The USD index needs to regain the 110.00 mark in order to resume the rally
EURUSD
The US dollar is back on the offensive after a modest retreat seen on Wednesday. The USD index bounced off the 109.30 zone to settle marginally below the 110.00 level that represents the immediate upside target for bulls at this stage. The greenback was last seen changing hands around 109.77, up 0.1% on the day. As such, EURUSD struggles to get back above the descending 20-DMA, holding below parity on Thursday after a strong rejection from the 1.0200 figure at the start of the week. The pair is likely to stay pressured in the short term. On the four-hour charts, the shared currency stays below the key simple moving averages while the RSI looks directionless, suggesting the pair could struggle to regain parity in the immediate term. On the downside, the nearest support now arrives at 0.9955. The downside potential looks limited while above this zone.
GBPUSD
GBPUSD plunged back below 1.1500 after another failed attempt to overcome the descending 20-DMA earlier in the week. On Wednesday, the pair bounced to finish around 1.1540 after rejection from the 1.1590 region. During the recovery, the cable failed to derail the descending 20-DMA. On Thursday, the pound struggles around 1.1530, losing less than 0.1% on the day. In the near term, GBPUSD needs to hold above 1.1500 on a daily closing basis in order to avoid another retreat. Otherwise, the pair may fall back below 1.1480 and threaten the 1.1400 mark eventually. On the upside, should the cable resume its recovery, the next target could be expected around 1.1585, followed by the 1.1620 zone and the mentioned moving average, today at 1.1635, and the 1.1700 psychological level.
USDJPY
USDJPY came under pressure on Wednesday following two days of gains. The dollar managed to refresh local highs just below the 145.00 mark before turning negative on the daily charts. The pair failed to preserve the upside bias and came under downside pressure, albeit finished above 143.00. Today, the greenback resumed the ascent, but lacked the upside momentum to climb back to the mentioned highs. USDJPY was last seen changing hands 143.40, adding less than 0.2% on the day. In a wider picture, the pair keeps holding well above the ascending 20-DMA, today at 140.34. In the near term, USDJPY needs to hold above the 143.00 mark for a broader bullish momentum to persist. Should the buying pressure surrounding the US dollar reemerge, a decisive rally above 145.00 would bring fresh long-term tops into the market focus.
BTCUSD
The bitcoin price advanced towards $22,700 earlier in the week but failed to extend the ascent as the crypto market plunged in the aftermath of the US inflation report. The BTCUSD pair fell nearly 10% to find a local bottom around $19,600 before steadying. The price of bitcoin bounced slightly to add 0.25% yesterday. However, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization still lacks the momentum to stage a sustained and steady recovery, oscillating around the $20,000 psychological level on Thursday. As indicators show, sellers keep dominating the market at this stage, with bearish risks persisting in the near term. Should the price fail to exceed the $20,500 zone on a daily closing basis, another sell-off could be expected. A failure to hold above $20,000 in the coming days would pave the way towards the $19,600-19,500 zone.
