FX Update EUR/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, GBP/USD

By Roger Baettig | November 17 2012 10:24 AM

REUTERS

Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and pictured in Warsaw, January 26, 2011.

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Analyst Paul Ebeling of www.livetradingnews.com takes a look at EUR/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, GBP/USD

10-Yr: +07/32..1.572%.. USD/JPY: 81.22.. EUR/USD: 1.2726

The US Dollar Index has pulled back from its best levels of the session, but still holds modest gains near 81.25. This morning’s strength ran in the index to 81.45, the best level in more than 2 months.

EUR/USD is -55 pips at 1.2720 after early selling briefly dropped the pair below 1.2700. Traders remain worried over the situation in Greece as leaders have yet to make a decision on if the troubled country will receive its next aid tranche. A short-term debt sale earlier in the week allowed Greece to remain on life support as the auction raised the EUR5-Bnecessary to pay the European Central Bank and avoid default. Key marks to watch include 1.2700 and 1.2850.

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GBP/USD is +15 pips at 1.5880 after early selling was unable to penetrate the key 1.5850 mark. Sterling has been able to ignore early chatter of a potential triple dip recession in Britain, and is on track to close at a one-week high. The 1.5950/1.6000 level will likely provide resistance if sterling were to find some near-term strength. Britain’s Rightmove Home Price Index will cross the wires Sunday evening.

USD/CHF is +50 pips at .9465 with today’s strength ending the pair’s 3 day slide. Early selling failed to drop the pair below the important .9400 support level as buyers emerged at the 200-Day MA after Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan suggested, “The reasons that led to the implementation of a minimum exchange rate are still in place.”

USD/JPY is +5 pips at 81.20 after early strength saw the pair fail near yesterday’s highs (81.45). Speculators have run the pair up close to 200 pips since Wednesday’s low as they price in the possibility Shinzo Abe will unseat current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in December’s snap election. The 80.50 area will be looked at for support if some selling were to take place.

AUD/USD is -10 pips at 1.0320 as trade holds on the 200-day moving average. Early weakness dropped the pair to a low of 1.0285, but the late-morning flight back into risk assets lifted the hard currency off its one-month low. Action has been choppy as of late, and now holds in the middle of its range dating back to the beginning of October.

USD/CAD is +10 pips at 1.0020 and is on track to close above its 200-Day MA for the 7th straight session. The pair hit a three and a half month high of 1.0055 early in the session, but pulled back as the dollar weakened. Traders continue to watch parity for hints of a breakdown.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr.Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. writes and publishes The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a weekly, highly-regarded financial market letter, read by opinion makers, business leaders and organizations around the world.Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr has studied the global financial and stock markets since 1984, following a successful business career that included investment banking, and market and business analysis. He is a specialist in equities/commodities, and an accomplished chart reader who advises technicians with regard to Major Indices Resistance/Support Levels.