Traders move into the greenback as the American economy outperforms

US dollar soars

The US dollar index climbed to its highest level since June 2017 this week as traders scaled back expectations of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this year. Better than expected corporate results coming from US earnings season and strong data from the United States economy helped to underpin a renewed bid-tone in the greenback. The euro currency tumbled to its lowest level against the greenback this year, while the Swiss franc currency fell to multi-year trading lows against the US dollar, with the USDCHF pair advancing above the 1.0200 level.

∙ The EURUSD pair is bearish while trading below the 1.1216 level, key support is found at the 1.1100 and 1.1010 levels.

∙ If the EURUSD pair trades above the 1.1216 level, buyers may test towards the 1.1230 and 1.1260 resistance levels.

RBA cut calls

The Australian dollar came under pressure against the US dollar this week after the Australian economy released much weaker than expected inflation data for the first three months of this year. The Core Consumer Price Index for the Australian economy came in at its weakest since 2003, heightening calls for a rate cut from the RBA next month. The Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes noted last week that Australian policymakers would consider cutting interest rates if inflation continued to underperform and the unemployment rate moved higher.

∙ The AUDUSD pair is heavily bearish while trading below the 0.7000 level, key support is found at the 0.6930 and 0.6880 levels.

∙ If the AUDUSD pair trades above the 0.7000 level, key resistance is found at the 0.7030 and 0.7060 levels.

BOC change

The Canadian dollar came under heavy selling pressure against the US dollar this week after the Bank of Canada turned dovish towards future rate increases. The USDCAD pair traded towards the 1.3500 level as the Bank of Canada kept interest rates on hold as expected while also stating that due to adverse global economic conditions rates are likely to remain unchanged this year. The Bank of Canada had embarked on a series of interest rate increases last year as the Canadian employment situation improved and domestic inflation started to rise.

∙ The USDCAD pair is only bullish while trading above the 1.3350 level, key resistance is found at the 1.3555 and 1.3740 levels.

∙ If the USDCAD pair trades below the 1.3350 level, sellers may test towards the 1.3265 and 1.3200 support levels.

Bitcoin peaks

Bitcoin moved to a fresh 2019 trading high this week, hitting $5,620, as the number one cryptocurrency continued to outpace the broader digital currency market. BTCUSD bulls decided to book profit above the $5,600 level, causing Bitcoin to reverse back towards the $4,900 support level. Ethereum and Litecoin suffered double-digit trading losses this week, as they failed to build on earlier monthly gains. Despite the decline seen in the cryptocurrency market this week, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin still look set to end the month of April in positive territory.

∙ The BTCUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the $5,200 level, key support is found at the $4,900 and $4,600 levels.

∙ If the BTCUSD pair trades above the $5,200 level, buyers may test towards the $5,620 and $6,000 resistance levels.