Despite the recent bounce, the euro remains vulnerable to further losses as long as the pair stays below the 100-weekk SMA, today at 1.1680
EURUSD
Following some short-lived hesitation, the US dollar extended the ascent on Tuesday to get back above the 99.00 figure as safe-haven demand picked up. Earlier today, the greenback extended the rally to touch the 99.75 zone for the first time in nearly two years before retreating back below 99.50 during the early deals in Europe as traders proceeded to profit-taking. However, as risk-off tone continues to dominate global financial markets after the recent rally, the safe-haven buck looks set to continue the ascent after a pause, with the 100.00 psychological level staying in the market focus. As such, EURUSD came off one-month lows see around 1.0875 to turn positive on the day in recent trading. The common currency regained the 1.0900 mark and was last seen changing hands in the 1.0920 area, up 0.16% on the day. Despite the recent bounce, the euro remains vulnerable to further losses as long as the pair stays below the 100-weekk SMA, today at 1.1680.
GBPUSD
Early on Wednesday, GBPUSD briefly dipped to mid-March lows around 1.3045 amid the rallying dollar. However, the pair managed to attract demand as the greenback gave up some gains across the market. As such, the pound regained yesterday’s losses to settle around the 1.3100 figure during the European hours. The pair continues to face resistance represented by the 20-DMA that has been capping gains for the cable for two weeks already. It looks like GBPUSD needs an extra impetus to overcome this barrier, currently at 1.3123. On the four-hour timeframes, the prices were last seen flirting with the 20-SMA while the RSI was directionless in neutral territory, suggesting the recovery potential for the pair is still limited at this stage. On the downside, the cable could derive support from the 1.3000 psychological level if the buying pressure surrounding the US dollar reemerges in the coming days.
USDJPY
USDJPY has been retaining bullish bias for the fourth session in a row on Wednesday, targeting multi-year tops above 125.00. The pair extended gains to the 124.00 figure before retreating partially as the greenback corrected lower across the board. Should the USD receive another impetus later in the day, however, the pair could exceed this immediate barrier on a daily closing basis, with the overall technical outlook for USDJPY staying upbeat despite the overbought conditions. If the local selling pressure intensifies anytime soon, the pair could derail the 123.00 mark before resuming the ascent. In a wider picture, the buck keeps clinging to the upper end of the extended trading range while also holding well above the key moving averages. In the immediate term, the pair needs to hold above the 123.50 nearest support in order to refrain from another bearish correction.
XAUUSD
Gold prices slipped to April lows around $1,915 earlier on Wednesday before bouncing higher amid a retreat in the dollar. The XAUUSD pair advanced to the $1,933 area to face the descending 20-DMA that has been capping gains since mid-March. It looks like the precious metal would need a deeper downside correction in the greenback in order to regain this moving average, today at $1,938, followed by the $1,950 zone and the $1.966 barrier last seen on March 24. On the four-hour timeframes, the bullion is now flirting with the key moving averages, with the overall near-term technical picture looking neutral as long as the prices stay in a $1,900-$1,950 range. In a wider picture, the outlook for gold prices stays positive as long as the metal holds above the ascending 20-week SMA, today at $1,857, followed by the 100-SMA that arrives just above the $1,830 zone.
