US dollar attempts to recover after closing 2019 under pressure

Greenback recovers

The US dollar currency attempted to recover recent trading losses as the new trading month and year got underway. The US dollar index came under selling pressure towards the end of 2019, with the GBPUSD, EURUSD, NZDUSD, and AUDUSD pair all turning technically bullish. The US dollar managed to claw back a portion of its recent losses against most major currencies. The EURUSD pair slipped towards the 1.1170 level after reaching 1.1240 in early-week trade, while commodity-related currencies, such as the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar fell against the greenback.

• The EURUSD pair is only bullish while trading above the 1.1150 level, key resistance is found at the 1.1240 and 1.1300 levels.

• If the EURUSD pair trades below the 1.1150 level, sellers may test towards the 1.1130 and 1.1100 support levels. 

Cryptocurrencies range

Bitcoin finished 2019 with gains of around 95 percent but struggled to move away from the $7,000 support level as the new trading year and month commenced. Bitcoin investors looked past the news that Bitcoin’s hash rate continued to climb to record levels.  The overall cryptocurrency market suffered from low trading volumes and participation as the trading ranges for the top-10 cryptocurrencies narrowed. Litecoin closed the year with a gain of over thirty percent, while Ethereum closed the year basically flat. 

• The BTCUSD pair is only bullish while trading above $7,100 level, further upside towards the $7,800 and $8,600 levels now seems possible.

• If the BTCUSD pair moves below the $7,100 level, price could fall back towards the $6,800 and $6,500 levels.

Gold rally

Gold traded at its highest level since mid-September 2019 this week, as the yellow metal continued to benefit from uncertainty in the US bond market. Gold rallied towards the $1,530 resistance level, marking a 5 percent increase in the value of gold over the past four weeks. Other popular metals such as silver and palladium also remained well-bid as the metal space continued to pull higher. The Federal Reserve’s recent liquidity injections have caused a notable advance in the commodity and equity markets.

• The XAUUSD pair is bullish while trading above the $1,490 level, further upside towards $1,555 and $1,630 seems possible.

• If the XAUUSD pair trades below the $1,490 level, further selling towards the $1,455 and $1,410 support levels remains possible.

Kiwi surge

The New Zealand dollar continued its recent rally against the US dollar, with the NZDUSD pair advancing to its highest trading level since July 2019. The NZDUSD was one of the top-performing currencies during the month of December, gaining over 5.5 percent. The New Zealand dollar benefitted from overall weakness in the US dollar index and renewed demand for commodity-related currencies. The NZDUSD pair finished 2019 with a marginal gain for the year, although it added close to nine percent to its value over the last three months.

• The NZDUSD pair is bullish while trading above the 0.6580 level, further upside towards the 0.6780 and 0.6850 levels seems possible.

• If the NZDUSD pair moves below the 0.6580 level, sellers may test towards the 0.6555 and 0.6490 support levels.