The negative Euro-zone news’ release pressured the Euro currency.
Asian and European trading sessions:
Euro: Euro continued its Friday’s rally against the U.S. dollar on the backdrop of announced European governments’ agreement on the increasing EFSF and ESM funds to 800 billion Euros. The EUR / USD tested the level of $1.3378 at the Asian session. The reason why the Euro currency came under pressure against the U.S. dollar on the European session was the publication of report on index of business activity in the productive sectors in France, Germany and the Euro zone as a whole. The index for France (46.7) came out worse compared to forecasted (47.6). The negative data on unemployment, which reached a record high (10.8% versus the forecast and the value for the previous month at 10.7%) also had a pressure on Euro currency trading dynamics. The EUR / USD pair fell to a region of $ 1.3276.
British Pound: During the Asian trading the GBP/USD pair declined, dropping below the $1.6000.
At the same time, the British Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a 10-month high of 52.1, thus supporting the pound. The GBP/USD pair showed a maximum at $1.6060, but later retreated.
Japanese yen: The yen fell against all major currencies after the publication of a negative report of the Bank of Japan, which showed that business sentiment of the largest companies in the country has not improved. During the Asian trading the USD/JPY pair rose above Y83.00. Later on the USD/JPY pair dropped from the maximums of Y83.30 to the area of Y82.15.
Australian dollar: The Australian dollar rose against all major currencies amid signs of improvement in the economy of China, which is the largest trading partner of Australia. Therefore, the Federation of Logistics and the National Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday that China’s manufacturing index last month rose to 53.1, which was the highest level since March 2011.
American session:
Japanese yen: The yen rose against all of the most traded currencies amid concerns about the weakening investments from China after the release of the conflicting reports of the purchasing index managers.
Gold: The price of gold was rising against the publication of the report on manufacturing activity in the U.S., the results of which indicated an acceleration of U.S. economy growth. April futures price of gold on COMEX today rose to $ 1682.9 per troy ounce.
Oil: May futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI rose to 105.45 dollars a barrel on the NYMEX after falling to 102.06 dollars a barrel, its lowest level since the middle of the February.
Technical analysis for 3/04
EURUSD
If the pair stays above 1.33143 the pair will rise to 1.334882. If the pair stays below 1.33143 the pair will decline to 1.31674.
Resistance: 1.33143, 1.34882, 1.35984
Support: 1.31674, 1.30277, 1.28630
GBPUSD
The pair has risen to resistance 1.60322.
Resistance: 1.60322, 1.62050, 1.63316
Support: 1.58543, 1.56722, 1.54842
USDCHF
The pair is trading between 0.91079 and 0.89635.
Resistance: 0.91079, 0.92026, 0.93069
Support: 0.89635, 0.88418, 0.87214
USDJPY
The pair may decline to the Moving Average (500) at 81.399.
Resistance: 82.219, 83.065, 83.933
Support: 81.399, 80.438, 79.707
AUDUSD
The pair may decline to the Moving Average (500) at 1.02558.
Resistance: 1.04407, 1.05332, 1.06164
Support: 1.03535, 1.02558, 1.01744