Malaysia: BNM could pause its hiking cycle in November – UOB

 Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) could make an impasse in its tightening cycle at the November 3 event, suggests Lee Sue Ann, an Economist at UOB Group.

Key Quotes

“Given that inflation expectations are anchored to official targets and risks to the domestic growth outlook are tilting to the downside, we believe BNM will tread more cautiously”.

“We expect BNM to take an intermittent pause to assess the effect of its cumulative 75bps rate hikes to date, domestic policy outcomes, as well as higher external risks and weaker global outlook. As such, we expect the OPR to be left unchanged at 2.50% at the coming Nov meeting”.

UK PM Truss Spokesman: Working in preparation for a medium-term fiscal plan on October 31

 UK PM Liz Truss's spokesman said in a statement on Friday, “we are working in preparation for a medium-term fiscal plan on October 31.”

 He added that “the new PM will decide whether it will be delivered then.”

Market reaction

GBP/USD found some support on the above headlines, as it moved away from weekly lows at 1.1100, currently trading at 1.1130, still down 0.91% so far.

USD Index Price Analysis: No changes to the consolidative theme

 

• DXY attempts a mild rebound after bottoming out near 111.80.
• Further range bound remains on the cards for the time being.

DXY bounces off multi-session lows in the 111.80/75 band on Tuesday.

So far, the index looks poised to keep navigating within a 112.00-114.00 range at least until the next FOMC event.

The prospects for extra gains in the dollar should remain unchanged as long as the index trades above the 8-month support line near 108.00.

In the longer run, DXY is expected to maintain its constructive stance while above the 200-day SMA at 103.43.

USD Index Price Analysis: Extra gains could challenge the 2022 peak

 

• DXY meets some decent hurdle around the 113.60 area.
• Further north emerges the YTD high near 114.80.
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DXY’s multi-session strong advance has faltered around the 113.60 region on Wednesday.

If bulls push harder and the index surpasses 114.00, then the next target of note should turn up at the 2022 high at 114.78 (September 28) prior to the round level at 115.00.

The prospects for extra gains in the dollar should remain unchanged as long as the index trades above the 7-month support line near 107.80.

In the longer run, DXY is expected to maintain its constructive stance while above the 200-day SMA at 103.10.

AUD/USD to fall towards 0.60 after RBA’s dovish decision – MUFG

 The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) surprise decision to slow the pace of tightening by delivering a smaller 25 bps hike weighed on the aussie. Economists at MUFG Bank expect the AUD/USD pair to challenge the 0.6000 level.

RBA policy update reinforces downside risks

“We continue to believe that risks remain tilted to the downside for commodity currencies in the near-term.”

“The RBA’s policy shift has increased the likelihood that AUD/USD will fall towards the 0.6000 level.”

AUD/NZD to slide towards the 1.12 level – OCBC

 AUD/NZD continued to trade with a heavy downside bias amid growing policy divergence between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Economists at OCBC Bank maintain a short bias targeting 1.12.

Risks remained skewed to the downside

“RBNZ’s accompanying MPS was slightly more hawkish than expected as it noted that the MPC considered 50, 75 bps at this meeting; core CPI is ‘too high’ and lower NZD if sustained poses further upside risk to CPI.”

“We maintain our tactical short play on AUD/NZD, targeting 1.12, 1.1050 objectives.”

“Daily momentum is bearish while RSI fell. Risks remained skewed to the downside.”

“Support at 1.1240, 1.1210 levels.”

“Resistance at 1.1305 (21 DMA), 1.1380 levels.

S&P 500 Index: Next potential supports at 3500/3460 – SocGen

 S&P 500 has resumed its downtrend. Analysts at Société Générale note that the technical outlook denotes prevalence in downward momentum.

Failure to reclaim 3900 can lead to continuation in decline

“Monthly RSI is now close to the lower limit of its bullish territory (near 40 levels); this band has cushioned the declines since 2010. However, signals of a trend reversal are still not visible in price action.”

“Short-term resistance is located at 3860/3900, the 38.2% retracement from August. Failure to reclaim 3900 can lead to continuation in decline.” 

“Next potential supports are at projections of 3500/3460 and February 2020 levels of 3393.”

Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD plunges to new two-year-lows below $1640

 

• Gold price tanked to new two-and-half years low at $1638.90.
• Global S&P PMIs revealed in the EU, UK, and the US sparked investors’ recession fears, increasing appetite for the safe-haven US dollar.
• Gold Price Analysis: A break below $1638 to send XAU/USD towards $1600.
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Gold price slides to fresh two-and-half-year lows dampened by a risk-off mood and flows towards the US dollar, which rose to new two-decade highs. Overall, US dollar strength and higher US Treasury bond yields are two reasons for the fall in the precious metals complex, mainly the yellow metal. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading at $1643.50 a troy ounce.

US equities dropped as Wall Street closed with hefty losses between 1.62% and 1.80% on Friday. The US 10-year benchmark note rate retraced from yielding 3.829% and is set to end the week below the 3.70% threshold. On the same note, the US 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) bond yield weighed on the non-yielding metal, set to finish at 1.33%.

Euro holds above 2-decade low before ECB decision

 LONDON (Reuters) - The euro was hovering above Tuesday's two-decade low on Thursday as investors awaited a policy decision from the European Central Bank (ECB) and comments from the head of the Federal Reserve for insight on the path for global monetary tightening.

The ECB is expected to raise rates by 75 basis points (bps), taking its deposit rate above zero for the first time since 2012, but the option of a smaller 50 basis point hike hasn't been ruled out.

"We expect the ECB to only do 50 basis points today, instead of the consensus view of 75," said Chris Turner, head of markets at ING. "If that's the case, we think euro-dollar probably corrects back down to about $0.99."

By 0747 GMT, the euro was trading down 0.3% at $0.99795, holding above its lowest level since late 2002 of $0.9864 as Europe's energy crisis keeps the single currency under pressure and the dollar reigns as the Fed reiterates its commitment to bring inflation down to target.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to participate in a discussion at 1310 GMT -- overlapping with ECB chief Lagarde's post-decision press conference -- with Fed officials soon due to enter into a blackout period prior to the central bank's Sept. 20-21 meeting.

Recent Fed rhetoric has continued to be hawkish overall.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Wednesday that bringing inflation back down to 2% is the Fed's "Job One," while Vice Chair Lael Brainard said tight monetary policy will continue "for as long as it takes to get inflation down."

Money markets lay 79% odds that the Fed will hike by another 75 basis points at this month's meeting, which would increase the fed funds rate to 3.0% to 3.25%.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against six major counterparts, edged up 0.1% lower to 109.82, after hitting a peak at 110.79 on Wednesday, a level not seen since June 2002.

Sterling weakened 0.4% to $1.1486, heading back toward the previous day's 37-year low of $1.1407, ahead of new British Prime Minister Liz Truss's announcement on her plans to tackle soaring energy bills.

Japan's yen showed some resilience on Thursday, trading little changed at 143.77 per dollar, after reaching a 24-year low of 144.99 in the previous session.

The yen has been a particular victim of recent dollar strength, partly due to its sensitivity to rising long-term U.S. yields as hawkish Fed bets ramped up and the Bank of Japan remains the holdout dovish central bank.

"Ongoing depreciation pressure on the yen has raised the probability of a change in policy (from the Bank of Japan) later this year," Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) analysts said in a research note.

"If the BoJ drops YCC (yield curve control), rate differentials vs the U.S. should stop widening, and the rise in USD/JPY should pause or reverse."

Officials from Japan's Finance Ministry, Bank of Japan and Financial Services Agency are meeting today to discuss global financial markets, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

Meanwhile, the Aussie fell 0.5% to $0.67345, earlier tumbling as low as $0.6713, after RBA Governor Lowe said in a speech "the case for a slower pace of increase in interest rates becomes stronger as the level of the cash rate rises."

US Dollar Index Price Analysis: The surpass of the YTD high exposes 109.77

 

• DXY remains bid and flirts with the 2022 top near 109.30.
• Further north of comes the September 2002 high around 109.80.

DXY keeps the rally well and sound and trades at shouting distance from the YTD highs near 109.30 on Tuesday.

The continuation of the upside momentum looks increasingly likely in the very near term. That said, beyond the 2022 high at 109.29 (July 14) the index could challenge the September 2002 peak at 109.77 prior to the round level at 110.00.

