Iranian missle stirke provokes major market moves

Risk trade

Financial markets across the world experienced major movements this week as Iran targeted a US military base in Iraq with multiple missile strikes. Safe-haven asset classes such as gold and the Japanese yen currency moved sharply higher, while equity markets plummeted lower. Tensions between the two nations eventually eased as US President Donald Trump announced during a press conference that the United States would not be launching a counter-attack in response to Iran’s actions. Markets started to stabilize, as the threat of a possible all-out war in the middle-east seemed less likely.

• The EURUSD pair is only bullish while trading above the 1.1145 level, key resistance is found at the 1.1240 and 1.1300 levels.

• If the EURUSD pair trades below the 1.1145 level, sellers may test towards the 1.1080 and 1.1020 support levels. 

Bitcoin haven

Bitcoin staged a major rally this week as the cryptocurrency moved higher alongside other safe-haven asset classes. The BTCUSD pair advanced towards the $8,500 resistance level, marking a double-digit weekly gain. Traders and investors finally turned bullish towards the number one cryptocurrency, following months of losses. Bitcoin has not traditionally been known as a safe-haven, although analysts now speculate that the largest crypto by market cap is being seen as a form of digital gold amongst investors.

• The BTCUSD pair is only bullish while trading above $7,500 level, further upside towards the $8,900 and $9,200 levels now seems possible.

• If the BTCUSD pair moves below the $7,500 level, price could fall back towards the $7,300 and $7,100 levels.

Metal rally

Gold traded at its highest level since February 2013 this week, as the yellow-metal briefly rallied above the $1,600 level as investors sought a safe-haven amidst rising US and Iranian tensions. Gold made a staggering rally towards the $1,609 resistance level, and then reversed sharply lower as it became clear that a full-scale war between the United States and Iran may be avoided. Silver also received tremendous buying interest and advanced towards the $18.60 level before retreating lower alongside gold. Gold and silver often move higher during times of heightened geopolitical tensions and are seen as a sanctuary for investors looking for a safe place to store wealth.

• The XAUUSD pair is bullish while trading above the $1,490 level, further upside towards $1,610 and $1,630 levels 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.

Greenback recovers

The US dollar recovered higher against a basket of major currencies this week, as the greenback looked to recover the previous months heavy losses. The US dollar made strong ground against antipodean currencies and also rallied sharply higher against the Japanese yen currency. The EURUSD pair also fell back towards the 1.1100 support level after suffering a strong technical rejection from the 1.1200 level. The US economy showed promising signs, with the ADP private-sector jobs reports posting its strongest months increase since the spring of 2018.

• The USDJPY pair is bullish while trading above the 109.00 level, further upside towards the 110.00 and 111.00 levels seems possible.

• If the USDJPY pair moves below the 109.00 level, sellers may test towards the 108.40 and 107.50 support levels.