EUR/USD. June 08, 2020 – US dollar gets support from labor market data

EUR/USD is falling at the beginning of a new trading week. The current quote of the instrument is 1.1275. The US dollar was supported by data on the US labor market: the unemployment rate in the country in May was 13.3% compared to 14.7% in April. These statistics turned out to be much better than the forecast suggesting an increase in the indicator to the level of 19.8%.

The number of jobs outside the agricultural sector increased during the reporting period by 2.5 million, the forecast assumed a decline of 8 million. The data for April were simultaneously revised to deteriorate to -20.687 million from -20.537 million. The average hourly wage in May fell by 1% m/m, which turned out to be worse than the forecast suggesting growth by the same amount.

Today is calm in terms of the release of important macroeconomic statistics. Of interest will only be the speech of the ECB President Christine Lagarde.

GBP/USD. June 10, 2020 – Sterling approaches 1.28

The British currency continues to grow, approaching the level of 1.2800. Sterling was supported by data from BRC, according to which retail sales in May increased by 7.9% year on year against 5.7% a month earlier.

Additional support for the British currency was provided by high demand for risky assets. Investors are increasing long positions in the stock markets, commodity market and the market for high-yield currencies, as the yield on US government bonds is below 1%.

Tonight you should pay attention to the outcome of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which is likely to confirm its intention to maintain low interest rates for a long period of time. And for risky assets, this will be another good signal.

Thus, the British currency will continue to grow to an area above 1.28. The RSI indicator rushed up, which confirms this scenario.

EUR/USD. June 15, 2020 – Euro moves away from highs

The euro remains under pressure after falling to 1.12 at the end of last week. The current quotation of the EUR/USD pair is 1.1240. Today, the macroeconomic calendar is almost empty, the main events of the United States and the eurozone will be held later this week.

Today, attention should be paid only to inflation data in Italy: consumer prices in the country in May fell by 0.2% after a zero change in April. This suggests that the third eurozone economy has already faced deflation, which could push the ECB to further soften the parameters of its monetary policy.

The dollar was supported by data on consumer confidence from the University of Michigan: the index rose in June to 78.9 points against the May mark of 72.3. The restoration of the indicator signals that the «bottom» of consumer sentiment has already been passed. However, fears of the second wave of the US epidemic continue to be a risk factor for the US currency.

Fundamental GBP/USD analysis for June 17

Today, the British sterling does not show visible price fluctuations paired with the US dollar, as market participants are still analyzing the released statistics. In particular, the May consumer price index in the country was 0.5% year on year versus the April value of 0.8% y/y. The producer price index in May rose 0.3% mom after a 5.5% decline in April.

Core inflation in the UK was recorded at 1.2% y/y – lower than it was a month earlier, and weaker than expected. At the same time, the retail price index in the country amounted to only 1.0% y/y in May against the April level of 1.5%.

Such dynamics fully corresponds to the conditions when neither business nor consumers are active in the country. Fresh statistics did not reflect either a positive or a clear negative, so the pair GBP/USD will continue to fluctuate near the level of 1.2560 during the day.

EUR/USD. June 19, 2020 – The euro is growing slightly from the level of 1.12

Yesterday's trading ended with a decrease in the euro to around 1.1180. The dollar rose in price to its main currency competitors amid sales of the euro and the pound, as well as amid growing investor appetite for defensive assets. The probability of the potential occurrence of the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic puts pressure on the entire spectrum of risky assets.

However, today the EU summit took place, during which the head of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, called on the heads of state to approve a plan for the restoration of the EU economy by €750 billion and a draft next seven-year budget for 2021-2027. At the same time, he recognized the presence of many disagreements on important issues and the need for another summit in the future. Such news provided some support to the European currency, and today we will see a weak growth of the euro from the level of 1.12.

EUR/USD. June 23, 2020 – Euro could not overcome the level of 1.13

Yesterday, trading on the euro ended with an increase to the level of 1.1300. The reason for the growth of the EUR/USD pair was made by the statements of the White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow. The politician noted that in the USA there is no second wave of coronavirus diseases, which led to an increase in demand for risky assets.

Today, the eurozone countries have submitted their reports on business activity in the manufacturing sector and the services sector. Eurozone PMI rose from 39.4 to 46.9 points, better than forecast. The index of business activity in Germany also showed growth: from 36.6 points to 44.6, which was higher than analysts' forecasts either. Such figures provided strong support for the European currency.

In the afternoon, the US will publish business activity indexes in the manufacturing sector and services for June. Experts forecast growth from 39.8 to 48.0 points. You should also pay attention to data on new home sales in the USA for May: the forecast assumes an increase from 623 thousand to 640 thousand.

The RSI indicator pushed off the resistance level and turned towards the neutral zone. This signals that the euro is limited by the level of 1.13, and during the day we can expect a corrective decline in the pair to the level of 1.1270.

EUR/USD. June 26, 2020 – Euro is under pressure near the level of 1.12

The European currency continues to remain under pressure paired with the dollar amid growing demand for safe assets. Investors fear the second wave of Covid-19, as more and more new cases of coronavirus infection are recorded in the world. The current quotation of the EUR/USD pair is 1.1225.

Additional pressure on the euro was exerted by reports that the White House administration is considering options to introduce new and increase existing tariffs on imports of products from the European Union and the UK worth $7.5 billion.

