The dollar traded slightly higher against most major currencies on Wednesday, supported by solid housing data indicating a turnaround in the sluggish pace of U.S. home building.
U.S. homebuilding in June exceeded analysts’ expectations, after declining for three straight months, offsetting the recent raft of economic reports pointing to possible weakness in the economy.
Meanwhile, sterling remained range bound against the dollar, falling by 0.06%, ahead of an update due Thursday on the progress of Brexit negotiations to determine terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union.
In Japan, the central bank kept monetary policy steady on Thursday, but did offer language to suggest a near-term change in the stance was not on the cards.
Today, the UK is to report on retail sales the ECB is to announce its latest monetary policy decision and President Mario Drahi is to hold a press conference.
The U.S. is to publish data on initial jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
EUR/USDThe euro fell slightly against the dollar on Wednesday, pressured by a solid report on U.S. housing, where housing starts jumped 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the highest level since February, according to the Commerce Department.
Economists had forecast activity rising to a rate of 5.8%.
Traders are now looking ahead to the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting later on Thursday amid expectations that the central bank would avoid elaborating on its plans to taper its asset-purchase program.
Today, the U.S. is to produce reports on initial jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Pivot: 1.1545 Support: 1.1485 1.146 1.143 Resistance: 1.1545 1.1585 1.162 Scenario 1: short positions below 1.1545 with targets at 1.1485 & 1.1460 in extension. Scenario 2: above 1.1545 look for further upside with 1.1585 & 1.1620 as targets. Comment: the RSI has just broken below a bullish trend line. 
Gold prices gave back some of their recent gains on Wednesday, as the dollar recovered but stayed close to 10-month lows.
The drop in gold was limited by expectations, fueled last week by the testimony of US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, that any monetary tightening in the US would happen slowly and reports from China that suggested growth is slightly ahead of target for the year.
The precious metal was trading close to 3-week highs on Wednesday close to the $1240 area.
Today, the focus is shifted towards reports on U.S. jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Pivot: 1238 Support: 1238 1232.5 1227 Resistance: 1247 1250 1253.5 Scenario 1: long positions above 1238.00 with targets at 1247.00 & 1250.00 in extension. Scenario 2: below 1238.00 look for further downside with 1232.50 & 1227.00 as targets. Comment: even though a continuation of the consolidation cannot be ruled out, its extent should be limited. 
Crude futures gained on Wednesday, as investors welcome data showing supplies of U.S. crude fell by more-than-expected, raising expectations that an increase in demand during the second-half of the year would reduce some of the market surplus.
Inventories of U.S. crude fell by roughly 4.7m barrels in the week ended July 14, surpassing expectations of a 3.2m barrels drop. This was a third-straight week of falling crude inventories.
Despite the better-than-expected drop, crude oil and gasoline inventories remain in the upper half of the average range for the time of year, the EIA said.
Energy traders now focus on active US oil rigs due to be reported on Friday and on progress from OPEC members regarding production cuts.
Pivot: 46.65 Support: 46.65 46.35 46.05 Resistance: 47.45 47.75 48.05 Scenario 1: long positions above 46.65 with targets at 47.45 & 47.75 in extension. Scenario 2: below 46.65 look for further downside with 46.35 & 46.05 as targets. Comment: the RSI is mixed to bullish. Prices are ranging within a bullish channel. 
The main U.S. indices were higher on Wednesday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.64%.
Some of the best performers of the session were EI du Pont de Nemours & Co which rose 1.61% and Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co which added 1.27%. Some of the worst performers of the session were IBM (NYSE:IBM) which fell 4.20% Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 0.43% and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) was down 0.20%.
Market participants look ahead to the release of two economic reports on Thursday, which may offer further guidance on the strength of manufacturing and the U.S. labor market.
Pivot: 2462 Support: 2462 2454 2448 Resistance: 2474 2478 2482 Scenario 1: long positions above 2462.00 with targets at 2474.00 & 2478.00 in extension. Scenario 2: below 2462.00 look for further downside with 2454.00 & 2448.00 as targets. Comment: the RSI broke above a declining trend line. Prices broke above a rising channel.