The USD index has settled slightly above the 104.00 figure, buoyed by Friday’s US jobs data
EURUSD
The US dollar has steadied on Monday after a brief jump to nearly two-month highs around 104.20 earlier in the day. After finishing the fifth positive week in a row, the USD index has settled slightly above the 104.00 figure, buoyed by Friday’s US jobs data. In recent trading, the greenback was trading around 104.10, retaining a modest bullish bias on the daily timeframes. As such, the USD index is back around the upper end of an extended trading range, trying to confirm a break above the 104.00 figure, followed by the 104.20 nearest significant barrier at this stage. Meanwhile, EURUSD plunged to fresh mid-December lows around 1.0765 after failed attempts to hold above the 200-DMA during the previous session. The shared currency is now holding slightly below the 100-DMA, a break below which adds to bearishness surrounding the euro. As such, the 1.0800 mark now represents the nearest upside target. In early European trading, the euro has settled around the mentioned lows, shedding 0.17% on the day. On the flip side, the nearest support now arrives in the 1.0755 zone.
GBPUSD
The pound stays pressured since Friday, suffering fresh losses after a failure to hold above the 20-DMA. Earlier on Monday, the pair briefly derailed the 1.2600 zone that capped losses and triggered a local bounce. As the dollar keeps advancing across the board, the pair stays on the defensive, with upside momentum looking limited at this stage. In early European trading on Monday, the cable trimmed intraday losses, but still looks downbeat, holding slightly above the mentioned weekly lows. In a wider picture, the cable looks neutral now after a slide to local lows around the 1.2500 figure in December. The daily RSI is now bearish in neutral territory, suggesting sellers could stay in the game in the immediate term. In recent trading, GBPUSD was changing hands around 1.2618, down 0.3% on the day. On the flip side, the immediate significant support is now represented by the 1.2600 zone. On the upside, a decisive ascent above 1.2650 would pave the way to a local bounce.
USDJPY
After a solid rally late last week, USDJPY stays resilient at the start of the week, trending mostly higher these days as the dollar holds steady across the board. Earlier in the day, the pair extended the ascent towards late-November highs around 148.80, thus attracting some selling interest. In recent trading, the pair has settled around the flat line, lacking the bullish momentum after an early rally. After facing the mentioned barrier, the USDJPY pair has retreated in early European deals, suggesting some profit-taking could be in the cards in the near term. The dollar was last seen changing hands around 148.42, up less than 0.1% on the day. Now, the greenback needs to decisively break the 148.50 region in order to resume the ascent and refrain from deeper losses. The daily RSI stays upbeat, suggesting the pair could see another bullish attempt in the immediate term.
XAUUSD
Gold prices keep retreating after a failure to hold above both the 20-and the 55-DMAs as the precious metal failed to shrug off the recent pressure, with downside potential persisting at this stage. After Friday’s dip, the pair keeps losing ground, with the immediate outlook deteriorating after a dip below the mentioned SMAs that have turned into resistance levels now. Following peaking around $2,065 last week, the bullion has settled below the $2,030 region during the European deals on Monday, trading 0.67% lower for the day. As such, the technical picture has deteriorated further, with downside risks intensifying while below $2,040. Should gold stay below this immediate resistance in the near term, the $2,020 mark may be threatened. On the weekly timeframes, the technical picture turned more negative, with wider picture staying upbeat after reaching fresh all-time highs in December. On the upside, the immediate significant target is now represented by the $2,043 zone. On the flip side, the nearest support lies around $2,020, followed by the $2,000 psychological level.
