EUR/USD: Previous day's review
The Euro continued to strengthen its positions at the levels of 2018 yesterday. As a result, its rate grew by + 0.60% against the US dollar.
Important economic events in the calendar:
The final inflation data were published in Europe. So, the consumer price index in November fell from 0.2% to -0.3% month-on-month, and remained at -0.3% year-on-year. The forecast in both cases coincided with analysts' expectations.
Market participants expected such inflation rates, so the euro did not make any reaction.
The weekly data on the number of unemployment claims in the US was published in the afternoon, where they expected an increase in their volume. But the result of the data turned out to be better than forecast.
The volume of repeated applications declined by 273 thousand – from 5,781 thousand to 5,508 thousand, instead of growth.
Meanwhile, primary applications expectedly rose by 23 thousand – from 862 thousand to 885 thousand.
At the time of the publication of US statistics, the euro temporarily slowed down its growth.
What happened on the trading chart?
Buyers prevailed in the market by the time the daily candle opened at 00:00 Universal Time. There were some minor stops, but the Eurocurrency adhered to the upward mood. As a result, it managed to reach the level of 1.2272.
If you move on the growth, it could very well let you gain 50-70 points of profit.
GBP/USD: Previous day's review
On December 17, the pound updated the local high of 2020 and due to which, the quote reached the level of 1.3623.
Important economic events in the calendar:
Yesterday's main event was the Bank of England meeting, where the regulator left the monetary policy unchanged. The base interest rate was kept at the level of 0.1% per annum, and the limit on funds for the purchase of assets remained in the amount of 895 billion pounds.
At the same time, the regulator noted that its further actions will depend on the results of negotiations between the UK and the EU's trade agreement.
Such dovish rhetoric from the BoE is already expected, so the quote did not react to the results of the December meeting.
What happened on the trading chart?
The pound sterling updated its local high and headed towards the level of 1.2623, where market participants reduced the volume of buy positions and formed a stagnation followed by a pullback.
The decline in the volume of buy positions is due to the uncertainty in the Brexit trade negotiations.
Trading recommendation for EUR/USD on December 18
Today, important statistics from Europe and the United States is not expected to be published. Therefore, we should pay special attention to the Brexit information flow, as well as technical analysis.
Analyzing the current trading chart, it can be seen that there was a pullback stage from the high of 1.2272 towards 1.2258 during the Asian session. But considering euro's overbought stage, the pullback is insignificant. Now, it is necessary to keep the quote below 1.2250, which will open the way towards the level of 1.2200, in order to continue the downward movement.
An upward development is considered in case of a characteristic speculative hype in the market, for example, in the information flow on Brexit trade negotiations. A price consolidation above the level of 1.2272 will lead to further growth towards 1.2300.
Trading recommendation for GBP/USD on December 18
UK data on the volume of retail sales were published, where they recorded a decline of -3.8% in November. This is a lot, although they expected a decline even more to -4.2%. In annual terms, retail sales are reduced from 5.8% to 2.4%, against the forecasted decline of 2.8%.
After the publication of UK statistics, the value of the pound slightly weakened.
Brexit trade negotiations remain to be the main factor that affects the price of the pound sterling.
The moving tactics with the information flow stays the same:
Good news about Brexit may lead to the pound's strengthening.
Bad news about Brexit may lead to the pound's weakening.
If a correctional movement occurs in the market, the pound's decline towards the level of 1.3450-1.3400 is possible.
