Daily Market Analysis By FXOpen

Exchange Rates Consolidate at the Beginning of the Week


Trading participants continue to evaluate the prospects for a change in the US Federal Reserve's monetary course against the backdrop of the publication of the minutes of the January meeting. Officials reiterated their cautious stance on lowering borrowing costs and, moreover, expressed concern about the possibility of shifting too early to dovish rhetoric. The document strengthened investor confidence that the adjustment of parameters could be postponed until the second half of the year, which strengthens the US dollar?s position against its main competitors: at the moment, more and more investors are counting on the first adjustment to borrowing costs in June, but these expectations are also regularly revised. In the US, the publication of January statistics on the dynamics of sales of new homes is expected during the day: in the previous period, the figure increased by 8.0% month-on-month to 0.644 million units. On Tuesday, February 27, the US will release February statistics on durable goods orders and consumer confidence. Forecasts suggest a slowdown in the dynamics of orders for durable goods excluding transport from 0.5% to 0.2%.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair shows a slight decline, holding at 1.0820. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.0888, a break higher could trigger a rise towards 1.0960. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0812, a break below could take the pair towards 1.0760.
Today investors will pay attention to the speech of ECB head Christine Lagarde. In the EU, February data on inflation dynamics will be presented at the end of the week: the consumer price index is expected to slow down from 2.8% to 2.5% in annual terms, and the core indicator - from 3.3% to 2.9%. Traders continue to evaluate German data on GDP and business optimism released on Friday. Thus, the German economy in the fourth quarter of 2023 lost another 0.3% on a quarterly basis and 0.4% on an annual basis. The IFO business optimism index in February adjusted from 85.2 points to 85.5 points, which coincided with analysts? forecasts, the indicator for assessing the current situation remained at 86.9 points with expectations at 86.7 points, and the economic expectations index increased from 83.5 points to 84.1 points, while experts expected 84.0 points.

Technical analysis of EUR/USD shows that a new upward channel has formed based on last week?s highs. Now the price is near the lower border and may continue to rise.



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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

European Stock Markets on All-Time Roll Despite Economic Bleakness


There has been so much clamour over the past few months relating to the flagging European economy and stagnating British economy compared to the surprisingly healthy economic situation in the United States that it would be very easy to get buried in the deluge of news articles displaying woe which have been accompanied by a rising US Dollar against a declining Euro and Pound.

However, to write off the European economy as second fiddle to that of the United States purely on the grounds of a rising Dollar, some return to form for tech stocks and a relatively mediocre set of meeting notes from the Federal Open Market Committee, which reiterated the lack of a reduction in interest rates for the near future, would be churlish, to say the least.

On the European side of the Atlantic, a more thorough inspection of the overall market conditions would soon put the flagging Euro and mainstream media speculation of recession into perspective.

Over the past few weeks, European stocks have been increasing in value to the extent that some indices have registered an all-time high.

The CAC 40 index in France concluded the European session yesterday at 7,960.8 according to FXOpen charts, which is an all-time record high for the index, which comprises the 40 most highly capitalised stocks listed on French stock exchanges.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

AAPL Share Price Rises Nearly 1% after Scrapping Electric Vehicle Plans


In 2021, the release of an electric car from Apple was expected in 2025, in 2022, the deadline was shifted to 2026. As it became known yesterday from Bloomberg and WSJ, Apple decided to completely abandon the project.

Causes for this decision:
→ the electric vehicle market turned out to be not so turbulent;
→ production and technological difficulties;
→ the strong development of electric vehicle construction in China may also have played a role.

Some employees will be fired, others will be transferred to a more promising department related to developments in the field of AI. Despite the fact that the ambitious project, which lasted about 10 years, failed, the price of AAPL shares rose by almost 1% yesterday as a result of trading ? perhaps investors positively assessed the reorientation from electric vehicles to a more promising direction related to AI.



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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Brent Crude Oil Makes Sudden Rally As OPEC Countries Mull Low Output


Crude oil is a particularly unusual substance in that it is one of the only consumable commodities that institutions and private individuals widely trade across the spectrum of global markets, and it is a staple component as an energy resource in most aspects of everyday life, yet its value is maintained by a cartel made up of the central governments of the nations that extract it from the earth.

This combination of completely unique circumstances and operational conditions means that the requirement for crude oil to perform its task as a basis for fuels combined with the method by which the OPEC+ countries are able to control its price via aligning to reduce or increase production and distribution makes for an interesting marketplace.

This week, news surfaced across mainstream media around the possibility that the OPEC+ countries may consider an extension of the reduction in crude oil production and supply that is currently in place.

