FX Update – 2020 Day 1 -January 2

EURUSD, H1

The Dollar has found a footing after coming under pressure over the Christmas week and earlier this week. Liquidity has picked up, though some centres in Asia have remained closed, including Tokyo (still the most significant Asian market). The narrow trade-weighted USDIndex (DXY) has lifted above 96.50, up from the six-month low seen earlier in the week at 96.36. EURUSD has concurrently ebbed back under 1.1210 after pegging a four-month high at 1.1239 on Tuesday, but holds S1 and the key 1.1200 handle.  The US currency is also showing moderate gains against most Asian currencies, including the Yen. USDJPY has lifted to an intraday high at 108.79, up from the three-week low that was seen earlier in the week at 108.47. USDCHF has been the best performing pair so far today, up some 0.41% and back over the key Daily support and psychological level at 0.9700. AUDUSD has also moved down to a key round number and support level at 0.7000.

Stock markets have opened the new year on a strong footing, aided by the PBoC’s decision, announced yesterday, to trim the reserve requirement ratio for banks and inject some 800 billion Yuan ($114.9 billion) in funds for lending, effective Jan. 6. This followed President Trump saying yesterday that the US-China phase-1 trade deal will be signed on January 15 in Washington. There has been no comment from China. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Stock Index rallied by 0.5%, building on the 5.6% gain that was seen in December. The MSCI’s all-country World Index has remained buoyant after posting a record high on December 27.

Elsewhere in the forex markets, the Pound has started the new year on a soft footing, reversing some of the gains seen over the last week. Brexit is set to happen on January 31, at which point the UK will enter an (at least) 11-month transition phase, during which time the country will remain in the EU’s single market and customs union.

 

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Stuart Cowell

Head Market Analyst

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