USDJPY and EURUSD Technical Analysis

After trading in a rather tight sideways range of a few hundred pips, USD/JPY may have found a volatility catalyst in the Moritomo scandal that has recently resurfaced. Nikkei News Asia said it best, and most succinctly when they said, “The revived scandal threatens Prime Minister Abe's grip on power."

Either way, the USD/JPY downtrend remains entrenched below on closes below 107.095 (spot at 106.43), and institutions are looking for the broadening potential that USD/JPY could retest 100 if the scandal erupts.

The JPY has yet to break the March range of 105.25-107.20. However, news that Abe’s key minister, Aso will skip the G20 meeting and further developments on the Moritomo Gakuen, the educational foundation with supposed nationalist agenda could cause the monthly low to break. The break would likely happen quick if Abe’s political future based on his promise last February were likely to be exercised ending his bid to become Japan’s longest running Prime Minister.

more...

The euro continues to flip-flop from one week to the next; it’s strong, it’s weak, it’s strong, and so on. What does this mean? Immediately, it means very little as EUR/USD could still be in a topping process around the 2008 trend-line or building a bull-flag setting it up for an eventual continuation of the rally starting last year.

Either way, we need to wait for confirmation before committing ourselves too strongly. The topping scenario points to a lower-high having been carved out the week before last, and from here we should see the euro weaken towards the April trend-line and 2017 high just under 12100. From that point is where it could get interesting. A top would obviously imply that those levels won’t hold and a broad decline will commence.
However, a hold of the aforementioned support levels keeps the bull-flag scenario in play. If this is the case, it could take out until next month, possibly longer, before making good on a bullish breakout from the pattern and beyond the 2008 trend-line.

more...

Heading into last week the euro was set up to rally from a confluence of support, but the power at which it did so was uninspiring. While the 2008 trend-line in the mid-12400s was targeted, it was hardly surprising to see momentum stall as the range since January persists. Life inside a range can be difficult, which is why from a tactical standpoint we continue to look to fading price at the perimeter and avoid new entries altogether in the middle. This will be a theme we continue to abide by until market conditions change.

The good news is market conditions will change. When they are ready, some patience may be required. But with the trading range for the past three months ranking as one of the tightest in the euro’s existence, something has to give likely sooner rather than later.

From a tactical standpoint this coming week, we’ll look to those perimeter levels and how the market responds to any touches. A bullish or bearish reversal will have attention on trades back towards the other side of the range, while clean breaks will be our cue to abandon a fade-trade mentality and look for momentum to finally pick up.

more...

The broader bearish view would resume on a break below the April opening range low at 105.65 that aligns closely with the daily Tenkan-Sen (26-day midpoint) at 106.06 as key support. Should the price close below these levels, it would be difficult to argue that the trend is not continuing lower and could soon press towards the long-term Fibonacci target of 104.20.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests USDJPY prices may continue to fall. Positioning is more net-long than yesterday but less net-long from last week. The combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a further mixed USDJPY trading bias.

more...

The Euro is struggling to find lasting direction against the US Dollar but longer-term positioning continues to argue for a broadly bearish trend bias. Still, the medium-term view carries bullish elements that may yet carry potent supportive implications. On the monthly chart, prices are perched squarely at the top of a falling trend channel defining the way lower for nearly a decade. A cluster of critical swing lows that served as support from 2008 to 2012 before finally being broken in 2014 has been recast as resistance, reinforcing the barrier capping gains.

From a tactical perspective, opting to keep in play the second half of a short EUR/USD trade from 1.2407 seems prudent after partial profit was booked on hitting the trade’s first objective. Confirmation of the Triangle on a close above 1.2448 would also invalidate the position’s underlying logic, triggering a stop-loss.
In the meantime, the series of lower highs set from the double top below the 1.26 figure continues to hold and risk/reward parameters suggest there is room to wait and see if the weight of the long-term down trend will prevail. If it does, scale-up opportunities will be actively pursued.

more...

The EUR/USD range is certainly testing traders’ patience, but those who remain disciplined and keep their powder dry are likely to be presented with a momentum-move relatively soon. Ranges don’t last forever. This is one of the tightest in the euro’s existence and getting tighter as price is wedging up into a triangle. A resolution is closing in.
This coming week we have the ECB on Thursday, but there isn’t any grand expectation for it to be a market-moving event. However, as per usual, expect the unexpected; you never know what the last grain of sand will be to collapse the pile (in this case, a breakout in either direction). Regardless of what the catalyst is – big, small, expected, unexpected, of the technical variety – when the range/wedge is finally broken a sizable move should begin.

In either event, the move should be relatively large, with the size of the pattern pointing to about a 400-pip drive higher or lower upon a breakout. It’s always possible we see a fake-out breakout followed by a reversal in the opposite direction, but we’ll first run with what is presented to us and adjust accordingly, if need be.

For those looking for short-term ‘fade-trades’ off levels, a strategy we’ve been highlighting in recent weeks, the risk/reward profile is quickly diminishing with price action tightening up. At this juncture, waiting for a breakout appears to be the most prudent play.

more...

The Euro recoiled from two-month trend line resistance against the US Dollar but sellers are still unable to punch through long-standing congestion area support. The symmetric Triangle setup noted last week seems to be invalidated however, marking a small but noteworthy bearish update of near-term positioning.

From here, a daily close below the 1.2154-73 area (March 1 low, 38.2% Fibonacci expansion) exposes the 1.2055-70 zone (50% level, August 29 high). Alternatively, a push back above near-term resistance at 1.2300 opens the door for another run at the falling trend line, now effectively at the 1.24 figure.

more...

The EURUSD range of 2018 has been a frustration to many traders, however, EURUSD did at long lost make a break through the YTD low at 1.2154, forming a near term base at 1.2050 (200DMA) after breaching the 2017 peak at 1.2093. The question among traders is whether this will be a sign for a bearish trend forming?

Looking ahead to next week, the key risk event will be the FOMC meeting and as is usually the case on the first Friday of a new month, we will see the release of the latest US NFP report for April, whereby the headline figure is expected to show a reading of 185k, while wage growth is seen remaining at 0.3%. These events will likely be the biggest market moving events of the week and could be the catalyst needed for a bearish set up.

Having broken through the range low of 1.2154, EURUSD looks intent on making a move for 1.2000, near-term support is situated at the new base of 1.2050, which also marks the 200DMA, while EURUSD selling could potentially be curbed by the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at 1.2033 of the 2017-2018 rise (1.0340-1.2556).

more...

Last week's net result was relatively even for EUR/USD, even posting a small reversal candle on the weekly time-frame, but nothing super convincing. Nevertheless, the euro could continue to recovery after the big slide its recently experienced. However, the bounce, given the break of the April trend-line, and more importantly the 2017 high, appears at risk of stalling sooner rather than later and leading to another leg lower. Just ahead is the 200-day MA, but without any price levels in confluence we'll have to wait and see how a touch of the MA will play out.

A rally up to the broken 2017 high and turn down would hold more appeal for refreshing short positions, as not only is this old support considered a new level of resistance, but the move off of last week's low will have been sufficient enough to work off oversold conditions.

more...

Looking ahead to next week, there is a good amount of support in the vicinity of 11725/670 which could put a larger rebound in place, or at least pause downward momentum for more than a couple of days. Since breaking down last month, wow price reacts to the first big test of sizable support will be critical to the outlook moving forward.

So, while this next week may not hold a big move, price action could be telling moving beyond the next few days. A strong reversal off support will shine light on the notion we could have a tradable low at hand, while a failure to garner any buying interest will suggest another leg lower will be in store.

more...