The USD index is back around 103.50, struggling for direction during the European hours
EURUSD
The US dollar holds steady on Wednesday after another bullish session, holding in positive territory for the fifth week in a row. The greenback turned flat in recent trading after facing resistance in the 103.82 area earlier in the day as traders are getting more cautious ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s two-day meeting that will set fresh direction for the currency. As such, the USD index is back around 103.50, struggling for direction during the European hours. The 103.00 figure represents the immediate significant support for the time being. Meanwhile, EURUSD keeps oscillating around the directionless 200-DMA that has been in the market focus since mid-January. The shared currency faces the immediate resistance in the 1.0860 zone, trading under some selling pressure on Wednesday. The euro has settled just below 1.0840, shedding 0.05% on the day. On the flip side, the nearest support now arrives in the 1.0820 zone, followed by the 1.0800 region.
GBPUSD
The pound stays pressured since Tuesday, struggling to overcome the 20-DMA. The pair made some recovery attempts after finding support around 1.2640 during the previous session but failed to attract sustained demand. As the dollar keeps advancing gradually, the pair stays below 1.2700, with upside momentum looking limited at this stage. In early European trading on Wednesday, the cable looks downbeat, holding slightly below the 1.2700 figure. In a wider picture, the cable looks neutral now after last month’s slide to local lows around the 1.2500 figure. The daily RSI is slightly bearish in neutral territory, suggesting sellers could stay in the game in the immediate term. In recent trading, GBPUSD was changing hands around 1.2682, down 0.12% on the day. On the flip side, the immediate significant support is now represented by the 1.2660 zone. On the upside, a decisive ascent above 1.2700 would pave the way to a local bounce.
USDJPY
After modest recovery attempts late last week, USDJPY came under some pressure and has been trending mostly lower these days even as the dollar holds steady across the board. Earlier in the day, the pair failed to regain the 148.00 zone, struggling to bounce as trading activity keeps abating in anticipation of Fed meeting. In recent trading, the pair continued to oscillate around the 100-DMA that has been in the market focus since mid-January. After facing the 148.33 barrier at the start of the week, the USDJPY has been losing the upside momentum, suggesting additional losses could be in the cards in the near term. The dollar was last seen changing hands around 147.45, down 0.10% on the day. Now, the greenback needs to decisively break the 147.90 region in order to stage another local rally. The daily RSI turned slightly bearish, suggesting the pair could refrain from another bullish attempt in the immediate term.
XAUUSD
Gold prices are now back above the 20-DMA as the precious metal managed to shrug off the recent pressure, with downside potential looking limited at this stage. After last week’s dip, the pair keeps advancing gradually, with the immediate outlook improving after a bounce above the mentioned SMA that was capping the upside potential earlier. Following peaking just below $2,050 during the previous session, the bullion has settled marginally below the $2,040 region during the European deals on Wednesday, adding 0.33% on the day. As such, the technical picture has improved further, with downside risks abating while above $2,030. Should gold stay below the $2,040 immediate resistance in the near term, however, the $2,020 mark may be threatened. On the weekly timeframes, the technical picture turned more positive, with wider picture staying upbeat as well after reaching fresh all-time highs last month. On the upside, the immediate significant target is now represented by the $2,040 zone, followed by the $2,050 barrier. On the flip side, the nearest support lies around $2,030, followed by the $2,024 mark, where the 20- and 55-DMAs arrive, respectively.