In the meantime, while above the 6-month support line near 105.10, the index is expected to keep the short-term positive stance.

Looking at the long-term scenario, the bullish view in the dollar remains in place while above the 200-day SMA at 100.49.

USD/TRY leaps to fresh 2022 peaks past 18.00 after CBRT cut rates

 

• USD/TRY clinches new YTD tops beyond the 18.00 mark.
• The pair now targets the all-time top at 18.25 (December 20 2021).
• The Turkish central bank reduced the policy rate by 100 bps.
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The Turkish lira debilitates to fresh lows vs. the greenback and pushes USD/TRY past the 18.00 yardstick for the first time since December 2021.

USD/TRY now targets the all-time high at 18.25

USD/TRY leaves behind the key barrier at 18.00 after the Turkish central bank (CBRT) caught the markets off guard and reduced the One-Week Repo Rate by a full point to 13.00% at its meeting earlier on Thursday. the central bank also cut the Overnight Borrowing Rate and the Overnight Lending Rate by 100 bps to 11.50% and 14.50%, respectively.

In its statement, the CBRT continues to see domestic inflation largely driven by higher energy costs exclusively on the back of geopolitical events and “effects of pricing formations that are not supported by economic fundamentals”.

Indonesia: Inflation accelerated in July – UOB

 Enrico Tanuwidjaja, Economist at UOB Group, comments on the latest inflation figures in Indonesia.

Key Takeaways

“July’s headline inflation jumped to 4.9% y/y, breaching Bank Indonesia (BI)’s 4% target upper bound for the second month in a row and currently at 7-year high, while core inflation rose to 2.9% y/y, a 28-month high, from June’s 2.6%.”

“Inflation in July continued to be driven by upward pressures from food services and restaurants and transport, in addition to housing, water, electricity and household fuel.”

“We revised our 2022 inflation forecast now to average 4% viz. 3.3% previously and for BI to hike rates now in Sep instead of in Jul.”

US Dollar Index Price Analysis: Further losses not ruled out

 

• DXY accelerates the corrective decline to the 105.30 zone.
• Immediate to the downside appears the 55-day SMA at 104.75.

DXY navigates the fourth consecutive session with losses and revisits the 105.30 region at the beginning of the week.

The index broke below the multi-session pre-FOMC consolidative theme and in doing so it has paved the way for extra decline in the short-term horizon. That said, the immediate support now turns up at the interim 55-day SMA at 104.75 ahead of the 5-month support line around 103.85.

The near-term outlook for DXY remains constructive while above this 5-month support line near 104.00.

In addition, the broader bullish view remains in place while above the 200-day SMA at 99.49.

Malaysia: Inflation surprised to the upside in June – UOB

 UOB Group’s Senior Economist Julia Goh and Economist Loke Siew Ting assess the latest inflation figures in the Malaysian economy.

Key Takeaways

“Headline inflation breached the 3% level for the first time this year at 3.4% y/y in Jun (from 2.8% in May). It came in higher than ours and Bloomberg consensus of 3.2%. Price pressures broadened with more consumer price index (CPI) components recording larger price increases last month compared to the preceding month, led by food and transport components.”

“We expect CPI growth to jump above 4.0% in 2H22 after averaging 2.5% in 1H22. Our 2H22 inflation outlook largely rests on high commodity prices, year-ago low base effects, persistent currency weakness, changes in some staple food prices (i.e. chicken, eggs and cooking oil), and recovering domestic demand. The new targeted fuel subsidy mechanism, which is currently under pilot testing, will pose upside risks to our inflation outlook should it be implemented over the next few months.   As such, our current full-year inflation forecast of 3.0% is subject to upward revision next month when the Jul CPI reading is released (vs. 2.5% in 2021, BNM est: 2.2%-3.2%).”

“The combination of factors including broadening second-round effects on inflation, firmer domestic economic recovery, and diminishing real interest rate gap with US continue to suggest a need for further policy normalisation. We expect Bank Negara Malaysia to deliver another 25bps rate hike at the next MPC meeting on 7-8 Sep, taking the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) to 2.50%.

EUR/USD Price Analysis: Sustained gains seen above 1.0670/80

 

• EUR/USD keeps the erratic activity well in place this week.
• The 1.0670/80 band continues to cap the upside so far.