The current level of production and supply that has been set by the OPEC+ countries is subject to a reduction, which was agreed on in November 2022 during a meeting of the OPEC+ nations led by the Russian Federation. At that time, a reduction of approximately 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day was agreed. However, this week, there has been some thought that the OPEC+ nations may consider extending this reduced amount of production into the second quarter of this year.

Fuel prices have steadily been rising on the consumer side, meaning that the cost of refined fuel oils has had to factor these reductions in, and perhaps motorists may have noticed that unleaded fuel and diesel oil for road vehicles have crept up in price very slightly over the past month or so, however, should the extension of a reduced output take place, the wider effect could make its way onto the financial markets, where oil is traded as a commodity.

Over the course of the past day, US Brent Crude Oil has risen in price dramatically. According to FXOpen charts, Brent Crude Oil concluded the trading day on February 26 at $80.51 per barrel, whereas it begins the trading day today at $82.24 per barrel.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

The American Currency Resumes Its Growth


The American currency, despite a rather multidirectional fundamental data, resumes growth at the end of February. In the main currency pairs, one can observe both rebounds from key levels and continuation of the main trends. Thus, the USD/CAD pair managed to strengthen above 1.3500, the GBP/USD pair lost about 100 pp after rebounding from 1.2700, and EUR/USD buyers failed to strengthen above 1.0900.
USD/CAD

Fluctuations in the oil market contributed to the strengthening of the USD/CAD pair. At the beginning of the week, sellers of the pair tried to break the support at 1.3400, but, as we see, were unsuccessful. Yesterday, the price on the USD/CAD chart not only strengthened above 1.3500, but also updated the current year?s maximum at 1.3580. If the pair's buyers do not lose their upward momentum, the price may strengthen to 1.3770-1.3700. The upward scenario may be cancelled by consolidation below the level of 1.3400.

Today, we can expect increased volatility in the pair. At 16:30 GMT+3, we are waiting for data on Canadian GDP for the fourth quarter of last year. At the same time, the basic price index of personal consumption expenditures in the US for January and indicators on applications for unemployment benefits for the current week will be published.



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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Market Analysis: GBP/USD Struggles While USD/CAD Aims Higher


GBP/USD is attempting a recovery wave from 1.2600. USD/CAD is rising and might aim for a move above the 1.3580 resistance zone.

Important Takeaways for GBP/USD and USD/CAD Analysis Today

• The British Pound started a fresh decline from the 1.2700 resistance zone.
• There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near 1.2665 on the hourly chart of GBP/USD at FXOpen.
• USD/CAD is showing positive signs above the 1.3545 support zone.
• There is a contracting triangle forming with resistance near 1.3580 on the hourly chart at FXOpen.

GBP/USD Technical Analysis


On the hourly chart of GBP/USD at FXOpen, the pair started a fresh decline from the 1.2700 zone. The British Pound traded below the 1.2650 support to move into further a bearish zone against the US Dollar, as mentioned in the previous analysis.

The pair even traded below 1.2620 and the 50-hour simple moving average. Finally, the bulls appeared near the 1.2600 level. A low was formed near 1.2612 and the pair is now attempting a short-term recovery wave.

There was a fresh upside above the 1.2620 level. The pair climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the 1.2681 swing high to the 1.2612 low.

Immediate resistance on the upside is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the 1.2681 swing high to the 1.2612 low at 1.2650 and the 50-hour simple moving average. The first major resistance on the GBP/USD chart is near the 1.2665 level.

There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near 1.2665. A close above the 1.2665 resistance might spark a decent recovery wave. The next major resistance is near the 1.2700 level. Any more gains could lead the pair toward the 1.2750 resistance in the near term.

Initial support sits near 1.2620. The next major support sits at 1.2610, below which there is a risk of another sharp decline. In the stated case, the pair could drop toward 1.2540.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Price of Gold Briefly Exceeded $2,050 per Ounce


In addition to new records in the stock markets, the reaction to yesterday's news about inflation in the US was also a decrease in government bond yields and a rapid rise in the price of gold ? the cost of XAU/USD jumped by 0.9% in just one hour, while the day's high exceeded USD 2,050 per ounce .

However, on Friday morning the price of XAU/USD dropped below USD 2,040 ? did market participants misjudge the impact of US inflation on the price of gold?

XAU/USD chart shows that:
→ the price of gold is in a downward trend (shown in red);
→ yesterday, the price not only touched the psychological level of USD 2,050, but also reached the upper limit of the downward red channel. That is, both lines acted as a block of resistance, which appears to be a serious obstacle to the upward impulse (shown by blue lines).



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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.