US futures slump as Altria and Philip Morris abandon merger

The New Zealand dollar erased the previous gains in the European session. The pair declined sharply to an intraday low of 0.6300. Earlier in the day, the country’s central bank left interest rates unchanged at 1.0%. This was one month after the bank surprised the market with a 50-basis point rate cut. In the statement today, the bank said that the country is going through full employment while inflation is within the target range. However, the bank insisted that low interest rates were necessary at a time when global risks are increasing. Earlier on, trade data from the country showed that imports increased to $5.69 billion from the previous $5.66 billion while exports declined to $4.13 billion.

US futures pointed to a lower open after Democrats started the process of impeaching Donald Trump. In a press conference yesterday, Nancy Pelosi said the time had come to launch impeachment proceedings. This was a move supported by most democrats. Previously, Pelosi had insisted on the need to conduct more investigations before impeaching him. Still, this process will largely be symbolic because the senate, which is controlled by republicans, will not be likely to impeach the president. Meanwhile, investors reacted to the news that Philip Morris and Altria had abandoned their merger.

Crude oil price declined as the United Nations General Assembly continued. Behind the scenes, French president, Emmanuel Macron has been putting pressure on Iran’s Rouhani to meet with Trump. The same sentiment has been shared by United Kingdom’s Boris Johnson. Johnson argues that Iran has more to lose for the continued tensions. Later today, traders will receive the crude oil inventories. The data is expected to show that inventories declined by 249k barrels in the past month. 

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair declined to an intraday low of 1.0976 from the intraday high of 1.1005. On the hourly chart, this price is below the 14-day and 28-day moving averages. The RSI has declined to the oversold level of 30 while the price is below the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement level. The Bears Power has continued to decline. The pair will likely continue moving lower, to test the previous low of 1.0965.

NZD/USD

The NZD/USD pair declined sharply from a high of 0.6350 to the current low of 0.6297. On the hourly chart below, the pair is trading slightly below the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement level. The price is also along the lower line of the Bollinger Bands while the RSI has been declining. It is now at 39 from a high of above 70. The accumulation/distribution indicator has continued to move lower. The pair will likely continue moving lower to test the support of 0.6280.

XBR/USD

The XBR/USD pair continued moving lower as the UN meeting continues. The pair is trading at 60.65, which is below last week’s high of 68.66. The pair is close to covering the gap that was created when the Saudi Arabian terminal was attacked. On the hourly chart, the price is below the 28-day and 14-day moving averages while the RSI has been on a steep downward trend. The pair will likely continue moving lower although this could change depending on the inventory’s numbers.