currency pair got an additional boost from the better-than-expected German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index. On the bearish side, the escalating concerns over the COVID-19 cases and economically-painful extended lockdown restrictions keep questioning the currency pair’s upside momentum. As of writing, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2153 and consolidating in the range between 1.2124 – 1.2158.

The market trading sentiment managed to extend its previous-day positive performance and remained supportive during the Asian trading session on the day. However, the reason could be tied to the higher prospects of massive fiscal spending in the U.S. As per the latest report, the Secretary of the Treasury nominee Janet Yellen recently pushed Congress to “act big” on COVID- 19 relief and not worry too much about debt during her Senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. These positive comments helped the market trading sentiment to stay bid. The latest upticks in the equity market could also be attributed to the low number of negatives factors from the economic calendar. The prevalent upbeat market mood was seen as one of the key factors that undermining the safe-haven greenback.

Across the pond, the buying interest around the currency pair got an additional boost from the better-than-expected German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index. At the data front, the German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index climbed to 61.8 in January compared to 60.0 expected and 55.0 previous. Meanwhile, the gauge for the broader Eurozone surprisingly improved to 58.3 during the reported month against 45.5 forecasted.

On the bearish side, the concerns about rising COVID-19 cases and economically-painful hard lockdowns keep challenging the pair’s upside momentum. As per the latest report, the death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. crossed to 401,000, and the number of cases in the country exceeded 24 million as of January 20. In addition to this, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the U.K. coronavirus strain had been detected in at least 60 countries so far. The Kingdom reported 33,355 new virus cases and 1,610 deaths on the day. Globally, the number of cases has topped 96 million. Also questioning the pair’s upside momentum could be the reports of likely shortage of vaccine in New York and postponement of Pfizer’s vaccine to Canada.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2006     1.2091

1.2039     1.2106

1.2058     1.2139

Pivot Point: 1.2072

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a bullish bias at 1.2145 level. The pair has recently crossed over 50 periods of EMA on the hourly timeframe, suggesting chances of an upward movement in the market. Continuation of a bullish trend can lead the EUR/USD price towards the 1.2178 level. At the same time, support continues to hold around 1.2150 today. The bullish bias is likely to dominate the market.

GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

Today in the early European trading session, the GBP/USD currency pair maintained its bid tone through the first half of the Asian session and hit the weekly highs around above the mid-1.3600 level amid a softer tone surrounding the U.S. dollar. The market hopes for additional U.S. fiscal stimulus instantly escalated after the U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen pushed lawmakers to act big on the COVID-19 relief package and not worry too much about debt, which in turn, was seen as one of the key factors that weakened the safe-haven U.S. dollar and contributed to the currency pair gains. Apart from this, the greenback losses were further bolstered by the optimism over the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which lend some additional support to the currency pair. Across the ocean, the buying interest around the cable currency pair picked up further pace following the release of hotter-than-expected U.K. consumer inflation figures. 

On the contrary, the concerns about the highly contagious coronavirus disease and the imposition of fresh travel restrictions in the U.K. could cap the GBP/USD currency pair’s upside momentum. At a particular time, the GBP/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.3668 and consolidating in the range between 1.3627 – 1.3675.

The combination of positive factors has helped the GBP/USD currency pair catch sharp, fresh bids on the day. Be its optimism over the rollout of vaccines for the highly infectious coronavirus disease or the rising prospects of massive fiscal spending in the U.S., not the forget upbeat economics data, these all factors positively impact the market trading sentiment. 

Across the ocean, the buying interest around the cable currency pair picked up further pace following the release of hotter-than-expected U.K. consumer inflation figures. The headline CPI increased more-than-expected at the data front and arrived at a 0.6% YoY rate in December. Meanwhile, the core CPI (excluding food and energy items) also exceeded consensus estimations.

Alternatively, the concerns about rising COVID-19 cases and economically-painful hard lockdowns in the U.K. keep challenging the pair’s upside momentum. As per the latest report from World Health Organization (WHO), the U.K. coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries so far. The Kingdom reported 33,355 new virus cases and 1,610 deaths on the day. Globally, the number of cases has topped 96 million. Also questioning the pair’s upside momentum could be the reports of likely shortage of vaccine in New York and postponement of Pfizer’s vaccine to Canada.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555      1.3722

1.3445      1.3781

1.3387      1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is also heading north amid a weaker dollar, as it trades at a 1.3655 level. Continuation of an upward trend can lead the Cable towards the next target area of 1.3700 level. At the same time, the Cable may find support at 1.3628 level today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

During Wednesday’s early European trading session, the USD/JPY currency pair failed to stop its previous-session bearish bias and came under some renewed selling pressure low around 103.13 level mainly due to the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. The market hopes for additional U.S. fiscal stimulus increased after the U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen advised lawmakers to act big on the COVID-19 relief package while stating that the benefits of increased spending are greater than the costs associated with a higher debt burden, which in turn, boosted the market trading sentiment and weakened the safe-haven U.S. dollar. 

Apart from this, the greenback losses were further bolstered by the cautious sentiment ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural ceremony on the day. On the different page, the upbeat market sentiment weakened the safe-haven Japanese yen, which, in turn, was seen as one of the leading factors that helped the USD/JPY currency pair to limit its deeper losses. Currently, the USD/CHF currency pair is currently trading at 103.77 and consolidating in the range between 103.72 – 103.94.

The market trading sentiment was representing positive performance on the day as the bullish appearance of Asia-Pacific stocks and upticks of the S&P 500 Futures tend to highlight the risk-on mood supported by optimism over a potential vaccine/treatment for the highly infectious coronavirus. Besides this, the increasing prospects of massive fiscal spending in the U.S. also played its major role in underpinning the market trading sentiment. The market hopes for additional U.S. fiscal stimulus increased further after the U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. 

As in result, the broad-based U.S. failed to gain any bid and remained pessimistic on the day. Apart from this, the losses in the U.S. dollar were further sparked by the optimism over the rollout of vaccines for the highly contagious coronavirus disease. In addition to this, the cautious sentiment ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural ceremony also exerted downside pressure on the greenback. Hence, the losses in the U.S. dollar becomes the key factor that kept the currency pair lower. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a bucket of other currencies dropped by 0.11% to 90.365 by 9:17 PM ET (2:17 AM GMT)—moving on, the intensifying hopes for more aggressive U.S. fiscal spending under Biden’s presidency continuously providing support to the U.S. Treasury bond yields, which could help the U.S. dollar to limit any meaningful downside.

Conversely, the positive performance around the equity market was slightly unaffected by the concerns about rising COVID-19 deaths and the re-imposing of the economically-painful hard lockdowns, which keep fueling the worries over the global economic recovery. As per the latest report, the death cases from the COVID in the U.S. crossed to 401,000, and the number of cases in the country exceeded 24 million as of January 20. In addition to this, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the U.K. coronavirus strain had been detected in at least 60 countries so far. The Kingdom reported 33,355 new virus cases and 1,610 deaths on the day. Globally, the number of cases has topped 96 million. Also questioning the pair’s upside momentum could be the reports of likely shortage of vaccine in New York and postponement of Pfizer’s vaccine to Canada.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53     104.16

103.31     104.56

102.91     104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY continues to trade sideways in between a wide trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 20 – ETH Reaches a New All-Time High; Crypto Sector in the Red

The crypto sector ended up mostly in the red as altcoins started retracing after their moves to the upside. Bitcoin is currently trading for $35,776, representing a decrease of 2.1% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 3.28% on the day, while LTC lost 3.44% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Folder Protocol gained 813.46% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Global Gaming’s 198.29% and Benchmark Protocol’s 159.89% gain. On the other hand, 3XT TOKEN lost 85.20%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Ether Kingdoms Token’s loss of 61.70% and Matrix AI Network’s loss of 52.48%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down since our last report as altcoins started to outperform, with its value currently being 64.9%. This value represents a 0.7% difference to the downside when compared to the previously reported value.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $1.024 trillion. This represents a $10 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s daily time-frame shows us that the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is still contained within the triangle formation (purple). Any break of the current sideways movement may contest the triangle as well. On the other hand, BTC on the 1-hour time-frame is bouncing between the $34,627 support and the $37,445 resistance level for the past five days.

Bitcoin’s price will soon have to break the sideways trading pattern and contest the triangle formation. If BTC bulls or bears manage to break the triangle formation, we could see a large move in the same direction.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s short-term (4-hour and daily) technicals are slightly tilted towards the sell-side but still show a hint of neutrality or bullishness. Its weekly and monthly technicals are exactly the opposite, as they are slightly bullish but show some bearishness alongside it.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.32)
  • Volume is average (low)

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $37,445                             1: $34,627

2: $40,000                             2: $32,350

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap took advantage of the “altcoin season” as money moved from Bitcoin and onto other altcoins. Ever since Ether’s price bounced from the $1,211 level on Jan 18, we could see bulls coming to the market in larger numbers. This made the $1,350 level fall, and ETH finally set a new all-time high of $1,440. While the new ATH is just $20 away from its previous one, this is considered a testament to Ethereum’s upside potential.

Ether couldn’t position itself above the $1,420 (previous ATH) and fell below as it started retracing. Its price is now testing the $1,350 level but will most likely stay above it.


ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on all time-frames are tilted towards the buy-side, but all show a hint of bearishness in the oscillator department.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (50.69)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,420                               1: $1,350

2: $1,440                               2: $1,211

3: $1,450                               3: $1,183.85

Litecoin

Litecoin spent the day retracing from the recent $166.2 high after bulls reached exhaustion. LTC was trying to push towards the $180 levels and contest the 2021 highs but failed to do so as bulls spent too much strength in the $160 area, where the cryptocurrency faced heavy resistance.

Litecoin is now having a downward trajectory and has failed to break the 50-hour moving average in an attempt to break it. LTC traders may look for a trade after the cryptocurrency finishes testing the $142.1 level.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the 4-hour and monthly time-frames are completely bullish and show no neutrality or bearishness. On the other hand, its daily and weekly overviews show some form of bearishness.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price sightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.85)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 19 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Economic Sentiment Under Spotlight!

The eyes will remain on the European German ZEW Economic Sentiment data and the Current Account figures from Europe on the news front. All of the figures are expected to have a mixed impact, which may put sideways in the single currency Euro. Besides this, the eyes will stay on the German Final CPI figures.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

Today in the Asian trading session, the EUR/USD currency pair successfully extended its overnight bullish streak and remained supportive around just below 1.2100 level of upbeat market trading that weighed on the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar weakness was seen as one of the key factors that pushed the currency pair higher. However, the sentiment around the equity market was being supported by the expectations of additional fiscal stimulus. It should be noted that the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is ready to take Office on January 20, pushing for the $1.9 trillion stimulus package already planned last week. Meanwhile, the cautious sentiment ahead of the Biden government’s inauguration and the coronavirus (COVID-19) worried added further weakness to the greenback and contributed to the currency pair gains. Across the Atlantic, the Eurozone finance ministers’ latest push for financial support for their economies to boost the post-pandemic recovery plans also played its major role in underpinning the EUR/USD currency pair. 

The escalating concerns over the COVID-19 cases and economically-painful hard lockdowns keep questioning the pair’s upside momentum on the bearish side. As of writing, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2087 and consolidating in the range between 52.17 – 52.49. The market trading sentiment managed to erase its previous-day losses and turned positive during the Asian trading session on the day. However, the reason could be attributed to the high expectations of additional fiscal stimulus. It is worth recalling that the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is ready to take Office on January 20, pushing for the $1.9 trillion stimulus package already outlined last week. In the meantime, the Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is expected to push the government to “act big” with its next coronavirus relief package when she testifies before the Senate later on Tuesday. This latest optimism put a bid under risk assets and weighed over the safe-haven U.S. dollar. 

On the bearish side, the concerns about rising COVID-19 cases and economically-painful hard lockdowns keep challenging the upbeat market performance, which was seen as the key factor that kept the lid on any additional gains the currency pair. As per the latest report, the COVID-19 cases in Europe, the U.S., and the U.K. decreased somewhat but still not satisfactory as the strains are spreading faster, which in turn cause fresh activity restrictions. Moving ahead, the market traders will keep their eyes on the German ZEW survey, which is due to release later in the day. Meanwhile, the covid updates and any additional stimulus hint will also be key to watch.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2006      1.2091

1.2039      1.2106

1.2058      1.2139

Pivot Point: 1.2072

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading over 1.2064 support level, and closing of bullish engulfing candles over the same level supports the chances of

bullish correction until the 1.2115 level. On the lower side, the bearish breakout of the 1.2065 level can drive the selling trend until the support level of 1.2005. The 50 EMA and MACD suggest the pair is oversold and should reverse back slightly before exhibiting selling bias.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD currency pair failed to stop its previous session bearish bias and drew some offers around the 1.3535 level mainly due to the prevalent cautious mood, which underpinned the U.S. dollar and contributed to the currency pair losses. The optimism over the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines helps the currency pair to limit its deeper losses along with capping the losses could be the latest report by U.K. vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi that everyone will be granted a vaccine by September. Currently, the GBP/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.3537 and consolidating in the range between the 1.3524 – 1.3602.

Despite the on-going optimism about a potential treatment/vaccine and U.S. coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus bill, the market risk mood failed to stop its previous negative performance and stay bearish during the European session amid growing market concerns over the potential economic fallout from the continuous rise in new COVID-19. The worries were further fueled by Friday’s disappointing U.S. monthly Retail Sales figures for December. 

At the USD front, the broad-based U.S. dollar extended its early-day gaining streak and remained bullish during the European session on the day as investors still preferring to invest in the safe-haven assets in the wake of the risk-off market sentiment. However, the U.S. dollar gains were seen as one of the key factors that kept the currency pair lower. 

The currency pair was further pressured across the ocean by the imposition of fresh restrictions in the U.K. On the other hand, the optimism over the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines failed to give any meaningful support to the currency pair. The market traders will keep their eyes on the BOE Gov Bailey Speaks along with the Candian Housing Starts data. In the meantime, the coronavirus saga developments could play a key role in influencing the market risk sentiment and the USD price dynamics. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555      1.3722

1.3445      1.3781

1.3387      1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair trades have bounced off over the support level of 1.3534 level, and it’s likely to face resistance at the support become resistance level of 1.3617 level. Bullish crossover of this level can extend buying trend until 1.3697 area. On the lower side, the violation of the 1.3534 support level can extend the selling trend until the 1.3457 level. The MACD and RSI are in support of buying; thus, we should consider buying over 1.3617 and selling below the same.   


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY currency pair failed to stop its previous-day declining streak and remained depressed near 103.70 level mainly due to the worsening coronavirus (COVID-19) woes in the U.S., Europe, and some of the notable Asian nations like Japan, which fuel doubts over the global economic recovery and weighs on the market trading sentiment. In that way, the prevalent cautious sentiment benefitted the safe-haven Japanese yen and was seen as one of the key factors that exerting pressure on the USD/JPY currency pair. 

In contrast to this, the broad-based U.S. dollar strength, backed by the market risk-off tone, has become the key factor that helps the currency pair limit its deeper losses. Meanwhile, the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine’s positive developments help the market trading sentiment limit its deeper losses, which might change the currency pair’s direction. As of writing, the USD/JPY currency pair is currently trading at 103.77 and consolidating in the range between 103.69 – 103.93.

Despite the optimism about a potential treatment/vaccine, the market risk mood failed to stop its previous negative performance and stay bearish during the European session amid growing market concerns over the potential economic fallout from the continuous rise in new COVID-19. These worries were further fueled by Friday’s disappointing U.S. monthly Retail Sales figures for December. At the data front, the core retail sales declined 1.4% month-on-month in December, which was higher than the 0.1% contraction in forecasts and the 1.3% contraction recorded in November. Simultaneously, the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased 0.3% month on month in December, while retail sales declined 0.7% MoM in the same month. 

At the coronavirus front, the coronavirus (COVID-19) resurgence in Europe and the U.S. is still not showing any sign of slowing down, which keeps fueling the doubts over the economic recovery as the authorities in the U.S. and Europe keep imposing back to back restrictions over activities in efforts to control the spread of the virus. This, in turn, exerted downside pressure on the market risk tone and contributed to currency pair losses.

The traders will focus on the BOE Gov Bailey Speaks, and the Candian Housing Starts data. In the meantime, the coronavirus saga developments could play a key role in influencing the market risk sentiment and the USD price dynamics. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53      104.16

103.31      104.56

102.91      104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY continues to trade sideways in between a wide trading range of 104.340 – 103.560. The USD/JPY has formed a sideways channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.800 upon the breakout of 104.810. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 19 – Ether Breaks $1,300; Litecoin Skyrockets

The crypto sector was mostly green, with altcoins attempting to push up and reduce Bitcoin’s market dominance. Bitcoin is currently trading for $36,423, representing an increase of 3.85% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 9.89% on the day, while LTC gained 13.38% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

4THPILLAR TECHNOLOGIES gained 441.52% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by CryptoAds Marketplace’s 221.1% and YAMv2’s 181.43% gain. On the other hand, CY Finance lost 66.83%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Basiscoin Share’s loss of 39.38% and Trading Membership Community’s loss of 37.1%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down since our last report, with its value currently being 65.6%. This value represents a 0.5% difference to the downside when compared to the previously reported value.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has returned above the $1 trillion mark since we last reported, with its current value being $1.034 trillion. This represents a $41.3 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin spent the day mostly trading sideways, bound by the $34,627 to the downside and $37,445 to the upside. The price hopped between these levels and created a higher high higher low pattern, which later on broke after BTC couldn’t pass its immediate resistance level.

Bitcoin’s price has created a triangle pattern on the daily chart, and breaking this triangle to the upside or downside will determine the short-term price direction.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on all time-frames show a slight bullish tilt, with its oscillators pointing towards the sell-side.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is at both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (49.56)
  • Volume is average (low)

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $37,445                             1: $34,627

2: $40,000                             2: $32,350

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum has spent the day first slowly preparing for a move and then explosively pushing to the upside. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has, after confirming its position above the $1,211 level, shot up towards the $1,350 level, which it was not able to break. With the volume descending after that move, ETH will most likely not be able to break $1,350 unless a new wave of bulls comes into the market.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s 4-hour, daily, and monthly technicals are completely bullish and show no signs of neutrality or bearishness. On the other hand, its weekly overview shows some neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI has just left the overbought area (67.24)
  • Volume has spiked up in the recent hours

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,350                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,450                               3: $1,060.5

Litecoin

Litecoin was one of the largest daily gainers after its price suddenly shot up from $141 all the way up to $160 in just one hourly candle. While it seemed at first like the retracement will eat away the gains LTC made, the cryptocurrency made another push towards the upside and stopped just below the $161.55 resistance level.

Litcoin’s descending volume and price movement, as well as the number of sell orders near the $161.55 level, will most likely be enough to keep LTC below the resistance level for now.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the 4-hour, daily, and weekly time-frame are completely bullish, while its monthly technicals are slightly more neutral.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price close to its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (66.70)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 18 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Martin Luther King Day! 

The market may offer thin trading volume and volatility on the back of a holiday in the U.S. The U.S. banks will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day. However, the German Buba report will be in focus today to predict price action.

Economic Events to Watch Today  


 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

During Monday’s early European trading hours, the EUR/USD currency pair failed to stop its previous session losing streak and remained sideways around the 1.2071 mark due to the sluggish market sentiment underpinned the safe-haven U.S. dollar and contributed to the currency pair gains. Besides this, the selling bias around the currency pair could also be attributed to the rising COVID-19 and stricter activity restrictions in Europe, raising doubts about the European economies and pushing the shared currency down. Conversely, the EUR/USD currency pair’s declines were rather unaffected by the latest reports suggesting that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces a confidence vote in the lower house. Currently, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2075 and consolidating in the range between the 1.2065 – 1.2086.

The global equity market failed to stop its previous session’s bearish performance and remained sluggish during the early European session as concerns about the potential economic fallout from the Covid-19 surge remain on the cards. These concerns were triggered after Friday’s disappointing U.S. monthly Retail Sales data. At the data front, the core retail sales declined 1.4% month-on-month in December, which was higher than the 0.1% contraction in forecasts and the 1.3% contraction recorded in November. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased 0.3% month on month in December, while retail sales declined by 0.7% in the same month.

The equity market losses could also be tied to the prevalent cautious mood ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s first day of duty and initially negative signals for taxpayers and Canadian oil companies. In that way, the bearish tone around the equity markets was seen as one of the key factors that helped the safe-haven U.S. dollar.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2148     1.2178

1.2129     1.2189

1.2118     1.2208

Pivot Point: 1.2159

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading over the 1.2065 support level, and the closing of Doji candles above the same level supports the chances of

bullish correction until the 1.2115 level. On the lower side, a bearish breakout of 1.2065 can extend the selling trend until the support level of 1.2005. The 50 EMA and MACD suggest the pair is oversold and should reverse back a bit before exhibiting selling bias.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD currency pair failed to maintain its overnight bullish bias and drew some offers around the 1.3680 level mainly due to the downbeat market trading mood, which underpinned the U.S. dollar bullish and contributed to the currency pair losses.

At the USD front, the broad-based U.S. dollar managed to extend its early-day gaining streak and remained bullish during the European session on the day as investors still prefer to invest in the safe-haven wake of the risk-off market sentiment. The U.S. dollar has been supported by the Democrat victories in the runoff Senate elections in Georgia earlier in the month, which saw a surge in U.S. yields as Democrats got control of Congress. The U.S. dollar gains were seen as one of the key factors that kept the currency pair lower. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a bucket of other currencies rose by 0.05% to 90.800 by 10:46 AM ET.

At home, the wave of the coronavirus and tighter travel restrictions in Europe keep fueling the doubts over economic recovery as back-to-back lockdown restrictions negatively affect economic activities. The latest report suggests the total novel coronavirus cases of 23,653,919 yesterday against 23,440,774 in the previous report on January 16.

Besides this, the selling bias around the currency pair could also be associated with the ever-rising numbers of COVID-19 and tougher lockdown restrictions in the U.K., which keep raising doubts over the economic recovery. In contrast to this, the latest reports suggest that the Bank of England (BOE) will keep the interest rates unchanged until 2024 to avoid negative rates, which helped the currency pair limit its losses. Also capping the losses could be the latest optimism around the coronavirus better situation in the U.K. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555     1.3722

1.3445     1.3781

1.3387     1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair also trades sideways between a narrow trading range of 1.3549 – 1.3452. On the higher side, a bullish breakout of 1.3549 level can extend the buying trend until the next resistance area of 1.3628 and 1.3698. Conversely, a bearish breakout of 1.3549 support level can extend the selling trend until 1.3455 and 1.3346. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY currency pair successfully maintained its bullish bias and took steps near mid- 103.00 regions largely due to the market’s downbeat mode and a big rally in the U.S. bond yield retained the U.S. dollar bullish and added to the currency pair accruals. Nevertheless, the market trading opinion was being pressed by the ever-rising figures of COVID-19 and stricter lockdown restrictions that keep fueling doubts over the global economy’s recovery. 

Meanwhile, the equity markets’ slumps were further bolstered by the renewed Sino-US tussle, which extended some support to the safe-haven Japanese yen and capped the upside for the USD/JPY currency pair. Conversely, the optimism about a potential treatment/vaccine and U.S. coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus bill keeps challenging the market risk-off mood, which might change the direction for the USD/JPY currency pair. Currently, the USD/JPY currency pair is currently trading at 103.78 and consolidating in the range between 103.70 – 103.85.

The market trading sentiment failed to stop its early-day negative performance and remained pessimistic during the Asian trading session. The downfall was completely sponsored by the fears of intensifying coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions throughout the world, which keeps fueling the doubts over the global economic recovery from COVID-19. As per the latest report, France recently imposed a new nationwide lockdown, while German Chancellor Merkel is considering toughening the German lockdown. Apart from this, nearly 22M people are currently under strict lockdown conditions in China’s Hebei province. This happened right after the country posted the largest number of new Covid-19 infections in over 5-months on Wednesday. 

At the USD front, the broad-based U.S. dollar managed to extend its early-day gaining streak and remained bullish during the European session on the day as investors still prefer to invest in the safe-haven securities back of the risk-off market sentiment. The greenback has been supported by the Democrat victories in the runoff Senate elections in Georgia earlier in the month, which saw a surge in U.S. yields as Democrats got control of Congress. The U.S. dollar gains were seen as one of the key factors that kept the currency pair lower. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a bucket of other currencies rose by 0.05% to 90.800 by 10:46 AM ET.

