Forex Forecast for 10-14 August 2015

First, a few words about the forecast for the previous week:
- the predictions for EUR/USD panned out. According to the forecast, the pair was to maintain a sideways trend, oscillating around the 1.0970 Pivot Point. Support was set around 1.0820.  Throughout the week, the bears repeatedly pressed the pair down to that level but gave up after a few failed attempts to break through it. So the pair finished the week at a 1.0960-1.0970 Pivot Point; 
- the sideways trend predicted for GBP/USD lasted only until Thursday. By the end of the week, the pair managed to break through the support around 1.5510-1.5520 and fell briefly, hitting the bottom at 1.5425;
- the indicators and 11% of the experts were correct about USD/JPY. The former predicted that the pair would start going up right away on Monday while the latter claimed that the pair would reach 125.00 as a result of such movement. Then, according to graphical analysis, the pair was supposed to crash sharply, and it did on Friday on the news from the USA, reaching a strong support level at 124.15;
- almost all the indicators predicted that USD/CHF would rise to around 0.9730-0.9750, and the pair not only made it to that level but actually surpassed it by 100 points.

Forecast for the upcoming week.
Summarizing the opinions of 35 analysts from the world leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on a large variety of methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be said:
- regarding EUR/USD, 36% of the experts believe that the pair will drop to 1.0800 while another 45% say that the pair will break this barrier and go further down to 1.0650-1.0700 support. The indicators on D1 concur. The remaining 19% of the experts and the indicators on H4 insist on a further short-term upward trend to 1.1000-1.1050, after which the direction of the pair’s movement should change;
- most analysts and the indicators predict that GBP/USD will fall further and transition into a 1.5340-1.5400 zone. At the same time, while in agreement with this, graphical analysis elaborates that before falling, GBP/USD will stay in a 1.5460-1.5540 sideways corridor for some time and try to break through resistance in order to reach 1.5800. Even if it happens, the bulls shouldn’t celebrate as the pair will go down sharply in 2-3 days anyway; 
- the USD/JPY pair is very likely to try to reach its June high and even surpass it slightly  by reaching 126.00. After this, according to graphical analysis, the pair will be moving sideways within a 124.15-125.80 range and step up efforts to go down to a 122.50 support level; 
- the experts, the indicators and graphical analysis agree that USD/CHF will enter a sideways trend with a 0.9840 Pivot Point. The bulls, on the other hand, will not cease their attempts to reach a 1.0000 hallmark, even though the main resistance level for this week will be 0.9900. Support will be at 0.9800 and 0.9710.

Roman Butko, NordFX

Forex Forecast for 24-28 August 2015

Let’s review the forecast for the previous week:
- the EUR/USD pair was predicted to go down to the 1.1035 support at the start of the week, which happened. The pair fell to the said level 18 August. Next day, after a rebound, the pair rose to the set target of 1.1280 where it stayed most of Friday;
- the forecast for GBP/USD also stood. First, the pair reached 1.5690 and then sharply descended to around 1.5550 (1.5560 to be precise). On Tuesday, the predicted bounce towards the top boundary of the ascending trend (1.5690) took place, and the pair finished the week at that very level;
- the sideways trend predicted for USD/JPY lasted only for the first half of the week. However, the USA and China supported the bears, and the pair ended up 250 pips below the level of the start of the week;
- there was a similar situation with USD/CHF. On Wednesday, the bears simply derailed the pair, and only an extremely strong support level of 0.9480 was able to stop that dramatic fall. The pair has been trying to break through this level since spring.

Forecast for the coming week.
Summarizing the opinions of 35 analysts from leading banks and brokerages as well as forecasts based on various methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be proposed:
- most analysts believe that once EUR/USD reaches a strong resistance level of 1.1460, it will remain in a sideways trend with support at 1.1150 for some time.  An alternative view suggests that EUR/USD will fall to 1.0840 after the current correction. As for the indicators, H1, H4 and D1 all point exclusively upwards. Even W1 shows a sideways trend as a compromise. Graphical analysis on H1, however, insists on the pair’s decline to at least 1.1290 at the start of the week;
- for the GBP/USD pair, 80% of the experts and 85% of the indicators predict a further up trend with a 1.5800 target at the very least. This forecast is supported by graphical analysis on Н4. The H1 timeframe, however, indicates a continuation of the short-term sideways trend within a 1.5650-1.5715 range at the beginning of the week. In case of a downward breakthrough, the key support should be at 1.5550;
- as for USD/JPY, 78% of the experts agree that the pair’s fall will end around 122.00, followed by a  bounce all the way to resistance at 124.60. Should the pair break through the 122.00 support level, it can easily go down to 120.20. Graphical analysis seems to indicate a very similar scenario – a short-term descent to around 120.40-121.20, followed by a rebound to 124.60;
- regarding USD/CHF, both experts and graphical analysis propose that the pair’s rise will start from 0.9400 and continue to a 0.9700-0.9750 range. At the same time, graphical analysis doesn’t rule out that the ascent will begin right away on Monday. As for a longer-term forecast for the coming months, USD/CHF may fall to 0.9100, reverse and reach the 1.0000 hallmark after all.

