Weekly Forex Analysis: May 8th to 12th 2017


EUR/USD

 

Weekly Analysis: Last week the Fed decided to keep the rate unchanged as expected, they didn’t give strong hints about a June hike. The employment data released Friday was better than anticipated but the previous number was revised lower and overall the US Dollar weakened, allowing the pair to climb.

Technical Outlook

 

The previous week ended with price right on the psychological level at 1.1000. Usually the market reacts to big, round numbers and the Relative Strength Index is very close to overbought, so all this increases bearish pressure and might generate a move lower in the form of a pullback. However, it must be noted that the pair is in an uptrend, which was just renewed by the break of the previous high at 1.0945. If the psychological resistance at 1.1000 is broken easily, we expect the upside to prevail and the pair to move towards the next resistance, located at 1.1120.

 

Fundamental Outlook

 

Monday French banks will be closed in observance of Victory Day but the rest of Europe will do business as usual. The most important release of the day will be the German Factory Orders, an indicator that shows changes in the value of purchase orders placed with manufacturers. Keep in mind that Sunday the second round of the French Presidential Election takes place and we expect price action to be heavily affected throughout the beginning of the week.

Tuesday and Wednesday there are no notable releases on the schedule but action picks up a little Thursday with the U.S. Producer Price Index, an indicator that tracks changes in the price charged by producers for their goods. It has inflationary implications because a higher producer price ultimately leads to a higher consumer price, but the impact is not always notable.

Friday is a busy day for the US Dollar, with three important releases: the U.S. Consumer Price Index (a key gauge of inflation), the Retail Sales and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, a survey that shows the opinions of about 500 consumers regarding economic and business conditions. Also Friday the G7 Meetings start, attended by central bankers from the 7 member states.

 

GBP/USD

 

Most of last week’s price action was ranging, with the pair trading closely above 1.2850. The strongest movement was seen Friday, on the back of U.S. employment data.

Technical Outlook

 

The previous resistance at 1.2850 was tested from above and price bounced higher, thus we can now consider this level support. The pair is making higher highs and higher lows, indicating that it is currently in an uptrend, so we expect to see a touch of the next level of importance, located at 1.3050; 1.3000 is also important because it is a big, round number. The pair is likely to retrace lower when one of these levels is touched, but after said retracement, the uptrend will probably continue if key support is not broken.

 

Fundamental Outlook

 

The Pound has a lackluster week ahead, except for Thursday when the Bank of England will release their Inflation Report but will also announce the Official Bank Rate, the rate votes of the MPC members and the Monetary Policy Summary, outlining the reasons behind the votes. There’s no change expected for the rate (currently 0.25%) but this cluster of events is likely to trigger increased volatility. UK representatives will attend the G7 Meetings that start Friday.

 

Written by: Bogdan Giulvezan