Market Brief Series / EP. 346 / 15th June 2018 – Fri.

Overall there is strength in the USD, JPY, with minor strength in NZD. Weakness in the EUR, AUD, CHF.

US economy is revving up just as Europe and other major economies lose steam, jeopardizing a rare period in which the world’s largest economies have been accelerating in unison.

Gold is trading at $1,302, having failed to capitalize on the bullish breakout. However, the optimism was short-lived as prices fell back to $1,300, due to a sharp rise in the dollar index.

AUD is vulnerable to deeper losses against its US counterpart after breaking counter-trend support guiding the upswing early May.

ECB on Thursday took another step ending the massive stimulus measures it has used in an effort to boost growth since 2015. But ECB officials also said they would hold interest rates steady through summer next year, a sign that they felt the Euro-Zone economy remains fragile.

EUR/USD was down 1.9% at 1.1569, its biggest one-day percentage decline since June 2016. Some analysts said expectations that the policy rates between the world’s two biggest central banks will widen are likely to benefit the dollar and weigh on the euro by making the US currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors. While the fed’s hawkish outlook will likely buoy the US currency, the euro remains vulnerable to retesting recent lows against the dollar.

On the data slate there’s Euro-Zone CPI; US Empire Manufacturing; US Industrial Production; US manufacturing Production; US U. of Michigan Sentiment; US Baker Hughes US Rig Count and US Net Long-Term TIC Flows.