Roman Butko, NordFX

Chronicles of Euro Nosedive
What to expect from EUR/USD in 2015-2016

Beyond all doubt, the vast majority of broker companies and traders consider EUR/USD as one of the major trading assets. The pair’s close correlation with key macroeconomic indices allows for quite precise long-term forecasts that, in turn, provide fairly good guidance for currency market players and permit them to open positions following a current global trend.

The EUR/USD pair reached a peak of 1.6000 in 2008, after which its cyclical downturn began, accompanied by an active fight between the bulls and the bears. Nowadays, the pair is at the levels of 1996-1997 but apparently it’s not the bottom and the fall is set to continue. 

The situation in Greece vividly exposed the eurozone’s stability issues. Even if the Greek debt disaster was managed (not resolved but at least put off for the time being), in Bloomberg’s view, the euro’s appeal as a global reserve currency has been seriously questioned.

According to Bloomberg, since the start of the debt crisis five years ago, the share of the euro in the global currency basket has contracted by about a third and makes just 22% now. Central banks tend to buy dollars and yens instead of gold and euros. Daisuke Karakama, Mizuho Corporate Bank market economist, who also worked in the European Commission, says that central bank chiefs are no-nonsense about the euro’s possible collapse. For the last quarter of 2014 alone, reserve managers of central banks sold nearly 100 billion euro.

Up to a point, ECB President Mario Draghi welcomed the easing of the monetary policy and the decline of the euro, hoping to shore up the eurozone's economy, but that scenario appeared alarming to his counterparts in other countries. This year the euro has already shed about 7% of its value, and, in Société Générale strategist D. Fairmont’s opinion, the main problem currently is that we don’t foresee the bottom for this currency. Capital flight from the EU is on the rise, and by 2017 it can reach an astronomical amount of 4 trillion euro. At this point, the world’s financial agencies and banks are revising their forecasts for the euro at a run. 

Morgan Stanley strategists say that they still have a bearish outlook for the euro since low yielding European assets encourage local funds to move their investments abroad. The interest-rate-growth differentials favor the dollar.  According to Morgan Stanley’s predictions, the euro will reach parity with the dollar at the end of this year. The rate for the end of 2016 is forecast at 0.9500 while by the end of 2017 the euro is expected to fall to the level of 2001-2002 and cost 85-95 US cents. Deutsche Bank voices similar figures. With this, National Australia Bank experts are more pessimistic about the euro’s prospects and believe that the EUR/USD ratio can reach 1.0000 already in the middle of this fall. 

John Gordon, leading expert with international broker NordFX, says, “The summary of the opinions of a host of influential monetary officials may suggest that the euro will drop even more rapidly and EUR/USD can get to a 0.8200-0.8400 low by mid-2016, followed by a gradual rise to 0.9000.”

As for the eurozone economy, the European Commission still seems to reckon (not without reason) that a weakened euro will eventually improve the competitive performance of European goods and increase eurozone GDP.  “Europe’s economic outlook is a little brighter today,” announced Pierre Moscovici, French Finance Minister and European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs. Brussels believes that GDP growth will make 1.3% in 2015 and continue to 1.9% in 2016.

