EUR/USD

Weekly Analysis: Last week the Fed decided to keep rates unchanged and the US Dollar weakened, allowing the pair to complete a perfect bounce at support. Resistance is still holding but momentum belongs to the bulls.

Technical Outlook

The bounce at 1.1210 support and the fact that price is still above the 50 days Exponential Moving Average shows that there is still underlying strength on the bullish side. However, 1.1450 has acted as strong resistance in the past and the pair ended last week right on this level so we may see a bearish bounce here. The oscillators offer mixed signals, with the Relative Strength Index approaching overbought and the Stochastic just exiting oversold, so probably the next direction will be decided by the way price behaves at the key level of 1.1450.

Fundamental Outlook

The week opens Monday with a speech of the ECB President Mario Draghi, titled “The future of financial markets: A changing view of Asia”. We don’t know how the markets will receive this event and what the impact will be but caution should be used nonetheless.

Tuesday is a slow day and Wednesday we get an early look into U.S. employment situation with the release of the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change, a report that shows changes in the number of employed people, excluding the farming sector and government.

Thursday German and French banks are closed in observance of Ascension Day so we don’t have any major releases, while Friday will probably be the most active day of the week as the U.S. Non-Farm Employment (Non-Farm Payrolls) report comes out, showing the change in the number of employed people during the last month, excluding the farming sector. This is widely considered the most important U.S. jobs data and the impact on the US Dollar is usually huge, with higher numbers strengthening it.

GBP/USD

The US Dollar weakened against all of its major counterparts last week and the Pound was no exception. Key resistance is currently being tested.

Technical Outlook

The level at 1.4650 is a major hurdle in front of rising prices and has acted as strong resistance in the past. A break would be a great victory for the bulls but the Stochastic and Relative Strength Index are both entering overbought on a daily chart. This means that future bullish advances will be more difficult to achieve and the chances of a bearish bounce will increase. A lot will depend on the U.S. jobs data and until that is released, we expect ranging movement.

Fundamental Outlook

Monday UK banks are closed in observance of May Day and no major announcements are made; the first indicator of the week is the Manufacturing PMI, scheduled Tuesday and followed Wednesday by the Construction PMI. Thursday the Services PMI comes out and this is the last important economic indicator of the week, for the Pound. All three indicators are surveys of purchasing managers from their respective sectors and act as leading indicators of economic health. Higher numbers usually benefit the Pound but often the impact is mild. Of course, the U.S. jobs data will be a market mover for the pair.

Written by: Bogdan Giulvezan