US Retail Sales Inches Higher In January

American consumers rang in the new year with a bit of an increase in spending. Some measures of discretionary spending were sluggish, while there was also a downward revision to the previous month’s data.

Headliner retail sales grew 0.3% on the month in 2020 up from a revised 0.2% previously. The data, however, failed to prop up the market sentiment.

Eurozone Flash PMI’s Rise Slightly in February

The forward-looking flash PMI data for the eurozone covering the services and manufacturing sector beat estimates by a small margin.

Data from IHS Markit showed that services activity rose to 52.8, while manfuacturing activity grew to 49.1. There was a notable pick up in the manufacturing activity from Germany.

EURUSD Rebounds but Will it Hold?

The common currency finally reversed the losses, closing on a bullish note on Friday. The rebound coincides amid signs of the EURUSD forming a bottoming pattern near 1.0800.

With price settling above the initial resistance level of 1.0840, there is scope for a pullback. As long as the current lows are not breached, the bias to the upside could improve.

EURUSD

UK Flash PMI’s Pick Up Momentum in February

Both measures of services and manufacturing activity for the United Kingdom grew in February. IHS Markit’s flash data saw manufacturing activity rising to 51.9, beating estimates of a decline to 49.7.

Meanwhile, services activity fell slightly to 53.3 for the period. Activity in the business is picking up steam after there was some certainty to the Brexit stalemate.

GBPUSD to Continue its Consolidation

Cable is expected to continue its consolidation. Following the rally which put the sterling back to the 1.2960 handle, there is scope for prices to retreat. The lower price level near 1.2879 will be important in the short-term.

If support forms here, we expect GBPUSD to breakout to the upside from the descending wedge pattern currently in play.

GBPUSD

Gold Maintains Gains on Flight to Safety

The precious metal is outperforming the equities, reflecting the general market sentiment. Currently, economists continue to assess the global economic impact due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Major equity indices continue to decline as investors favor the safe-haven gold.

XAUUSD Rally Still Has Room to Grow

XAUUSD is keeping up with its bullish momentum as prices touched a new 7-year high on Friday. However, despite some modest pullback, price action could easily target the 1653.95 or 1654 handle in the near term.

This will mark the completion of the ascending triangle pattern formed on the monthly charts. To the downside, any pullback will be limited to the 1631 handle.

XAUUSD

About the Author
“John Benjamin Resident Analyst at Orbex. John has over 8 years of experience specializing in the currency markets, tracking the macroeconomic and geopolitical developments shaping the financial markets. John applies a mix of fundamental and technical analysis and has a special interest in inter-market analysis and global politics.” [space height="10"] At Orbex, we are dedicated to serving our clients responsibly with the latest innovations in forex tools and resources to assist you in trading. Please Director at Visit our site for more details.

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