The dollar showed little change on Thursday against a basket of major currencies, after the release of mixed economic data while investors looked ahead to a key House vote to remove Obamacare.
Uncertainty over whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s healthcare bill will be approved continued to weigh on the dollar.
New home sales increased by 6.1 % compared to expectations of a 0.7% increase however, the positive sentiment was offset by a rise in initial jobless claims and by worries on whether Trump will be able to stand by his promises on pro-growth reforms.
Sentiment on the dollar remained vulnerable after Trump warned House Republican lawmakers that he will leave Obamacare in place and move on to tax reform if they do not approve new healthcare legislation in a vote on Friday.
The healthcare vote is seen by investors as a test of his ability to implement key campaign promises such as tax reform and infrastructure spending.
Market participants were looking ahead to a string of manufacturing and service sector activity data from the euro zone, due later in the day as well as U.S. data on durable goods orders.
The euro moved slightly lower against the dollar on Thursday after both eurozone and the U.S. published mixed economic data while the main focus is shifted on a vote to remove Obamacare.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday new home sales increased 6.1 % to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000 units last month compared to expectations of a 0.7% increase to 565,000 units.
Elsewhere, initial jobless claims increased by 15,000 to 258,000 in the week ending March 18 from the previous week’s revised total of 243,000 against analysts’ expectations of a drop by 1,000 to 240,000.
Market participants are now focusing on manufacturing and service sector activity data from the euro zone, due later in the day as well as U.S. data on durable goods orders.
Pivot: 1.0795Support: 1.075 1.073 1.0705Resistance: 1.0795 1.0825 1.085Scenario 1: short positions below 1.0795 with targets at 1.0750 & 1.0730 in extension.Scenario 2: above 1.0795 look for further upside with 1.0825 & 1.0850 as targets.Comment: the RSI is mixed to bearish.
Gold
Gold prices posted a small loss on Thursday, moving back down to the $1245 area, after crossing temporarily the $1250 level, as investors focus on the lack of progress concerning the Trump administration’s promised tax-cuts and deregulation reforms ahead of a key House vote.
House Republicans moved the vote to repeal and replace Obamacare from Thursday to Friday.
In the meantime, U.S. data on durable goods orders will also be in the spotlight for the day.
Pivot: 1248.3Support: 1237.75 1235.25 1231Resistance: 1248.4 1253.3 1257Scenario 1: short positions below 1248.40 with targets at 1237.75 & 1235.25 in extension.Scenario 2: above 1248.40 look for further upside with 1253.30 & 1257.00 as targets.Comment: the RSI is bearish and calls for further downside.
WTI Oil
Crude futures settled lower on Thursday, as investors continued to worry about growing U.S. crude inventories to record levels.
Despite OPEC’s high level of compliance with agreed production cuts last November, non-OPEC producers that joined the global deal to reduce output have yet to fully implement production cuts while U.S. crude inventories swelled to record highs.
Eleven non-OPEC oil producers that joined a global deal to reduce output to boost prices delivered 64% of promised cuts in February, an industry source said last Friday. Friday’s oil rig count report by Baker Hughes remains in focus for energy traders.
Pivot: 47.55Support: 47.55 47.3 47Resistance: 48.43 48.84 49.18Scenario 1: long positions above 47.55 with targets at 48.43 & 48.84 in extension.Scenario 2: below 47.55 look for further downside with 47.30 & 47.00 as targets.Comment: the RSI is mixed with a bullish bias.
US 500
Wall Street declined on Thursday after lawmakers delayed a vote on a healthcare bill seen as President Donald Trump's first policy test.
Failure to pass the American Health Care Act would cast doubt on Trump's ability to deliver other parts of his agenda that need the cooperation of the Republican-controlled Congress, including ambitious plans to reform the tax code and invest in infrastructure.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.02 percent at 20,656.58 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.11 percent to 2,345.96.
Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 1.19 percent as more firms pull YouTube ads on fears they may appear alongside offensive videos. The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
Pivot: 2338 Support: 2338 2334 2330 Resistance: 2356.25 2362.25 2368 Scenario 1: long positions above 2338.00 with targets at 2356.25 & 2362.25 in extension. Scenario 2: below 2338.00 look for further downside with 2334.00 & 2330.00 as targets. Comment: the RSI is mixed with a bullish bias.