BTC/USD Analysis – January 17, 2022
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Bitcoin price has rebounded from a critical psychological level, indicating a return of retail interest. The recent rise lays the groundwork for a short-term foundation, allowing BTC to begin a broader leg-up. Surprisingly, on-chain data correlate with the technical bullish view. However, an upswing currently appears to be unavoidable for BTC and, by extension, the larger ecosystem.
Bitcoin has spent the week forming a particularly terrible bear trap based on a head-and-shoulders pattern. The price of Ethereum has retreated after the recent gain, but it has found support and shown some signs of buyers returning to continue the upward trend. As Ripple seeks a 20% raise, the XRP price has established an almost identical reversal scenario to Ethereum. Furthermore, the market's trading sentiment losses were further bolstered by the disappointing US economic data for December, which could further support the gold price, especially should China disappoint in today's numbers.
On the data front, retail sales in the United States fell 1.9 percent on a year-over-year basis, with sales in the control group down 3.1 percent. ANZ Bank analysts explained that the figures imply that the biggest inflation in 40 years is affecting consumer behaviour, and this might easily extend into the first quarter when the expiration of child tax credits will also weigh. As a result, manufacturing fell by 0.3 percent year on year, while industrial production fell by 0.1 percent. According to ANZ Bank analysts, "a 1.3 percent reduction in auto vehicles and parts drove manufacturing weakness." As a result, S&P 500 futures fell 0.20 percent intraday, while US 10-year Treasury futures fell further. Thus, safe-haven gold benefited from a generally negative tone in the equity markets. On the flip side, the weakness of the US dollar may be responsible for gold's continued gains.
On Monday morning, the dollar fell lower in Asia after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced a surprise benchmark cut. Investors are also anticipating the Federal Reserve's policy announcement in January and the timing of interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the losses in the US dollar were also bolstered by the poor US economic data, which raised doubts over the US economy's growth. However, the US dollar's losses may be short-lived as the hawkish interest rate bolstered the dollar even as the impetus for gains began to fade. "National Australia Bank's (OTC: NABZY) head of foreign exchange strategy, Ray Attrill, said that Friday's move implies to me that the interest rate motive for dollar strength is still alive and well. It may not necessarily return to push the dollar to new highs, but "we've had a hawkish twist out of every Fed meeting since June 2021.
BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Support Resistance
41788.5 43881.2
41014.9 45200.3
39695.7 45973.9
Pivot Point: 43107.6
BTC/USD - Technical Outlook
Bitcoin's price continued to rise beyond the $44,000 resistance level. BTC even surpassed the $44,200 mark before being confronted by sellers. A high was made near $44,400, and the price began to fall again. There was a clear move below $43,500 and $43,200. The price even fell below the $42,500 support level and came dangerously close to the 100 hourly simple moving average. Before the price began to rise, a bottom was made at about $41,800. It reached a high of $43,791 and is now consolidating. The bitcoin price is currently trading below $43,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is immediate support near the 50 percent Fib retracement level of the recent advance from the $41,800 swing low to the $43,791 high. On the hourly timeframe of the BTC/USD pair, a significant contracting triangle is emerging with resistance near $43,200.
On the upside, an early resistance level is near $43,200. The next significant resistance is located near the $43,500 level. A decisive rise above $43,500 might push the price towards the $44,000 resistance level. Any more increases may need a challenge of the $44,200 resistance level. The next significant stumbling block is around $45,000.
If Bitcoin does not begin a new upward trend over $43,500, it may begin a new downward trend. On the downside, there is immediate support near $42,800. The first significant support is evident at about $42,500. It is approaching the 61.8 percent Fib retracement line of the latest rise from the $41,800 swing low to the $43,791 high. If the price falls below the $42,500 support zone, it may move towards the $41,800 barrier.
GOLD Analysis – January 14, 2022
Gold’s Daily Price Analysis
Gold prices ended the day at $1820.40, with a high of $1828.15 and a low of $1811.85. Despite falling US Treasury yields and a weak US currency, gold fell for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, extended its fall and fell for the third straight day to 94.66, its three-month low. In the United States, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 1.69 percent, the lowest in six days.