Forex Forecast for 14-18 September 2015

First, a few words about last week’s forecast:
- the two-week-old prediction about EUR/USD’s upward drive panned out.  In line with the forecast made seven days ago, the pair tried to hold in its sideways trend for some time but then the bulls got a distinct advantage and, instead of falling, the pair shot upwards, first turning the 1.1140 Pivot Point into support and then leaving it far behind altogether;
- a possible scenario for GBP/USD was a bounce to the upper boundary of the descending corridor, breaking through it and rising to around 1.5325, which actually happened. The surge was so big that the indicated level turned into support. The pair bounced off it and went further up on Wednesday;
- the forecast for USD/JPY was fulfilled 100%. After rebounding from the bottom boundary of the three-week-old horizontal corridor, the pair immediately went up and finished the five days exactly where expected – around 120.50;
- both indicators and experts turned out to be correct about USD/CHF’s upward strive.  The key support level was set at 0.9680. While leaning on it, the pair managed to reach 0.9820 twice mid-week, after which it returned to its initial position.

Forecast for the coming week.
Summarizing the opinions of 35 analysts from world leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on different methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be said:
- it appears impossible to make a clear forecast about EUR/USD this week. Thus, 45% of the analysts, the indicators on H4 and D1 and graphical analysis on H1 insist on the pair’s further rise at least to strong resistance around 1.1450. The remaining 55% of the experts predict a fall to 1.1100 or even lower to 1.1000. It looks like next week one of these scenarios will play out – either the pair rises to the mentioned level of resistance and rebounds downwards, or it just falls. The start of the week is most likely to unveil which scenario will come true;
- a similar scenario can be foreseen for the GBP/USD pair. According to 60% of the analysts and graphical analysis on all the main timeframes, a 1.5480-1.5500 range will present very strong resistance and GBP/USD won’t be able to overcome it despite all its efforts. Therefore, in the next few days, the pair is expected to fall to 1.5335, then rebound to 1.5420 and finally reach last week’s low around 1.5170. An alternative point of view suggests a continuation of the ascending corridor and the pair’s rise to 1.5680;
- the indicators and 66% of the experts predict that USD/JPY will stay in its 3-week-old sideways trend with fluctuations around a 120.60 Pivot Point. Graphical analysis on H1, H4 and D1 doesn’t offer any forecasts, which confirms the prediction of the sideways movement. The main support will be around 118.60, with resistance around 121.40. However, 34% of the analysts point out that the pair may return to the area above 123.00;
- most analysts, indicators and graphical analysis on D1 continue to insist on the pair’s drive to reach the landmark of 1.0000. The nearest target is to consolidate in a 0.9800-0.9900 range. As before, support will be around 0.9680, with the next level 100 points lower.

Roman Butko, NordFX

How to Survive Global Financial Apocalypse

Can the latest events in the world be viewed as precursors of an economic collapse on a global scale?  Currencies soar and crash, there’re bearish forecasts for the markets of almost all large countries, falling oil prices and plunging shares of major companies. Many respectable analysts believe that this is just the beginning and the worst of it will be staggering.   

Predictions suggest that in the next 5 to 10 years, valuable securities will become literally value-less as their worth is steadily moving toward zero. According to Marc Faber, analyst, investment fund manager and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, the US stock market could fall 20-40 percent. Henry Blodget, editor-in-chief of Business Insider, raises the ante by 10 percent as he thinks that the drop can make 30-50 percent. 

Such a gloomy prospect is awaiting not only securities but also money. In his interview on Bloomberg TV, Marc Faber said, “…the whole financial system will one day collapse…, …a lot of government bonds will either default or they will have to print so much money that the purchasing power of money will depreciate very rapidly."

”With these stupid governments printing trillions and trillions of new currency units,” says investor and Casey Research chairman Doug Casey, “it’s building up to a catastrophe of historic proportions. Most of the banks in the world are bankrupt.”

It would be a different matter, were it just banks! In the words of Egon von Greyerz (Switzerland), founder and managing partner of Matterhorn Asset Management AG, “No major nation in the West can repay its debts. The same is true for Japan and most of the emerging markets. Europe is a failed experiment for socialism and deficit spending. China is a massive bubble, in terms of its stock markets, property markets and shadow banking system. Japan is also a basket case and the U.S. is the most indebted country in the world…”

Von Greyerz continues to build up pressure, “So we will see twin $200 trillion debt and $1.5 quadrillion derivatives implosions. That will lead to the most historic wealth destruction ever in global stock, with bond and property markets declining at least 75-95 percent.”

Let’s tally up all the above:
- oil prices are falling;
- real estate is becoming cheaper;
- banks are bankrupt;
- inflation devalues currencies;
- the stock market is sinking;
- forget about bonds – junk is more expensive these days.
 