At home, the wave of the coronavirus and tighter travel restrictions in Europe keep fueling the doubts over economic recovery as back-to-back lockdown restrictions negatively affect economic activities. The latest report suggests the total novel coronavirus cases of 23,653,919 yesterday against 23,440,774 in the previous report on January 16.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53     104.16

103.31     104.56

102.91     104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The safe-haven currency pair USD/JPY slipped to trade at 104.054 level amid increased demand for safe-haven assets. The USD/JPY has formed an upward channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.340 level. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 18 – Bitcoin Drops During the Weekend, ETH Remains Strong

The crypto sector spent the weekend in a mostly descending fashion, with BTC continuing its short-term downtrend. Bitcoin is currently trading for $35,258, representing an increase of 0.14% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 0.39% on the day, while LTC lost 0.46% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Astosch gained 285.95% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by ALL BEST ICO’s 273.67% and Yeld Finance’s 264.65% gain. On the other hand, Bestay lost 87%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Zugacoin’s loss of 85.51% and VKF Platform’s loss of 77.77%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down since our last report, with its value currently being 66.1%. This value represents a 2.3% difference to the downside when compared to the previously reported value.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has dropped below the $1 trillion mark since we last reported, with its current value being $993.33 billion. This represents a $43.67 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin spent the weekend following the downtrend it started on Jan 14, with its price slowly declining from a high of $39,600 to a low of $33,833. During the downtrend, the price has contested and broken the $36,640 level to the downside and looks like it will contest the $33,200 level in the near future. BTC is currently trading at a little above $35,000, representing a weekly loss of 6.09% and a monthly gain of 29.87%.

Bitcoin’s price has responded well to the 21-day moving average and found very strong support there. Staying above this level will be crucial if BTC wants to turn to the upside.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frame are completely bullish and show no neutral or bearish signs. On the other hand, its 4-hour overview is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (43.00)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $36,640                             1: $33,200

2: $40,000                             2: $30,640

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum’s weekend was not spent in a downfall. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap headed towards the $1,300 level but failed to break it, which prompted a weekend of sideways trading. While ETH did break the $1,211 level to the downside, the $1,183.85 level held up. Ether is currently trading in a very narrow range, bound by the aforementioned levels.

ETH’s short-term movement will greatly depend on two factors: Bitcoin’s volatility and Ether itself, breaking its immediate support or resistance levels.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals all time-frames are tilted towards the buy-side, with the 4-hour, daily, and weekly overviews fully pointing towards the buy-side. Its monthly overview, however, has oscillators pointing towards neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is slightly below its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (43.72)
  • Volume is slightly below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,211                               1: $1,183.85

2: $1,255                               2: $1,060.5

3: $1,350                               3: $1,047.5

Litecoin

Litecoin mirrored Bitcoin’s movements over the weekend, stepping into a downtrend that started on Jan 14, after Litecoin couldn’t push its price to $160. The price is currently fighting for the $142.1 level, which it has recently broken to the downside.

While Litecoin’s movements seem to mirror Bitcoin’s, its volume remains stable despite Bitcoin’s volume dropping. At the moment, LTC might be a better choice for people that want to be less affected by Bitcoin’s volatility.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frame are completely bullish and show no neutral or bearish signs (though they are slightly less bullish than Bitcoin’s overviews). On the other hand, its 4-hour overview is completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly below its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (42.47)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $114.75

3: $181.3                               3: $97.8

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 15 – Bitcoin Retraces After Hitting $40k; Ethereum Contests $1.2k

The crypto sector was mostly stable in the past 24 hours, as most cryptocurrencies were trying to find their top or retraced slightly. Bitcoin is currently trading for $37,766, representing a decrease of 0.42% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 5.98% on the day, while LTC gained 0.33% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

FastSwap gained 244.13% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by HedgeTrade’s 225.26% and Capital.Finance’s 145.48% gain. On the other hand, Zugacoin lost 87.51%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Roti Bank Coin’s loss of 77.52% and BitiPro Exchange Token’s loss of 74.35%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 68.4%. This value represents a 0.6% difference to the downside when compared to the previously reported value.

Weekly Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has made negligible gains since we last reported, with its current value being $1.037 trillion. This represents a $5 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has ended its uptrend by hitting a high of $40,112 yesterday, prompting a slight pullback. The pullback was, just like the price increase, happening on low volume and had the same intensity as well. The only differentiating factor was its direction. The move to the downside ended with BTC’s price hitting the 50-hour moving average and pushing up.

Bitcoin has a couple of strong resistance lines to the upside, one being the immediate 21-hour EMA, and then the $40,000 and ultimately $42,000 levels. On the other hand, its support is guarded by the 50-hour EMA and the $36,640 level.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the daily and monthly time-frame are overall bullish but have oscillators pointing to the sell-side. On the other hand, its 4-hour and weekly overviews are completely bullish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (50.19)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $40,000                             1: $36,640

2: $42,000                             2: $33,200

3: $43,600                             3: $30,640

Ethereum

Ethereum’s push to the upside has, just like with Bitcoin, seemingly ended. However, its pullback hasn’t started at all, as its price kept fluctuating between the recently $1,183.85 support level and the recent high. Trading in such a narrow range is not sustainable, and ETH will break either to the upside or downside very soon.

ETH traders can finally catch a nice trade as the cryptocurrency has (at least a bit) moved in a different manner than Bitcoin. Ether’s upside is guarded by the heavy resistance zone slightly below $1,300 as well as the $1,350 level. Its downside has smaller support levels, some of them being $1,211, $1,183.85, as well as the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the 4-hour and daily time-frames are overall bullish but have oscillators pointing to the sell-side. On the other hand, its weekly and monthly overviews are completely bullish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (61.37)
  • Volume is slightly below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,255                               1: $1,211

2: $1,350                               2: $1,183.85

3: $1,419                               3: $1,060.5

Litecoin

Litecoin continued trading within its range, bound by $142.1 to the downside and $161.5 to the upside. Its price is now also between the 21-hour and the 50-hour EMAs, which have proven to be strong support and resistance levels, especially when paired with low trading volume.

Litecoin is currently mirroring the direction of Bitcoin’s moves, but with much less intensity. This makes it a very unattractive trading pair at the moment.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on all time-frames are completely bullish and without any signs of neutrality.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (53.10)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 15 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. Retail sales in Focus!

On the news front, it’s going to be a busy Friday as the U.K. economy is due to release its GDP figures, which are expected to perform negatively, and this may add selling pressure on the Sterling. Later during the U.S. session, the U.S. retail sales may drive further price action in the dollar related pairs.

Economic Events to Watch Today  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

During Friday’s early Asian trading hours, the EUR/USD currency pair failed to stop its overnight losing streak and still trades in a sideways manner around below the 1.2150 marks due to the risk-off market sentiment underpinned the U.S. dollar and contributed to the currency pair gains. Besides this, the selling bias around the currency pair could also be attributed to the ever-increasing COVID-19 and tougher lockdown restrictions in the U.K. and Europe, which raised further doubts over the European economies and pushed the shared currency down. The declines in the EUR/USD currency pair were unaffected by the latest positive announcement from U.S. President-elect Joe Biden regarding the stimulus package. Currently, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2144 and consolidating in the range between the 1.2143 – 1.2163. Moving on, the market traders seem reluctant to place any strong position ahead of European Trade Balance and French Final CPI m/m.

Besides, the new wave of the coronavirus in the U.K. and resulting in tighter travel restrictions in Europe and the U.K. keep fueling the fears over slower economic recovery as back to back lockdown restrictions tend to have an instant negative effect on economic activities, which in turn, added bearish pressure around the currency pair. As per the latest report, France recently introduced a new nationwide lockdown, while German Chancellor Merkel reportedly wants to toughen the German lockdown. Apart from this, approximately 22M people are currently under strict lockdown conditions in China’s Hebei province. This happened right after the country posted the largest number of new Covid-19 infections in over 5-months on Wednesday. This, in turn, exerted downside eight on the market risk tone and contributed to U.S. dollar gains.

As in result, the broad-based U.S. dollar managed to stop its overnight losses and edged higher during the Asian session on the day amid risk-off market sentiment. However, the U.S. dollar bullish bias was rather unaffected by the worsening coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions in the U.S., or U.S. stimulus talks progress, which tend to undermine the U.S. currency. However, the gains in the U.S. dollar kept the currency pair lower. 

Looking forward, the market players will keep their eyes on the release of U.S. Core Retail Sales m/m along with Retail Sales m/m. The French Final CPI m/ma and Trade Balance will also be closely followed. Meanwhile, the UK GDP m/m and Goods Trade Balance are also expected to release later on the day. Across the ocean, the updates surrounding the Sino-US tussle and virus woes could not lose their importance on the day.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2148      1.2178

1.2129      1.2189

1.2118      1.2208

Pivot Point: 1.2159

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

On Friday, the market’s technical side remains mostly unchanged as the EUR/USD continues to gain support at the 1.2136 level, and breaking of this can trigger an additional dip until 1.2105 and 1.2065 level. On the upside, the EUR/USD pair may find resistance at the 1.2170 level, and a bullish breakout of this level can extend the buying trend to 1.2220. The RSI and MACD have shifted their selling trends; therefore, we may see further sell-off upon the bearish breakout of 1.2136 level today.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD During Friday’s early Asian trading session, the GBP/USD currency pair failed to maintain its overnight bullish bias and drew some offers around the 1.3680 level mainly due to the downbeat market trading mood, which underpinned the U.S. dollar bullish and contributed to the currency pair losses. Besides this, the selling bias around the currency pair could also be associated with the ever-rising numbers of COVID-19 and tougher lockdown restrictions in the U.K., which keep raising doubts over the economic recovery. In contrast to this, the latest reports suggest that the Bank of England (BOE) will keep the interest rates unchanged at least until 2024 to avoid negative rates, which helped the currency pair limit its losses. Also capping the losses could be the latest optimism around the coronavirus better situation in the U.K. Currently, the GBP/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.3687 and consolidating in the range between the 1.3675 – 1.3699. Moving on, the market traders seem reluctant to place any strong position ahead of UK GDP m/m and Goods Trade Balance data.

Despite the ongoing optimism about a potential treatment/vaccine and U.S. coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus bill, the market risk mood failed to stop its previous bearish performance and remained red amid growing market worries over the potential economic byproduct from the continuous rise in new COVID-19. The ongoing downfall around the equity market was completely sponsored by the fears of intensifying coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions throughout the world, which keeps fueling the doubts over the global economic recovery from COVID-19. 

Besides the virus woes, the reason for the bearish trading sentiment could also be associated with the long-lasting US-China tussle, which is continuously picking pace after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Chinese officials and companies. All these events have been weighing on the market trading sentiment and were seen as major factors that kept the U.S. dollar prices higher.

As in result, the broad-based U.S. dollar managed to stop its overnight losses and edged higher during the Asian session on the day amid fresh risk-off market sentiment. However, the U.S. dollar gains were relatively unaffected by the worsening coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions in the U.S., or U.S. stimulus talks progress, which tend to undermine the U.S. currency. The U.S. President-elect Joe Biden recently revealed a much-anticipated coronavirus stimulus plan and promised to deliver $2,000 in stimulus cheques to Americans, infrastructure spending, social equity, and a potential minimum wage of $15 per hour. Unfortunately, Biden’s stimulus talk has failed to inject volatility in the forex markets so far. However, the gains in the U.S. dollar kept the currency pair lower. 


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555      1.3722

1.3445      1.3781

1.3387      1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair also trades sideways between a narrow trading range of 1.3703 – 1.3632. On the higher side, a bullish breakout of 1.3703 level can extend the buying trend until the next resistance area of 1.3744 and 1.3786. Conversely, a bearish breakout of 1.3632 support level can extend the selling trend until 1.3550. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

During Friday’s early European trading session, the USD/JPY currency pair succeeded to maintain its bullish bias and to take rounds around above mid- 103.00 regions mainly due to the market’s downbeat mood and a strong rally in the U.S. bond yield, which kept the U.S. dollar bullish and contributed to the currency pair gains. However, the market trading sentiment was being pressured by the ever-rising numbers of COVID-19 and stricter lockdown restrictions throughout the world, which keeps fueling doubts over the global economy’s recovery. Meanwhile, the equity markets’ slumps were further bolstered by the renewed Sino-US tussle, which extended some support to the safe-haven Japanese yen and capped the upside for the USD/JPY currency pair. Conversely, the optimism about a potential treatment/vaccine and U.S. coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus bill keeps challenging the market risk-off mood, which might change the direction for the USD/JPY currency pair. Currently, the USD/JPY currency pair is currently trading at 103.78 and consolidating in the range between 103.70 – 103.85.

The market trading sentiment failed to stop its early-day negative performance and remained pessimistic during the Asian trading session. The downfall was completely sponsored by the fears of intensifying coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions throughout the world, which keeps fueling the doubts over the global economic recovery from COVID-19. As per the latest report, France recently imposed a new nationwide lockdown, while German Chancellor Merkel is considering toughening the German lockdown. Apart from this, nearly 22M people are currently under strict lockdown conditions in China’s Hebei province. This happened right after the country posted the largest number of new Covid-19 infections in over 5-months on Wednesday. 

Besides the virus woes, the reason for the bearish trading sentiment could also be associated with the long-lasting US-China tussle, which is still not showing any sign of slowing down. The reason could be associated with the reports suggesting that the Trump administration is imposing sanctions on officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea and imposing an investment ban on 9 more Chinese firms with alleged ties to the Chinese military, including planemaker Comac and phone maker Xiaomi (OTC: XIACF) Corp. However, all these factors have been weighing on the market trading sentiment, which was seen as major factors that kept the U.S. dollar prices higher.

As in result, the broad-based U.S. dollar managed to extend its early-day gains and remained bullish on the day amid prevalent risk-off market sentiment. However, the gains in the U.S. dollar were rather unaffected by the U.S. stimulus progress, which tends to undermine the U.S. currency. It is worth noting that the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden promised to deliver $2,000 in stimulus cheques to Americans, infrastructure spending, social equity, and a potential minimum wage of $15 per hour. Unfortunately, this positive talk has failed to inject volatility in the forex markets so far. Notably, the gains in the U.S. dollar could be short-lived or temporary as the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the time to raise the interest rates is no time soon. However, the ongoing bullish bias around the greenback kept the currency pair higher.

Looking forward, the market players will keep their eyes on the release of U.S. Core Retail Sales m/m along with Retail Sales m/m. Apart from this, the French Final CPI m/ma and Trade Balance will also be closely followed. At home, the UK GDP m/m and Goods Trade Balance are also expected to release later on the day. Across the ocean, the updates surrounding the Sino-US tussle and virus woes could not lose their importance on the day.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53      104.16

103.31      104.56

102.91      104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The safe-haven currency pair USD/JPY slipped to trade at 104.054 level amid increased demand for safe-haven assets. The USD/JPY has formed an upward channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.340 level. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 14 – Bitcoin Records Double-Digit Gains as it Passes $38K; Crypto Market in the Green

The crypto sector ended up almost completely in the green as Bitcoin recorded double-digit gains and pulled the rest of the market up. Bitcoin is currently trading for $38,222, representing an increase of 11.05% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 9.00% on the day, while LTC gained 6.48% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Simbcoin gained 366.72% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Penta’s 229.88% and DEX’s 187.13% gain. On the other hand, Daiquilibrium lost 88.91%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Dynamic Supply Tracker’s loss of 80.15% and Dynamic Supply’s loss of 63.83%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 69%. This value represents a 0.4% difference to the upside when compared to the previously reported value.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s market capitalization has made significant gains since we last reported, with its current value being $1.032 trillion. This represents an $88.3 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin had started changing its price direction on Jan 13, when it started to slowly push towards the upside. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to pass the $36,640 level and reach as high as $38,789 before pulling back slightly. This steady price increase was followed by average (or even slightly descending) volume.

The pullback BTC went into after hitting the recent high was quickly stopped by the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, changing the overall stance from an expected downturn to uncertainty.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the 4-hour, daily and monthly time-frame are overall bullish, with oscillators pointing to the sell-side. On the other hand, its weekly overview is completely bullish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (62.38)
  • Volume is average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $40,000                             1: $36,640

2: $42,000                             2: $33,200

3: $43,600                             3: $30,640

Ethereum

Ethereum’s period of heavy correlation with Bitcoin has continued as its price slowly gained momentum towards the upside. Ether managed to push its price to the $1,183.85 level but couldn’t quite break it. This caused a minor pullback, which ended very quickly.

Ethereum’s 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs play a significant role in determining its price direction and should be considered by the traders at all times. On top of that, any ETH trader should pay attention to BTC’s movements, as those ultimately determine the price direction of most cryptocurrencies.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily and weekly time-frame are currently completely bullish, while its 4-hour and monthly overviews show some signs of neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (64.19)
  • Volume is slightly below average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,183.85                          1: $1,060.5

2: $1,211                               2: $1,047.5

3: $1,226.5                            3: $992

Litecoin

While Litecoin did follow Bitcoin’s price direction, it did so with much less conviction and intensity. Its price managed to pass the $142.1 level to the upside and establish its price above it but failed to move into the upper half of the trading range bound by $142.1 to the downside and $161.5 to the upside.

Litecoin currently has a very nicely-built support zone, while its upside is quite open. If Bitcoin’s price remains the same, traders can expect LTC to try to push towards or even contest the $161.5 level.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the shorter time-frames (4-hour, daily, and weekly) show overall tilt to the buy-side with hints of neutrality. Its monthly time-frame, however, is completely bullish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is slightly above its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (57.08)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 14 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. Fed Chair Powell Speech in Focus! 

The eyes will remain on the ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts due during the late European session on the data front. Alongside, the U.S. Unemployment Claims and Fed Chair Powell Speaks will remain in highlights today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.21577 after placing a high of 1.22226 and a low of 1.21396. The U.S. dollar recovered on Wednesday and weighed on EUR/USD pair that resulted in losses for another day. On Tuesday, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell nearly seven basis points from a 10-month high hit on the day following strong demand at a $38 billion 10-year auction and comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials reiterating that monetary policy was going to stay supportive. 

The sharp rise in the U.S. yields resulted from the bond-market sell-off triggered by the rising hopes for massive stimulus measures largely funded by government borrowing after the Democrats claimed the Senate in Georgia runoff elections. 

At 12:00 GMT, the German WPI for December raised to 0.6% against the expected 0.1% and supported Euro on the data front. At 14:00 GMT, the Italian Industrial Production for November dropped to -1.4% against the expected -0.4% and weighed on Euro. At 15:00 GMT, the Industrial Production for November also raised to 2.5% against the expected 0.2% and supported Euro. From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Consumer Price Index for December remained unchanged at 0.4%. The Core CPI for December also came in line with the forecasts of 0.1%. The European Central bank President Christine Lagarde called on Wednesday for global regulation of Bitcoin, saying that the digital currency had been used for money laundering activities in some instances and that any loopholes needed to be closed. The largely anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies has raised the concerns that they could be used for money laundering and other legal activities.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said that unemployment for the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. was above 20%, and it underscores the importance of policy help for the economy. Brainard said that the figure indicated how uneven the recovery has seen since efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the biggest quarterly GDP drop since the Great Depression. She also said that the level highlighted the need for accommodative policy, but she stated that it was too early to say how long Fed’s measures will stay in place. These comments from Brainard added strength to the U.S. dollar and added losses in EUR/USD pair on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the losses in EUR/USD pair were extended after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted to extend the current lockdown in Europe’s largest economy through the end of March. Extending the lockdown will hurt the Eurozone’s economy that could drag it to a double-dip recession, and it weighed on the local currency Euro that ultimately added weight on EUR/USD pair on Wednesday. Furthermore, On Wednesday, the House voted in favor of impeachment against Donald Trump, and he became the first U.S. President to be impeached twice. The House voted to impeach Trump on incitement of insurrection after the President incited a violent crowd to storm the Capitol last week, ultimately resulting in five deaths. These developments kept the safe-haven greenback under demand and added further losses in EUR/USD pair.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2148       1.2178

1.2129      1.2189

1.2118      1.2208

Pivot Point: 1.2159

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is gaining support at the 1.2136 level, and violation of this can cause further dip until 1.2105 and 1.2065 level. On the higher side, the EUR/USD pair may face resistance at the 1.2170 level, and a bullish breakout of this level can prolong the buying trend until 1.2220. The RSI and MACD have shifted their selling trends; therefore, we may see further sell-off upon the bearish breakout of the 1.2136 level today.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD closed at 1.36364 after placing a high of 1.37010 and a low of 1.36115. The GBP/USD pair dropped on Wednesday after British Pound started trimming its previous daily gains amid the U.S. dollar recovery. The greenback recovered strength, and the DXY rose back to the area of the daily high near 90.30. The gains were modest as Wall Street trades mixed and despite the decline in the U.S. treasury. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 1.09%, its lowest since January 8. 

After the third national lockdown in the U.K. was announced last week, there had been speculations that the Bank of England (BoE) could introduce negative interest rates to help support the economy, which proved negative for the British Pound. However, following Tuesday’s comments from Bank of Governor Andrew Bailey, which ended the speculation, Sterling has since rallied and continued to find support from markets. Furthermore, the British Pound also rose as Home Secretary Priti Patel addressed the nation and said that the current lockdown restrictions were strict enough, claiming investors who had been worried that tougher restrictions could have been announced to tackle rising infection rates. 

The prospects of new restrictions added weight to the local currency, and it was further supported by the comments from the Scottish Minister, who announced further restrictions. Nicola Sturgeon urged people to minimize their interaction and keep in mind that the virus was there with everyone. He said that people should assume that they have the virus or any person they were in contact with and urged the public to prevent it from spreading by following the rules and SOPs. The rising number of coronavirus cases and imposed lockdowns in the nation added weight to the local currency Sterling, which ultimately added the GBP/USD pair’s losses.

The U.S. Inflation rate and the rising U.S. Treasury yields helped and supported the U.S. dollar supported due to its safe-haven status from the rising number of coronavirus cases U.S. fiscal stimulus speculations. The rising demand for the U.S. dollar added in the losses of the British Pound to the U.S. Dollar exchange rate and dragged it down on Wednesday.

For Cable investors, any coronavirus developments will remain in focus for the end of the week, with success in the rollout of vaccines seen as British Pound positive. Sterling investors will also be watching Friday’s U.K. growth data, which could weaken the GBP/USD exchange rate. 

The British Pound investors will also be looking to Federal Reserve officials over the coming days, with Fed chair Jerome Powell speaking and indicating that U.S. monetary policy will be kept loose and the U.S. dollar is likely to struggle further. Greenback investors will also be focusing on Friday’s initial jobless claims that could also disappoint the traders.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555      1.3722

1.3445      1.3781

1.3387      1.3890

Pivot Point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is trading at 1.3692, and it has closed a Doji candle on the four hourly timeframes, and it may extend a bearish correction in the GBP/USD pair. On the lower side, the support stays at 1.3636 and resistance at 1.3692 and 1.3720 today. The GBP/USD pair’s 10 & 20 periods EMA is supporting bullish bias in the Sterling. The MACD and RSI support bullish bias; therefore, bullish bias dominates over the 1.3646 level today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair closed at 103.869 after placing a high of 103.995 and a low of 103.523. The pair refreshed daily tops on Wednesday, reversed an intraday dip near a one-week low, and recovered a quarter of the previous day’s losses. The U.S. Dollar demand rose on Wednesday amid the retracement slide from a 10-month high hit of U.S. treasury yield on a 10-year note that ultimately added to the USD/JPY pair’s upward momentum. The U.S. dollar was also high onboard amid the risk-off market sentiment on Wednesday due to increased infection cases and imposed lockdowns worldwide.

The Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell nearly seven basis points from a 10-month high hit on Tuesday following strong demand at a $38 billion 10-year auction. The comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials stating that monetary policy would stay supportive also helped the U.S. dollar regain its strength and support the USD/JPY pair’s gains on Wednesday.