On the statistics front, the Federal Budget Balance fell to-21.3 billion at 00:00 GMT, versus an anticipated 5.8 billion, supporting the US dollar. The PPI had also fallen to 0.2 percent at 18:30 GMT, versus the expected 0.4 percent, weighing on the US dollar. As expected, the core PPI remained unchanged at 0.5 percent. Unemployment claims increased to 230K from 199K predicted, weighing on the US dollar. The majority of data from the United States was unfavourable, which capped additional losses in gold prices.
On Thursday, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard told Congress that the central bank's most essential duty was to control inflation. Ms. Brainard raised the prospect of rate hikes by emphasising the central bank's efforts to terminate its asset-buying stimulus programme by March.
According to her, the Fed's rate-setting committee has advocated several rate hikes this year, but only if asset purchases are stopped as soon as possible. She stated that bottlenecks and other supply limitations contributed to considerably higher energy and food costs, but she added that the Fed was willing to raise interest rates to cool demand across the economy as needed to control inflation. She stated that the Fed possesses a powerful tool that will be used to reduce inflation over time. She also forecasted that the increased inflation rate would continue for the next couple of quarters. Ms. Brainard's comments put more downward pressure on precious metals since increased inflation tends to increase demand for safe-haven assets.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization has added two more medications to its list of recommended coronavirus treatments, owing to the rapid spread of the Omicron type, which has increased the number of cases worldwide. Baricitinib was strongly recommended by agency experts for severe and critical COVID-19. The experts also issued a conditional recommendation for another medicine called Sotroviman for people with non-severe coronavirus infections but a significant risk of hospitalization. The rapid spread of the pandemic worldwide prompted the WHO to prescribe new treatments. The suggestion of new treatments boosted risk-on-market sentiment and pulled gold down even lower.
GOLD Intraday Technical Level
Support Resistance
1812.11 1828.41
1803.83 1836.43
1795.81 1844.71
Pivot Point: 1820.13
GOLD - Technical Outlook
Gold is trading at $1,826, with a strong positive bias, after breaching the resistance level of $1,815. This level serves as a support level for gold. Further to the upside, the next resistance level is at 1,832, and a break over this might push the gold price up to the 1,845 level. On the downside, support is still around 1,820, and a break below this level might extend the selling trend to the 1,804 level. All the best!
EUR/USD Analysis – January 14, 2022
Daily Price Outlook
The EUR/USD closed at $1.1453 after hitting a high of $1.1482 and a low of $1.1435. The EUR/USD surged for the third consecutive session on Thursday and reached its highest since November 11th, amid the declining price of the US dollar. The greenback was weak across the board after the release of the disappointing PPI report. Furthermore, the comments from Fed governor Lael Brainard also suggested that the central bank was ready to increase interest rates this year after it terminated asset purchases in March. These comments should have supported the US dollar, but as markets had already priced in the potential rate hike, the greenback remained under pressure and, hence, EUR/USD moved higher for the day.
The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's value against the basket of half a dozen currencies from major economies, fell below the 95 level at 94.66, which added strength to the riskier currency pair EUR/USD. The US Treasury yields were also lower on Thursday at 1.69%, which affected the dollar and ultimately pushed the EUR/USD pair higher.
At 14:00 GMT, Italian industrial production surged to 1.9%, against the forecasted 0.4%, and supported the single currency euro, adding gains in EUR/USD. From the US side, at 00:00 GMT, the Federal Budget Balance fell to-21.3B against the projected 5.8B and supported the US dollar. At 18:30 GMT, the PPI also declined to 0.2%, against the forecasted 0.4% and weighed on the US dollar. The core PPI remained flat with projections of 0.5%. Unemployment claims increased to 230K from an estimated 199K, weighing on the US dollar. The US data remained unfavourable on Thursday and supported the upward momentum of EUR/USD.
Meanwhile, European Medicines Agency (EMA) experts have stated that the spread of the Omicron variant is pushing coronavirus towards becoming an endemic disease that humanity can live with, though it remains a pandemic for the time being. Spain has decided to treat COVID-19 as the flu and has suggested its people live with it. However, in response to this, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it was too soon to treat coronavirus like flu as Omicron was spreading fast worldwide. The WHO has said that the omicron variant of coronavirus was on track to infect more than half of Europeans, but it should not yet be seen as a flu-like endemic illness. WHO reported that Europe saw more than 7 million new cases in the first week of 2022.
EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Daily Technical Levels
Support Resistance
1.1432 1.1479
1.1409 1.1505
1.1384 1.1527
Pivot Point: 1.1457
EUR/USD - Technical Outlook
Following US inflation numbers, the EUR/USD pair advances past the stated high as the greenback weakens across the board. The pair has advanced beyond 1.1385, the 38.2 percent retracement of the 1.1691/1.1185 drop, and the December monthly high, implying that a positive continuation could be extended in the coming sessions if it can sustain gains at this level.
The pair is climbing over a modestly bullish 20 SMA daily, while technical indicators are gathering strength. The 100 SMA maintains its bearish slope near the 61.8 percent retracement of the previous decline at 1.1500, which might be a bullish target.
The 4-hour chart shows that the pair defied 1.1400 while developing well above bullish moving averages, indicating a strong bullish potential. Meanwhile, technical indicators have risen sharply inside positive ranges, approaching overbought territory. All the best!
BTC/USD Analysis – January 14, 2022
Bitcoin Price Prediction
The BTC/USD closed at $42,562.0 after hitting a high of $44,426.70 and a low of $42,334.0. After two consecutive green sessions, BTC/USD reversed course and turned red on Thursday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recognized that unregulated use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might cause a domino effect and destabilize global financial markets. The report from the IMF warned about the risks posed by the volatility of cryptocurrencies on economies and stock markets.
During the pandemic crisis, the central banks released an immense amount of cheap money in the form of stimuli to prevent the recession from worsening, which pushed assets like cryptocurrencies to the upside. Wall Street hit all-time highs in 2021, along with the rest of the world's stocks, which saw a strong recovery. Furthermore, the returns on digital assets also surged to record levels in 2021. The economists from the IMF wrote that the correlation of crypto assets with traditional holdings like stocks had increased significantly, limiting their perceived risk diversification benefits and raising the risk of contagion across the financial markets. According to experts at the IMF, the crypto-equity correlation started with the extraordinary central bank crisis responses of early 2020. Greater investors' risk appetite and easy global financial conditions pushed higher US stocks and crypto prices. IMF analysts added that the stronger correlation suggests that Bitcoin has been acting as a risky asset, and the increased correlation raises the possibility of spill overs of investor sentiment between those asset classes. This warning from the IMF added a negative impression on BTC/USD prices on Thursday.
Furthermore, a former lawyer for the Pacific island nation of Tonga shared an approach to adopting bitcoin as legal tender. By following in El Salvador's footsteps, Lord Fusitu'a, a former MP of Tonga, anticipated that his country could adopt Bitcoin by November or December this year. The process was copied from El Salvador's playbook and is expected to onboard more than 100,000 Tongans onto the Bitcoin network. Tonga is a remote island nation that relies on remittances from countries including Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The International Finance Corporation estimated that Tonga receives more income from remittances than any other country in the world, contributing up to 30% of household income.
BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Support Resistance
41788.5 43881.2
41014.9 45200.3
39695.7 45973.9
Pivot Point: 43107.6
BTC/USD - Technical Outlook
Bitcoin's price continued to rise beyond the $43,200 resistance level. Before the bears intervened, BTC even broke beyond the $44,000 barrier twice. The price has since corrected lower after reaching a peak of $44,420. The price fell below the 23.6 percent Fib retracement level of the critical rise from the swing low of $39,660 to the high of $44,420.Moreover, on the hourly timeframe of the BTC/USD pair, there was a breach below a significant bullish trend line with support near $43,250.
If Bitcoin fails to start a new uptrend over $43,200, it may continue to drop. On the downside, there is next support near $42,500. The first significant support is seen as being near $42,000. The 50% Fib retracement level of the important climb from the $39,660 swing low to the $44,420 high is very close to $42,000. A breach below the $42,000 support level might push the price down to $41,500. In the next few sessions, any further losses might drive the price down to the $40,500 support level.
GOLD Analysis – January 12, 2022
Gold’s Daily Price Analysis
Gold prices ended the day at $1820.30, having reached a high of $1822.95 and a low of $1801.10. Gold maintained its bullish trend on Tuesday, rising for the third day in a row as the US dollar fell. The US Dollar Index, which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 95.58 on Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note decreased on Tuesday and remained at 1.73 percent. The day's rise in gold prices was fueled by a weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields. On the data front, the NFIB Small Business Index stayed steady at 15:50 GMT, with expectations of 98.9. At 20:00 GMT, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell to 44.7 from a forecast 50.2, weighing on the US dollar and pushing gold higher.