At this point, the burning question of 19th-century utopian philosophers comes to mind. “What is to be done?” – they inquired in vain. Come the 21st century, very same Marc Faber told Bloomberg TV that he’d go for precious metals.   

Well, you could take up the renowned expert’s advice but for the IMF data that central banks gradually reduce their purchases of gold. For instance, last May only seven tons of gold were bought mainly by Russia and Kazakhstan.

According to Thomson Reuters GFMS, as of late, gold supply by far exceeds demand, which results in constantly falling gold prices. Dropping about 40 percent against the maximum, all summer long the price tried to break through the key support level of $1,140 per ounce and managed to do so at the end of July. Then the price returned to around $1,140. However, it’s the first step that counts – investors realized that the price could well go below $1,000 and even more down. (Mind that only 15 years ago this precious metal was traded just at about $300.)   

Nonetheless, despite the seemingly unfavorable current situation, gold investments can turn out a sound decision ultimately. F. William Engdahl, American political economist, says that the prices on the New York and London exchanges don’t reflect the actual worth of gold as a reserve currency and a standard of monetary stability. He believes that large private and central banks in the West are artificially restraining gold prices as more expensive gold, and in the hands of others, threatens the dollar as the main global reserve currency.

“Nowadays China exerts more influence over world exchanges,” says John Gordon, leading analyst at international brokerage NordFX. “The events of the past few months clearly prove this. At the beginning of the year, experts predicted that feverish purchasing of Chinese stocks (which was inevitable) could result in the transfer of assets into gold. Thus, already in May, China and the Shanghai Gold Exchange established the world’s largest gold investment fund to the tune of 16 billion dollars. The fund will invest in gold mining projects not only in China but along all of the Eurasian Silk Road, including Russia. These two countries – China and Russia – seek to turn their national currencies into global or regional reserve currencies and are eager to back them up with the metal. Therefore, they’re likely to increase their gold stock and push the price of gold up by doing that.”

“It’s noteworthy that China and Russia are the world’s first and third largest gold producers respectively. South Africa is the sixth, Uzbekistan is the eighth, with Kazakhstan also among the leaders. All these states are either BRICS members or part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, that is entities that follow an independent policy in contrast to the current system based on an inflated dollar. This, of course, cannot but alarm the proponents of the dollar rule – Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury.” In conclusion John Gordon says, “At this time, the West still has the upper hand but the balance is slowly but surely shifting to the East. I envision the deciding showdown quite soon.”

Forex Forecast for 5-9 October 2015

First, a review of the previous week:
- this time round, the forecast for EUR/USD given by graphical analysis panned out – first, the pair was to go down to 1.1120 and then return to resistance at 1.1210, which happened. After that, the pair moved sideways, turning 1.1210 into a Pivot Point where it finished the week;
- those 80% of the analysts who said that GBP/USD had already reached its low were right. Despite all the efforts by the bulls, a rebound didn’t occur. Instead, the pair followed the predictions of graphical analysis and stayed in a sideways trend all of the last week;
- in line with the forecast of the 12% of the analysts and the indicators on D1, USD/JPY continued its sideways trend. Besides, the D1 chart clearly shows that, after descending from a double top to last spring’s levels and reducing its volatility, USD/JPY formed an almost perfect pennant (or a symmetrical triangle) over the last 6 weeks;
- one of the forecasts for USD/CHF claimed that the pair would continue its sideways movement, which did happen. At the same time, as predicted, support was at 0.9670 (the pair’s main support level for the past 4 weeks). The other mentioned level 0.9740 served as a Pivot Point.

Forecast for the coming week.
Summarizing the views of several dozen analysts from world leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on various methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be proposed:
- both analysts and indicators predict that EUR/USD will stay in its sideways trend. The bottom boundaries are set at 1.1100 and 1.1000. Resistance is likely to be at 1.1300 and 1.4600;
- most experts believe that GBP/USD will also be moving horizontally. The main support level will be at 1.5100, with the main resistance around 1.5300. Graphical analysis on H4, in turn, shows that the pair may bounce higher to around 1.5360, as it happened 8 and 9 September. Alternatively, 17% of the analysts don’t rule out that 1.5100 is still not the bottom and the pair may drop even lower to 1.1470;
- considering that USD/JPY has formed an absolutely symmetrical triangle on D1, the indicators continue to point to a sideways trend. However, the W1 timeframe shows that the triangle isn’t that symmetrical but rather ascending. This pattern is usually indicative of an upward breakout, and 70% of the experts agree with it, believing that the pair should reach at least 122.00 in the long run. The main support remains at 118.50;
- regarding USD/CHF, the lows of 24 August, 18 September and 2 October allow drawing a bullish support line. This is corroborated by 67% of the analysts and indicators on W1 – in the medium term, the bulls will maintain advantage and the pair will be moving up to 0.9900. At the same time, indicators on D1 suggest that the pair will stay in a horizontal trend with a 0.9740 Pivot Point for another week.

