Markets have now fully returned from the long weekend, with the dollar riding higher across the board.
The latest dollar surge is a reaction to the better expected consumer confidence figure reported by the Conference Board: the score jumped to 76.2 points, beating the 70.7 number that was expected.
The big upside surprise is the best number since February 2008 – another five year high, similar to five year lows seen in jobless claims. It was joined with an upwards revision of last month’s number: from 68.1 to 69 points.
- EUR/USD finally moved out of the narrow range and fell to 1.2860. Speculation is mounting towards the rate decision next week.
- USD/JPY rose up from around 102 and is now trading at 102.40. It got an earlier lift from the Japanese stock market.
- GBP/USD is now at 1.5050, closer to the critical 1.50 line once again.
- AUD/USD seemed to have ended the correction towards 0.9750, and it found support at 0.9650.
The CB Consumer Confidence is not usually a first tier indicator, but the combination of a 5 year high and a market looking for direction for the next move did the work. The market seemed to have ignored the Richmond Manufacturing Index which remained in negative ground: -2 instead of +6 expected.
For more, see the EURUSD forecast. Here is a live chart of EUR/USD:
[do action=”tradingviews” pair=”EURUSD” interval=”60″/]