Forex: USD/JPY steady above 98.00 after US jobless claims

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) - The US dollar held pretty steady against the yen, only pulling back a few pips, after a report showed US jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 4K to 352K last week.

USD/JPY however, barely reacted to the data, and continued to consolidate within its recent range bounded by 98.20 and 98.55. At time of writing, USD/JPY is trading around 98.30, where it records a 0.2% gain on the day.

In terms of technical levels, the cross might found next resistances at the 98.65/70 area (200-hour SMA/ Apr 15 high), and 99.00 (psychological level), while supports are seen at 97.95 (100-hour SMA) followed by 97.80 (intraday level).

Apr 18, 2013

Forex Flash: Emerging market asset performance weakens – Goldman Sachs

Over the past several months, Emerging Markets (EM) asset performance has been weak across a wide set of markets. Cyclical EM assets (equities, FX and credit) have underperformed, while counter-cyclical assets (yields) have outperformed. “While this weakness coincides with a deterioration of the global macro data picture, it appears to be deeper than the data would suggest. There are three potential explanations, EMs represent a buying opportunity, they are a ‘canary in the global growth coal mine’, and they reflect common constraints and challenges faced specifically by EM economies, rather than broader global cyclical.” notes the Economics Research Team at Goldman Sachs.

Commodities Brief – Gold prices capped at 1400 barrier, crude loses grip on 88.00 level

Gold prices traded higher Thursday, testing the 1400 barrier. However at the onset of US trading, the yellow metal was rebuffed by this mark, easing slightly back towards USD $1395.00 per oz. in these moments. With demand once again being questions couple excessive oversold conditions, the market is likely to see more fluctuations and high volatility within to close out the week.