Roman Butko, NordFX

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Forex Forecast for 26-30 October 2015

The previous forecast was fulfilled 100%:
- regarding EUR/USD, 73% of the analysts insisted that the pair would first fall to  support at 1.1300 and then down to 1.1120. Until mid-Thursday, the pair barraged against the level of 1.1300 but on the news about the ECB's interest rate, it crashed to the mentioned level of 1.1120. One would think that EUR/USD might stop there, however, thanks to the National Bank of China, the pair broke through this support level on Friday and reached the landmark of 1.1000 where it had been last in the middle of August;
- the GBP/USD was almost unanimously predicted to be in a sideways trend within a 1.5420-1.5500 range for most of the week, which happened. Further forecasts differed. In this case, graphical analysis was 100% correct - the pair was supposed to go down to support at 1.5350 where it finished the week in fact;
- as for the USD/JPY pair, 64% of the experts and almost all tools of technical analysis predicted that the break through the bottom of the triangle, which the pair had been drawing since late August, would be short-lived. So it happened - by Friday the pair reached the said 120.80 resistance and then went to the next peak at 121.45, thus transforming the triangle into a horizontal channel;
- both experts and technical analysis unanimously predicted upward movement for USD/CHF, differing only on how fast it would transpire. In line with one of the versions, the pair started to go up right away on Monday, broke through the top boundary of the channel and moved to resistance at 0.9600. One third of the experts were convinced that it would not stop there but rise by 100 points more. That turned out correct - USD/CHF gained 100 points and then another 100, eventually reaching 0.9800.

The forecast for the coming week.
Summarizing the views of several dozen analysts from leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on various methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be put forward:
- the indicators clearly point downwards for EUR/USD. However, 50% of the analysts and graphical analysis suggest that the pair will be moving in a sideways corridor of 1.1000-1.1100. They are backed by another 33% of the analysts, differing only in that they drop the support line by 50 points to 1.0950. Just 17% of the analysts insist the pair would return to the 1.1300 resistance;
- around 80% of the indicators vote for a fall of GPB/USD. Half of the experts agree but say that the fall won't be major - the main support will be at 1.5200. The other 50% of the experts and graphical analysis on H4 believe that the pair has reached the bottom and will be moving in a 1.5300-1.5470 sideways channel;
- the indicators point upward for USD/JPY. Surprisingly, 100% of the experts concur and reckon that the pair won't be able to fall below support at 120.50 but will bounce off it towars 122.00;
- the outlook for USD/CHF is up. The experts, most indicators and graphical analysis on H1, H4 and D1 agree with it. Support is around 0.9740-0.9765, the Pivot Point is at 0.9800, and the next target is 0.9900. Only 14% of indicators on N1 and just 1 indicator on D1 remind that the pair may still crash by a further 100 points to support at 0.9665.

Roman Butko, NordFX

Forex Forecast for 9-13 November 2015

For starters, a few words about last week’s forecast:
- by the end of the week, EUR/USD was supposed to get fixed around 1.0800. Graphical analysis on H4 elaborated that at first, the pair would reach the bottom at 1.0600 and then make every effort to go up to 1.0800. This happened for the most part – EUR/USD was moving down towards the target all week long and on Friday, following the news from the USA, first dropped to 1.0700, then tried to return to the target level and finished the week at 1.0740;
- GBP/USD was predicted to experience some fluctuations within 1.5440-1.5470 at the beginning of the week, after which the pair was supposed to go down. A third of the experts set the weekly bottom at 1.5250. This scenario can be viewed as fulfilled, except for the fact that statistics from Europe and the USA, supported by ECB President Mario Draghi’s speech, gave such a boost to the bears that they pushed the pair down by yet another 200 points – to 1.5025;
- almost all agreed that the pivot point for USD/JPY would be at 121.50 again. It was also said that the pair would continue to try and reach 122.00 at least. All was going according to plan until the release of data from the USA on Friday, after which the pair not only reached the target but also speedily soared up, settling only around 123.20;
- the forecast for USD/CHF was only upward movement. The end target was set at 1.0000-1.0100, right in the middle of which the pair stopped Friday night. Thus, the forecast can be considered 100% correct straight out.

