Currencies
EUR/USD – continued to move lower on Friday. This week we will get the FOMC meeting minutes which are likely to result in less volatility than usual as it is pretty clear the FED will raise the interest rate next month. While it is obviously expected that we could move lower, we could see a buy the rumor sell the fact event here as well, and see a selloff of the USD once the interest rate really do go up.
USD/JPY – has continued to move up and is trading at the resistance around the 111 level already. The data out of Japan tonight was also not good, with exports down over 10%. On the other hand, with the recent weakening of the JPY, we could very well see an increase in exports in the coming months.
GBP/USD – we finally saw the strength of the USD coming through here as well. While the USD is marking new highs versus the EUR and the JPY, the GBP has been pretty strong. However, we are seeing that over the last week the GBP has been losing ground as well against the USD.
Indices
Dollar Index – since November 7th we have been on an upwards move without interruption.
S&P 500 – is close to reaching the highest level this year, but so far is having trouble really getting within striking distance.
Commodities
Gold – is still able to find support just above the 1200 level for now. With the USD still standing strong, there is still downwards pressure, but at these levels there is also renewed interest in buying gold.
Oil – Friday morning I mentioned that we could expect some comments coming from OPEC regarding progress, and low and behold, a few hours later that is exactly what happened, causing oil to move higher. The number of active rigs in the US climbed a lot, so we can expect this will reflect in US production a few weeks from now.
Stocks
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) – announced that it will be buying back shares for the first time for $6 billion.