The pound saw another sell-off that has pushed the prices below March 2020 lows
EURUSD
As risk aversion intensified, the dollar stays resilient on Friday, accelerating the ascent to challenge the 110.00 zone during the European trading hours. The USD index jumped to 110.25 before retreating marginally in recent trading. As such, EURUSD came back under pressure after two days of modest gains. During the recent bounce, the shared currency failed to hold above both parity and the descending 20-DMA, today at 0.9984. The euro fell below the 0.9955 region to extend losses to 0.9944. The pair is likely to stay pressured in the short term after a strong rejection from the 1.0200 figure at the start of the week. On the four-hour charts, the shared currency stays below the key simple moving averages while the RSI points lower, suggesting the pair could struggle to regain parity in the immediate term. On the upside, the nearest target now arrives at 0.9965.
GBPUSD
GBPUSD plunged back below 1.1500 after another failed attempt to overcome the descending 20-DMA earlier in the week. On Friday, the pound saw another sell-off that has pushed the prices below March 2020 lows, down to 1.1350. The cable was last seen clinging to the lower end of the extended trading range, losing nearly 1% on the day. In the near term, GBPUSD needs to hold above 1.1300 on a daily closing basis in order to avoid a deeper retreat. On the upside, should the cable resume its recovery, the nearest target could be expected around 1.1400, followed by the 1.1465 zone and the mentioned 1.1500 level. On the hourly timeframes, the RSI has settled in oversold territory but continues to point south, suggesting the selling pressure could persist in the near term. As such, traders now shift focus towards the 1.1300 next bearish target.
USDJPY
USDJPY advanced marginally on Thursday to finish slightly above the 143.50 zone. As the dollar failed to regain the 144.00 figure, the pair struggles ahead of the weekend, albeit the selling pressure looks limited due to the overall bullish sentiment surrounding the US currency. USDJPY was last seen changing hands 143.35, down 0.1% on the day. In a wider picture, the pair keeps holding well above the ascending 20-DMA, today at 140.67, with broader uptrend intact. In the near term, USDJPY needs to hold above the 143.00 mark for the bullish momentum to persist. Should the buying pressure surrounding the US dollar intensify further, a decisive rally above 144.00 could be expected. On the four-hour charts, the greenback struggles to regain the ascending 20-SMA, albeit holding relatively steady at this stage.
XAUUSD
The price of gold has been losing ground for the sixth week in a row as hawkish Fed remains in focus. The precious metal failed to hold above the descending 20-DMA at the start of the week to accelerate the decline recently. In the process, the bullion derailed the $1,700 psychological level to notch April 2020 lows around $1,660 ahead of the weekend. The XAUUSD pair keeps clinging to the lower end of the range, suggesting extra losses could be in store. A failure to attract demand at the current levels would pave the way to fresh long-term lows in the $1,610-1,600 zone in the coming days or weeks. It seems like gold prices could stay on the defensive in the months ahead as the Fed along with other central banks will continue tightening. A reversal in the gold market would take place once the US monetary authorities start reversing the rate hikes at some point in the future, probably in Q3 next year.