On the data front, at 04:50 GMT, the M2 Money Stock for the year from Japan remained flat at 9.2%. At 10:58 GMT, the Prelim Machine Tool Orders from Japan raised in December to 8.7% against November’s 8.6%. . From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Consumer Price Index for December remained unaffected at 0.4%. The Core CPI for December also came in line with the projections of 0.1%.

The Kansas City Fed President Esther George has said that she does not expect the Fed to react if inflation exceeds the central bank’s 2% goal. Earlier in the month, the Democrats claimed the Senate after the runoff elections in Georgia that raised hopes for larger stimulus measures funded by the government borrowing. This resulted in a bond-market sell-off that drove U.S. yields sharply higher, helped stall the U.S. dollar’s decline, and supported the USD/JPY pair’s upward trend. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve officials expect a quick economic recovery if coronavirus vaccinations continue to gather pace; however, that could leave markets estimating about the outlook for the monetary policy by Central Bank. Federal Reserve might not recourse to faster than expected loosening of coronavirus stimulus efforts. Such a move from the Fed could put pressure on it to raise interest rates faster than expected, and this would help the U.S. dollar gather strength and support the rising USD/JPY pair. Moreover, on Tuesday, the daily U.S. coronavirus death-toll hit a record of 4327 as the Trump administration moved to rush the rollout of vaccinations across the country. During the holiday season around January 8, the rising death-toll was first seen in the U.S. with 4000 deaths, and it has reached 4327 now.

The total number of deaths in the United States from coronavirus has reached 382,624, and it is the biggest death-toll in the world. The U.S. also has the highest number of coronavirus cases globally, with 22,959,610 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Despite lockdown and restrictive measures, these rising coronavirus cases added weight on the U.S. dollar and capped further gains in the USD/JPY pair.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53      104.16

103.31      104.56

102.91      104.78

Pivot Point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The safe-haven currency pair USD/JPY slipped to trade at 104.054 level amid increased demand for safe-haven assets. The USD/JPY has formed an upward channel on the 4-hour timeframe, and it has the chance of leading the pair towards the next resistance level of 104.340 level. The 50 periods EMA supports the bullish trend, and we may have odds of taking a buying trade over the 103.570 level today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 13 – Polkadot Outperforms the Market as it Heads Towards $10; Crypto Sector in the Red

The crypto sector ended up mostly trading in the red as cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Litcoin, and Bitcoin Cash dropped over 5% on the day. Polkadot was one of the few cryptocurrencies that managed to score double-digit gains and outperform the market by a large margin. However, this is purely due to fundamental reasons (immense support coming from the Binance exchange) rather than technicals.

Bitcoin is currently trading for $34,223, representing a decrease of 3.03% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 4.09% on the day, while LTC lost 3.07% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Metacoin gained 103.61% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by OVR’s 98.72% and Latamcash’s 92.88% gain. On the other hand, Amun Bitcoin 3x Daily Short lost 75.44%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Zugacoin’s loss of 73.82% and KIMCHI.finance’s loss of 66.82%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down very slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 68.6%. This value represents a 0.1% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s capitalization has decreased since we last reported, with its current value being $948.23 trillion. This represents a $17.92 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin spent the day hovering between the $33,320 support level and the $36,640 resistance level, with its price mostly being in the bottom part of the range. The price even breached the support level and went past it on several occasions, but it always returned back up. While it currently seems stable and on decreasing volume, Bitcoin might experience a stronger pullback and an attempt to retest $30,000 once again.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the daily and monthly time-frame bullish, but contain some neutrality alongside the bullishness. However, its weekly overview is completely bullish, while its 4-hour chart is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (50.24)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $36,640                             1: $33,200

2: $40,000                             2: $30,640

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

Ethereum has traded almost exactly like Bitcoin in the past 24 hours, both in terms of price direction and intensity. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently in an extremely narrow and unsustainable range, bound by the Fib retracement level of $1,060 to the upside and a 2017 Fib retracement sitting at $1,047.

Ethereum’s 21-hour and 50-hour moving averages play a significant role in determining price direction and should be considered by the traders at all times.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily and monthly time-frame bullish, but contain some neutrality alongside the bullishness. However, its weekly overview is completely bullish, while its 4-hour chart is completely bearish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is between its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.60)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,129                               1: $1,060.5

2: $1,211                               2: $1,047.5

3: $1,226.5                             3: $992

Litecoin

Litecoin has been pretty stable in the past 24 hours, with its price trading within a range bound by $128.4 to the downside and $142.1 to the upside. These support/resistance levels, alongside the 21-hour and 50-hour EMAs, will determine Litecoin’s future price intensity, while Bitcoin’s next move will most likely determine its price direction.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the daily and monthly time-frame are completely bullish. However, its weekly overview shows slightly less bullishness, while its 4-hour chart is almost completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (51.37)
  • Volume is descending

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $142.1                               1: $128.42

2: $161.5                               2: $114.75

3: $181.3                               3: $98

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 13 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. Inflation Report in Focus! 

On the news front, eyes will remain on the ECB President Lagarde Speaks as she may discuss the upcoming monetary policy event; however, the major focus will remain on the U.S. Inflation rates, which may help determine the further direction of the U.S. dollar.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.22077 after placing a high of 1.22095 and a low of 1.21369. After falling for three consecutive sessions, the EUR/USD pair rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar eased and U.S. Treasury declined. The U.S. Dollar had hit a more than two and half year lowest level in January after sliding for months as the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its interest rates and speculation of heavy rounds of fiscal stimulus under President-elect Joe Biden’s tenure. However, after Democrats won the Georgia runoff elections, the hopes for massive stimulus packages increased, and the U.S. Treasury yields started to rise that ultimately lifted the U.S. dollar.

This rise in the U.S. dollar weighed heavily on EUR/USD pair during last week; however, the recent rally in U.S. Treasury yields ran out of the stream, and the dollar came back to its previous levels. The U.S. Treasury yield on a 10-year note reached a 10-month high on Tuesday but ultimately had a reverse effect and weighed on the U.S. dollar. This slide-in U.S. dollar added gains in EUR/USD pair on Tuesday as the investors started taking profits. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that country was ready to settle its frayed relationship with the European Union back on track and called on the 27 nation bloc to display the same determination. 

These new lockdown measures across Europe to fight the second wave of coronavirus raised the fears of a double-dip recession in the Eurozone that added weight on the single currency Euro and capped further upside in the EUR/USD pair on Tuesday.

On the data front, there was no macroeconomic data to be released from Europe while from the U.S., at 16:00 GMT, the NFIB Small Business Index for December dropped to 95.9 against the expected 100.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately added in the gains of EUR/USD pair. At 20:00 GMT, the JOLTS Job Openings for November rose to 6.53M against the expected 6.42M and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further gains in EUR/USD pair. At 20:02 GMT, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism came in line with the forecasts of 50.1.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2159     1.2234

1.2111     1.2259

1.2085     1.2308

Pivot point: 1.2185

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is gaining support at the 1.2200 level, and below this, it can dip further until the 1.2189 level. On the higher side, the pair may face resistance at the 1.2226 level, and a bullish breakout of this level can extend the buying trend until 1.2260. The RSI and MACD support a bullish trend, but there’s a chance of bearish correction upon the violation of 1.2190. On the 4 hour timeframe, the EUR/USD pair may face resistance at the 1.2220 level, which is extended by a downward trendline.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD closed at 1.36645 after placing a high of 1.36702 and a low of 1.34932. After falling for four consecutive sessions, the GBP/USD pair raised on Tuesday after Sterling strengthened amid the Bank of England’s positive comments. The Pound Sterling jumped against the U.S. dollar and the Euro on Tuesday as comments from the Bank of England’s governor Andrew Bailey on the viability of negative interest rates dampened some sub-zero rates’ expectations in the U.K. 

Bailey said that there were many issues with cutting interest rates below zero, and such a move could hurt banks. After these comments from Bailey, the British Pound gained traction and raised that ultimately pushed the GBP/USD pair higher on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, The Deputy Governor of Bank of England, Ben Broadbent, said on Tuesday that Britain’s coronavirus pandemic was likely to have a limited long-run impact on inflation and has led to less short-term downward pressure on prices than might have been expected from the slump in headline economic output. Broadbent said that a smaller slowdown in inflation reflected shifts in consumer demand during the pandemic that had led to temporary capacity constraints in businesses, as well as support to household incomes from government furlough schemes.

On the data front, at 05:01 GMT, the BRC Retail Sales Monitor for the year for December dropped to 4.8% against the expected 5.9% and weighed on British Pound and capped further upside in GBP/USD pair. From the U.S. side, at 16:00 GMT, the NFIB Small Business Index for December declined to 95.9 against the projected 100.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately added the gains of the GBP/USD pair. At 20:00 GMT, the JOLTS Job Openings for November surged to 6.53M against the projected 6.42M and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further GBP/USD pair gains. At 20:02 GMT, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism came in line with the projections of 50.1.

On the other hand, the U.S. dollar was also weak on Tuesday as the U.S. Dollar Index dropped as investors kept an eye on U.S. politics while pressure continued to grow to impeach President Donald Trump. Furthermore, the U.S. dollar was also weak as the prospects of massive stimulus packages from Joe Biden’s government raised as he has shown a willingness to add trillions in new relief bills that ultimately supported the upward momentum of the GBP/USD pair.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3555     1.3722

1.3445     1.3781

1.3387     1.3890

Pivot point: 1.3613

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is trading at 1.3692, and it has closed a doji candle on the four hourly timeframes, and it may extend a bearish correction in the GBP/USD pair. On the lower side, the support stays at 1.3636 and resistance at 1.3692 and 1.3720 today. The GBP/USD pair’s 10 & 20 periods EMA is supporting bullish bias in the Sterling. The MACD and RSI thesupport bullish bias; therefore, bullish bias dominates over the 1.3646 level today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair closed at 103.749 after placing a high of 104.333 and a low of 103.718. After rising for four consecutive days, the USD/JPY pair dropped on Tuesday amid the slide in the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar index dropped to fresh weekly lows in the 90.20 level as hopes for additional fiscal stimulus raised and provided support to high yielding equities. The House of Representatives introduced an impeachment article against U.S. President Donald Trump that weighed on the U.S. dollar and dragged the pair USD/JPY on the downside.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fell almost 0.3% on Tuesday against its rivals, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yields dropped to a session’s low of 1.146%. The U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday and recovered from the previous session’s losses, with investors looking for additional fiscal stimulus amid continued political turmoil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.3%, and the S&P 500 was down by 0.6% lower while NASDAQ was low by 1.2%.

On the data front, at 04:50 GMT, the Bank Lending for the year from Japan dropped to 6.2% against the forecasted 6.5% and weighed on the Japanese Yen that capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair. The Current Account Balance from Japan for November raised to 2.34T against the forecasted 2.00T and supported the Japanese Yen that ultimately added the USD/JPY pair’s losses. At 10:00 GMT, the Economic Watchers Sentiment dropped to 35.5 against the expected 36.9 and weighed on the Japanese Yen, which capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair.

From the U.S. side, at 16:00 GMT, the NFIB Small Business Index for December decreased to 95.9 against the anticipated 100.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately added further losses in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the JOLTS Job Openings for November increased to 6.53M against the anticipated 6.42M and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:02 GMT, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism came in line with the anticipations of 50.1.

Meanwhile, the safe-haven appeal rose on Tuesday after fears rose that there could be further disruptions in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration on January 20. FBI has said that it has received information specifying that armed protests were being planned at all 50 state capitols and Washington. The FBI’s comments raised the safe-haven appeal and supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately added the USD/JPY pair’s losses on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said that the federal banking agencies were in the process of enlisting requests for information on the risk management of artificial intelligence applications in financial services. Whereas, the Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said that the U.S. economy could see a strong rebound in the second half of this year as vaccinations became widely available and that monetary policy will remain accommodative. However, the virus was still driving the economy. The losses in USD/JPY pair were also capped on Tuesday after the Donald Trump administration said that it was releasing millions of coronavirus vaccine doses and urged states to offer them to all Americans over age 65 or with chronic health conditions.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.53     104.16

103.31     104.56

102.91     104.78

Pivot point: 103.94

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The safe-haven currency pair USD/JPY slipped to trade at 103.623 level amid increased demand for safe-haven assets. On the lower side, the USD/JPY pair has completed 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at 103.611 level, and on the further lower side, the USD/JPY pair may find support at 50% Fibonacci level of 103.400 level. The MACD and RSI support selling bias; therefore, we may find support at the 103.283 level. Let’s consider taking the buying trade over the 103.283 level and selling below the same. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 12 – XLM Back in the top10 Cryptos by Market Cap; Crypto Sector in the Green

The crypto sector has experienced a rally that brought the market to its feed after yesterday’s dip. One of the best daily performers was Stellar Lumens (XLM), which shot up in the past week on great fundamentals (and once again today), gaining over 30% just a couple of hours, reentering the top10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Bitcoin is currently trading for $35,887, representing an increase of 1.28% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 1.89% on the day, while LTC lost 1.85% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Amun Bitcoin 3x Daily Short gained 1186.87% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by PengolinCoin’s 366.58% and Firdaos’s 330.42% gain. On the other hand, Zugacoin lost 94.92%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by the True Segniorage Dollar’s loss of 85.08% and Zero Collateral Dai’s loss of 62.33%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up very slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 68.7%. This value represents a 0.1% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector’s capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $964.21 trillion. This represents a $58.14 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin managed to stop its descending move and push up slightly after pulling back to the $30,000 mark. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap has (on decreasing volume) seen a price increase to just below the $36,640 level. Many speculate that, while the drop was considered very healthy overall, the institutions bought even more BTC, which brought its price up without affecting the volume as much.

However, BTC/USD doesn’t seem like it currently has the strength to pass the $36,640 level, which may cause another downturn.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the daily and weekly time-frame are completely bullish. However, its monthly overview shows slightly less bullishness, while its 4-hour chart is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (54.63)
  • Volume is descending to average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $36,640                             1: $33,200

2: $40,000                             2: $30,640

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

Ethereum has once again matched Bitcoin in direction after hitting the $907 support level, and changed its price direction by pushing to the upside. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is back at its peak from yesterday and seems like it cannot pass $1,129 with conviction at the moment.

Ethereum’s 21-hour and 50-hour moving averages play a major role and should be taken into account when looking for support or resistance levels.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily and weekly time-frame are completely bullish. However, its monthly overview shows slightly less bullishness, while its 4-hour chart is completely bearish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is between its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (53.69)
  • Volume is descending to average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,129                               1: $1,060.5

2: $1,211                               2: $1,047.5

3: $1,226.5                             3: $992

Litecoin

Even though Litecoin did follow Bitcoin’s price direction, it did so with less intensity, causing it to ultimately be in the red for the day. Its price is now at a major crossroads, as it is fighting for the $142.1 level. This pivot point will decide whether the price will immediately push towards the upside or downside.

Litecoin has created a strong resistance level near the $150 mark, and traders should pay great attention to it when trading.



LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the daily and monthly time-frame are completely bullish. However, its weekly overview shows slightly less bullishness, while its 4-hour chart is completely bearish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (50.33)
  • Volume is descending to average levels

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 12 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Stronger Dollar In Play! 

On the fundamental side, the economic calendar is likely to offer a thin trading volume, and it may offer thin volatility to the market. However, the focus can remain on the MPC Member Broadbent Speaks due to the European session today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD closed at 1.21499 after placing a high of 1.22258 and a low of 1.21320. The currency pair extended its losses on Monday and dropped for the third consecutive day amid the broad-based U.S. dollar strength. On Monday, the rising risk-off market mood strengthened the U.S. dollar following the news that China was intensifying coronavirus measures to limit the nation’s rising infection rate. Whereas, greenback investors were also optimistic that President-elect Joe Biden would push for a multi-trillion-dollar stimulus package.

The growing concerns over an increasing number of coronavirus cases throughout Europe and China increased the demand for safe-haven, weighing on the risk perceived EUR/USD pair on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced on European countries to curb a new variant of coronavirus that was first detected in the U.K.

The WHO Europe director Hans Kluge has said that coronavirus’s new variant has hit almost 22 European nations, and it was an alarming situation. Many countries have imposed a full national lockdown to stop it from spreading further. However, Hans said that tougher measures were needed to flatten the steep vertical line of rising cases in some countries. These warnings by WHO also raised safe-haven appeal and added losses in the risk-sensitive EUR/USD pair on Monday.

There was no data to be released from the U.S. side on the data front, while from Europe, at 14:30 GMT, the Sentix Investor Confidence dropped to 1.3 against the forecasted 2.0 and weighed on Euro that ultimately added further losses in EUR/USD currency pair. 

On the U.S. front, the recent hike in the greenback was largely a result of higher U.S. Treasury yields that has resulted in a U.S. dollar short squeeze and pushed the greenback to higher levels. The U.S. Dollar Index continued to move higher and has climbed to 90.67, up by 0.67% on the day that added more weight on EUR/USD pair on Monday. 

The greenback was also strong on Monday amid the optimism regarding the prospects of massive stimulus packages from the president-elect Joe Biden. The incoming President has vowed to deliver two major stimulus packages in 2021. He has also said that his first order after joining the office on January 20 will be to increase the number of direct payments to $2000. This has also supported the U.S. dollar and weighed on EUR/USD pair on Monday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2171      1.2215

1.2155      1.2243

1.2127      1.2259

Pivot Point: 1.2199

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is obtaining support at the 1.2144 level, and below this, it can dip further until the 1.2100 level. On the higher side, the pair may face resistance at the 1.2216 level. The RSI and MACD support bullish correction and may prompt a bounce off in the EUR/USD pair until the 1.2216 level. Beneath 1.2216, we can again see a dip in EUR/USD. On the hourly timeframe, the EUR/USD pair may find resistance at 1.2170, but the bullish crossover may offer us a quick buy position as the MACD supports the buying trend in the EUR/USD pair today. 


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD closed at 1.35100 after placing a high of 1.35679 and a low of 1.34507. The GBP/USD pair lost ground on Monday and dropped to a fresh 2-weeks lowest level amid the broad-based U.S. dollar strength. The pair GBP/USD witnessed some selling for the fourth consecutive session on Monday and extended its retracement slide from 33-months highs. The momentum drew the GBP/USD pair further below as the strong rally in the U.S. Treasury bond yields supported the U.S. dollar. The greenback recovered from nearly three-year lowest level after the treasury yields rally amid the hopes of additional U.S. fiscal stimulus measures. Investors started pricing in the prospects for a more aggressive U.S. fiscal spending in 2021 after the Democratic sweep in the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

Meanwhile, the concerns about the surge in new coronavirus cases and the new tougher restrictions in Europe and China to fight against the new variant also weighed on the market sentiment as the safe-haven appeal emerged and contributed to the GBP/USD pair’s decline on Monday.

On Monday, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that the United Kingdom was enrolling its most challenging weeks since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as hospitals were overrun. He said that the U.K. was now at the worst point of the pandemic, and although they will have the vaccine in the future, the numbers were higher than they were in the previous peak. 

The U.K. has already suffered more deaths due to the new variant than any European nation and recently became the fifth nation on earth to reach the grim milestone of three million cases. Whitty said that there were currently more than 30,000 patients in the hospital than 18,000 during the first peek of the virus in April. Despite the nationwide lockdown, the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. also weighed on the British Pound that ultimately added losses in the GBP/USD pair.

Moreover, the Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro announced on Monday that skipping British interest rates beneath zero could promote the economy by more than increasing bond purchases. The Bank of England was currently looking at Britain’s financial system’s negative rates’ technical feasibility. She said that she was pushing back against arguments that negative interest rates would be ineffective in boosting demand or would cause significant damage to the bank’s profitability. 

These dovish comments from Tenreyro weighed on British Pound that added losses in the GBP/USD currency pair on Monday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3496      1.3553

1.3475      1.3589

1.3439      1.3611

Pivot Point: 1.3532

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD has disrupted the sideways trading range of 1.3531- 1.3505 range on the higher side. Closing of candles above this area can trigger buying until the next resistance level of 1.3585 level. On the higher side, the resistance continues to stay at the 1.3605 mark. The 10 & 20 periods moving averages are suggesting odds of bullish trend continuation today. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 104.239 after placing a high of 104.396 and a low of 103.848. The currency pair USD/JPY rose for the fourth consecutive session on Monday and reached its highest level since December 10. The gains in USD/JPY were due to the stronger greenback as the U.S. Dollar Index was at weekly highs above 90.50 level on Monday. Wall Street’s main indexes were down on Monday, with Dow Jones down by 0.37% and the NASDAQ by 0.85%. The U.S. Treasury yield on a 10-year note hit the 1.136% level, which was the highest level since the March spike.

The rising treasury yields were due to the rising hopes of additional stimulus measures from the incoming Democratic President Joe Biden. He has promised to deliver two massive stimulus packages to aid the economy through the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. He also has said that his first order after joining the office on January 20 will be to increase the number of stimulus checks to $2000 from $600, which will be given to most Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Other than that, the USD/JPY pair continued to rise despite the rising risk-off market sentiment in the market. Mainland China saw its most significant daily rise in coronavirus cases in over five months. China’s health authority said on Monday that the new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing were continuously rising.

China saw almost 18 new imported infections from overseas, and on Monday, the country in northeastern Heilongjiang province moved into lockdown after reporting new coronavirus infections. These developments in the world’s second-largest economy added weight to risk sentiment that ultimately supported the safe-haven greenback and pushed the USD/JPY pair higher.

Meanwhile, the calls for Trump’s impeachment raised after he encouraged his supporters’ riots on Capitol Hill during the previous week that also kept the market sentiment soar. In Washington, the speaker of House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, called for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to remove Donald Trump from office before moving to impeachment. This also helped raised the risk-off market sentiment and supported the USD/JPY pair’s upward momentum.

Furthermore, on Monday, the President and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, said that interest rates could rise sooner than anticipated as the economy was recovering more quickly than projected from the coronavirus damage. 

Fed had previously hoped that rates would remain unchanged until at least 2023, whereas Bostic believes that the Fed’s emergency measures to fight the pandemic can start to be rolled back within the next two years, if not sooner. These comments from Bostic supported the U.S. dollar and added gains in the USD/JPY pair. However, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver a speech on Thursday and reaffirm interest rates to stay around zero through at least 2023.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.90      104.17

103.74      104.26

103.64      104.43

Pivot Point: 104.00

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

On Tuesday, the safe-haven currency pair USD/JPY is trading at 104.123 level, facing resistance at 104.400. On the 4 hour timeframe, the USD/JPY pair implies bullish bias, and as the 10 and 20 EMA are in support of upward trend whereas the MACD stays over 0, suggesting a bullish trend in the safe-haven USD/JPY pair. An upward breakout of the 104.223 level can extend the buying trend until the 104.610 level today. Let’s consider taking the buying trade over the 104.223 level and selling below the same. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 11 – Crypto Sector Plummets as BTC Drops to $32k

The crypto sector experienced dipped over $100 billion in market cap as Bitcoin, and the rest of the market plummeted. Bitcoin is currently trading for $35,165, representing a decrease of 13.31% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has dropped up to 20.64% on the day, while LTC lost 23.04% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Foglory Coin gained 589.61% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by NewsToken’s 175.33% and BELIEVER’s 166.3% gain. On the other hand, True Seigniorage Dollar lost 78.35%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by the 3x Long Bitcoin SV Token’s loss of 76.74% and 3x long EOS Token’s loss of 69.18%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down over a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 68.6%. This value represents a 1.2% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $906.07 1,03 trillion. This represents a $2 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has had an interesting weekend, with its price plummeting in recent hours. Its price dipped to the lows of $32,330 just a few hours ago as major buy positions got liquidated. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap slowly fell below the 21 and 50 moving averages, confirmed its position below then, and then headed straight to the downside with almost no pushback.

However, bulls picked up the pace and are currently fighting for the $35,000 level. Investors used this as a buying/accumulation opportunity, while most traders got liquidated (both short and long positions due to the sudden volatility).

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frame show a tilt towards the buy-side with no or slight signs of neutrality, while its 4-hour overview shows a slight tilt towards the sell-side.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is near the oversold territory (37.28)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $36,640                             1: $33,200

2: $40,000                             2: $30,640

3: $42,000                             3: $27,960

Ethereum

Ethereum matched Bitcoin in direction, but did so with increased intensity. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap dipped over 20% on the day as its price fell to just above $1,000. This level seems to have held quite nicely, creating space for Ether to recover.

