AUD/USD holds above 0.6500 in thin trading
The Australian Dollar managed to recover ground against its American rival after AUD/USD fell to 0.6484. The upbeat tone of Wall Street underpinned the Aussie despite broad US Dollar strength and tepid Australian data.
EUR/USD comfortable below 1.0800 lower lows at sight
The EUR/USD pair lost ground on Thursday and settled near a fresh March low of 1.0774. Strong US data and hawkish Fed speakers comments lead the way ahead of the release of the US PCE Price Index on Friday.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays near 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
Google starts indexing Bitcoin addresses
Bitcoin address data is live on Google search results after users realized on Thursday that the tech giant started indexing Bitcoin blockchain data. However, mixed reactions have followed the tech giant's reversed stance on the cryptocurrency.
A Hollywood ending for fourth quarter GDP
The latest revisions put Q4 GDP at 3.4%, the second fastest quarterly growth rate in two years. Much of the upside was attributable to stronger consumer spending, yet fresh profits data affirmed it was a good quarter for the bottom line as well with profits up by the most since the Q2-2022.
DEEPER DIVE
Cyclical outlook: Known unknowns
In the US, the latest Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia paints a rather upbeat picture of the economic outlook. A similar survey of the ECB points towards a gradual pickup in growth this year.
Building the future
There is a construction boom underway that is quietly transforming the production capabilities and other aspects of the US economy. The fastest-growing category within nonresidential construction in recent years has been manufacturing.
Addressing the public debt challenge in the EU
Recently an agreement has been reached between representatives of the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission on a new economic governance framework.
FXS Signals
Technical Confluences Detector
XAU/USD aims for fresh record highs Premium
Gold price keeps advancing on Thursday, now trading around $2,215. The XAU/USD pair is up for a fourth consecutive day and flirts with record highs as market players assess the latest comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. Late on Wednesday, Fed Governor Chris Waller said he is not in a rush to cut the policy rate, as recent data suggests the central bank may need to maintain the current restrictive monetary policy for longer to help keep inflation on a sustainable trajectory toward 2%.
Waller’s hawkish words sent the US Dollar higher across the FX board while boosting demand for equities. Gold, however, maintained its upward route, ignoring resurgent USD demand. Wall Street’s opening brought some stability on Thursday as investors gear up for a long weekend, with several markets closed on Friday amid the Easter Holiday and the release of the United States (US) Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index. The core reading is the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, and the report should provide additional clues on whether a rate cut is likely next June.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Prisma price tanks 25% after nearly $9 million exploit
Prisma Finance (PRISMA) is being exploited, and the attacker has so far pulled $9 million in Ethereum from the borrowing protocol. Prisma asked vault owners to take the necessary steps to protect funds from the ongoing attack in an official tweet on X.
Meme coins gain traction after SEC’s partial win in Coinbase lawsuit: DOGE, SHIB, BRETT, POPCAT, BODEN
US SEC pocketed a partial win in its lawsuit against Coinbase, ushering a correction in crypto prices on Thursday. Despite the broad pullback, prices of meme coins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Solana-based BRETT, POPCAT and BODEN increased.
Ondo moves $95 million worth of OUSG assets to BUIDL as tokenized fund attracts $245 million since debut
Ondo Finance (ONDO) announced on Wednesday that it's shifting about $95 million worth of its OUSG's underlying assets to the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
XRP price stuck below $0.65 resistance, Ripple lawsuit could suffer from Coinbase defeat
XRP price falls slightly to $0.61 on Thursday after its landmark programmatic sales ruling in July, which gave Ripple a partial victory against the US SEC, failed to reverberate in a similar legal battle between the regulator and crypto exchange Coinbase.
THE STOCK OF THE DAY
AMC sheds 14% after offering to sell $250 million in common stock
AMC Entertainment stock is at it again. The heavily indebted cinema chain and once-loved meme stock is heading to the market to sell another $250 million worth of shares in order to pay down its strangling debt load obtained during the heights of the covid pandemic.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
WEEKLY FORECAST
EUR/USD: US Dollar gains to continue amid a strong US economy Premium
The EUR/USD pair fell for a second consecutive week, ending Friday just above the March low of 1.0796. The pair peaked at 1.0942 early on Thursday, in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy announcement, but turned south afterwards.
GBP/USD: Dovish BoE voting pattern weighs on Pound Sterling Premium
The Pound Sterling (GBP) failed to hold its upswing against the US Dollar (USD), as the GBP/USD correction from seven-month highs of 1.2894 regained traction in the central banks’ bonanza week.
US Dollar: Inflation returns to the fore Premium
Throughout another notably productive week, the US Dollar (USD) successfully regained more stability, concluding its second consecutive week with gains and managing to reclaim the area beyond the 104.00 barrier when tracked by the US Dollar Index (DXY).
Gold: Record-setting rally loses steam on USD resilience Premium
Gold turned south following a record-setting upsurge on Wednesday and erased the majority of its weekly gains, as the upbeat data releases from the US offset the negative impact of the Fed’s policy decisions on the USD's valuation.
Bitcoin: BTC may have recovered, but is it out of the woods?
Bitcoin’s (BTC) upward momentum has shown a significant decline for the past two weeks or so. This development led to a bearish signal on the weekly and an uncertain outlook on the monthly.
Quiet week ahead in the markets
Compared to last week’s bumper slate of event risk, this week will be considerably more subdued, influenced not only by limited global asset drivers but also by liquidity thinning ahead of the long Easter weekend.