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Dollar continues its struggles into the new year

Dollar slips a little further as we get into European morning trade

The dollar is now down to the lows for the day, easing across the board to start the session. The drop comes as risk is also keeping in a better spot with US futures now trading up by 0.3% as we get things underway.

GBP/USD D1 04-01
Cable is up to trade just above 1.3700, breaching the figure level for the first time since May 2018. Meanwhile, EUR/USD has moved back above its 100-hour moving average as buyers seize near-term control in a push to 1.2268.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY is also falling below 103.00 to a session low of 102.94 with commodity currencies posting a modest advance against the greenback.
Going back to cable, the technical picture doesn’t bode too well for the dollar to start the year. The break above the December highs of 1.3619-24 in thin holiday trading has continued and that leaves little in the way of a potential push towards 1.4000.
As mentioned last week, the pound may still find itself struggling despite a Brexit trade deal being achieved but against the dollar, it could still find some upside potential amid the misery in the greenback which appears to be continuing for now.

China says US plans to delist three Chinese telecom firms are “political”

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) plans to delist China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom following Trump’s announcement in November last year to bar U.S. investment in 31 firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

China’s securities regulator said over the weekend that the delistings are “politically motivated” and that the impact will be “limited”.
Via Reuters:
  • The overall scale of the American Deposit Receipts listed by the three companies is small, it said, with a total market value of less than 20 billion yuan ($3.07 billion), or 2.2% of the total equity of the three firms.

Japan is considering a Tokyo (COVID-19) emergency declaration within a week

Coronavirus cases still rising in Japan’s capital. Reports out now that prime Minister Suga is pondering implementing an emergency declaration this week.

Restaurants in Tokyo have been asked to close by 8pm already.
More:

 

  •  Fuji TV with the report that Tokyo and 3 surrounding prefectures could be subject to the declaration of a state of emergency as early as this week.

 

News boosting yen, weighing on Japanese stocks.

OPEC sees plenty of downside risks for oil markets in the first half of 2021

Comments from OPEC Secretary-General Barkindo over the weekend, via Reuters.

OPEC meets with its “+” allies on Monday, including of course Russia. Discussions will centre on output levels for February.
“Amid the hopeful signs, the outlook for the first half of 2021 is very mixed and there are still many downside risks to juggle,” said Barkindo.

Monday morning open levels – indicative forex prices – 4 January 2021

Good morning, afternoon or evening and Happy New Year to all – welcome to the first forex day of 2021!

Bitcoin has been leaving everything in its wake, its traded to above $34k over the holiday period and is circa $32,660 as of posting.
As for forex,
  • EUR/USD 1.2237
  • USD/JPY 103.21
  • GBP/USD 1.3667
  • USD/CHF 0.8817
  • USD/CAD 1.2727
  • AUD/USD 0.7709
  • NZD/USD 0.7190
And remember, as usual for a Monday morning, market liquidity is very thin until it improves as more Asian centres come on online … prices are liable to swing around on not too much at all, so take care out there.
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