Forecast for the upcoming week.
Summing up the opinions of several dozen analysts from world leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on various methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be suggested:
- while most indicators in their forecasts for EUR/USD insist on its further fall, the majority of the experts and graphical analysis on H1 tend to believe that the pair will take a breather and move in a sideways channel of 1.0650-1.0850. At the same time, 15% of the analysts reckon that the pair will manage to break through resistance at 1.0900 and even reach 1.1000;
- there’s a similar pattern for GBP/USD. Its sideways trend will be limited by support at 1.4950, resistance at 1.5220 and by a 1.5000 pivot point. Even if most experts talk about a bullish trend, 10% of them believe that the pair may briefly come down to 1.4850;
- as for USD/JPY, of the main interest are the indications of graphical analysis. According to its forecast on H1, the pair may first rise to 123.50-124.00 (50% of the experts) and then go down abruptly. Graphical analysis on H4, 60% of the analysts and the indicators on D1 predict a 121.70-122.00 pivot point and support at 121.00. As for a forecast till the end of the year, both experts and graphical analysis on D1 name 125.30 as the ultimate target;
- graphical analysis on D1 doesn’t rule out that USD/CHF will try to move up towards its 1.0210 high, where it was before Black Thursday, 15 January, and then drop down sharply. The analysts are unanimous that the pair has already reached its target for the near future and now will just be oscillating around the 1.0000 landmark. The main support will be 0.9950, the next – 0.9845. The closest resistance will be 1.0100, with the next at 1.0210.

Roman Butko, NordFX

Forex Forecast for 23-27 November 2015

First, a review of last week’s forecast:
- it appeared impossible to give a sensible forecast for EUR/USD last week as both experts and indicators were at a complete loss, pointing in different directions. However, exactly this kind of “forecast” turned out right – first, the pair fell a bit, then went up some, then dropped again, finishing the week without any clarity;
- the vast majority of the experts and graphical analysis predicted a sideways trend for GBP/USD, which happened. At first, the pair slowly went down to 1.5155, then went up to its level of one month ago and then fell again to the first support set by the experts – 1.5185;
- graphical analysis proved to be right about USD/JPY – first, the pair was supposed to go up to 123.00-123.75, fail to break through resistance and roll down, returning to 122.50 by the end of the week. In fact, the pair failed to break through resistance around 123.60 twice, after which it bounced down and ended up at 122.80;
- the USD/CHF pair was ahead of schedule. It was expected to stay in the range of 0.9900-1.0100 for some time, then get fixed around 1.0120-1.0130 and only from there start assailing 1.0210. All this transpired but much quicker: already on Tuesday, USD/CHF broke through resistance not only at 1.0100 but also 1.0130, and by Wednesday, it reached the set peak of 1.0210, after which the pair entered a sideways trend.

Forecast for the upcoming week.
Summing up the opinions of several dozen analysts from world leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on various methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be suggested:
- all indicators point downward for EUR/USD. However, graphical analysis on H1 and H4 shows that the pair will bounce off support at 1.0628, go up to resistance at 1.0700 first and only then continue to fall. At the same time, about half of the experts believe that the initial rebound can be 100 points higher – to 1.0800, while the weekly bottom will be in the area of 1.0500-1.0520;
- graphical analysis on H1 and H4 insists on GBP/USD’s upward rebound to 1.5250, then the pair should oscillate in a 1.5170-1.5250 corridor and drop to support at 1.5085. The next support level is 1.5025. On hitting the bottom, the pair is likely to return to around 1.5300, which is echoed by 65% of the analysts;
- as for USD/JPY, the indicators on H4 point strictly down while on D1 – strictly up. The experts hold a similar view.  A summary of their opinions shows quite a wide sideways channel with a 121.85-123.20 range and the pivot point around 122.80. It should be noted that graphical analysis on H1 and H4 indicates that at the start of the week, the pair will go down and only then begin to rise;
- the forecast for USD/CHF is a small pullback down to support at 1.0135 initially and then a surge to a new peak. The target is 1.0250. At the same time, the analysts believe that the pair will remain in a 1.0200-1.0220 corridor most of the time whereas just one (!) analyst suggests that the pair may fall to 0.9800.