Ethereum is now trading above the $1,060.5 support level and shows no signs of falling again. However, Bitcoin’s movement will greatly affect the future price direction of ETH.


ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frame show a tilt towards the buy-side with no or slight signs of neutrality, while its 4-hour overview shows a slight tilt towards the sell-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is near the oversold (31.12)
  • Volume is significantly above-average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,129                               1: $1,060.5

2: $1,211                               2: $1,047.5

3: $1,226.5                             3: $992

Litecoin

Litecoin was one of the major gainers today as well, with its price dropping from $172 all the way down to $124. While bulls did pick up the pace and returned its price to the ~$140 zone, Litecoin is still fighting to maintain its position and tackle the $142.1 level.

Litecoin seemingly got hit the hardest out of the three cryptocurrencies, with its price position still being fairly uncertain. This could prove to be a trading opportunity as the cryptocurrency might make a move independent of Bitcoin’s move in the short future (if Bitcoin itself doesn’t move first).


LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frame show a tilt towards the buy-side with slight signs of neutrality, while its 4-hour overview shows a strong tilt towards the sell-side.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (1-hour Chart):

  • Its price is currently below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price near its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (29.68)
  • Volume is on above-average levels

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $161.5                               1: $142.1

2: $181.3                               2: $128.42

3: $186.3                               3: $114.75

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 11 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Stronger Dollar In Play! 

On the news side, the European Sentix Investor Confidence will be in focus, along with speeches from UK MPC Member Tenreyro, and the U.S. FOMC Member Bostic will remain in highlights. The U.S. dollar was also strong on the board, mainly because of the rising U.S. treasury yields that rose more than 3% on the day. The unemployment rate and average hourly earnings data from the U.S. support the greenback. 

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22122 after placing a high of 1.22844 and a low of 1.21928. The EUR/USD pair dropped on Friday and extended its losses amid the broad-based strength of the U.S. dollar on the day amid the rising U.S. Treasury yields.

The U.S. dollar was also strong on the board, mainly because of the rising U.S. treasury yields that rose more than 3% on the day. The unemployment rate and Average Hourly earnings data from the U.S. also supported the greenback that ultimately added further losses in the currency pair EUR/USD. From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Average Hourly Earnings for December rose to 0.8% against the forecasted 0.2% and supported the U.S. dollar and weighed on EUR/USD prices. In December, the Non-Farm Employment Change fell to -140K against the forecasted 60K and weighed on the U.S. dollar and capped further losses in EUR/USD pair. 

During December, the Unemployment Rate fell to 6.7% against the forecasted 6.8% and supported the U.S. dollar that added further EUR/USD pair losses. At 20:00 GMT, the Final Wholesales Inventories for November came in as 0.0% against the forecasted -0.1% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that limited the losses in EUR/USD pair on Friday.

Meanwhile, the fact that Democratic leader and incoming President Joe Biden will have complete control over all three legislative houses included the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate, also supported the U.S. dollar as it suggested a stable government ahead. The U.S. President Donald Trump also agreed to an orderly transition of power that also lifted the lingering political risk from the local currency and gave further strength to the U.S. dollar that ultimately added further pressure on the EUR/USD pair on Friday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2228     1.2330

1.2186     1.2388

1.2127     1.2431

Pivot Point: 1.2287

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The strength in the U.S. dollar also dragged the EUR/USD pair lower to the 1.2175 level. For the moment, the EUR/USD is gaining support at the 1.2175 level, and below this, it can dip further until the 1.2130 level. On the higher side, the pair may face resistance at the 1.2216 level. The RSI and MACD support bullish correction, and these may cause a bounce off in the EUR/USD pair until the 1.2216 level. Below 1.2216, we can again see a dip in EUR/USD.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.35606 after placing a high of 1.36356 and a low of 1.35382. The currency pair GBP/USD remained flat throughout Friday as it showed no movement and closed the day at the same level it started its day with. The pair GBP/USD raised during the early trading session on the day but faced some heavy pressure during the second half of the day and closed the trading week at the same level it started its day on Friday. The rise in the early trading session was caused after the U.K. announced the approval to use its third coronavirus vaccine. However, the downward pressure on the currency pair was caused by the relative strength of the U.S. dollar amid the rising U.S. Treasury yields on the day.

After the coronavirus press conference of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, the PM announced that the army would be brought in to help aid the vaccination rollout. On Friday, Britain’s medical regulatory approved Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. The U.K. also agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses; however, the Moderna vaccine will not play a part in the first stage of Britain’s vaccine rollout.

The Health Minister of Britain, Matt Hancock, said that about 1.5 million people have already been vaccinated across the U.K. and Moderna’ ‘s vaccine will allow them to accelerate their vaccination program even further once doses become available in spring. These comments from the U.K. added optimism and supported the GBP/USD pair to rise in the early trading session on Friday.

However, the gains in GBP/USD currency pair could not live for long as the pair faced heavy pressure from the U.S. dollar’s strength and the rising number of coronavirus cases and deaths across the U.K. despite vaccine rollout. The U.S. Dollar was strong across the board after the U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday to more than 3% amid the full sweep victory of Democrats over the Senate. The incoming President Joe Biden is expected to have full control over the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives added in the local currency as the incoming government will have more stability in rules.

In the capital, London’s mayor declared a major incident on Friday and issued a warning that hospitals in the city were close to being overrun. London’s situation was critical with the spread of the virus out of control as the city was declared to be at a crisis point. These developments in the U.K. also added pressure on British Pound and dragged the pair lower on Friday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3496     1.3553

1.3475     1.3589

1.3439     1.3611

Pivot Point: 1.3532

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD has violated the sideways trading range of 1.3625 – 1.3530 level, and closing of candles below this area can trigger selling until the next support level of 1.3452 level. On the higher side, the resistance continues to stay at the 1.3530 mark. On the hourly timeframe, the GBP/USD pair has violated the descending triangle pattern at the 1.3547 level, and now this level is likely to provide selling in the pair. Violation of the triangle pattern can extend selling bias today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.951 after placing a high of 104.090 and a low of 103.602. The USD/JPY pair raised on Friday and extended its gains as the U.S. dollar was strong across the board amid the rising U.S. Treasury bond yields. The USD/JPY pair staged an impressive rebound and rose more than 150 pips in two days as the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield placed almost 13% gains in these two days. Over the week, the 10-year note U.S. Treasury yield has risen by about 21% and has supported the greenback since then. 

The U.S. dollar’s strength added further gains in the USD/PY pair and extended its upward momentum on Friday to its highest since December 15. The U.S. Dollar Index was also high beyond the 90.00 level for the first time in the week and supported the USD/JPY pair’s rise. Meanwhile, another factor involved in the rising demand for the U.S. dollar was Donald Trump’s comments, who agreed on a smooth transition of power. The political risk related to transition power that rose after Thursday’s attack was lifted and supported the local currency on Friday that eventually helped the USD/JPY pair to rise further n board. It means that the incoming President Joe Biden will have control over all three legislative bodies, the White House, the House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate, to give his Democratic Party stability in rules. 

Despite all these positive sentiments, the incoming president promised to deliver two massive stimulus packages in 2021, and his first order is expected to increase the direct payment checks to $2000 kept the local currency USD under pressure and capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair. 

On the data front, at 04:30 GMT, the Household Spending from Japan in November raised to 1.1% against the expected -1.0% and supported the Japanese Yen that capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair. At 10:00 GMT, the Leading Indicators from Japan remained flat at 96.6%. 

From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Average Hourly Earnings for December advanced to 0.8% against the projected 0.2% and supported the U.S. dollar that pushed the USD/JPY pair higher. In December, the Non-Farm Employment Change decreased to -140K against the projected 60K and weighed on the U.S. dollar. During December, the Unemployment Rate decreased to 6.7% against the projected 6.8% and supported the U.S. dollar that added further gains in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the Final Wholesales Inventories for November came in as 0.0% against the projected -0.1% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair on Friday. Furthermore, the USD/JPY pair’s upward momentum was also supported by the rising risk sentiment in the market. The risk flows were encouraged after the U.K. approved another vaccine from Moderna on Friday. U.K. became the first country to approve a third coronavirus vaccine for emergency use authorization that lifted the market’s risk sentiment that ultimately added weight on the safe-haven Japanese Yen and pushed the USD/JPY pair even higher on board.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.18     104.19

102.56     104.58

102.16     105.21

Pivot Point: 103.57

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY is trading at 104.123 level, facing immediate resistance at 104.223. On the 4 hour timeframe, the USD/JPY pair suggests bullish bias, and as the 10 and 20 periods, EMA is in support of buying trend while the MACD holds above 0, supporting bullish bias in the USD/JPY pair. A bullish breakout of the 104.223 level can extend the buying trend until the 104.610 level today. Let’s consider taking the buying trade over the 104.223 level and selling below the same. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 8 – Bitcoin Continues Its Rise as it Breaks the $40k Mark Briefly

The crypto sector pushed even higher as Bitcoin passed the $40,000 mark and created a new all-time high. Bitcoin is currently trading for $39,094, representing an increase of 5.35% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1% on the day, while XRP gained 23.53% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

COVER Protocol gained 2124.46% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by KIMCHI.finance’s 1159.97% and TAI’s 265.52% gain. On the other hand, Stand Share lost 74.11%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by the Receive Access Ecosystem’s loss of 61.71% and CY Finance’s loss of 56.34%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up half a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 69.8%. This value represents a 0.5% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $1,03 trillion. This represents a $2 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has continued moving up, with its price surpassing the $38,000 and $39,000 mark without much problem. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap reached as high as $40,402.5 level before crashing down as bulls could not sustain the price. The price instantly dipped to $36,388 but quickly recovered to the $39,000 area, where it is consolidating at the moment.

Bitcoin has positioned itself for another push towards the upside as it quickly found support in the 50-hour moving average, proving that it doesn’t even need to dip to the horizontal support levels to stabilize itself.


BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the 4-hour, daily, and weekly chart show a tilt towards the buy-side with no signs of neutrality or bearishness. On the other hand, its monthly overview shows slight bearishness in the oscillator sector opposing the overall bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the overbought territory (70.36)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $40,402                             1: $38,140

2: $43,000                             2: $36,740

3: $46,500                             3: $35,610

Ethereum

Ethereum followed Bitcoin to the upside, pushing its price above its previous resistance levels and up to as high as $1292. Just like Bitcoin, Ethereum instantly dipped to $1,140 but quickly recovered. However, this is where the high correlation with Bitcoin ends, as Ethereum didn’t recover its recent highs but rather lost quite a bit of its value.

While it has recovered since the price dip, Ethereum is now right below the $1,211 resistance level. The cryptocurrency has a high possibility of passing it even if Bitcoin remains stagnant. Still, any moves that would contest the next resistance level would have to be backed by the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.


ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily time-frame show an overall bullish tilt with no hints of neutrality. On the other hand, the monthly, weekly, and 4-hour time-frames show some signs of neutrality or even bearishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI has left the overbought area (63.27)
  • Volume is significantly above-average

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $1,292                               1: $1,211

2: $1,420                               2: $1,180

3: $1,500                               3: $1,092

Litecoin

Litecoin followed the market as well, pushing its price further up and breaking its previous resistance level of $174.5. However, while LTC did manage to break this level and post a new high of $181.25 for a moment, the price was unsustainable, resulting in a classic price drop, followed by a failed attempt of recovering (the moment when LTC hit the $174.5 level after dropping below it) acting as a confirmation of a price drop, and then a full-on retracement towards the downside.

Litecoin has bounced off of the $152.25 level beautifully and is now attempting to pass the 50-hour and 21-hour moving averages and continue its move up.


LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals on the 4-hour, daily, and weekly time-frame are bullish but show some neutrality or even bearishness. On the other hand, its monthly overview is completely bullish.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Its price is currently above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (54.95)
  • Volume is on above-average levels

Key levels to the upside:          Key levels to the downside:

1: $174.5                               1: $163.7

2: $181.3                               2: $155.25

3: $195.5                               3: $149.3

 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 08 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. NFP Figures Ahead! 

The eyes will remain on the U.S. NFP data on the news side, which is expected to report a slight drop from 638K to 500K during the previous month. Besides, the U.S. Average Hourly Earnings m/m and Unemployment Rate will also remain the main highlight of the day, and these may determine the USD trend for today and next week. Let’s wait for the news.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22690 after placing a high of 1.23442 and a low of 1.22449. The EUR/USD pair came under renewed pressure as the U.S. dollar rebounded after an increased 10-year U.S. treasury yield and the depressing economic data from the Eurozone. The U.S. Dollar was strong onboard after falling to the multi-year lowest level this week amid the rising U.S. Treasury yield on a 10-year note that raised by 1% for the first time since March. The rising demand for the greenback ultimately added weight on EUR/USD pair that fell on Thursday.

However, the strong demand for the U.S. dollar is expected not to live for a large time as the Democratic win in the U.S. Senate elections has raised the prospects for a larger stimulus package that will ultimately weigh on the local currency. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank released the regular economic bulletin on Thursday in which it said that the Eurozone economic indicators point to an economic contraction in the final quarter of 2020. 

The ECB said that high-frequency indicators and the latest survey results were consistent with a fall in GDP in the final quarter of 2020. The survey indicators point to a renewed contraction in activity mainly affecting the services sector. The ECB also said that the stat of vaccinations supports expectations for a rapid recovery. Still, it will take time before widespread immunity could be reached and the economy could return to normal. These depressing comments from ECB also added weight on the single currency Euro that added further pressure on EUR/USD pair on Thursday.

On the data front, at 12:00 GMT, the German Factory Orders in November raised to 2.3% against the expectations of -0.6% and supported the single currency Euro that capped further downside in EUR/USD pair. At 15:00 GMT, the CPI Flash Estimate for the year for December declined to -0.3% against the expected -0.2% and weighed on Euro that added losses in EUR/USD pair. The Core CPI Flash Estimate remained flat with expectations of 0.2%. The Italian Prelim CPI also raised to 0.3%against the forecasted 0.2% and supported Euro and capped further downside in EUR/USD pair. The Retail Sales from Eurozone dropped to -6.1% against the forecasted -3.4% and weighed heavily on Euro that added further downside pressure on EUR/USD pair.

The Challenger Job Cuts for the year in December rose to 134.5% compared to November’s 45.4%. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week were dropped to 787K against the expected 798K and supported the U.S. dollar that added losses in EUR/USD pair. The Trade Balance from November showed a deficit of -68.1B against the expected -66.7B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further downside in EUR/USD pair. The ISM Services PMI rose in December to 57.2 against the expected 54.5 and supported the U.S. dollar that added further losses in EUR/USD pair on Thursday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2228      1.2330

1.2186      1.2388

1.2127      1.2431

Pivot Point: 1.2287

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD continues trading with a bullish bias at 1.2367, facing resistance at the 1.2350 level. On the lower side, the support continues to hold around the 1.2278 level. Simultaneously, the bullish breakout of the 1.2350 resistance level can extend buying until the 1.2435 level. The leading indicators such as RSI and MACD support selling, but the EUR/USD 50 periods EMA is likely to support at 1.2289. 


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.35641 after placing a high of 1.36330 and a low of 1.35324. The GBP/USD pair extended its losses on Thursday amid the broad-based U.S. dollar recovery amid the rising safe-haven demand and the British Pound’s weakness due to the rising deaths from a new coronavirus variant. Since March, the U.S. Dollar was high on board after the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose by more than 1% for the first time. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies also recovered from the multi-year lowest level and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately added weight on the GBP/USD pair on Thursday.

Moreover, the U.S. dollar gains were limited as the pressure of prospects of a larger stimulus package in 2021 from the Democratic government held the local currency down. The Democratic win in the U.S. Senate elections raised the anticipations that President-elect Joe Biden will stand true to His promises for delivering two major stimulus packages in 2021. 

However, the losses in the GBP/USD pair could also be attributed to the rising number of deaths in the U.K. from the new UK coronavirus variant. The U.K. reported a further 1041 fatalities due to coronavirus, which is the highest daily death toll since April. 

On Thursday, about 62,322 new coronavirus cases were recorded, which was also the highest daily rise since mass testing began. The rising spread of coronavirus due to its new variant and the increased number of deaths despite the nationwide lockdown and vaccine rollout raised fears for the newly independent nation Great Britain’s economy that ultimately weighed on the local currency Sterling and dragged the currency pair GBP/USD on the downside.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on European countries to intensify coronavirus measures as the region deals with the new UK-detected variant. On Thursday, the WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said that further measures were needed to flatten the steep vertical line of rising cases in some countries. Moreover, the French Prime Minister Jean Castex said that France’s border with the U.K. will remain shut and that it was out of the question to lower their guard in weeks to come. These statements also weighed on British Pound and affected the GBP/USD pair’s movement on Thursday.

The Construction PMI for December from Great Britain came in line with the expectations of 54.6. At 14:32 GMT, the Housing Equity Withdrawal for the quarter also remained flat with the expectations of -7.0B. The Challenger Job Cuts for the year in December surged to 134.5% compared to November’s 45.4%. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week fell to 787K against the projected 798K and supported the U.S. dollar that added losses in GBP/USD pair. The Trade Balance from November showed a deficit of -68.1B against the projected -66.7B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further downside in GBP/USD pair. The ISM Services PMI surged in December to 57.2 against the projected 54.5 and supported the U.S. dollar that added further GBP/USD pair losses on Thursday.

The GBP/USD pair’s losses were limited as the U.K. government was trying to increase the vaccination supply to control coronavirus spread. The health minister Matt Hancock has said on Thursday that the Britain government was working with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca to increase supplies as the pace of Britain’s rollout of coronavirus vaccines was being limited by the supply of shots. He said that the government must quickly ramp up the rate of vaccinations to meet an ambitious target to protect more than 13 million people who were elderly, vulnerable, or frontline workers by mid-February. 

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3518      1.3620

1.3474      1.3678

1.3416      1.3722

Pivot Point: 1.3576

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair continues to consolidate in a narrow trading range of 1.3625 – 1.3556. The Sterling may face immediate resistance at the 1.3625 level, and the continuation of an upward trend can lead the Cable towards the 1.3700 resistance level. On the lower side, the breakout of 1.3545 support can extend the selling trend until the 1.3468 level.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.824 after placing a high of 103.955 and a low of 102.948. The USD/JPY pair rose to its highest level since mid-December on Thursday amid the broad-based strength of the U.S. dollar. The USD/JPY pair’s bullish momentum was supported by the stronger U.S. dollar driven by the rising 10-year U.S. Treasury yields. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to 1.085% on Thursday that was the highest level since March. On Wall Street, the main indexes were also at record highs as Dow Jones gained about 1.7% and NASDAQ gained about 2.25% on Thursday.

The rising risk sentiment because of the rally in the stock market and the U.S. treasury yield, along with the rising crude oil prices, added weight on the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately pushed the currency pair USD/JPY higher onboard to 4 weeks highest level. The U.S. Dollar Index was also up from the multi-year lowest level on Thursday and moved near 89.85 and was up 0.35% for the day. The rising demand for the greenback pushed the currency pair USD/JPY higher on the board.

However, the U.S. dollar demand is expected not to live for a longer period as the Democratic win in U.S. Senate elections has raised the prospects for a larger stimulus package. Joe Biden, who will begin his term from January 20th, has promised to deliver about two large stimulus measures this year, ultimately hurting local currency.

On the data front, at 04:30 GMT, the Average Cash Earnings for the year from Japan dropped to -2.2% against the projection of -0.9% and weighed on the Japanese Yen that ultimately added further gains in the USD/JPY pair. From the U.S. side, at 17:30 GMT, the Challenger Job Cuts for the year in December increased to 134.5% compared to November’s 45.4%. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week were decreased to 787K against the anticipated 798K and supported the U.S. dollar that added further gains in the USD/JPY pair. The Trade Balance from November showed a deficit of -68.1B against the anticipated -66.7B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the ISM Services PMI increased in December to 57.2 against the forecasted 54.5 and supported the U.S. dollar that added further gains in the USD/JPY pair.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Federal Reserve released its FOMC December meeting minutes that revealed that the Federal Reserve officials consistently backed, holding the pace of asset purchases stable, while some were open to future adjustments if needed. Minutes also revealed that all participants judged that it would be appropriate to continue those purchases at least at the current pace. Nearly all members favored keeping the current arrangement of purchases. The Federal Open Market Committee kept interest rates near zero. It supported its commitment to bond-buying at the meeting after vowing to maintain a $120 billion monthly pace of purchases until there will be considered further progress towards inflation goals and employment. The FOMC meeting minutes also supported the local currency U.S. dollar and added further upside in the USD/JPY pair on Thursday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.18     104.19

102.56     104.58

102.16     105.21

Pivot Point: 103.57

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY consolidates below 103.950 level, after bouncing off above 103.528 support level. A bullish breakout of 103.950 can lead the USD/JPY pair to the 104.322 level. The 50 periods EMA is expected to keep the USD/JPY support at 103.355, which is very far from the current market price; thus, we can also expect some bearish correction. The market may show further movements upon the release of U.S. NFP figures today. Good luck! 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jan 7 – Crypto Sector Market Cap Over $1 Trillion as BTC Approaches the $40k Mark

Most of the cryptocurrency sector ended up in the green as Bitcoin passed $38,000. Another thing to mention is that the overall industry market cap has reached past $1 trillion for the first time in the history of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is currently trading for $38,400, representing an increase of 10.78% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 7.78% on the day, while XRP skyrocketed, gaining 46.55% of its value.

Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

X Infinity gained 896.37% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by 7up Finance’s 298.93% and EveryCoin’s 278.57% gain. On the other hand, COVER Protocol lost 99.48%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by UniMex’s loss of 97.1% and Team Heretics Fan Token’s loss of 91.66%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 68.6%. This value represents a 0.7% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization skyrocketed and passed the one trillion mark since we last reported, with its current value being $1,005 trillion. This represents a $33.51 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin continued the upward trajectory and pushed past the previous all-time high with confidence, reaching a new high of $38,510 at one point. While the price did retrace after hitting the 37,800 at one point, but the 50-hour moving average created strong support, and BTC pushed back up to contest the all-time high level once again.

As we have mentioned many times, shorting of any kind and trading against the overall trend is most likely not optimal, and traders might find a good opportunity to long BTC each time it breaks the all-time high, as this is when it gets a large influx of buyers.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s short-term technicals (4-hour and daily) are completely bullish, while its long-term overview is a bit more tilted towards neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the overbought territory (72.04)
  • Volume is above average

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $37,800                                 1: $35,880

2: $40,000                                 2: $34,800

3: $43,220                                 3: $33,100

Ethereum

Ethereum’s chart looks pretty similar to Bitcoin’s, as they both moved to the upside in the same manner. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap pushed past many support levels and reached $1,225 before descending slightly. Alongside Bitcoin’s move to new all-time highs, this move contributed the most to the overall crypto sector market cap passing the $1 trillion mark.

Ethereum is currently trading within a narrow range, bound by $1,169 to the downside and $1,211 to the upside. If ETH decides to move up, the next most likely resistance level will be the $1,341.5 level. If, however, it breaks this range to the downside, it has many support levels.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on the daily, weekly, and monthly time-frames are fully tilted towards the buy-side, while its 4-hour technicals are slightly more neutral.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the overbought area (73.41)
  • Volume is significantly above-average

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $1,211                                    1: $1,169

2: $1,341.5                                 2: $1,080

3: $1,425                                    3: $1,050

Litecoin

Litecoin increased in price as well, but while its chart looks similar to Bitcoin’s and Ethereum’s, it’s important to notice that it did not break the high it made on Jan 4. In fact, Litecoin almost got to the $174.5 level but quickly pulled back to $165.

Litecoin found strong support in its 50-hour moving average, which held it above $165 and kept it from possibly breaking $163.7 to the downside.

Litecoin’s next move will most likely be highly dependent on Bitcoin’s short-term movement.

LTC/USD 1-hour Chart

Litecoin’s technicals are fully bullish on every single time frame and vary from “buy” to “strong-buy” indicators.

LTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Its price is currently above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is nearing the overbought area (63.82)
  • Volume is above-average but descending

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $163.7                                      1: $155.25

2: $174.5                                      2: $149.3

3: $195.5                                      3: $143.5

 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily FX Analysis, January 07 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Eyes on Series of US and European Events! 

It’s going to be a busy day from the news front, as the market will be focusing on the German Factory Orders m/m, ECB Economic Bulletin, Retail Sales, and CPI figures from the Eurozone economy that can drive price action in the Euro pairs during the UK session. On the other hand, the dollar’s movement can be influenced by Unemployment Claims and ISM Services PMI scheduled to be released during the US session.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.23259 after placing a high of 1.23492 and a low of 1.22653. The depressed US dollar after the signs of a Democratic win in the US Senate runoff elections and the rebounded risk-on market sentiment helped EUR/USD pair to post gains on Wednesday.
The markets anticipated a Democratic win in the US Senate election in Georgia that would evacuate the track for a bigger fiscal stimulus package; the greenback came under pressure. Democrats won one US Senate race in Georgia and led in another on Wednesday, moving closer to a sweep in a Deep South state. The result will be announced on late Wednesday, and winning both seats by Democrats will give Congress control to power the President-elect Joe Biden’s policy goals.

Biden has said that he wanted two fiscal stimulus packages in 2021 to support his economy through the pandemic. His first order is expected to increase the stimulus paychecks amount to $2000 rejected by Republicans. These hopes kept the US dollar under pressure and supported the upward momentum in the EUR//USD pair.

On the data front, at 10:00 GMT, the German Prelim CPI for December dropped to 0.5% against the expected 0.6% and weighed on Euro and capped further upside in EUR/USD pair. At 12:45 GMT, the French Prelim CPI for December also dropped to 0.2% against the forecasted 0.4% and weighed on Euro. At 13:15 GMT, the Spanish Services PMI for December raised to 48.0 against the expected 44.5 and supported the single currency Euro and added further EUR/USD pair gains. At 13:45 GMT, the Italian Services PMI for December declined to 39.7 against the estimated 45.0 and weighed on the single currency Euro.

At 13:50 GMT, the French Final Services PMI came in line with the expectations of 49.1. At 13:55 GMT, the German Final Services PMI dropped to 47.0 against the anticipated 47.7 and weighed on Euro and capped further upside in EUR/USD pair. At 14:00 GMT, the Final Services PMI from Europe also fell to 46.4 against the forecasted 47.4 and weighed on Euro. At 15:00 GMT, the PPI for November from the Euro area raised to 0.4% against the expected 0.2% and supported Euro and gave strength to the EUR/USD pair’s rising prices.

From the US side, at 18:15 GMT, the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change for December declined to -123K against the forecasted 60K and weighed on the US dollar that gave further gains to EUR/USD pair. At 19:45 GMT, the Final Services PMI for December also declined to 54.8 against the forecasted 55.2 and weighed on the US dollar and helped EUR/USD to rise further. At 20:00 GMT, the Factory Orders for November rose to 1.0% against the forecasted 0.7%, supported the US dollar, and capped further gains in EUR/USD pair.

Meanwhile, the market’s risk sentiment was improved after the resurgence in global manufacturing as shown in various surveys this week despite the rising coronavirus cases, which also gave strength to the risk perceived EUR/USD pair on Wednesday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2257      1.2318

1.2220      1.2344

1.2195      1.2380

Pivot point: 1.2282

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD continues trading with a bullish bias at 1.2367, facing resistance at the 1.2350 level. On the lower side, the support continues to hold around the 1.2278 level. Simultaneously, the bullish breakout of the 1.2350 resistance level can extend buying until the 1.2435 level. The leading indicators such as RSI and MACD support selling, but the EUR/USD 50 periods EMA is likely to support at 1.2289. 


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.36075 after placing a high of 1.36711 and a low of 1.35380. The currency pair came under pressure on Wednesday amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the UK, depressing comments from Andrew Bailey, and the poor macroeconomic data from Great Britain.

The UK has more new coronavirus cases per capita than any other major country globally as the number of daily cases topped 60,000 for the first time this week. The latest data suggested that around one in 50 people in the UK currently have the virus. Only the US has a per capita infection rate nearly equivalent to the UK of any country with more than 1 million cases.

Since December 06, the average number of new daily cases has risen from around 15,000 to above 55,000. PM Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that about 1.3 M people have so far received a coronavirus vaccination. The rising number of coronavirus made the UK the worst-hit country in Europe in terms of cumulative cases and weighed on its local currency British Pound, which ultimately added weight to the GBP/USD pair.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Governor of Bank of England Andrew Bailey risked reigniting the politically charged debate over Brexit by predicting that the trade deal struck with the European Union could end up costing the UK economy the equivalent of more than 80 billion pounds.
During his first public comments since Britain completed its withdrawal from the bloc on December 31, Bailey endorsed warnings from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, that gross domestic product will be as much as 4% lower in the long term than it would be had the country remained in the EU.

These comments from the Bank of England governor right after the Brexit completion raised fears and added weight on Sterling that eventually dragged the GBP/USD currency pair on the downside. On the data front, at 14:30 GMT, the Final Services PMI from Great Britain for December dropped to 49.4 against the expected 499 and weighed on British Pound and added more losses on the currency pair GBP/USD.

From the US side, at 18:15 GMT, the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change for December fell to -123K against the anticipated 60K and weighed on the US dollar and capped further losses in GBP/USD pair. At 19:45 GMT, the Final Services PMI for December also fell to 54.8 against the anticipated 55.2 and weighed on the US dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Factory Orders for November surged to 1.0% against the anticipated 0.7% and supported the US dollar that added further GBP/USD pair losses.

However, the GBP/USD pair’s losses were somewhat recovered in the late trading session over the positive sentiment that was mostly driven by the rising expectation that the Democrats will win both seats in Georgia’s Senate runoff. A clean sweep for the Democrats would hand charge of both houses of Congress to the incoming administration that would pave the way for Joe Biden to push through more stimulus. This left the US dollar under pressure and supported the GBP/USD pair in late trading hours.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3572      1.3660

1.3518     1.3696 

1.3483      1.3749

Pivot Point: 1.3607

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair continues to consolidate in a narrow trading range of 1.3625 – 1.3556. The Sterling may face immediate resistance at the 1.3625 level, and the continuation of an upward trend can lead the Cable towards the 1.3700 resistance level. On the lower side, the breakout of 1.3545 support can extend the selling trend until the 1.3468 level.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.049 after placing a high of 103.442 and a low of 102.590. The higher US yields and the market’s risk appetite boosted the USD/JPY prices on Wednesday. Since March, the currency pair bounced from the lowest levels, near 102.50, and peaked at 103.43, a one-week high.

The main driver of the pair USD/JPY remained the US yields followed by the elections to decide the US Senate’s composition. The 10-year yield reached 1.05%, its highest since March, and supported the US dollar that ultimately pushed the USD/JPY pair higher on board. The market sentiment was not affected by the weaker than expected US economic data as the Dow Jones was at record highs, up by 1.55%, and the NASDAQ gained 0.51%.

Markets were pricing the prospects of a Democratic win in the US Senate runoff elections in Georgia. The Democrats already have the House of Representatives, aka lower chamber of Congress, in their control. Winning the Senate elections will also give them control over the upper chamber that means they will have a complete majority in the US legislative assembly and the power to push forward their agenda.

The term of Joe Biden will begin on January 20. He has hinted that he wanted at least two stimulus packages in 2021 to overcome the damage caused and expected to continue from the coronavirus pandemic. Markets were also pricing their bets on the prospects of Biden’s first order that is expected to push out $2000 checks to most Americans that had been strictly opposed by the Republicans.

On the data front, at 10:00 GMT, the Consumer Confidence from Japan for December dropped to 31.8against the anticipated 32.6 and weighed on the Japanese Yen that added more gains in the USD/JPY pair.
From the US side, at 18:15 GMT, the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change for December decreased to -123K against the projected 60K and weighed on the US dollar that capped further gains in the USD/JPY pair. At 19:45 GMT, the Final Services PMI for December also decreased to 54.8 against the projected 55.2 and weighed on the US dollar that limited additional USD/JPY pair gains. At 20:00 GMT, the Factory Orders for November increased to 1.0% against the projected 0.7% and supported the US dollar that added further gains in the USD/JPY pair.

Furthermore, some of the USD/JPY pair’s gains were lost in late trading hours of Wednesday as the rising number of coronavirus cases kept the global economic recovery under pressure and safe-haven demand intact. On Wednesday, Japan’s number of coronavirus cases reached its highest level as the government faced mounting pressure from health experts to impose a strict state of emergency for Tokyo.

In Portugal, about 10,027 new cases on Wednesday were reported, which was the highest since the pandemic started. Ontario reported 3266 new coronavirus cases that brought the total number of coronavirus in the region to 200,626. All these fears kept the safe-haven Japanese yen supportive that ultimately weighed on the USD/JPY pair and lost most of its gains for the day on Wednesday.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

102.49      103.08

102.24      103.44

101.89      103.68

Pivot Point: 102.84

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY bounced off to violate the resistance level of 102.960 level, and now it’s working as a support for the USD/JPY pair. The pair may find resistance at the 103.430 level. Overall, the bullish bias seems strong as the USD/JPY pair has crossed over 50 EMA at the 103.063 level. Taking a look at the 2-hour timeframe, the USD/JPY has closed a bullish engulfing candle over 102.962 level that can drive the further bullish trend in the USD/JPY pair. Let’s consider taking a buy trade over the 102.960 level today. Good luck!

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 06 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – ADP Non-Farm Employment Change Ahead! 

On the news front, eyes will remain on the Services PMI figures from the Eurozone, U.K., and the United States. Almost all economic figures are expected to perform better than previous months, perhaps due to a lockdown lift. Price action will depend upon any surprise changes in the PMI figures. Later today, the U.S. ADP figures will also drive some volatility in the market.

Economic Events to Watch Today  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22984 after placing a high of 1.23055 and a low of 1.22419. The renewed U.S. dollar weakness and the prospects for a Democratic majority in the Senate after the runoff election in Georgia boosted the market sentiment that supported the upward trend in EUR/USD pair on Tuesday.

The U.S. Dollar Index that gauges the greenback’s value against the basket of six major currencies fell by almost 0.38% on Tuesday to an 89.53 level that ultimately added gains in EUR/USD pair. The U.S. Dollar was also under stress on Tuesday amid the US Georgia runoff elections that would decide the future of the U.S. Senate. The outcome will be crucial for incoming president Joe Biden as the Senate majority helps pass the law and confirm the cabinet appointments. The result is expected on Wednesday. It has made investors cautious about placing any strong bids in favor of the U.S. dollar, resulting in the upward momentum of EUR/USD.

On the data front, at 12:00 GMT, the German Retail Sales for November raised to 1.9% against the expected -2.0% and supported the single currency Euro and added further gains in EUR/USD pair. At 13:00 GMT, the Spanish Unemployment Change in December raised to 36.8K against the expected 30.5K and weighed on the single currency Euro that capped further EUR/USD pair gains. At 13:55 GMT, the German Unemployment Change for December declined to-37K against the expected 10K and supported the single currency Euro that added further EUR/USD pair gains. At 14:00 GMT, the M3 Money Supply for the year from Eurozone raised to 11.0% against the forecasted 10.6% and supported the single currency Euro that added additional EUR/USD pair gains. The Private Loans for the year from Eurozone dropped to 3.1% from the expected 3.3% and weighed on Euro that further capped gains in EUR/USD pair.

From the U.S. side, at 20:00 GMT, the ISM Manufacturing PMI from December rose to 60.7 against the estimated 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar, and capped further gains in EUR/USD pair. The ISM Manufacturing Prices also raised to 77.6 against the anticipated 66.0 and supported the U.S. dollar. The Wards Total Vehicle Sales raised to 16.3M against the estimated 15.8M and supported the U.S. dollar, ultimately limiting further gains in EUR/USD pair.

On Wednesday, the HIS Markit will release the Services PMI data for Germany and the Euro area. From the U.S., the ADP Employment Change will also be featured in the economic docket that will impact EUR/USD prices. Furthermore, the investors will keep a close eye on the Georgia election results.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2257      1.2318

1.2220      1.2344

1.2195      1.2380

Pivot point: 1.2282

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a mixed bias at the 1.2272 level, having violated the upward trendline at the 1.2252 level. At the moment, the pair is likely to face resistance at the 1.2307 level along with a support area of 1.2245 and 1.2215. Bullish bias seems dominant today, so a bullish breakout of 1.2307 can extend buying until the next resistance level of 1.2345.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.36278 after a high of 1.36420 and a low of 1.35540. Despite the third nationwide lockdown in the U.K., the GBP/USD pair raised on Tuesday amid the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the U.S. dollar against the basket of six major currencies fell by 0.38% towards the two years, the lowest level of 89.53, and weighed on the greenback that ultimately supported the gains in GBP/USD pair.

The U.S. dollar was weak across the board despite the safe-haven appeal in the market mainly because of the Georgia runoff elections in the U.S. The runoff will decide the future of the U.S. Senate. It will be essential for Joe Biden, the upcoming Democratic president of the U.S., as it holds major importance in the U.S. Congress being its upper chamber. Senate holding party could easily approve its bills, which is the main attractiveness for getting majority votes in the Georgia runoff elections. Since 2014, the Senate has been controlled by the Republican Party, and if Democrats win on Wednesday, the extra two seats will give them effective control.

On the other hand, the British Pound was under pressure on Tuesday as the number of new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.K. has topped 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic started.

According to the government figures on Tuesday, the number of people who tested positive was 60,916. It came in as England and Scotland announced new strict lockdowns with people told to stay at home. The country is entering another nationwide lockdown to control coronavirus’s new variant affected the local currency and GBP/USD pair. However, investors did not give much attention to it and continued moving with the weakness of the U.S. dollar that ultimately pushed the GBP/USD pair higher.

There was no macroeconomic data on the data front to be released from the U.K. From the U.S. side, at 20:00 GMT, the ISM Manufacturing PMI from December surged to 60.7 against the anticipated 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar and capped further gains in GBP/USD pair. The ISM Manufacturing Prices also rose to 77.6 against the projected 66.0 and supported the U.S. dollar. The Wards Total Vehicle Sales surged to 16.3M against the expected 15.8M and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately limited further GBP/USD pair gains.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3572      1.3660

1.3518      1.3696

1.3483      1.3749

Pivot point: 1.3607

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The Cable’s technical side also remains mostly unchanged as the GBP/USD pair consolidates between 1.3632 – 1.3556 after violating the support level of 1.3609 level. On the higher side, the Sterling may find resistance at 1.3632 and 1.3697 level while support at 1.3550 and 1.3473 level. Choppy trading expected. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 102.716 after placing a high of 103.189 and a low of 102.603. On Tuesday, the currency pair USD/JPY came under resumed bearish pressure through the American trading hours and reached its lowest level in nearly ten months at 102.60. The intensified selling pressure surrounding the U.S. dollar in the second half of the day forced the USD/JPY pair on the lower side. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies fell to its multi-year lowest level at 89.44 by 0.47% on Tuesday and weighed heavily on the USD/JPY pair.

The U.S. Dollar was also weak across the board ahead of the results of the Georgia runoff elections. The state of Georgia held runoff elections for its two Senate seats. The results will determine who gets to control the U.S. Senate for the next two years and will consequently have a profound impact on the course of U.S. fiscal policy. The U.S. Republican Party has been controlling the U.S. Senate since 2014, and markets are betting that the Republicans will still win at least one of the seats and cement its hold on the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress.

On the data front, at 04:50 GMT, the Monetary Base for the year from Japan raised to 18.3% against the forecasted 18.0% and supported the Japanese Yen that ultimately weighed on the USD/JPY pair. From the U.S. side, at 20:00 GMT, the ISM Manufacturing PMI from December rose to 60.7 against the forecasted 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar, and capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair. The ISM Manufacturing Prices also raised to 77.6 against the projected 66.0 and supported the U.S. dollar that limited further losses in the USD/JPY pair. The Wards Total Vehicle Sales raised to 16.3M against the estimated 15.8M and supported the U.S. dollar that ultimately limited further losses in the USD/JPY pair.

Meanwhile, the rising demand for safe-haven appeal in the market also supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately weighed on the USD/JPY pair. The U.K. entered into a third nationwide lockdown on Monday as the daily count of new coronavirus cases surpassed 60,000 figure for the first time since the pandemic started. The PM Boris Johnson said that it was crucial to control the spread of a new variant of coronavirus that was more contagious.

Meanwhile, Germany also stretched its nationwide lockdown until the end of the month and announced tougher new restrictions to curb rising cases of coronavirus infections. New York on Monday reported its first case of a new variant of the coronavirus that has been reported in more than 30 countries so far. In the past four days, the U.S. has added about 1 million new coronavirus cases that have pushed the total number of cases beyond 21 million. This rising number of cases across the globe added fears for the recovery of the global economy and increased the appeal for safe-haven that ultimately supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen and added weight on the USD/JPY pair on Tuesday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

102.49      103.08

102.24      103.44

101.89      103.68

Pivot point: 102.84

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The technical side of the USD/JPY also remains mostly unchanged as the USD/JPY is trading sharply bearish at 102.74. On the downside, the USD/JPY pair may find support at the 102.595 level along with resistance at 102.930. The USD/JPY pair has formed a downward channel on the two-hourly timeframes, which is likely to keep the pair bearish. The MACD and 50 EMA is suggesting selling bias in the USD/JPY. Let’s consider taking sell trades below the 102.850 level today. Good luck!

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 05 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – ISM Manufacturing PMI In Focus!


On the news side, eyes will remain on European Unemployment Change and the ISM Manufacturing PMI manufacturing data from the U.S., Both of the figures, are expected to drive moves in Euro and dollar today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  


  



EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

Today in the early European trading session, the EUR/USD currency pair successfully extended its previous session winning streak and remained well bid around above the 1.2250 level as the U.S. dollar remains on the bearish track despite coronavirus concerns and weak China data. However, the losses in the U.S. dollar were triggered after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that 2-different mRNA vaccines now show the extraordinary result of about 95% in preventing Covid-19 infection in adults. 

Apart from this, the Federal Reserve’s expectations would keep rates low for a prolonged period also weighs on the greenback and contributes to the currency pair gains. Meanwhile, the probability of an additional U.S. financial aid package also played its major role in undermining the U.S. dollar. In that way, the U.S. dollar weakness was seen as one of the key factors that benefitted the EUR/USD currency pair.

 In contrast to this, the latest B117 strain of COVID-19 lead to the fresh lockdown restrictions on economic activity in Europe and the U.K., which keep raising doubts over the economic recovery and turned out to be one of the key factors that kept the lid on any additional gains in the currency pair. As of writing, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2262 and consolidating in the range between 1.2246 – 1.2278.

The sentiment around the global equity market has been flashing red since the day started amid worries about the continuous surge in new COVID-19 cases. Also fueling the risk-off mood was the cautious sentiment ahead of the Georgia election and the Sino-American tussle. As per the latest report, Japan saw a record number of COVID-19 cases in recent days, which in turn, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that he would consider declaring a fresh state of emergency in the Tokyo area. 

Across the ocean, the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also gave warnings over the possibility of tougher lockdown restrictions in the U.K., which instantly overshadowed the optimism over vaccines’ rollout for the highly contagious disease and contributed to the equity market losses. However, the intensifying concerns about rising COVID-19 cases and the intensifying lockdowns could cap further gains in the currency pair.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2179     1.2279

1.2144     1.2344

1.2078     1.2379

Pivot Point: 1.2244

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a mixed bias at the 1.2272 level, having violated the upward trendline at the 1.2252 level. At the moment, the pair is likely to face resistance at the 1.2307 level along with a support area of 1.2245 and 1.2215. Bullish bias seems dominant today as the 50 periods EMA supports the pair at 1.2245 level. However, the MACD stays in a sell mode, as histograms are being formed below 0, supporting selling bias. 



GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

During Tuesday’s European trading hours, the GBP/USD currency pair failed to extend its previous session winning streak and took some offer well below the 1.360 level mainly due to the continuous surge in new COVID-19 cases in the U.K., which raised doubts over the U.K. economic recovery and turned out to be one of the key factors that kept the currency pair down. On the contrary, the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness, triggered by multiple factors, failed to support the GBP/USD pair or ease the bearish pressure. At this particular time, the GBP/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.3556 and consolidating in the range between 1.3556 – 1.3612.

Despite the risk-off market sentiment, the broad-based U.S. dollar failed to gain any positive traction and dropped near multi-year lows amid the probability of an additional U.S. financial aid package and speculations Fed will keep interest rates lower for a longer period. Apart from this, the optimism over a possible coronavirus vaccine pushes investors towards riskier currencies and higher-yielding assets rather than the safe-haven asset, which eventually leads to further losses in the safe-haven U.S. dollar. 

However, the U.S. dollar losses were seen as one of the key factors that benefitted the EUR/USD currency pair. As of now, the U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a bucket of other currencies dropped by 0.04% to 89.812 by 8:49 PM ET (1:49 AM GMT).

Apart from Brexit and U.S. headlines, the currency pair came under pressure as the market’s risk sentiment was affected by the increase in the number of coronavirus cases worldwide. 

The rising number of infections from COVID-19 raised fears that countries might extend the restrictions that would have a negative impact on global economic recovery. These fears kept the risk perceived GBP/USD pair under pressure and kept its gains limited during the Asian session on Monday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3623      1.3705

1.3573      1.3737

1.3540      1.3788

Pivot Point: 1.3655

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair has also violated the support level of 1.3609 level extended by an upward channel, which has now been violated. On the higher side, the Sterling may find resistance at 1.3609 and 1.3698 level while support at 1.3533 level today. The Cable is crossing below 50 periods EMA, and the MACD is also forming histograms below 0, suggesting strong selling bias. We should consider taking a selling trade the Cable below 1.3607 level today. 



USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY continues trading with a bearish bias at the 102.930 level, as it looks clear direction while taking rounds to 103.10/15 through the opening hour of Asian trading sessions. The yen pair descended to the new low in 10 months the prior day before closing with the Doji candlestick’s near opening levels on the daily chart. The risk-aversion stream, supported by concerns of the coronavirus (COVID-19) tension and the unadventurous spirits ahead of the Georgian elections, battles the greenback recovery and holds the USD/JPY in a compact range off-late.

The U.S. Dollar Index that includes the worth of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies was dropping by 0.25% to 89.67 on the day to insignificantly beneath the level it closed 2020 at 89.766. The U.S. dollar instability appended to the downward momentum of the USD/JPY pair. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to publish the minutes from its December conference on Wednesday. Investors will be watching for more detail on the talks about securing their forward policy guidance more specific and the chance of additional development in asset buying in 2021. 

The USD/JPY pair was also down in initial trading hours on Monday as the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the world raised the safe-haven appeal in the market. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged that strict lockdown stipulations would be placed in England to fight against the new variant of coronavirus that has pushed the infection rates to their highest record levels. School unions have raised called for the closure of all schools for a couple of weeks as the virus was spreading faster, but Johnson said to parents that they should send children to school as the threats to young kids from the deadly virus were very small.

 From the U.S. side, at 19:45 GMT, the Final Manufacturing PMI from the U.S. for December is projected to come as 56.3 against the previous 56.5 and weigh on the U.S. dollar add in the losses of USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the Construction Spending for November is estimated to decrease to 1.1% against the previous 1.3% that could weigh on the U.S. dollar and USD/JPY pair as well.

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

103.02     103.34

102.85     103.49

102.70     103.66

Pivot Point: 103.17

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY is trading sharply bearish at 102.940, gaining support at the 102.940 level. The USD/JPY pair has formed a downward channel on the two-hourly timeframes, which may extend resistance at 103.300 as at the same level 50 periods EMA is also extending resistance. Today, we need to keep an eye on the 102.940 mark as a violation of this may offer us a sell trade until the 102.598 level. The MACD and RSI are suggesting selling bias in USD/JPY today. Good luck!

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, January 04 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Manufacturing PMI In Focus! 

On the news front, eyes will remain on the Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI figures from the Eurozone, U.K., and the United States. Almost all economic figures are expected to perform better than previous months, perhaps due to a lift of lockdown. Price action will depend upon any surprise changes in the PMI figures.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

  


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was opened at 1.22387, and it has placed a high of 1.22584 and a low of 1.22276 so far. The currency pair is currently moving at 1.25514 and has shown a consolidative move since the start of the day.

