The dollar holds above 104.00, looking ready to extend the rally as traders await Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole
EURUSD
The USD saw solid gains on Thursday as Treasury yields climbed back to multi-year highs and risk demand waned. Earlier in the week, the greenback struggled to attract demand amid positive risk sentiment across the financial markets. Earlier in the session on Friday, the greenback briefly jumped to fresh June highs in the 104.30, holding around the upper end of the extended trading range. As such, the dollar holds above 104.00, looking ready to extend the rally as traders await Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. On the downside, the immediate support now arrives around 103.20, followed by 103.00 and the 102.80 zone. The overall technical picture stays positive for the time being, especially as the buck confirmed a break above the 104.00 figure. Should the DXY see a more intense buying pressure, a break above the 104.30 zone would open the way towards the 104.50 barrier. Meanwhile, EURUSD is back on the defensive, now trading below the descending 20-DMA. The pair is changing hands around 1.0782 as of writing, down 0.24% on the day.
GBPUSD
The cable keeps losing ground on Friday, staying under pressure as dollar demand reemerged. Earlier, recovery attempts were capped by the descending 20-DMA. Since then, the pair has dipped below 1.2600, looking bearish below both the 20- and 100-DMAs. So the pound is yet to regain the key moving average in order to resume the recent bounce. Earlier in the day, the pair encountered support around 1.2560 before trimming intraday losses. The daily RSI looks bearish in neutral territory, suggesting the pair could struggle to overcome the mentioned SMAs in the near term. In recent trading, GBPUSD was changing hands around 1.2585, down 0.1% on the day. On the downside, the immediate significant support is now represented by the 1.2560 level. On the upside, a decisive break above 1.2600 would pave the way to some recovery. In a wider picture, the pound has been staying within a bullish trend since last September.
USDJPY
The USDJPY pair has been volatile these days after peaking at fresh November highs around 146.55 last week. The pair has retreated from the peaks before attracting renewed demand in recent trading, still struggling to challenge fresh highs as the dollar has steadied somehow. In early European deals on Friday, USDJPY holds just below the 146.00 mark that now represents the immediate target. As the pair still stays well above the 20-DMA, downside risks remain limited in the near term. The dollar was last seen changing hands around 145.92, up 0.04% on the day. Now, the greenback needs to regain the 146.00 mark in order to extend the ascent. The daily RSI turned slightly higher in neutral territory, suggesting the dollar could see fresh bullish pressure in the immediate term before some profit-taking takes place. On the hourly timeframes, the technical picture has deteriorated, with downside risks persisting as prices are now holding below the key SMAs.
XAUUSD
The price of gold had been trending higher since Monday, licking its wounds after the recent slide. Still, the metal struggled to attract more decisive demand as the buying pressure surrounding the US dollar reemerged on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the precious metal bounced from fresh five-month lows in the $1,884 area to settle just above $1,900. Should the pressure reemerge any time soon, the bullion could get back below this level. Gold was last seen changing hands around $1,915, down 0.23% on the day. On the weekly timeframes, however, the technical picture has improved somehow even as the metal stays well below the 20-SMA. On the upside, the immediate target is now represented by the $1,920 level, followed by the $1,935 zone. On the four-hour charts, the XAUUSD pair is holding below the 20-SMA while the RSI looks bullish, painting a mixed technical picture.