According to Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates at least three times in 2022 and begin shrinking its balance sheet in order to respond to a tight labour market and persistently high inflation. Mester stated that the final monetary policy decisions would be determined by the progression of the coronavirus epidemic as well as economic factors. She went on to say that Fed officials needed to rebalance policy in order to manage inflation, which was substantially above the US Federal Reserve's goal level.
Furthermore, Esther George, President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve, stated on Tuesday that the US central bank should work quickly to shrink its massive $8.5 trillion pile of bond holdings in order to slow the rate of the biggest US inflation in nearly 40 years. She believes the Fed's efforts to curb inflation would be more effective if the bank reduced its holdings of long-term bonds while progressively raising short-term interest rates.
Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell claimed that the US economy was healthy enough and that stricter monetary policy was required. Powell stated during his re-nomination hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill that he anticipates a series of rate hikes this year, as well as a reduction in balance sheet assets.
The two Fed officials, as well as Powell's support for raising interest rates as early as March and for the Central Bank to wind down its bloated balance sheet sooner rather than later, should have pushed the dollar higher, but the market turned red, and the US dollar came under pressure, eventually pushing gold higher.
US markets were most likely positioning themselves ahead of the release of US inflation data on Wednesday, and they mostly ignored the comments made by Fed officials on Tuesday. However, the cautious behaviour of US investors weighed on the currency and boosted gold prices.
GOLD Intraday Technical Level
Support Resistance
1806.61 1828.46
1792.93 1836.63
1784.76 1850.31
Pivot Point: 1814.78
GOLD - Technical Outlook
Although a clear upward break of the 200-day moving average helped gold prices rise the most in a month the day before, a downward sloping trend line from mid-November, around $1,825, poses a challenge to bulls. It should be observed that the MACD remains sluggish, but the higher low formation and recently strengthening RSI point to the metal's potential for further gains over the immediate resistance line.
Following that, tops near $1,834 recorded in July and September will be scrutinized before sending gold investors towards the $1,850 barrier. Meanwhile, a bearish break of the 200-DMA level of around 1,802 will require a confirmation from the $1,800 level to persuade gold sellers.
Even so, the upward trending support line from August, currently near $1,787, will be a difficult nut to break for gold bears. To summarise, gold prices are likely to rise more technically, but fundamentals will be significantly more critical during the pivotal day.
EUR/USD Analysis – January 12, 2022
Daily Price Outlook
The EUR/USD exchange rate closed at $1.1364 after reaching a high of $1.1375 and a low of $1.1313. The EUR/USD reversed course again on Tuesday, turning green despite the day's weak US dollar. On Tuesday, the greenback was low as the DXY dropped to 95.58 levels. The US dollar was experiencing a period of disinterest due to investors' cautious behaviour ahead of the US inflation data. Since the start of November, the Fed has shown interest in tapering the pace of its QE program; now, it has increased tapering to allow a potentially earlier start of a rate hike. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve has also introduced the likelihood of future balance sheet reductions.
All the talk about reducing balance sheets and increasing interest rates has given plenty of demand for the greenback and pushed US yields higher. However, despite the same hawkish points mentioned in the Fed minutes, the dollar has failed to capitalize on much of them. The DXY was down on Tuesday mainly because investors had already priced in this optimism, and now they were probably booking their profits. The reason for the US dollar's decline could be investors' cautious behaviour ahead of the release of US inflation data on Wednesday.
On the data front, at 14:00 GMT, Italian retail sales dropped by 0.4% against the expected 0.3% and weighed on the single currency euro, which further capped gains in the EUR/USD pair. From the US side, at 15:50 GMT, the NFIB Small Business Index remained unchanged at 98.9. At 20:00 GMT, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism declined to 44.7 from the anticipated 50.2 and weighed on the US dollar, pushing EUR/USD further higher.
On the flip side, the euro was under pressure on Tuesday, which further capped gains in EUR/USD. On Tuesday, the WHO said that more than half of the people in Europe were projected to catch the Omicron variant by the end of March. The rising spread of the Omicron variant has pushed countries to impose fresh measures and scramble to roll out vaccine booster shots as Europe has become the epicentre of alarming new outbreaks, which says that Omicron could infect half of all people in European countries.
EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Daily Technical Levels
Support Resistance
1.1327 1.1389
1.1288 1.1414
1.1264 1.1452
Pivot Point: 1.1351
EUR/USD - Technical Outlook
On Wednesday, the EUR/USD is trading bullish at the 1.1370 level, violating downward trendline resistance at the 1.1350 level. On the bullish side, the breakout of 1.1350 exposes the EUR/USD pair towards the next resistance level of 1.1413 or 1.1452. Furthermore, the EUR/USD has formed a "Three White Soldiers" pattern supporting the uptrend. Therefore, the bullish bias remains strong above the 1.1350 level. On the flip side, the EUR/USD’s immediate support stays at 1.1350, and below this, 1.1326 or 1.1288 will operate as support. All the best!
BTC/USD Analysis – January 12, 2022
Bitcoin Price Prediction
The BTC/USD pair closed at $42,743.0 after placing a high of $43,113.0 and a low of $41,287.0. BTC/USD found some support and turned upside down with a minor correction. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell discussed the possibility of the central bank issuing CBDC during his re-nomination hearing before the Senate.
Powell appeared to have reversed one of his previous positions on the relationship between CBDCs and stable coins. He suggested that both could co-exist without the former replacing the latter. Powell also suggested that he had no intention of banning cryptocurrencies outright as he was setting the U.S. regulatory approach apart from China’s. This provided some support to the declining prices of the BTC/USD on Tuesday.
On the other hand, billionaire fund manager Jeff Gundlach warned about the recession happening later this year. The CEO of Doubleline Capital, with assets under management worth $137 billion, is also sometimes referred to as the "Bond King" after appearing on Barron’s cover in 2011 as the "New Bond King." Institutional investors named him Money Manager of the Year in 2013, and Bloomberg Markets named him one of "the Fifty Most Influential" in 2012, 2015, and 2016. His net worth is currently $2.2 billion, according to Forbes.
He warned that bond markets were already showing enough of the recession indicators that in 2023 there would be a recession. He also said that the Fed would have to increase interest rates four times this year, after which recession signals would be more visible. He said there was undoubtedly a non-zero probability of a recession in the latter part of 2022.
On Monday, the CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, said that the Fed might have to increase the interest rate more than four times this year as inflation was worse than people thought. He even said that he would be surprised if the Fed only raised interest rates four times this year.
Gundlach stressed that cryptocurrency was for speculators, and those who were thinking of buying BTC at this moment should wait for it to decline to $25,000, and then they should buy it. This prediction added further weight to BTC prices on Tuesday.
Furthermore, the U.S. basketball players Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala have also revealed that they want to get half of their salary in cryptocurrency. The NBS stars have announced their pay check plans on Twitter and showed that they would be receiving part of their salaries in Bitcoin. This report might have supported the declining prices of BTCUSD on Tuesday.
BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Support Resistance
41649.0 43475.0
40555.0 44207.0
39823.0 45301.0
Pivot Point: 42381.0
BTC/USD - Technical Outlook
Bitcoin has built a support base and has risen beyond the $42,000 barrier level. BTC even traded above $42,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average to enter the green zone. The increasing trend accelerated, and the price surpassed the $43,000 mark. A high near $43,127 has been achieved, and the price is now reversing gains. It was trading under the $42,800 support level. The price fell below the 23.6 percent Fib retracement level of the upward run from the swing low of $41,315 to the high of $43,127.
If bitcoin does not return over $43,000, it may begin a new slide. On the downside, there is immediate support near $42,500. The first significant support is near $42,200, as is the bullish trend line. The trend line is close to the 50 percent Fib retracement level of the upward move from the swing low of $41,315 to the high of $43,127. If the price breaks below the trend line support, it may move towards the $41,800 level and the 100 hourly SMA. Any further losses might drive the price down to the $40,500 support level in the next sessions.
GOLD Analysis – January 11, 2022
Gold’s Daily Price Analysis
Gold prices ended the day at $1801.10, having reached a top of $1802.50 and a low of $1789.45. Gold maintained its upward momentum on Monday, posting minor gains to recoup some of its prior losses. The sharp drop in the benchmark 10-year note US Treasury Yield on Monday could be related to surging gold prices. After climbing for five consecutive sessions, the US Treasury Yield fell on Monday to 1.75 percent, assisting gold to turn positive for the day. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, remained solid for the day, staying around 95.99.
The benchmark US Treasury Yield touched a nearly 2-year high on Monday, as market players increasingly anticipate the US Federal Reserve to begin tightening policy with an interest rate hike as early as March. However, after reaching a two-year high, Treasury rates fell, most likely due to the price correction, and gold benefited from the dip.