The U.S. dollar was weak across the board on Monday and the starting day of the week and pushed the currency pair EUR/USD higher on board. However, the EUR/USD pair’s gains remained consolidative ahead of the release of macroeconomic data from the European side.

At 13:15 GMT, the Spanish Manufacturing PMI for December is forecasted to come in as 52.6 compared to November’s 49.8, which, if met, will be supportive to the single currency Euro and will probably add gains in EUR/USD pair. At 13:45 GMT, the Italian manufacturing PMI for December is also expected to surpass the previous 51.5 and come in as 53.5 and support the single currency Euro to add further gains in EUR/USD pair. At 13:50 GMT, the French Final Manufacturing PMI is projected to remain flat at 51.1 for December. At 13:55 GMT, The German Final Manufacturing PMI for December is also projected to remain the same as November’s 58.6. At 14:00 GMT, the Final manufacturing PMI for December from the whole Eurozone is also expected to remain flat at 55.5.

From the U.S. side, at 19:45 GMT, the Final Manufacturing PMI from the U.S. for December is anticipated to release as 56.3 against the previous 56.5 and weigh on the U.S. dollar be beneficial for EUR/USD pair. At 20:00 GMT, the Construction Spending for November is estimated to decline to 1.1% compared to the previous 1.3%, and if the actual meet the expectations, then EUR/USD will gain more as the U.S. dollar will become weak.

Apart from macroeconomic data, the gains in EUR/USD pair were very limited at the start of the trading session as the rise in coronavirus cases in Europe urged the countries to get ready to extend lockdowns to control the spread of the virus. Not in Europe, but all countries across the world, including UK, Canada, India, the USA, Japan, and Mexico also have seen a rise in the number of infection cases that has prompted the need for safe-haven and resulted in the consolidative movement of EUR/USD pair on Monday.

The risk perceived EUR/USD pair faced pressure while moving upward as the risk sentiment in the market deteriorated after the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the globe. However, the currency pair EUR/USD remained on the plus side as the European countries have started immunizing people against coronavirus in earnest, but huge discrepancies in vaccination pace exist.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was also weak ahead of Tuesday’s Georgia runoff elections that will decide the control of the U.S. Senate and also the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. Whereas, Senate ended the demand for an increase in direct payments from $600 to $2000 by Donald Trump and supported by Democrats as Republicans did not approve it and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately kept the EUR/USD pair higher.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2179      1.2279

1.2144      1.2344

1.2078      1.2379

Pivot Point: 1.2244

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a bearish bias today at the 1.2248 level, having violated the upward trendline at the 1.2252 level. Closing of candles below this trendline confirms a breakout, and there’s a strong odd of selling trend’s continuation until 1.2203. The next support may be found around the 1.2175 level below this, along with resistance at 1.2258 and 1.2313. The 50 periods EMA is likely to extend resistance at the 1.2262 level, and supporting selling trend in the EUR/USD today! 


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

On January 04, the currency pair was opened at 1.36471, and it has placed a high of 1.36982 and a low of 1.36436 so far. The pair is currently moving at 136884 and is rising to place gains for the 4th consecutive session on Monday. The U.K. was enjoying its first trading session as an independent nation on Monday as the transition period for Brexit ended on Thursday when the United Kingdom finally ended its ties with the European Union, almost a year after its formal departure from the 27-nation bloc.

After four and a half years, when the majority in the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, the end of the transition period was a significant moment in the history of the U.K. Great Britain will now forge a separate path after almost five decades as part of the bloc. 

According to PM Boris Johnson, Britain will be an open, generous, outward-looking, internationalist, and free-trading country free to do things differently and, if necessary better than the E.U. On Sunday, the PM Boris Johnson said that he intended to carry on as a prime minister after Brexit.

Although the British Pound will see a selling pressure given the impact of Brexit sooner or later, the investors were favoring the currency in the beginning hours of the trading session ahead of the macroeconomic data or any major news as after a long fight between the E.U. & U.K.; the country has departure from the E.U. with a deal beneficial for both sides successfully.

At 14:30 GMT, the Final Manufacturing PMI for December is expected to remain flat at 57.3. The Mortgage Approvals from Britain in November are expected to decline to 82K from October’s 98K and weigh on British Pound that could drag the pair GBP/USD lower. The Net Lending to Individuals for November is also expected to decline to 3.0B from October’s 3.7B and weigh on British Pound and limit the GBP/USD pair’s upward trend. Furthermore, the pair was also supported in the Asian session due to the weakness of the U.S. dollar on Monday. The U.S. dollar was weak due to the broad market optimism and rallying equities. Some news from the U.S. Congress unveiled that Nancy Pelosi was re-elected as the U.S. House Speaker, which indicated an easy way for further stimulus. 

Meanwhile, Georgia’s electoral runoff will also decide the Senate majority’s fate and will be crucial to watch on Tuesday. All these developments kept the greenback under pressure and supported GBP/USD’s rising prices on Monday during the early session.

Apart from Brexit and U.S. headlines, the currency pair came under pressure as the market’s risk sentiment was affected by the increase in the number of coronavirus cases throughout the globe. 

The rising number of infections from COVID-19 raised fears that countries might extend the restrictions that would have a negative impact on global economic recovery. These fears kept the risk perceived GBP/USD pair under pressure and kept its gains limited during the Asian session on Monday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3623      1.3705

1.3573      1.3737

1.3540      1.3788

Pivot Point: 1.3655

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair has also violated the resistance level of 1.3617 level, and on the higher side, the next target remains at the 1.3698 level. On the lower side, the GBP/USD pair may find support at the 1.3617 level for now. We can expect a continuation of an upward trend in the Sterling today. The 50 periods EMA is supporting bullish bias at the 1.3600 level, and at the same time, the upward channel is also likely to keep Sterling bullish on Monday. Let’s consider taking buying trades over 1.3609 and selling below the 1.3698 level today. 


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

On January 04, the USD/JPY opened at 103.096, and it has placed a high of 103.314 and a low of 102.932 since then. The pair USD/JPY was currently moving at 103.023 and was placing losses for the day.

In the Asian trading session, the U.S. dollar was down on Monday, with investors continuing to put pressure on the safe-haven assets on the first trading day of 2021. The rising expectations that the U.S. interest rates will remain low and hopes for an eventual global economic recovery from coronavirus will likely continue to slow the dollar down against other major currencies.

The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the U.S. dollar against the basket of six major currencies was down by 0.25% to 89.67 on the day to slightly below the level it ended 2020 at 89.766. The U.S. dollar weakness added to the downward momentum of the USD/JPY pair on Monday.

The Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes from its December meeting on Wednesday. Investors will be looking for more detail on the discussions about making their forward policy guidance more explicit and the chance of a further increase in asset buying in 2021. Meanwhile, the USD/JPY pair was also down in early trading hours on Monday as the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the world raised the safe-haven appeal in the market. 

On Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that severe lockdown restrictions would be installed in England to fight against the new variant of coronavirus that has pushed the infection rates to their highest record levels. Whereas, School unions have raised called for the closure of all schools for a couple of weeks as the virus was spreading faster, but Johnson said to parents that they should send children to school as the threats to young kids from the deadly virus were very small.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Canada reported an estimated 4800 more cases of the deadly coronavirus that added to the country’s total caseload and made it 586,425. Canada said that the rise in the number of coronaviruses was seen after the holiday season. In India, 16,660 fresh cases were reported in a single day that sent the total number of infections to 10,341,291. 

Americans have been reported to flee to Mexico to avoid the lockdown restrictions back at home. According to Times, about half a million Americans traveled to Mexico in November, whereas Mexico has reported an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in November and December.

The global sum of coronavirus cases reached 85,489,058, out of which 60,443,211 have recovered, and 1,850,202 have died so far. The U.S. cases reached a total of 21,110,917 number and remained the worst-hit county by the world’s coronavirus. Despite the vaccine rollout, the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the globe added to the fears that countries will enter new lockdown restrictions and affect global economic recovery. These fears raised the market’s safe-haven appeal and supported the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately weighed on the USD/JPY pair. 

On the data front, at 05:30 GMT, the Final Manufacturing PMI in December came in as 50.0 against the expected 49.7 and supported the Japanese Yen that added in the losses of the USD/JPY pair on Monday. From the U.S. side, at 19:45 GMT, the Final Manufacturing PMI from the U.S. for December is projected to come as 56.3 against the previous 56.5 and weigh on the U.S. dollar add in the losses of USD/JPY pair. At 20:00 GMT, the Construction Spending for November is estimated to decrease to 1.1% against the previous 1.3% that could weigh on the U.S. dollar and USD/JPY pair as well.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.02      103.34

102.85      103.49

102.70      103.66

Pivot Point: 103.17

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY is trading sharply bearish at 102.940, gaining support at the 102.940 level. The USD/JPY pair has formed a downward channel on the two-hourly timeframes, which may extend resistance at 103.300 as at the same level 50 periods EMA is also extending resistance. Today, we need to keep an eye on the 102.940 mark as a violation of this may offer us a sell trade until the 102.598 level. The MACD and RSI are suggesting selling bias in USD/JPY today. Good luck!

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, December 31 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. Jobless Claims Ahead

On Thursday, the German banks will be closed in observance of New Year’s Eve since banks aid most foreign exchange volume. When they are closed, the market is less liquid, and speculators become a more dominant market influence. This can lead to both abnormally weak and abnormally huge volatility. Later throughout the U.S. session, the U.S. unemployment claims will remain in highlights.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 

EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22998 after placing a high of 1.23099 and a low of 1.22454. EUR/USD pair rose for the 5th consecutive day on Wednesday and reached above 1.23000 level, its highest since April 2018 amid the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. The reports that the U.S. Senate has delayed a decision on increasing the coronavirus relief checks added pressure on the U.S. dollar. The Republican Senator Mitch McConnell blocked a move by colleague Bernie Sanders to allow a vote on increasing stimulus checks from $600 to $2000. However, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced that direct payments of $600 would be out as soon as this week.

Despite a delay in the vote on the increase in the stimulus checks, the greenback dropped as investors were hopeful that the Senate would approve the rise in stimulus checks. The declining U.S. dollar added strength to the rising EUR/USD pair. On the data front, at 13:00 GMT, Spanish Flash CPI for the year dropped to -0.5% against the expected -0.6% and supported Euro that added additional gains in EUR/USD pair. From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Goods Trade Balance from November fell to -84.8B against the projected -81.5B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added further gains in EUR/USD pair. The Prelim Wholesale Inventories from November also fell to -0.1% against the projected 0.7% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:45 GMT, Chicago PMI in December surged to 59.5 against the projected 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Pending Home Sales from November fell to -2.6% against the projected 0.1% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately added gains in EUR/USD pair.

Furthermore, the risk-sensitive EUR/USD pair was also supported by the rising risk sentiment in the market after Britain approved another vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. On Wednesday, Britain became the first country to approve the emergency use authorization of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford that offers a 90% efficacy rate with the second vaccine shot.

The news about another vaccine available for use to control the coronavirus’s spread and in cheap amounts gave hopes that the global economic recovery process will speed up. These hopes raised the risk sentiment in the market and supported the currency pair EUR/USD on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the optimism surrounding the Brexit deal also kept the EUR/USD pair on the upside on Wednesday. However, the EUR/USD pair’s gains remain limited throughout the day as the new variant of coronavirus that was originally discovered in the U.K. reached almost eight European Union nations. This urged E.U. nations to start mass vaccination to control the spread of the virus whereas, Spain was set to register people who refuse to be vaccinated against coronavirus and share it with European Union nations.

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.2210    1.2279

1.2175    1.2311

1.2142    1.2347

Pivot point: 1.2243

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EURUSD continues to trade with a bullish bias after violating the ascending triangle pattern, extending resistance at the 1.2265 level. Above this, the odds of bullish trend continuation remains pretty solid. On the higher side, the pair may find resistance at 1.2308, and a bullish breakout of 1.2308 can lead its price towards the 1.2340 level. Bullish bias dominates today.

GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.36245 after a high of 1.36255 and a low of 1.34888. The British Pound to U.S. Dollar exchange rate climbed to weekly highs as the U.K. Parliament voted for the Brexit trade deal. Barely 24 hours before the U.K.’s final split from the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal won approval from the U.K. Parliament. The agreement earlier crossed the House of Commons with 521 votes in favor of 73 opposing it. The Scottish National Party (SNP) was against the bills while stating that it will harm Scotland’s fishing industry and told PM Johnson that it would bolster the case for independence.

The Sterling got support from the Brexit deal’s approval in the U.K. Parliament and supported the GBP/USD currency pair on Wednesday. At the same time, the U.K. has ordered 100 million doses of the new vaccine that will be enough to vaccinate most of the population. On Wednesday, the U.K. regulatory approved the emergency use authorization to the vaccine of AstraZeneca and Oxford University that is said to offer 90% efficacy against coronavirus with the second vaccine shot. 

On Tuesday, the U.K. reported a record increase in new infections of over 50,000, the largest daily increase since the pandemic began. THE British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has approved placing more parts of the country into tier-4 restrictions as the country was fighting against the new variant of coronavirus, which scientists have warned that could spread more rapidly.

In parts of Southwest England and Cumbria, the ministers were considering imposing the toughest measures to control the spread of a new variant of coronavirus. Johnson announced that a further 20 million people in England will join the toughest tier of coronavirus restrictions from Thursday. These negative developments could not reverse the GBP/USD pair’s movement on Wednesday, and the pair continued increasing for the second consecutive day.

On the data front, at 11:57 GMT, the Nationwide HPI in December came in as 0.8% against the expected 0.4% and supported British Pound, and pushed the pair GBP/USD higher. From the U.S. side, at 18:30 GMT, the Goods Trade Balance from November decreased to -84.8B against the anticipated -81.5B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added gains in GBP/USD pair. The Prelim Wholesale Inventories from November also decreased to -0.1% against the anticipated 0.7% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:45 GMT, Chicago PMI in December surged to 59.5 against the anticipated 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Pending Home Sales from November decreased to -2.6% against the anticipated0.1% and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately added further gains in GBP/USD pair.

The U.S. dollar weakness was driven by the hopes that the increase in stimulus checks will be passed in the Senate even though they have delayed the decision. This weakness of the U.S. dollar kept the GBP/USD pair higher on board on Wednesday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.3456    1.3533

1.3413    1.3567

1.3379    1.3611

Pivot Point: 1.3490

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair has also violated the resistance level of 1.3617 level, and on the higher side, the next target remains at the 1.3698 level. On the lower side, the GBP/USD pair may find support at the 1.3617 level for now. We can expect a continuation of an upward trend in the Sterling today.

USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.207 after placing a high of 103.591 and a low of 102.959. USD/JPY pair extended its losses on Wednesday amid the declining U.S. dollar despite the market’s rising risk sentiment. The USD/JPY pair fell to its fresh weekly lowest level below 103.00 level on Wednesday as the greenback was very weak across the board against its rival currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the U.S. dollar against the basket of six major currencies fell to its lowest level for almost three years below 89.52 on Wednesday.

The U.S. Senate delayed its decision on increasing the number of stimulus checks from$600 to $2000 as the Republican Senator Mitch McConnell blocked a move by colleague Bernie Sanders to allow a vote on increasing stimulus checks. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has announced that direct payments of $600 would be out as soon as this week. Investors were hopeful that the rise in stimulus checks will be accepted by Senate and continued selling the U.S. dollar on Wednesday that ultimately weighed on the currency pair USD/JPY and dragged the pair towards fresh weekly lowest level.

On the data front, at 18:30 GMT, the Goods Trade Balance from November declined to -84.8B against the estimated-81.5B and weighed on the U.S. dollar that dragged the currency pair USD/JPY on the downside. The Prelim Wholesale Inventories from November also dropped to -0.1% against the estimated 0.7% and supported the U.S. dollar. At 19:45 GMT, Chicago PMI in December raised to 59.5 against the estimated 56.6 and supported the U.S. dollar. At 20:00 GMT, the Pending Home Sales from November dropped to -2.6% against the estimated 0.1% and weighed on the U.S. dollar, increasing the USD/JPY pair’s losses.

Furthermore, the market’s risk sentiment was also improved after Great Britain became the first country to approve the vaccine by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for emergency use. This vaccine is said to provide 625 efficacy against coronavirus in the first shot that could be increased to 90% in the second shot. After this news, the hopes for economic recovery took their pace as a cheaper vaccine will be wildly available and help control the loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This news raised the market’s risk sentiment and added weight on the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair on Wednesday.

The main driver of the currency pair USD/JPY remained the sell-off in the U.S. dollar amid the rising hopes for an increase in stimulus checks the amount, and it will remain at the mercy of the U.S. dollar for a while as there will be no macroeconomic release from Japanese side until next week.

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

103.39    103.78

103.23    104.01

103.01    104.17

Pivot point: 103.62

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY violates the sideways range at the 103.500 level. It was a support level extended by an ascending triangle pattern that has already been violated. On the 2 hour timeframe, the USD/JPY pair is gaining support at 103.003 and 102.750 levels along with a resistance level of 103.575, which is extended by a triangle pattern that got violated. The pair is now closing a doji candle over 103.260 support level that suggests odds of bullish correction. On the higher side, the pair can lead towards the 103.575 level and then offer us a sell trade. Let’s brace for it. Good luck!

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, December 30 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – U.S. Trade Balance Ahead! 

The eyes will remain on the Spanish Flash CPI y/y, the U.S. Chicago PMI, and Pending Home Sales m/m figures on the news side. However, these are low impact events and may not drive sharp moves in the market.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22489 after placing a high of 1.22748 and a low of 1.22066. EUR/USD currency pair raised on Tuesday for the 4th consecutive day as the U.S. dollar was weak across the board and risk sentiment was high. The European stocks closed higher on Tuesday following a rally on Wall Street in the previous session. The pan-European Stoxx600 indexes ended up 0.76%, with most sectors in the positive territory. The rally has improved the European sentiment in U.S. stocks on Monday that came in after President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion coronavirus relief package into law; the measure will include direct payment to most Americans by $600.

Previously, Trump has demanded a $2000 direct payment days before the signing. On Monday, the House of Representatives voted to increase the second round of direct federal payments to $2000 and left it up to the GOP-controlled Senate. After this, the U.S. stocks rallied and continued rising till Tuesday morning. This pressured on the U.S. dollar ultimately added in the EUR/USD pair’s upward direction on Tuesday.

However, the positive sentiment in Europe came after the Brexit trade deal was secured between the E.U. and U.K. on Christmas Eve. Following this, London’s FTSE100 index rose by 2% on Tuesday. On Monday, the 27 ambassadors from the European Union member nations formally accepted the deal implemented on January 1. This news also supported the upward momentum in the currency pair EUR/USD pair on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union would buy an extra 100 million doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine to bring the total from the two firms to 300 million doses.

She tweeted that they had decided to take an additional 100 million doses of the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine that has already being used to vaccinate people across the E.U. After some of the vaccine contestants organized by the E.U, this plan came in after some of the vaccine candidates faced unexpected delays in clinical trials that forced the bloc and other wealthy nations to rely on shots from fewer manufacturers than initially planned.

The E.U. officials said that the two firms have committed to rapidly deliver 200 million doses after regulatory approval for 15.5 euros per piece. The extra 100 million will be delivered at the same price, but the timetable will be negotiated as they will be delivered in 2021. The E.U.’s goal to roll out vaccine at the mass level also supported the local currency Euro and supported the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair.

The risk sentiment in the market driven by the vaccine rollout, U.S. stimulus, and the Brexit optimism also kept pushing the pair EUR.USD even higher on the board on Tuesday. Moreover, on the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year from the U.S. rose to 7.9% in October from the expected 7.0% and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further upside in the EUR/USD prices.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2210     1.2279

1.2175     1.2311

1.2142     1.2347

Pivot point: 1.2243

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EURUSD has violated the ascending triangle pattern, which was extending resistance at 1.2265 level, and above this, the odds of bullish trend continuation remain pretty stable. On the lower side, the support stays at the 1.2266 level, and the continuation of an upward trend can lead the pair towards the next resistance level of 1.2317. A slight downward retracement can be expected before a further upward trend.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.35009 after placing a high of 1.35225 and a low of 1.34405. The GBP/USD pair raised on Tuesday despite the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. amid the Brexit development and improved risk sentiment.

The GBP/USD pair was supported on Tuesday from the rising risk sentiment in the market due to more optimistic news from the vaccine front. The U.K. has covered the way for widespread vaccinations with a homegrown shot that will be less expensive and easier to transport and store than other vaccines. For this purpose, the vaccines developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca were set to get approval from the U.K. for emergency use authorization.

The U.K. drug regulator, the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency, will imminently authorize the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine for emergency use within days to control the spread of coronavirus in the country. The vaccine’s efficacy rate is 90% after taking two doses, as one dose will provide only 62% efficacy against the coronavirus. Approving another vaccine will help the U.K. government battle against the coronavirus pandemic and lift the severe social distancing restrictions put in place before Christmas.

The new coronavirus cases in the U.K. on Tuesday were recorded as 53,135, and a health regulator of the country has said that the rise in coronavirus cases in the U.K. was of extreme concern. The Health Secretary has announced that the NHS was facing unprecedented pressures as hospitals in England and Wales were treating more coronavirus patients than at the peak of the first wave in April.

On the Brexit front, four days after sealing a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British government warned businesses to get ready for disruptions and bumpy moments when the new rules affect Thursday night. On Monday, the Businesses were scrambling to digest the details and implications of the 1240 page deal sealed between the U.K. and the E.U. on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, E.U. ambassadors gave their unanimous approval on Monday to the Brexit trade deal with the U.K. However, the deal still needs approval from the E.U. legislature that is expected to come in February. At the same time, the U.K.’s House of Commons is expected to approve it on Wednesday.

After its approval by 27 E.U. ambassadors, the Brexit trade deal’s optimism gave support to British Pound that ultimately pushed the currency pair GBP/USD higher on the board despite the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. Furthermore, the U.S. dollar was also weak across the board, which also helped the GBP/USD pair keep posting gains on Tuesday. Trump signed the second stimulus bill on Sunday that weighed heavily on local currency. Whereas, on the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year from the U.S. surged to 7.9% in October from the predicted 7.0% and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further gains in the GBP/USD prices on Tuesday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3456     1.3533

1.3413     1.3567

1.3379     1.3611

Pivot point: 1.3490

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD pair has also violated the resistance level of 1.3520 level, and on the higher side, the next target remains at the 1.3580 level. On the lower side, the GBP/USD pair may find support at the 1.3520 level now. We can expect a continuation of an upward trend in the Sterling today as the MACD and RSI suggest a bullish trend. Alongside, the GBP/USD pair may soar until the 1.3620 level today as the 50 EMA also extending bullish bias for the Cable.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.530 after placing a high of 103.824 and a low of 103.461. After posting gains for two consecutive days, USD/JPY dropped and posted losses on Tuesday amid the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness despite the risk sentiment. The U.S. Dollar was weak on Tuesday as investors were hopeful that Senate would pass the additional $1400 in stimulus paychecks. The greenback that measures the value of the U.S. dollar against the basket of six currencies was down by 0.24% on Tuesday and weighed on the USD/JPY pair.

The House of Representatives approved the rise in the amount of the stimulus checks from $600 to $2000 earlier in the week. Now the eyes have turned to Senate, where the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved to block the rise in the amount on Tuesday. Whereas, U.S. President Donald Trump has urged him to approve the increase in the number of stimulus paychecks.

The greenback has seen steady losses since U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the $2.3 trillion coronaviruses and spending bill on Sunday. Investors shifted from the U.S. dollar immediately after as more stimulus prospects reduced the demand for safe-haven assets. The country’s economic recovery was under threat as the U.S. continuously saw a large number of coronavirus cases, and it has increased the hopes for more fiscal stimulus measures from Congress. Hence, investors kept selling the U.S. dollar in hopes that the Senate could pass the increase in the number of stimulus checks at the last minute.

