US leads airstrikes against Syria
Fundamental outlook US led airstrikes against the Syrian following a suspected chemical attack in Syria, prompting condemnation from Russia. Aside from that, US President Donald Trump expressed enthusiasm in re-entering a new agreement of Trans-Pacific Pact (TPP). UK housing prices stayed robust, reaching a more than one-year high.
US producer prices rose 0.3 per cent in March while core prices gained 0.3 per cent, both above forecast. Consumer prices slid 0.1 per cent in March and sank into negative figures for first time in 10 months. Excluding food and energy, core prices rose 0.2 per cent, matching forecast.
US jobless claims for the week ended April 7 were reported at 233,000. President Trump says his administration will look into reentering the Trans-Pacific Pact to negotiate new fair deal with bilateral parties.
On Friday, US led a missile strike against the Syrian Government with Britain and France, in retaliation of suspected chemical weapon use on the citizens. Russia demonstrated anger on the attack as President Vladimir Putin has been a supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
China's consumer prices grew 2.1 per cent in March on a yearly basis, declining from an annualised 2.9 per cent in the previous month. Producer prices expanded 3.1 per cent, matching forecast.
British Halifax housing price index rose 1.5 per cent in March, the highest since January 2017. Manufacturing production slid 0.2 per cent in February, declining into negative figures for first time in eight months. Trade deficits shrank to its lowest record at 10.2 billion pounds in February. Technical forecast US dollar/Japanese yen has been moving in a tight range last week until a spike was seen on Friday. This week, we foresee strong resistance at 107.80 to 108 and the trend will likely fall. Overall, we expect the trend to move from 105.80 to 107.80 until the price breaks beyond either direction.
Euro/US dollar has been trapped in a sideways trend from 1.2220 to 1.2420. This week, keep close observation of the Dollar Index as this will lead to the euro's possible strong inverse direction. The rise in crude prices last week may provide an indication to the euro ascending in the coming weeks.
British pound/US dollar climbed higher last week due to the stronger economic outlook. This week, we reckoned strong resistance will emerge at 1.43 to 1.4330 region. The possible range movement could be within 1.40 to 1.43 region in case of a drawdown. Risk control is advised if the prices travel beyond the aforementioned range.
Disclaimer: This article is written for general information only. No liability by the writer, publisher or any third party involved in the distribution of this work. Dar Wong is a registered fund manager in Singapore with 29 years of global trading experiences. You may reach him at dar@pwforex.com.