At the same time, the US dollar received support from data on the volume of orders for durable goods: the indicator in May showed an increase of 15.8% m/m after a month earlier decline of 17.7% m/m. Today, you should pay attention to the publication of statistics on personal income and expenses of Americans for May.

EUR/USD. June 30, 2020 – Euro consolidated at 1.12

On Tuesday, the EUR/USD pair continues to decline, breaking the level of 1.12. The euro was pressured by weak macroeconomic data from the eurozone: the consumer and business confidence index in June recovered from 67.5 to 75.7 points, which was worse than analysts' forecasts, expecting the indicator to rise to 80 points.

In the United States, on the contrary, economic statistics provided substantial support to the US dollar: pending sales in the secondary housing market in May rose to 44.3% m/m compared to a decline of 21.8% in April.

Today, the eurozone has presented preliminary data on the consumer price index for June: annual inflation accelerated from the May level of 0.1% to 0.3%. According to preliminary estimates, core annual inflation this June was 0.8%.

In the evening hours, attention should be paid to the speech by the head of the US Federal Reserve, J. Powell, which will help market participants understand the regulator's further actions to stimulate the US economy.

Brent. July 03, 2020 – Potential for rising oil prices is almost exhausted

Oil prices on Friday continue to trade above $42 per barrel. The current Brent quote is $42.60. Support for the asset this week was provided by data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the US Department of Energy on crude oil reserves in the country, reflecting a decrease in reserves of 8.1 million and 7.1 million barrels, respectively.

However, despite a local recovery, Brent quotes may go down already in the near future amid a general deterioration in market sentiment due to the aggravation of the epidemiological situation in the world, which poses a threat to global hydrocarbon consumption.

Additional pressure may come from comments by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak that he hopes to achieve a balance or deficit in the global oil market in July. Market participants saw in these comments a hint of Russia's unwillingness to participate in the further extension of the OPEC ++ energy deal. Thus, in the short term, oil prices may begin to decline to the area of $42 per barrel or lower.

GBP/USD. July 07, 2020 – Sterling is trying to gain a foothold above the level of 1.25

The British currency continues to stay in the area of local maximums – above 1.25. The GBP/USD pair is under the influence of multidirectional news, which does not allow sterling to decide on the movement vector.

On the one hand, the pound received support from data on business activity in the country's construction sector: the indicator unexpectedly rose to 55.3 points against 28.9 points a month earlier. Experts predicted growth to 47 points.

At the same time, the currency is under pressure amid growing tensions between the UK and China. In June, Britain announced its readiness to offer citizenship to nearly 3 million Hong Kong residents whose civil liberties are threatened by a new national security law. The British authorities also thought about introducing a ban on the participation of the Chinese company Huawei in the deployment of fifth-generation networks (5G). China also promised to take action in response.

Thus, the UK may be drawn into a trade war with China, which will inevitably lead to a deterioration in the country's economic condition, already undermined by the protracted negotiations on Brexit.

GBP/USD. July 09, 2020 – The sterling rushed to the level of 1.27

The British currency continues to grow steadily on Thursday, approaching 1.27. The growth is primarily due to the weakening US dollar amid growing demand for risky assets. At the same time, the sterling itself received support after the British government announced its latest economic recovery plan after the pandemic in the amount of 30 billion pounds ($38 billion).

The plan includes a reduction in taxes on the purchase of housing, discounts in restaurants for all citizens, as well as a cash bonus for employers who do not fire their employees.

At the same time, the growth potential of the sterling is limited, since the main driver of the growth of the British currency today are the trade negotiations between the European Union and the UK, and they still look rather uncertain.

Thus, the growth of the GBP/USD pair may be limited by the level of 1.27. The RSI indicator is growing slightly from the neutral zone, which confirms this scenario.

Brent. July 20, 2020 – Oil is moderately reduced

At the beginning of the week, Brent crude oil shows a moderate decline to $42.76 per barrel. The asset is under pressure from the OPEC+ decision to increase oil production, as well as an increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19 infection in the world. According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the world has exceeded 13.6 million.

Last week, OPEC+ countries agreed to cut their supply caps in August from 9.7 million barrels to 7.7 million barrels per day. At the same time, countries that did not fulfill their obligations in May and June, on the contrary, will have to cut production in August even more.

The dynamics of Brent are also affected by the likelihood that in August, the growth of oil supply will provide American oil producers. According to a report from Baker Hughes, the total number of oil rigs in the US last week decreased by only 1 unit, from 181 to 180. It is quite possible that only an increase in the number of installations will follow, and this will be an extremely negative factor for Brent quotes.

EUR/USD. July 20, 2020 – Euro growth was suspended at 1.1460

The euro suspended its growth at 1.1465. Earlier, the currency was supported by the continuing interest in risky assets and the expectations of the results of negotiations of the EU leaders on the formation of a fund for the recovery of the European economy in the amount of $750 billion. Market participants are sure that politicians will be able to reach an agreement one way or another, but so far they have not succeeded.

Today trades promise to be calm, because the macroeconomic calendar is almost empty. On Thursday, you should pay attention to the data on the consumer confidence index: the indicator in July could improve to -12 points from the June value of -15.

On Friday, the block of preliminary statistics on the index of business activity in the service sector of the euro zone and individual EU countries for July will be of interest. Experts predict that indicators have improved in all regions.

The dynamics of the pair today will mainly depend on the final results of the meeting of the European leaders. If the agreement does not succeed, the pair will begin to decline to the 1.1400 area.