Furthermore, another reason behind the weakness of the U.S. dollar was that some investors warned that the dollar would fall further in 2021 as President-elect Joe Biden will roll out further stimulus measures. Biden and his administration will come into power on January 20. Despite the weakness of the U.S. dollar, the USD/JPY pair was also falling on the back of increasing figures of coronavirus cases in the U.S. There were also reports suggesting that the new variant of coronavirus first discovered in the U.K. has reached the U.S. The health officials in Colorado confirmed that the infected individual was held in isolation in Elbert Country and that the person was in his 20s and had no travel history.

This also raised the fears for global economic recovery and raised the safe-haven appeal that ultimately supported the safe-haven Japanese yen, and added the USD/JPY pair’s downward momentum on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the S&P/CS Composite -20 HPI for the year from the U.S. advanced to 7.9% in October from the anticipated 7.0% and supported the U.S. dollar that capped further losses in the USD/JPY prices on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the losses in USD/JPY pair were also capped by the reports that AstraZeneca and University of Oxford’s vaccine were set to receive approval from the U.K.’s regulatory for emergency use authorization. This resulted in improved risk sentiment and weighed on the Japanese Yen due to its safe-haven status and capped further losses in the USD/JPY pair on Tuesday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.39     103.78

103.23     104.01

103.01     104.17

Pivot point: 103.62

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY violates the sideways range at the 103.500 level. It was a support level extended by an ascending triangle pattern that has already been violated. On the 2 hour timeframe, the USD/JPY pair is gaining support at 103.250 and 102.980 levels along with a resistance level of 103.575, which is extended by a triangle pattern that got violated. The pair is now closing a doji candle over 103.260 support level that suggests odds of bullish correction. On the higher side, the pair can lead towards the 103.575 level and then offer us a sell trade. Let’s brace for it. Good luck!

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 29 – XRP Trading Suspended by Coinbase and OKEx, Causing a 22% Price Dip

The cryptocurrency sector had is currently in a consolidation phase as Bitcoin fell below $27,000. Bitcoin is currently trading for $26,624, representing a decrease of 1.13% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 2.56% on the day, while XRP had another major dip, losing 19.42% of its value.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Ethereum Lightning gained 1097.36% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by N3RD Finance’s 94.18% and Matrix AI Network’s 86.08% gain. On the other hand, COVER Protocol lost 97.97%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Encryptgen’s loss of 91.18% and Mining Core Coin’s loss of 69.41%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 69.2%. This value represents a 0.1% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $712.73 billion. This represents an $8.45 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Ever since it hit the $28,391 all-time high, Bitcoin has been trading in a sideways manner. Its price is currently within a large channel, bound by $25,512 to the downside and the aforementioned all-time high to the upside.

The descending volume alongside sideways trading was never a long-term occurrence with Bitcoin, but rather good indicators of a new explosive move ahead.

Bitcoin traders should be mindful of any volume spikes when trading, and should look for smaller time-frame Fib retracements if they want to be more precise with setting their support and resistance levels.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on both short-term and long-term time-frames are completely bullish and show close to no signs of neutrality or bearishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (55.72)
  • Volume is slightly above average, but descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $28,391                                 1: $25,512

2: $29,000                                 2: $24,696

3: $30,000                                  3: $24,315

Ethereum

Ethereum’s move towards the upside ended at $747, prompting a pullback. However, while many analysts believed that Ether would not keep its price above $700, that’s exactly what happened.

Ethereum’s signature trading move has occurred once again, with that move being: pushing up, then pulling back, and breaking the 21-hour moving average to the downside, only to find support at the 50-hour moving average and push back up. Knowing how Ethereum moves alongside watching Bitcoin’s moves is one of the safest ways to trade cryptocurrencies at the moment, as the moves have pre-determined stop-losses and targets.


ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s shorter time-frames are completely bullish and show no signs of neutrality or bearishness, while its longer-time frames have some neutrality present alongside the overall bullishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (59.39)
  • Volume is trading on above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $747                                     1: $675

2: $800                                     2: $653 

3: $900                                      3: $632

Ripple

XRP has experienced another extremely bad day, as its price dropped more than 22% on the day. The move came as a result of two major exchanges, OKEx and Coinbase, dropping support for XRP due to the pending lawsuit against its company, Ripple, as well as Ripple’s executives.

Trading XRP is extremely risky at the moment due to price fluctuations that are a result of news rather than technical formations.

XRP/USD 1-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames are tilted towards the sell-side, with all of them showing slight signs of neutrality.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (28.88)
  • Volume has spiked to above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.25                                    1: $0.214

2: $0.30                                     2: $0.14

3: $0.358 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, December 29 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Technical Levels in Play! 

On Tuesday, the market’s fundamental side is mostly muted as we don’t have any significant economic data scheduled from any economy. The S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI y/y will be released during the U.S. session; however, it’s low-impact and may not drive any major movement in the market today.

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22142 after placing a high of 1.22501 and a low of 1.21809. EUR/USD pair posted gains on Monday; however, some of the gains were lost in the late trading session. On the first day of the new trading week, the EUR/USD pair moved on the upside on the back of a weak U.S. dollar and the rising risk sentiment in the market. The global risk sentiment remained well supported by the latest optimism over a last0-minute Brexit deal and got an additional boost after the U.S. President Donald Trump finally signed the $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package.

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan bill of $2.3 trillion packages, including $900 billion for stimulus checks and $1.4 trillion for government funding. Trump, who first called this bill a disgrace, signed the bill and made it legislation as the government was near to shut down. However, he urged the U.S. Congress to increase the stimulus check amount to $2000 from $600. Given his calls, the House of Representatives led by Democratic leaders approved the CASH Act on Monday. The Act was designed to support Trump’s decision to increase the stimulus checks. The House voted 275-134 on Monday to increase the proposed $600 payments to more than triple $2000 and send it to Senate.

All these developments in the U.S. stimulus measure raised the market’s risk sentiment that ultimately added strength in the risk perceived EUR/USD pair. Meanwhile, another reason behind the EUR/USD pair’s upward momentum was the sharp rise in European markets on Monday. At the start of the last trading week of 2020, the Brexit developments and the U.S. stimulus measure raised the risk sentiment that supported the European stocks to move higher levels added in the EUR/USD pair. France’s CAC40 rose by 1.3%, the Swiss SMI surged by 1.8%, and Germany’s DAX index finished up by 1.5% on Monday.

However, some of the EUR/USD pair gains in the late trading session on Monday were lost after the news of a new variant of coronavirus reaching eight European countries emerged. The more contagious variant of coronavirus identified in the U.K. has been confirmed to be reported in Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and France. This spread of a new variant of coronavirus affected EUR/USD’s upward momentum by weighing on the local currency Euro, as fears for economic slowdown emerged again in the European countries.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2179     1.2249

1.2144     1.2286

1.2108     1.2320

Pivot Point: 1.2215

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

On Tuesday, the EUR/USD consolidating in a narrow trading range of 1.2259 – 1.2205. On the 2 hour timeframe, the EUR/USD has formed an ascending triangle pattern supporting the pair around 1.2204 and a resistance at 1.2259. The MACD and RSI have now shifted to the bullish zone, supporting a bullish trend in the EUR/USD pair. Additionally, the 50 periods EMA supports the pair at 1.2204, and it’s also expending bullish sentiment for the EUR/USD pair today. 


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.34574 after a high of 1.35760 and a low of 1.34289. On Monday, the currency pair GBP/USD fell sharply as market participants showed concerns that the post-Brexit trade agreement will slow the trade after the crucial services sector was largely excluded from the deal. The mayor of French fishing port has warned that Thursday’s historic Brexit trade deal between the U.K. and E.U. still left the fishing sector with many key questions unanswered. The mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frederic Cuvillier, said that the agreement left French fishermen wondering how it will impact them once the festive season was over. 

The long-awaited agreement between the two parties was resolved after granting a five-year transition period over fisheries, after which E.U. fish captures ought to be reduced by 25%. The concession was given from the U.K., who has initially demanded 60% at the start of the negotiations. Furthermore, on financial services, the Brexit deal is said to go in favor of the E.U. According to Boris Johnson, the agreement on financial services has fallen short of U.K. hopes. He said that perhaps the financial sector did not go as far as the U.K. would like. After these comments, Rishi Sunak offered financial services firms the prospect of closer access to E.U. markets than outlined in the Brexit trade deal.

Sunak said that he hoped that a planned memorandum of understanding on this issue between the U.K. and E.U. would smooth over many obstacles in the next few months. However, all these tensions weighed on the local currency British Pound and dragged the GBP/USD pair to the downside.

Meanwhile, the U.K. reported its highest day of new coronavirus infections on Monday with 41,385 new COVID-19 cases. The surge was driven by the new variant of the virus that is more transmissible and has forced the hospitals to cancel non-urgent procedures and scramble to find the space. Even though the new variant does not appear to make people sicker, it is believed to be up to 70% more contagious, resulting in an increased number of coronavirus infections in the U.K.

The rising number of coronavirus in the country and its faster rate affected the local currency, as hopes for an economic recovery dampened and weighed on the GBP/USD pair. It was another reason behind the downward momentum of the GBP/USD pair on Monday. However, the pair’s losses were limited on Monday due to the weakness of the U.S. dollar. The greenback was weak across the board as the U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the new coronavirus relief bill, turning it into law on Sunday. 

Whereas, the House of Representatives, which is led by Democrats, held a vote on the CASH Act on Monday, approved the Act, and passed it to the Senate. According to CASH Act, the number of stimulus checks in the bipartisan bill of $600 will be increased to $2000 as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump and supported by the House of Democrats.

All the U.S. stimulus relief bill developments weighed on the U.S. dollar and capped further losses in the GBP/USD pair on Monday in the absence of any macroeconomic data release.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3393     1.3541

1.3337     1.3633

1.3245     1.3689

Pivot point: 1.3485

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is trading at 1.3485, having supported over 1.3443 level. The support level is extended by an upward trendline on the two-hourly timeframes. The GBP/USD pair is likely to face resistance at the 1.3525 level, and a bullish crossover of 1.3525 level can drive Sterling’s price towards 1.3620. The bullish trendline is likely to support the pair today at the 1.3443 level, and violation of this can extend the selling trend until the 1.3343 level.     


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair closed at 103.778 after placing a high of 103.896 and a low of 103.402. The currency pair USD/JPY extended its gains on Monday and raised for the second consecutive day as the market’s risk sentiment increased. The risk-on market sentiment was driven by the latest decision of Donald Trump to sign the bipartisan stimulus bill of $2.3 trillion that he had initially refused to pass. 

The U.S. President Donald Trump turned the bill of $2.3 trillion, including $900 billion for pandemic aid and $1.4 trillion for spending package on Sunday as the government was near to shut down in less than 30 days. However, despite signing the bill, Donald Trump continued urging Congress to increase the number of stimulus checks from $600 per person to $2000. Followed by his calls, the House of Representatives with a Democratic majority approved the CASH Act on Monday to allow the rise in payment of stimulus checks demanded by Donald Trump. The CASH Act was approved by Democrats and sent to Senate for further proceedings.

This added in to the risk sentiment as it raised hopes for economic recovery in a depressing environment and weighed on the safe-haven Japanese Yen that ultimately added in the USD/JPY pair’s upward momentum on Monday. Furthermore, the Bank of Japan released the summary of opinions at the December rate review that showed that the B.O. policymakers were divided on how far to go in changing its stimulus program, with some calling for an overhaul of its strategy achieving 2% inflation. 

The Governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, said that the policy review would not lead to big changes to yield curve control (YCC) instead of focusing on fine-tuning the framework to make it more sustainable. However, some BOJ board members called for a more ambitious review as the hit to grow from coronavirus stokes fears of a return to deflation. 

On the data front, at 04:50 GMT, the Prelim Industrial Production reduced to 0.0% against the forecasted 1.4% and weighed on the Japanese Yen that added gains in the USD/JPY pair. Meanwhile, the USD/JPY pair’s gains were limited on Monday as the U.S. dollar was weak across the board due to the second round of stimulus relief package issuance. The bill will restore unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averted a partial federal government shutdown that would have begun on Thursday. It raised the risk sentiment and weighed on the U.S. dollar that ultimately capped further upside in the USD/JPY pair on Monday.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.47     104.02

103.25     104.37

102.91     104.58

Pivot point: 103.81

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY is trading sideways at the 103.700 level, supported by an ascending triangle pattern. On the 2 hour timeframe, the USD/JPY pair is gaining support at 103.600 and 103.400 levels along with a resistance level of 103.860, which is extended by a triple top pattern. The pair is now closing a series of doji and spinning top candles, suggesting neutral bias among investors. It’s common during such a timeframe of December as most of the traders are on holiday. Let’s consider taking a buy trade over 103.860 level and selling below the same as this level is of major importance today. Good luck! 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, December 28 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – Boxing Day Holiday! 

Welcome back to a fresh week after a long weekend. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas. The global banks will be closed in observance of Boxing Day today; therefore, we may have thin volatility and trading volume today in the market. Let’s check out the technical side of the market. 

 

Economic Events to Watch Today  


 

EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD succeeded in maintaining its overnight bullish bias and remained well bid around above the 1.2200 level. However, the currency pair’s sentiment was being supported by the latest progress over the massive U.S. government spending bill and COVID-19 relief measures, which undermined the safe-haven U.S. dollar and contributed to the currency pair gains. 

Moreover, the S&P 500 Futures sentiment was further bolstered by the recent passage of the Brexit deal and upbeat comments from the covid vaccine producers, which in turn, added further weakness to the greenback and contributed to the currency pair gains. In contrast to this, the intensifying concerns about increasing COVID-19 deaths and the possibility of economically-painful hard lockdowns keep questioning the pair’s upside momentum. As of writing, the EUR/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.2226 and consolidating in the range between 1.2181 – 1.2227.

The S&P 500 Futures enter the 3,700 marks and refreshed intraday high near 3,710 during early Monday. The market trading sentiment recently gained bids after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the much-awaited coronavirus (COVID-19) aid package, which instantly boosted the investor’s confidence. As per the New York Post, President Trump has signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill that includes $600 stimulus checks for most Americans. The funding bill authorizes direct checks of $600 for people earning up to $75,000 per year. In addition to this, the bill creates a new $300 weekly unemployment supplement and replenishes a forgivable loan program for small businesses, while there’s an additional $600 per child stimulus payment. This latest optimism put a bid under risk assets and weighed over the safe-haven U.S. dollar. 

Elsewhere, the gains in the currency pair were further bolstered after the passage of the Brexit deal and upbeat remarks from the covid vaccine makers. As per the latest report, the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the United Kingdom is now seeking trade deals with Australia, the United States, and countries in the Indo-Pacific region.” Across the pond, the AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said that their covid vaccine is effective against the new strain, which in turn exerted an additional positive impact on the market trading sentiment and contributed to the currency pair gains.

Looking ahead, the market traders will keep their eyes only on updates surrounding the virus, vaccine, and the U.S. stimulus package. However, the global markets may witness a dull trading session amid the year-end celebration mood and off at major bourses. 

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.2143 1.2231

1.2090 1.2266

1.2055 1.2320

Pivot point: 1.2178

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD is trading with a bullish bias at the 1.2224 area, having crossed over the triple top resistance level of 1.2200, now working as a support for the EUR/USD. Continuation of an upward trend can extend the buying trend until the 1.2250 level. The EUR/USD pair violates the symmetric triangle pattern, which is likely to drive further upward movement in the market. Bullish bias seems dominant today.

GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

The GBP/USD currency pair managed to maintain its bullish bias through the first half of the Asian session and remained bullish around above the mid-1.3500 level due to the prevalent risk-on market sentiment, which tends to undermine the safe-haven U.S. dollar and contributes to the currency pair gains. Hence the market trading sentiment was supported by the hopes of coronavirus vaccine and progress toward a massive U.S. government spending bill and COVID-19 relief measures. 

On the contrary, the currency pair trimmed some of its sharp gains during Monday’s European session as the renewed uncertainties over the future of the recently signed Brexit deal tend to undermine the British Pound even as markets are off in the U.K. Furthermore, the currency pair’s gains were also capped by the growing market concerns about the continuous rise in new coronavirus cases and the enforcement of fresh restrictions in the U.K. As of writing, the GBP/USD currency pair is currently trading at 1.3561 and consolidating in the range between 1.3530 – 1.3576.

Despite the recent passage of the Brexit deal, the doubts over the key issues like the level Playing Field, Finance, and Gibraltar remain on the cards as the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted it is an agreement which does not have as much as he would have liked about the financial services sector and regulatory equivalence. He further added that this agreement would give the people hope that we will remain in close dialogue with our European partners regarding things like equivalence decisions. In that way, the uncertainties over the recently signed Brexit deal’s future exerted downside pressure on the GBP/USD currency pair.

Despite this, the S&P 500 Futures managed to extend its previous session’s positive performance and refreshed intraday high near 3,710 during the early European session on the day. The market trading sentiment recently gained bids after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the much-awaited coronavirus (COVID-19) aid package, which instantly boosted the investor’s confidence. As per the New York Post, President Trump has signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill that includes $600 stimulus checks for most Americans. The funding bill authorizes direct reviews of $600 for people earning up to $75,000 per year. 

In addition to this, the bill creates a new $300 weekly unemployment supplement and replenishes a forgivable loan program for small businesses, while there’s an additional $600 per child stimulus payment. This latest optimism put a bid under risk assets and weighed over the safe-haven U.S. dollar. 

Looking ahead, the market traders will keep their eyes only on updates surrounding the virus, vaccine, and the U.S. stimulus package as the global markets witnessing a dull trading session amid the year-end celebration mood and off at significant bourses. 

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.3442 1.3562

1.3378 1.3618 

1.3322 1.3683

Pivot point: 1.3498

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The Sterling is trading with a bullish bias at 1.376 level, heading further higher towards the next resistance level of 1.3650 level. Support stays at 1.3495 level today. This support level is extended by an upward trendline, which can be seen in the 4-hour timeframe. On the higher side, the GBP/USD pair can prolong the buying trend unto the 1.3622 level, and the bullish trend continuation can lead the GBP/USD pair towards the 1.3706 mark. 

USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY failed to stop its previous-session bearish bias and remained depressed around below the 103.50 level, mainly due to the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. The fresh optimism was pressuring the U.S. dollar that the U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill, urging investors to retreat from the safe-haven investment riskier assets. Apart from this, the losses in the U.S. dollar could also be attributed to the lingering doubts over the U.S. economic recovery from COVID-1, which adds further burden around the U.S. dollar and contributes to the currency pair losses. 

The upbeat market sentiment, backed by the hopes of coronavirus vaccine and the U.S. covid stimulus, boosted investors’ confidence and undermined the safe-haven Japanese yen, which, in turn, was seen as one of the leading factors that helped the USD/JPY currency pair to limit its deeper losses.

Despite the worries over the coronavirus pandemic’s resurgence, the optimism over a possible vaccine for the highly infectious coronavirus disease has remained supportive of the market risk tone. Also favoring the optimism could be the recent comments from the covid vaccine producers. As per the keywords, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said that their covid vaccine is effective against the new strain. Thus, the risk-on market mood tends to undermine the safe-haven Japanese yen, which becomes the key factor that lends some support to the currency pair to ease the intraday bearish pressure surrounding the USD/JPY currency pair.

In addition to this, the sentiment around the equity market was improved further after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill. It is worth noted that U.S. President Trump had signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill that includes $600 stimulus checks for most Americans. The funding bill authorizes direct reviews of $600 for people earning up to $75,000 per year. Furthermore, the bill creates a new $300 weekly unemployment supplement and provides a forgivable loan program for small businesses. Besides this, there’s an additional $600 per child stimulus payment. 

This, in turn, the broad-based U.S. dollar failed to stop its bearish trend and remained depressed on the day. Apart from this, doubts over the U.S. economic recovery remains on the cards amid rising COVID-19 deaths, which adds further burden around the greenback. However, the losses in the U.S. dollar becomes the key factor that kept the currency pair lower. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a bucket of currencies, dropped by 0.15% to 90.112 by 12:09 AM ET (5:09 AM GMT).

In contrast to this, the optimism around the equity market was slightly unaffected by the intensifying market worries regarding the continuous rise in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe, which keep sparking the worries over the global economic recovery through imposing new lockdown restrictions on economic and social activity. Furthermore, the equity market gains were also capped by the renewed uncertainty over the Brexit deal and intensified China-US tussles.

There isn’t any major market-moving economic data due for release on the day, which in turn, the market traders will keep their eyes only on updates surrounding the virus, vaccine, and the U.S. stimulus package as the global markets seeing a dull trading session amid the year-end celebration mood and off at major bourses.

Daily Technical Levels

Support Resistance

103.47 104.02

103.25 104.37

102.91 104.58

Pivot point: 103.81

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY trades choppy in between a narrow trading range of 103.750 – 103.360 level. The safe-haven USD/JPY pair faces immediate support of 103.360, and the formation of candles above this level can drive the buying trend until 103.746. Whereas, bullish trend continuation can extend further buying trend until 104.090 level. The MACD and RSI are suggesting selling bias as it’s forming histograms below 0 level. While the 50 EMA also supports the selling trend. Let’s consider taking a selling trade until the 102.990 level today. Good luck!

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 28 – Ethereum Breaks $700; Bitcoin at $30k?

The cryptocurrency sector had an incredible weekend as Bitcoin skyrocketed towards $28,000. Bitcoin is currently trading for $27,031, representing a decrease of 2.91% compared to yesterday’s value, but a massive increase compared to its value on Friday. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 12.79% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 4.05%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

EncrypGen gained 2787.56% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Bankacoin’s 212.44% and Trabzonspor Fan Token’s 178.8% gain. On the other hand, CEZO lost 89.89%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by JD Coin’s loss of 64.79% and Triumph X’s loss of 57.74%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 69.1%. This value represents a 0.25% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased over $100 billion since we last reported, with its current value being $721.10 billion. This represents a $101.89 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin did not sleep this weekend as it took its time to push towards new all-time highs. The best-known cryptocurrency pushed towards the upside, reaching as high as $28,391 at one point. It is now consolidating around the $27,000 level and preparing for the next move.

Our Fib extensions drawn on Friday worked exactly as expected, with Bitcoin respecting every single one of them. With all of them still being a valid choice, traders should either look for a bounce off the immediate support levels or increased volume followed by a sharp increase in price. Trading Bitcoin’s pullbacks is not exactly the best option at the moment.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s 4-hour and weekly technicals show a full tilt towards the buy-side, its daily and monthly technicals show some neutrality signs.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (62.10)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $28,391                                 1: $25,512

2: $29,000                                 2: $24,696

3: $30,000                                  3: $24,315

Ethereum

While Ethereum did manage to score some gains over the weekend, its upside got overshadowed by Bitcoin’s growth. However, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has decided to make that up by suddenly pushing from $624 all the way up to $738. While the move seemingly ended here, it is not yet certain whether the price will break the level or go even higher, or start its consolidation at slightly lower levels.

Traders should utilize the volume indicator, order books, and well-established support/resistance levels to its fullest to catch these explosive trades while remaining safe.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s shorter time-frames are completely bullish, while its longer-time frames show slight neutrality signs.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI has stepped into the overbought territory (71.68)
  • Volume is trading on above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $738                                     1: $675

2: $800                                     2: $632 

3: $900                                      3: $600

Ripple

XRP has been trading on low volume and slowly descending after a brief rally to $0.385. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency keeps getting crushed by various companies dropping support or liquidating their XRP positions after Ripple and its executives got sued by the SEC.

XRP traders should (more than anything) pay attention to the news. However, there are many other cryptocurrencies with much safer and potentially more profitable trading setups at the moment.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames slightly tilted towards the sell-side, but they all show some signs of uncertainty.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below its 50-period EMA and slightly below its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI has left the oversold territory (37.46)
  • Volume is returning to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.30                                    1: $0.25

2: $0.358                                   2: $0.214

3: $0.475 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 24 – XRP Downturn Pulls the Crypto Sector in the Red

The cryptocurrency sector reacted to XRP getting crushed by the market and ended up mostly in the red. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23,112, representing a decrease of 1.97% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 6.27% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 30.85%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Folgory Coin gained 5571.49% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by MINDOL’s 1224.26% and DACC’s 1070.44% gain. On the other hand, 3x Long XRP Token lost 77.00%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by B21 Invest’s loss of 74.30% and YFPRO Finance’s loss of 70.96%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 69.3%. This value represents a 1.5% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased significantly since we last reported, with its current value being $619.31 billion. This represents a $22.90 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin was one of the few cryptocurrencies not affected by the major downturn of XRP after the SEC announced a lawsuit against Ripple and its executives. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap stayed within its wide range and continued trading sideways after bouncing back from the $24,000 level.