Roman Butko, NordFX

Investing in Gold: Endurance Test

Nathan Rothschild from the famous banking dynasty once said that gold was not understood. Attempts to sum up the opinions of the most respected representatives of the financial community only prove Rothschild right – all discussions about gold turn into a real battle.   

Some say that gold is unwanted material suited only for making women’s trinkets. Thus, gold bugs investing in this ‘dust’ are either simply ignorant or unlucky profiteers pushing themselves and their customers to the brink of a precipice.  The counter riposte would be that gold is the only powerful thing that can help you preserve your capital regardless of any shakeups.   

Here is some background before we look at the reasoning of both sides. Fourteen years ago, 2 April 2001, the price of gold hit the bottom at $255.30 an ounce, after which the price was on the rise for a whole decade. No other asset of the financial market has displayed such behavior!

In 2011, gold broke $1,900 an ounce and it looked like the landmark of $2,000 was reachable in the next few months but then gold started to lose value fast again. Optimists called that crash a correction while pessimists viewed it as the return to gold’s actual worth. Nowadays, gold prices are at the rate of 5 years ago. Doomsayers are gloating that this is not the end of it but rather the beginning and a real stone fall is yet to come. 

Speaking of stones, The Wall Street Journal dubbed the precious metal… a rock. An article titled “Let’s Be Honest About Gold: It’s a Pet Rock” tried to convince the reader that gold, in point of fact, stopped being a safe haven and a hedge against inflation. The author inquired, “So why, even as Greece has defaulted, the euro has sunk against the dollar, and the Chinese stock market has stumbled, has gold been sitting there like a pet rock?... Many people may have bought gold for the wrong reasons…” 

The title of another article in The Washington Post speaks for itself – “Gold Is Doomed”. Bloomberg also foresees a further decline for gold. According to Bloomberg analysts, in early 2016, gold will fall to $984 an ounce, and this will be the biggest drop for the past six years. Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London says, “Gold is out of fashion like flared trousers: no one wants it. It’s not going to collapse, but we think it is going to be at a lower level in the not-too-distant future.”

The sentiment is shared by Brian Barish, President of Cambiar Investors LLC, “It’s not a commodity that has much fundamental demand. It’s pretty, so people use it for jewelry. But it’s unlike iron ore or oil, or copper, or corn. There’s not specific end-use for it.”

The rate of $984 is surely low but it’s not the bottom by far. In his MarketWatch article, Claude Erb, a former commodities portfolio manager at TCW Group, states that now gold’s fair value is $825 but “…whenever gold does eventually drop to fair value, it will overshoot and drop to a much lower value.” In his calculations, if gold drops below fair value like it did in the mid-1970s and the late 1990s, it would trade at around $350 an ounce. This opinion may be worth listening to as Erb and Duke University professor Campbell Harvey forecast a long-term gold bear market at its inception.

Thus far, it’s been about the stance of those supporting the bears in their fight with the bulls. Naturally, as in any contest, there’re proponents of the other side. As such, Jeffrey Gundlach, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at DoubleLine Capital, thinks that gold can rebound to $1,400 an ounce.  In his opinion, one of the reasons for this is negative yields of a range of European bonds, which can serve as a signal of deflation and make gold more appealing. “Momentum is bearish," weighs in Jeffrey Nichols, senior economic advisor with Rosland Capital. Agreeing with Gundlach, he believes that gold will bounce back eventually. "It's only a matter of time before gold turns around," Nichols said. "Gold should climb to a much higher price over the next three to five years thanks to physical demand from emerging markets."

Michael Cuggino, President and Portfolio Manager of Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds, Inc., concurs, “Over time, gold prices will appreciate. Russia, China, India and central banks of other countries are looking to diversify their holdings.” Cuggino also admitted that gold prices would fluctuate a lot in the near future. Nonetheless, he has about 20% of the fund's assets tied up in gold as a hedge against inflation and market volatility.

Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants, is also on the bullish side – “Gold will see another parabolic bull run from July 2016. Prices may reach $1,700 or higher between June 2016 and November 2016.  Until then, gold investors need to have the patience and not get scared by more price falls.”