EUR/USD resumes the upside bias past the 1.0500 mark following Thursday’s decent pullback.

So far, and as long as the 4-month line in the 1.0670/80 band limits the upside, extra pullbacks in the pair should remain on the cards in the near term. The surpass of this area, however, could spark a bull run to the June top at 1.0773 and the May peak at 1.0786.

In the longer run, the pair’s bearish view is expected to prevail as long as it trades below the 200-day SMA at 1.1136.

📕 Comment on Gold on April 29, 2022:

 📕 Comment on Gold on April 29, 2022:

 - In yesterday's trading session, after precious metal fell to 1871, Gold rallied strongly to 1896 ($25), closed the day session with a bull pusher and in the early morning of this day Gold continued to rise.  up to around 1905. With the current showing of good upward momentum, my view will be to prioritize the bullish option for this precious metal.

 - On the H4 time frame, bullish force also prevails and the nearest support area for this precious metal is around 1895-1898, Here we can establish a buy position with a safe target around the threshold.  1910-1915.

Monthly Overview on Oil

 Oil

Monthly change: XBRUSD +17.15%

Oil prices rose sharply in February. Saudi Arabia's deep output cuts, an improving demand outlook, and cold front, which shut wells and refineries in Texas, contributed to the price increase.

The growing popularity of commodities as a hedge against resurgent inflation have pushed oil higher this year. There have been a lot of bullish calls in recent weeks predicting that the rally will continue. The maintenance in the North Sea fields is set to reduce the oil supply.

The upcoming OPEC+ meeting is crucial. The market could remain positive in the face of a modest increase in OPEC+ production. If there is a large increase, then it could dampen the outlook in the short term.

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USD: showing tenacity- Money Life Research

Indices Trading Signals

 Global yields have stabilized, paving the way for a large rebound in risk assets, with the S&P500 having its best day in nine months. In terms of foreign exchange, G10 commodity currencies led the way, but the dollar held its ground despite poor demand for low-yielding assets. The Swiss franc remained a big laggard, as markets may have used the opportunity to unwind CHF long positions that had been built up during the pandemic. If risk assets remain supported, the USD/CHF could break above 0.9200. Asian equities have indicated that risk appetite is waning, and stock index futures in Europe and America point to a poor start. Data-wise, it's been a reasonably quiet day after a solid ISM Manufacturing report appeared to back up inflation fears. For the time being, with low-yielders bearing the brunt of any equity rally, the US dollar can prove resilient if risk assets return to positive territory.

USD: Risk assets have recovered their breath

 After a major sell-off last week, the bond market and risk assets are showing signs of stabilization. The dollar's corrective rally should take a breather now that 10-year US Treasury yields have returned to 1.40 percent and Asian equities have stabilized overnight. The price action overnight reflects this, with G10 and emerging market FX generally higher versus the US dollar, with higher beta currencies leading the gains. The emphasis will be on a series of Federal Reserve speakers this week, and whether they express any concern about the UST downturn, as a disorderly UST sell-off remains the key risk for markets. 

Although the decline in cyclical FX was substantial late last week, the overall negative effect on cyclical FX was not overly pronounced in light of the sharp rise in UST yields in February. This is due in part to the reasons for the sell-off, which were more closely related to improving economic conditions than to expectations of monetary policy normalization.

Indices Trading Signals

Comment on Gold on March 1, 2021

  ‼ ️ At the end of the first 2 months of 2021, the world gold price had a deep decline.  In February, the world gold price had a decline from 1872 to 1716 ($ 156) closing the monthly candle with a strong bearish candle at 1734 breaking the strong support zone at 1765. With the end of the month  If the monthly candle is equal to this strong bearish candle, in my opinion Gold will continue to suffer downward pressure in this new trading week.

 On the time frame of week W1, in my opinion, Gold will continue to decline towards around $ 1689 / oz.  And in today's trading session, after 2 days of last week's decline, in this Asian session, Gold has a recovery span and I expect the price of Gold to recover to around 1755 today.  Around this zone, I would have set a sell position, the safe target for profit taking is around $ 1730.

NOTE : WAIT FOR SIGNAL WITH PROPER LEVELS

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