Traders currently have the option to catch a couple of safe trades within the trading range Bitcoin is in, or wait for it to spike in volume and break the range (either to the downside or upside).

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily and weekly technicals are slightly tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour and monthly technicals show some hints of neutrality alongside the bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (53.57)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum got affected by XRP’s downturn, which pulled it back over 5% on the day. The second-largest cryptocurrency fell below its $600 support level, and caused a quick panic-sell which brought its price as low as $550 (though just for a moment). Ether is now fighting to stay above the $581 level, which it will most likely succeed.

Many analysts are calling for a double bottom and are expecting an upswing from Ethereum. Traders should pay close attention to Ether’s volume and (possibly) order books.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s weekly and monthly technicals are completely bullish, while its 4-hour and daily overview are mainly tilted towards the sell-side, but show some signs of uncertainty.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (37.44)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $600                                     1: $581

2: $632                                     2: $564 

3: $675                                      3: $545

Ripple

XRP got crushed as more bad news came. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap got dropped by various exchanges, as well as its positions fully liquidated by major funds such as Bitwise. Its price dipped over 65% in just 5 days. However, XRP seems to have found support in (first) the $0.214 and (later) $0.25 levels.

XRP will most likely try to either hold its price level or push slightly towards the upside. While its further downside potential is not very high (unless more bad news comes out), buying or longing XRP is extremely risky.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames are completely tilted towards the sell-side.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (19.40)
  • Volume is on extremely high levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.30                                    1: $0.25

2: $0.358                                   2: $0.214

3: $0.475 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 23 – Is This the End of XRP? SEC Officially Files Lawsuit Against Ripple and its Executives

The cryptocurrency sector was mostly neutral as Bitcoin gained even more market dominance. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23.498, representing an increase of 3.53% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 1.28% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 23.99%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

SYNC Network gained 97.23% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by 3x Short XRP Token’s 84.56% and Basis Share’s 77.1% gain. On the other hand, DMme lost 85.99%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by 3x Long XRP Token’s loss of 66.89% and S4FE’s loss of 60.04%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 67.8%. This value represents a 1.2% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $642.21 billion. This represents a $9.69 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin continued trading within a decently large range, bound by $22,054 to the downside and $24,315 to the upside. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to gain a couple of percent on its price today, as most of the market consolidated. Therefore, Bitcoin market dominance has risen once again, almost reaching 70%.

Bitcoin’s descending volume and sideways trading were always a sign of a new move in the making. However, as the current trading range is quite wide, the sharp move to either side might not be so imminent.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily and weekly technicals are tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour and monthly overviews are slightly bullish, but show some hints of neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (56.31)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has followed Bitcoin to the upside and gained just enough traction to attempt a $632 level break, but not enough to actually break it. This triggered a small correction, which brought it to the middle of the range, bound by $600-$602 to the downside and $632 to the upside.

Ethereum’s price movements are (in the past couple of days) either an exact copy of Bitcoin’s moves, or an exaggerated move in the same direction. Traders could possibly use this to trade Ether’s exaggerated moves by watching Bitcoin’s movement.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s daily, weekly, and monthly technicals are completely bullish, while its 4-hour overview is tilted towards the sell-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.94)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $632                                     1: $600

2: $675                                     2: $581 

3: $738.5                                   3: $564

Ripple

XRP got crushed today on horrible news of SEC officially filing a lawsuit against its company Ripple as well as against its cofounders. While MoneyGram took a lenient position and didn’t want to make any negative comments, most crypto exchanges are planning on delisting XRP due to concerns regarding regulation.

While some may think that short-selling XRP is a good idea, watch out for slippage and insufficient demand.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s short-term technicals show a heavy tilt towards the sell-side, while its long-term technicals (weekly and monthly) remain bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (18.53)
  • Volume is on extremely high levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.40                                    1: $0.33

2: $0.475                                   2: $0.297

3: $0.481 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 22 – XRP Plummets on News of SEC Suing Ripple; Crypto Sector in the Red

The cryptocurrency sector bounced back from its recent highs as the news of a new COVID-19 strain came out. Bitcoin is currently trading for $22,716, representing a decrease of 5.01% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 5.41% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 16.97%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

P2P gained 185.24% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by DMme’s 123.95% and Actinium’s 96.18% gain. On the other hand, Wownero lost 54.05%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Tap’s loss of 47.05% and Super Bitcoin’s loss of 46.31%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 66.6%. This value represents a 1.4% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased significantly since we last reported, with its current value being $632.90 billion. This represents a $36.72 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin experienced a 5% pullback after the news of a new strain of COVID-19 came out. Of course, Bitcoin was not the only one hit, as all traditional asset classes dipped in the past 24 hours as well. The downturn got stopped at the $22,054 level, and quickly sprung up to the current levels.

As mentioned in our previous daily crypto review, Bitcoin would experience an increase in volume as it exits consolidation below the recent highs, which happened today.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily technicals are tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour overview is completely neutral. On the other hand, its weekly and monthly overviews are tilted towards the buy-side, but show hints of neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and below its 21-period EMA
  • Price between its bottom and middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.91)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has followed Bitcoin to the downside, and lost just over 5% on the day. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell below the $632 level and attempted to break the $600-$602 support line. However, ETH bulls stopped the downturn, and the cryptocurrency is now consolidating right above this level.

Ethereum’s price movements are pretty tame so far, and traders should pay close attention to Bitcoin and its movement in the near future as Ether seems to follow it almost to the tee.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s daily, weekly and monthly technicals show a strong bullish tilt, while its 4-hour overview is tilted towards the sell-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is heading towards being oversold (37.52)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $632                                     1: $600

2: $675                                     2: $581 

3: $738.5                                   3: $564

Ripple

XRP had a horrible 24 hour trading session as its price crashed on Ripple’s announcement that they will most likely get sued by the SEC. This news brought its price down almost 20%, with it currently trading right above the $0.457 level, which stopped XRP from going down further.

XRP traders should pay attention to further updates on the lawsuit news as well as to any volume increase the cryptocurrency experiences.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s long-term technicals (weekly and monthly) show a slight tilt towards the buy-side, while its short-term technicals (4-hour and daily) are completely bearish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (25.83)
  • Volume has returned to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.5                                      1: $0.475

2: $0.543                                   2: $457

3: $0.57                                    3: $45

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 21 – Bitcoin Dangerously Close to Making a Sharp Move

The cryptocurrency sector is split between gainers and losers as Bitcoin consolidates right below its all-time high level. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23,825, representing an increase of 1.03% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1.42% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 3.20%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Axion gained 3402.38% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by MahaDAO’s 199.69% and Elxis’ 186.79% gain. On the other hand, Golden Ratio Per Liquidity lost 59.64%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by ALL BEST ICO’s loss of 50.84% and Quras’s loss of 49.42%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down almost half a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 65.1%. This value represents a 0.4% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $669.26 billion. This represents an $18.25billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent its weekend slowly rising towards the resistance level of its trading channel, which is bound by $22,055 to the downside and $24,315 to the upside. However, The two attempts to break the resistance level and enter the price discovery phase failed, leaving Bitcoin just below $24,315. With volume descending ever since Dec 17, we might expect this consolidation to end with a volume boom and a very sharp move.

While it is yet unknown whether this sharp move will be to the upside or downside, the increase in volume and a strong push towards one side will make it quite clear. Traders can use this momentum to catch a very safe trade.


BTC/USD 2-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s technicals are overall bullish, they either show signs of neutrality or even hints of bearishness. Its daily and monthly overviews have some indications of sellers being present, while its 4-hour and weekly overviews are bullish-neutral.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to being overbought (65.90)
  • Volume is decreasing, and trading below the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has, unlike Bitcoin, descended slowly within its trading range, which is bound by $675 to the upside and $632. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap had one strong push towards the downside, which brought its price all the way down to $620 on Dec 20. However, the bulls prevailed, and Ether is now trading above $632 safely.

Ethereum’s price movements seem pretty tame, meaning that its next move will be of larger magnitude. Traders should pay close attention to Bitcoin and its moves in the near future before trading any other cryptocurrency, including Ether.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals are very bullish on all time-frames, with only its weekly overview showing slight neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (52.43)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $675                                     1: $632

2: $738.5                                  2: $600 

3: $817.5                                   3: $581

Ripple

With XRP’s strong push towards the upside ending on Dec 17, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has entered another descending channel. The price was slowly dwindling down over the weekend, breaking the $0.57 support level, and then confirming its position below it. The price even went below the $0.543 support at one point, but quickly recovered.

XRP’s volume is currently almost non-existent, and traders should pay attention to any volume spikes if they intend on trading XRP.

XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals are quite mixed, but overall tilted slightly towards the buy-side. It’s 4-hour and daily overviews are bullish-neutral, while its weekly overview shows some hints of bearishness. Its monthly overview, however, is completely bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.77)
  • Volume has descended to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.57                                    1: $0.543

2: $0.597                                   2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                    3: $0.475

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

BTC/USD Weekly Chart Analysis + Possible Outcomes

In this week’s BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking an in-depth look at the most recent technical formations, as well as look for the possible price outcomes in the following days.

Overview

The crypto sector was nothing short of explosive as Bitcoin pushed past its old all-time highs and reached almost as high as $24,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap went into skyrocket mode without facing much resistance until it hit a wall near $23,800. As it failed to break this level twice, it started a consolidation phase.

While Bitcoin’s sentiment is extremely bullish, many analysts call for a pullback and say that the most recent push to the upside is still much overextended. However, Bitcoin is consolidating sideways rather than pulling back. One thing is certain, Bitcoin is preparing for its next move.

Technical factors



Bitcoin is currently in consolidation mode after it hit a wall twice near the $23,800 price level. The price range is getting narrower and narrower as time passes, indicating a strong breakout move out of the current boundaries inevitable. On top of that, Bitcoin’s volume has been steadily declining after the final attempt above $23,777. When it comes to support, Bitcoin’s downside is protected by the 21-period moving average as well as the $22,320 Fib retracement line.

While a move to the downside should be considered healthy, the current price bouncing off of its support levels might be just good enough for BTC to push towards the upside once again.

Likely Outcomes

We can expect three main outcomes for Bitcoin, with the ones starting with an upswing being just slightly more plausible.

  1. Bitcoin’s price can easily shoot up past $23,777 and enter price discovery mode yet again. Not much to say about the target levels there, except that the possible resistance zones might be Fib extensions from the current Fib retracement levels.
  2. Bitcoin’s price is most likely to push towards the upside, hit the all-time high level, and fail to break it, therefore prompting a pullback. In this case, the price will most likely fall below $22,320 and head straight for the $21,420 or even lower (some analysts are calling for a drop below $20,000 and a CME Futures gap fill).
  3. Bitcoin’s price might head straight down and break the $22,320 level, in which case the market will steadily test every single support level that has worked until now.

In any case, a significant increase in volume will be required, and traders should certainly pay attention to it.

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

Daily F.X. Analysis, December 18 – Top Trade Setups In Forex – German IFO Business Climate in Focus! 

On Friday, the fundamental side-eyes will remain on the German Ifo Business Climate figures, which are expected to drop from 90.7 to 90.2 along with the current account data, which is likely to drop from 25.2 B to 22.6B. Both of these figures extend bearish pressure on the Euro. Later, the Canadian retail sales will be in focus as it may drive some price action in the Canadian pairs.


 

Economic Events to Watch Today  

 


EUR/USD – Daily Analysis

The EUR/USD pair was closed at 1.22679 after placing a high of 1.22725 and a low of 1.21897. EUR/USD pair extended its gains on Thursday and peaked in April 2018, amid the broad-based U.S. dollar weakness and the rebound of the Eurozone economy. The U.S. dollar weakness was derived from various factors, including rising hopes that the coronavirus relief bill will release soon, the dovish comments from Powell post-meeting, and the soft U.S. labor market data on Thursday. 

The Democrats and Republicans were close to reaching a deal over a new $900 billion proposal, including $600-$700 in paychecks and unemployment benefits. The U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has even said that it might be possible that U.S. lawmakers will have the agreement in writing by the end of Thursday. These rising hopes for the U.S. stimulus bill added pressure on the U.S. dollar that ultimately supported the EUR/USD pair’s upward movement.

Powell emphasized that the Fed was following outcomes-based policies, which means if progress slows toward achieving those outcomes, then-Fed could step up its asset purchases. Powell’s dovish comments weighed on the U.S. dollar and supported rising EUR/USD prices on Thursday. Furthermore, on Thursday, the soft labor market data weighed on the U.S. dollar as the Unemployment Claims from last week surged to 885K. The weak U.S. dollar because of rising unemployment claims also supported the upward momentum in EUR/USD pair on Thursday.

On the data front, at 15:00 GMT, the Final CPI for the year in November remained flat at -0.3%. The Final Core CPI from Eurozone in November also remained as expected at 0.2%. From the U.S. side, at 18:29 GMT, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index in December declined to 11.1 against the projected 20.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar and supported EUR/USD prices. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week surged to 885K against the projected 817K and weighed on the U.S. dollar. For November, the Building Permits surged to 1.64M against the projected 1.55M and supported the U.S. dollar. The Housing Starts in November remained flat as projected 1.55M.

The Eurozone economy was rebounded as suggested by the December Eurozone’s Composite PMI that rose above 49 levels compared to expected 45.3 and supported the single currency. However, the Eurozone market confidence was tempered by the news that Germany, the largest Eurozone economy, would re-enter lockdown in January to curb coronavirus spread.

Meanwhile, the global economic outlook continued to improve following the news that Europe will be rolling out coronavirus vaccines. The E.U. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said that the coronavirus vaccination would start from December 27 in Austria, Germany, and Italy. The Health Minister Jens Spahn said that if the approval comes as planned, Germany will start vaccination on December 27. The potential vaccine rollout in Europe raised the Eurozone economy’s outlook and supported the single currency Euro and added the EUR/USD pair’s gains.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.2143      1.2231

1.2090      1.2266

1.2055      1.2320

Pivot point: 1.2178

EUR/USD– Trading Tip

The EUR/USD bullish bias continues to drive an upward movement at 1.2245, and continuing an upward trend is likely to be continued. On the 4 hour timeframe, the EURUSD has entered the overbought zone, and it has completed 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at the 1.2240 level. A bearish breakout of 1.2240 can send the EUR/USD pair towards a 38.2% Fibo level of 1.2214. The odds of buying seems strong over the 1.2214 level today.


GBP/USD – Daily Analysis

 The GBP/USD pair was closed at 1.35833 after placing a high of 1.36244 and a low of 1.34950. GBP/USD pair extended its gains for the third consecutive day on Thursday and peaked since May 2018 due to broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. The British Pound pared some gains on Thursday after the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that it was likely that a deal would not be reached until the European Union eased its stance over key sticking issues, including fishing rights.

Johnson poured cold water on the deal’s hopes, saying that it looked very likely that the agreement will not be finalized until the European Union shifts its position substantially. This update came in the right after the positive comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said that the progress in trade negotiations was seen.


Despite the hints of possible progress on a post-Brexit trade deal, PM Johnson has not shied away from his views that the possible outcome for the U.K. to leave the E.U. was without a deal. In this scenario, the U.K. and E.U. will follow the terms and conditions under the World Trade Organization that would not be good for both nations. The European Parliament has given Brexit negotiators until December 20 to strike a deal to allow enough time to ratify a potential agreement before the end of the U.K.’s transition period to leave the E.U.

Furthermore, on Thursday, the Bank of England kept interest rates at the lowest level on record after warning that rapid growth in coronavirus infections will deliver a bigger hit to the U.K. economy than expected in the final months of 2020. The official interest rate was kept unchanged at 0.1% by BoE, while the bank also left the Q.E. bond-buying program unchanged at 895 billion pounds after pumping an additional 150 billion pounds into the economy last month.

The bank acknowledged that against a backdrop of soaring coronavirus infections amid the second wave of the pandemic has forced the government to launch tier-3 restrictions in England and tighter control over Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that has put the economy under pressure. The bank projected that the GDP of the U.K. in the final three months of 2020 would contract by a little over 1%, which means that national output for 2020 will be 11% below 2019, and it will be the biggest recession in 300 years. These dovish comments from the Bank of England removed some of the GBP/USD pair’s daily gain on Thursday.

On the data front, at 17:00 GMT, the Asset Purchase Facility from Great Britain in December remained flat at 895B. 

From the U.S. side, at 18:29 GMT, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index in December fell to 11.1 against the anticipated 20.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar and supported the GBP/USD pair. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week rose to 885K against the anticipated 817K and weighed on the U.S. dollar, and added further gains in GBP/USD pair. For November, the Building Permits rose to 1.64M against the anticipated 1.55M and supported the U.S. dollar. The Housing Starts in November remained flat as anticipated 1.55M.  The U.S. dollar was weak across the board as the hopes for the second round of stimulus bills raised as the Democrats and Republicans were coming closer to reach a $900 billion proposal that would include $600 to $700 paychecks and unemployment benefits. The rising hopes that U.S. stimulus will reach an agreement soon weighed on the U.S. dollar and added in the gains of GBP/USD.

The U.S. dollar was also weak because of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. despite the vaccine rollout. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. confirmed 247,403 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, and the number of Americans’ deaths was recorded as 3656 in a single day. Meanwhile, the risk perceived the latest improvement in risk sentiment also supported British Pound after the hopes of another vaccine approval rose. A vaccine by Moderna that will offer about 94% protection against the coronavirus was set to get emergency authorization as early as this week by US FDA. On Thursday, a panel of 22 members of experts met to discuss the efficacy and potential side effects of Moderna’s vaccine. However, the American public will start receiving vaccine shots possibly after months, and in the meantime, the hospitals across the country will be caring for the coronavirus patients. These rising optimism raised the hopes that global economic recovery will reach soon and supported the risk sentiment that added strength in Sterling and helped GBP/USD pair to continue its upward movement.

Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

1.3442      1.3562

1.3378      1.3618 

1.3322      1.3683

Pivot point: 1.3498

GBP/USD– Trading Tip

The GBP/USD is trading at 1.3550 level, facing an immediate support level of 1.3518 level. This support level is extended by an upward trendline, which can be seen in the 4-hour timeframe. On the higher side, the pair can extend the buying trend until the 1.3588 level, and the continuation of the buying trend can also lead Sterling towards the 1.3625 level. Support holds around the 1.3518 level, and a breakout can lead the pair towards the 1.3495 area. Bullish bias dominates today.


USD/JPY – Daily Analysis

The USD/JPY pair was closed at 103.074 after placing a high of 103.560 and a low of 102.872. The currency pair USD/JPY fell for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid the U.S. dollar’s broad-based weakness. The U.S. dollar fell significantly against the Japanese Yen, and the USD/JPY pair reached 102 level on Thursday as the U.S. dollar index fell below 90 levels for the first time since April 2018. The U.S. Dollar Index that measures the value of the U.S. dollar against the basket of six currencies fell to 89.7 level on Thursday and dragged the USD/JPY pair further on the downside towards its lowest since March.

On Thursday, the Wall Street main indexes rose modestly, with Dow Jones up by 0.39% and the NASDAQ by 0.42%. Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen performed well against its rivals across the board despite the risk appetite and kept the USD/JPY pair under pressure. The hopes for the second round of U.S. stimulus bill from Congress rose and weighed on the U.S. dollar as the Democrats and Republicans reached a consensus over the proposal of $900 billion stimulus aid that will include $600-$700 in the paychecks and unemployment benefits. Furthermore, the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. were also weighing on the local currency as the cases in total reached about 17M in the U.S. Despite the vaccine rollout in the U.S., the rising number of coronavirus causes added pressure on the U.S. dollar and added further downside on the USD/JPY pair.

The USD/JPY pair’s downward momentum was the disappointing U.S. jobless claims on Thursday. On the data front, at 18:29 GMT, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index in December decreased to 11.1 against the estimated 20.1 and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added pressure over the USD/JPY pair. At 18:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from last week increased to 885K against the estimated 817K and weighed on the U.S. dollar and dragged the pair USD/JPY further on the downside. Building Permits for November increased to 1.64M against the estimated 1.55M and supported the U.S. dollar. The Housing Starts in November remained flat as estimated at 1.55M.

Since September, the rising number of unemployment claims to the highest level suggested the effect of increasingly restrictive measures in many states due to increased coronavirus cases and people’s loss of confidence. Meanwhile, in Japan, the main upcoming event was the central bank meeting on Friday. The most likely scenario was a no change in the monetary policy setting and keeping the rates at -10bps and the 10-year JGB yield target at 0.00%. The emergency lending facilities are expected to extend beyond the current run-off date of March 31, 2021. There were no macroeconomic figures to be released from Japan on Thursday, so the pair USD/JPY kept following the U.S. dollar movements that were weak across the board on the day.


Daily Technical Levels

Support   Resistance

103.47      104.02

103.25      104.37

102.91      104.58

Pivot point: 103.81

USD/JPY – Trading Tips

The USD/JPY has reversed the selling bias to trade at the 103.550 level. The safe-haven currency pair is trading beneath an immediate support mark of 103.750, and the formation of candles beneath this level will reinforce the bearish breakout. If this happens, we may have an opportunity to short the USD/JPY pair today. Bearish bias looks firm as the MACD is creating histograms underneath 0, and the 50 periods EMA is operating around 103.800 level, suggesting strong probabilities of selling. On the lower side, the USD/JPY pair may find subsequent support at the 102.900 level. It can be a good idea to take a selling position below 103.750 today. Good luck!

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 18 – Bitcoin at $23,000; Crypto Sector Preparing for the Next Move

The majority of the cryptocurrencies ended up in the green as the cryptocurrency sector tried to consolidate after Bitcoin’s price discovery in the all-time high territory. Bitcoin is currently trading for $22.912, representing an increase of 3.96% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 0.16% on the day, while XRP managed to gain 3.79%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

MobileGo gained 94.96% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Puriever’s 85.99% and Tokes’ 85.09% gain. On the other hand, Basis Share lost 49.6%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by 3x Short Litecoin Token’s loss of 46.73% and Force For Fast’s loss of 42.92%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up half a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 65.5%. This value represents a 0.5% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $651.01 billion. This represents a $17.07 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has stopped its price discovery phase as it bounced off the $24,000 level and began consolidating. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently fighting for the $23,000 level, a minor pivot point within a larger range bound by $24,000 to the upside and $22,050 to the downside.

At the moment, the Fib extension sitting at $22,055 is the most likely strong support level, while Bitcoin’s upside is open to new highs if the cryptocurrency passes $24,000, $23,315, and $24,500.

BTC/USD 2-hour chart

Bitcoin’s 4-hour and weekly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and monthly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is heavily overbought (80.71)
  • Volume is far higher than its average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has, just like Bitcoin, hit a wall in its price ascension, triggering a pullback from the highs of $675. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap quickly fell to its immediate support level, which sits at $632. This level held up nicely, and Ethereum is now on a slow rise after confirming the support level.

An important thing to note is that Ethereum is very far from reaching its all-time high. It might be a good value investment simply because of its potential to increase its price faster than Bitcoin.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s 4-hour and monthly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and weekly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMAs
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI has barely left the overbought territory (67.29)
  • Volume is much higher than its weekly average but is descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $675                                     1: $632

2: $738.5                                  2: $600 

3: $817.5                                   3: $581

Ripple

XRP was the cryptocurrency that experienced the largest gains out of the three cryptocurrencies we cover daily. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap couldn’t break a high of $0.597 with conviction (though the price briefly went as high as $0.656), which triggered a correction to its $0.57 support level. After confirming this level as strong support, XRP continued its path towards the upside and slowly started increasing in price. It is currently contesting the $0.597 level once again.


XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s 4-hour and monthly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and weekly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is nearing the overbought territory (63.71)
  • Volume is well above its average level, thought descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.597                                    1: $0.57

2: $0.63                                    2: $0.543

3: $0.66                                     3: $0.5