Still, the question remains – Where will the price move? “As I see it,” says John Gordon, leading analyst with international broker NordFX, “it would be a mistake to give any forecast on the basis on one or two factors, albeit important ones. Experience has proven that things are more complex in reality, and gold is no exception.”

“I would point out seven global factors that, in their interaction, shape the price of gold – inflation, interest rates, the situation on stock markets, geopolitical environment, a strong or weak US dollar, oil prices and demand for gold in Asia.

A modification in any of these factors can upset the equilibrium of the multifaceted system, which would result in the sum vector, or the trend, changing its direction. Therefore, I’d advise investors preferring gold to diversify risk and also invest in shares of gold-mining companies and established investment funds as they are able to respond to market changes in a more flexible manner.”

In conclusion, one cannot but present one more – quite sensational – opinion. Avi Gilburt, managing member of Gilburt Financial Services, LLC and an Elliott Wave analyst, claims that in the foreseeable future, gold will reach… $25,000 a troy ounce! Gilburt wrote, “I stand before you today, almost feeling like Elliott did back in 1941. Yes, in 2015, I am seeing this correction finally completing (but at much lower levels) and starting a major bull market phase that can last the next 50 years.” “Yes, I know that this is quite a bold prediction. However, please remember that, for me, it is all a matter of mathematics and nothing more.”

What forecasts will turn out right – bullish or bearish? Time will show, in ‘just’ 50 years. Meanwhile, please be patient – after all, it’s only business and nothing more.

Forex Forecast for 14-18 December 2015

First, a review of the forecast for the past week:
- the publication of the last forecast for EUR/USD (a further rise and reaching 1.1000-1.1100) made  skeptics say that couldn’t be right. Apparently, it could just as well. Already on Thursday, the pair got up to 1.1042 and reached 1.1030 next day, thus ‘scoring a brace’ in football terms; 
- the GBP/USD pair was predicted to go up to around 1.5200-1.5270. At the same time, graphical analysis pointed out that before rising, the pair might fall to support at 1.5055. In fact, GBP/USD first dropped to 1.4957, which is lower than expected, then it went up as predicted and finished the week at 1.5228;
- the USD/JPY pair defied the majority opinion, which doesn’t always prove right. The analysts and all tools of technical and graphical analysis had almost unanimously predicted sideways movement for the pair. However, the pair started to fall mid-week, broke through the 122.20 support on Wednesday and reached the low of 120.57 on Friday;
- there was no clarity about USD/CHF. One of the scenarios was a fall to support around 0.9765. The pair did go down but stalled at 0.9800 without hitting the said bottom level.

Forecast for the coming week.
Summing up the opinions of several dozen analysts from leading banks and broker companies as well as forecasts based on different methods of technical and graphical analysis, the following can be suggested:
- most indicators, graphical analysis on H1 and 34% of the experts vote for EUR/USD to continue its upward trend to 1.1100. This is disputed by 66% of the experts, 25% of the indicators on D1 and graphical analysis on H4. They believe that the pair will move sideways for some time, push off resistance at 1.1000, then break through support at 1.0900 and return to the values of the end of November. The first support is 1.0700, the next one is 100 points lower;
- as for GBP/USD, 80% of the experts believe that the pair will be moving in the side channel within 1.4900-1.5250 with the pivot point at 1.5000. However, most indicators and graphical analysis on H4 and D1 disagree. According to their forecast, the pair will move in two waves, first reaching 1.5440 (followed by a roll down to 1.5300) and then 1.5500. Considering upcoming Christmas holidays, the end of the second wave can be expected in January;
- when drawing USD/JPY’s future movement, all indicators point downwards. Most analysts believe that 120.00 will be a very strong support level, bouncing off which the pair will go to resistance at 122.20 and possibly even higher to 123.20;
- all indicators on H4 show a fall for USD/CHF but on larger timeframes (D1 and W1) two-thirds of the indicators already point upward. As for the analysts, 30% reckon that USD/CHF hasn’t yet reached the bottom of 0.9650-0.9675. At the same time, 87% of the analysts agree that in the longer term, the pair should return to values above 1.0000. Thus, graphical analysis on D1 gives the pair two weeks to make it to 1.0250, with adjustments for the holiday season.

All forecasts may be subject to change as important economic data are released in the middle of the coming week.

Roman Butko, NordFX