Traders are now looking forward to publishing the CPI report on Wednesday, which will provide a better picture of the Fed's forthcoming rate hike decision. The country's significant rise in consumer prices and inflation levels has enhanced the necessity for a rate hike. Gold is regarded as a hedge against increasing inflation, but speculation of rate hikes has weighed on gold, as they tend to raise the opportunity cost of keeping non-yielding bullion. This is why gold's gains on Monday were pretty restricted. There wasn't much to look forward to on the statistics front from the United States. At 20:00 GMT, the Final Wholesale Inventories jumped to 1.4 percent vs. the predicted 1.2 percent, weighing on the US currency and ultimately pushing gold higher.
Another factor for the constant rise of gold prices could be Goldman Sachs' latest estimate of a rate hike. The investment bank changed its forecast that the Fed will raise interest rates four times this year and begin the process of shrinking its balance sheet as early as July. Previously, the bank forecasted three rate increases in 2022, in March, June, and September. However, the bank forecasts another rate hike in December, putting additional pressure on gold prices and capping its gain on Monday.
Furthermore, Pfizer's Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla, stated on Monday that Pfizer is operating on developing a vaccine that will be effective for the Omicron form and that the vaccine will be ready as soon as March. He stated that two vaccine doses plus a booster shot had previously offered reasonable protection against the serious health effects of Omicron; nevertheless, he was unsure if further vaccine specific to the Omicron version would be required in this scenario. These remarks by Bourla capped additional advances in gold by lowering risk-off market sentiment.
GOLD Intraday Technical Level
Support Resistance
1792.86 1805.91
1784.63 1819.73
1779.81 1818.96
Pivot Point: 1797.68
GOLD - Technical Outlook
Gold is trading with a strong bullish bias at $1,805, having rebounded above the $1,799 resistance level, which now is functioning as support for gold. Further to the upside, the next resistance level is at 1,815, and a break above this might push the gold price up to the 1,829 level. On the downside, support is holding around 1,799, and a breach below this level might expose the metal towards next support level of 1,782 and 1,776 level. All the best!
EUR/USD Analysis – January 11, 2022
Daily Price Outlook
EUR/USD closed at $1.1324 after hitting a high of $1.1362 and a low of $1.1285. The EUR/USD dropped on Monday and lost some of its previous gains on the back of the rising US dollar's strength. The US Dollar Index was strong on the day, closing at 95.99. The dollar was high because of the bets that the Fed would decide to increase interest rates sooner than expected this year.
Market participants were awaiting US CPI report, which is due on Wednesday, giving clues about the potential rate hike. Ahead of this report, US dollar investors kept buying and pushed DXY higher for the day. On the data front, at 14:00 GMT, the Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate dropped to 9.2%, against the expected 9.3%, and supported the single currency euro.
At 14:30 GMT, the Sentix Investor Confidence rose to 14.9 against the forecasted 12.6 and supported the Euro. At 15:00 GMT, the unemployment rate for Europe remained flat at 7.2%. Most of the data from Europe favored the Euro, which limited the decline in the EUR/USD currency pair on Monday. From the US side, there was not much data released on Monday. However, at 20:00 GMT, the final wholesale inventories rose to 1.4% against an estimated 1.2% and weighed on the US dollar, which also capitulated further losses in the EUR/USD pair.
On the other hand, the Euro was under pressure following the latest comments from ECB board member Isabel Schnabel. She said that persistently high energy prices run the risk of leading to unsustainable inflation, which might push the ECB to increase its initial forecasts. However, she stressed that the bloc's climate policies likely mean high energy values will linger or increase further. According to EU data last week, inflation in the eurozone surged to a yearly rate of 5% in December, which was well above the target of 2%. However, it was still not prompting the ECB to tighten monetary policy. These comments from Schnabel suggest that any uptick in the ECB's inflation forecast at its upcoming meeting in March could increase the expectations of earlier tightening from the ECB. However, there are clear signals from the US Federal Reserve that the interest rate might increase in March.
This was keeping the Euro under pressure against the dollar and dragging EUR/USD to the downside on Monday. The US dollar was gaining strength from bets on an aggressive path of rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as soon as March. These are only expected to accelerate later this week after the release of US inflation data on Wednesday. The US is expected to report its fastest inflation rate since 1982, which will only push the Fed closer to raising interest rates in March. The strength of the US dollar dragged the EUR/USD pair to the downside on Monday. Meanwhile, Pfizer reported that it was developing a vaccine specifically for the Omicron variant and that the vaccine would be ready in March. This report sparked some market optimism and limited further losses in the riskier currency pair of EUR/USD.
EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Daily Technical Levels
Support Resistance
1.1284 1.1361
1.1246 1.1400
1.1208 1.1438
Pivot Point: 1.1323
EUR/USD - Technical Outlook
On Tuesday, the EUR/USD is trading bullish at the 1.1341 level, soaring above an intraday pivot point level of 1.1321. On the downside, the EUR/USD’s immediate support stays at 1.1321 or 1.1260 level, and a break below 1.1260 level exposes the pair towards 1.1233 level.
The EUR/USD’s major resistance stays at 1.1358 or 1.1396 levels on the bullish side. The RSI and Stoch RSI are holding in a buying zone; therefore, the breakout of the 1.1358 support level adds a buying pressure. Thus, bullish bias dominates above 1.1321 and vice versa. All the best!
BTC/USD Analysis – January 11, 2022
Bitcoin Price Prediction
The BTC/USD closed at $41,839.0 after hitting a high of $42,270.0 and a low of $39,677.0. BTC/USD fell further, reaching its lowest level since August 2021. Similar to many other European countries, Kosovo authorities also banned crypto mining, which resulted in the seizure of nearly 300 cryptocurrency mining machines. The nation’s Minister of Energy and Economy said that this seizure would save tens of thousands of euros per month. Kosovo is currently struggling with an energy crisis prompted by a sharp price increase in electricity.
To eliminate power shortages and curb consumption during the winter, the government banned cryptocurrency mining, the first seizure by the government since the announcement of the ban. The latest ban on crypto mining added negative pressure on BTC/USD and dragged its prices to their lowest level in five months. Furthermore, a study from the Library of Congress in the United States found that the list of countries that have adopted regulatory policies that raise taxes or ban cryptocurrencies has grown in the last three years. As of November last year, the total number of countries that had banned the use of cryptocurrencies was nine, among which China stands out.
While countries are banning crypto mining operations from saving energy and the crypto market is crashing, many investment firms plan to dig into the opportunity and buy the dip in leading cryptocurrencies. The Nasdaq-listed Canadian cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfarm has announced that it invested about $43.2 million in BTC after the price dropped around 12% in the first week of the year. The latest purchase of BTC pushed its total holding of BTC to 4300 BTC, worth about $180 million.
On the other hand, Spanish lawmakers saw the Bitcoin mining collapse in Kazakhstan as an opportunity and decided to make Spain the next bitcoin mining hotspot. The deputy for the Spanish Ciudadanos political party, Maria Munoz, has proposed a bill to make Spain a BTC mining hub following the internet shutdown that caused a mining outage in Kazakhstan. This news kept the losses in BTC/USD limited for the day.
Additionally, the United Arab Emirates is taking a different approach while many countries are banning bitcoin and digital assets. The county has been consistently enacting its vision of becoming a blockchain capital by providing frameworks to guide crypto businesses operating under the laws. This news also capped a further decline in BTC.USD prices on Monday.
BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels
Support Resistance
40254.0 42847.0
38669.0 43855.0
37661.0 45440.0
Pivot Point: 41262.0
BTC/USD - Technical Outlook
The BTC/USD continued to fall below the $40,500 support level. BTC even fell below the $40,000 mark, trading as low as $39,659. There has recently been a powerful recovery wave above the $40,000 mark. The price has risen above the $40,500 and $41,200 resistance levels. The bulls even pushed the price beyond the 50% Fib retracement level of the latest drop from the $42,739 swing high to the $39,659 low.
On the upside, the first big resistance is located near $42,750. The next significant resistance is located near the $43,500 level. It is close to the 1.236 Fib extension level of the recent slide from the swing high of $42,739 to the low of $39,659. Any further gains might push the price up to $44,500. The next significant resistance level is near $45,500, where the bears appear. If bitcoin does not return over $43,500, it may begin a new drop. On the downside, there is immediate support near the $41,800 level and the 100 hourly SMA.
The first significant support is near $41,500, as is the broken trend line. A drop below the trend line support on the downside might push the price down to $41,000. If the price continues to fall, it may reach the $40,000 support level in the next sessions. All the best!