THE YEAR STARTS WITH POSITIVE NEWS FOR THE EURO

Today traders are returning after a long weekend after the New Year celebrations. Portfolio managers will be revising their positions at the beginning of the year and that may cause a growth of volatility levels.

Support for the EUR/USD pair today came on the back of strong manufacturing PMI data in the Eurozone which hit 60.6 - in line with expectations and points to a confident increase in the sector. Investors are also waiting for tomorrow’s release of the FOMC meeting minutes where the Fed will disclose its views concerning monetary tightening in the US for 2018. At the same time, we should pay attention to the construction spending report in the US that will also be published tomorrow.

The GBP/USD is growing today on the background of a depreciating US dollar. The Sterling is under pressure following disappointing data from the manufacturing PMI that fell to 56.3 against the 58.0 expected. The headwinds linked with Brexit talks and political instability in the British government will restrain the bulls from accumulating positions.  

The AUD/USD started the year with a slight descending correction was caused by the decline of the AIG manufacturing PMI in Australia by 0.9 to 56.2. This negative has been partly offset by the Chinese manufacturing PMI, calculated by Caixin that increased to 51.5 against the 50.7 forecasted. The aussie quotes remain dependent on commodity markets and a possible rise of volatility in commodities will influence the course of AUD/USD trading.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD price continued positive dynamics within the limits of the local rising corridor and after gaining a foothold above 1.2000 the quotes were able to reach to the next target at 1.2070. In case of growth continuing, the next targets will be at 1.2200 and above. The RSI on the 15-minute chart just left the overbought zone, but the descending correction may continue soon.

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD was able to break through the closest high at 1.3560 and the next target for the bulls is located near the strong resistance level at 1.3600. The RSI on the 15-minute chart is near the overbought territory which points to the possible rollback with the potential to fall to the inclined support line.

AUD/USD

The AUD/USD has managed to fix above the 0.7800 mark and recently corrected to the SMA 100 on the 15-minute chart. In case of breaking through SMA100 and overcoming the support at 0.7800 we may see the price decline to the inclined support line. Growth potential within the next couple sessions is likely to be restrained by the psychologically important 0.8000 mark.