· EUR/USD bear trend is on hold for the 6th consecutive day and the FOMC minutes did nothing convincing to tame the current buying pressure as EUR/USD jumped about pips on the release of the Fed’s report. The gains were short-lived as the market quickly came back to levels just prior to the release.
EUR/USD bull trend remains in place as the market is trading above rising and widening 50, 100 and 200-period simple moving averages. The real challenge for bulls is to breakout above 1.1628 swing high as this would mean a higher high on the daily chart. A break of the level would target 1.1667 August 2 high and 1.1750 supply level.
A bear breakout below 1.1500 would invalidate the bullish bias.
· The United States and China were poised to escalate their trade war on Thursday, with both sides set to implement punitive 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of the other’s goods.
The latest round brings to $50 billion the value of imports subjected to tariffs on either side since early July, and more are in the pipeline, adding to risks for global economic growth.
Washington will hold hearings this week on a proposed list of an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to face duties.
The tariffs were set to take effect amid two days of talks in Washington between mid-level officials from both sides, the first formal negotiations since U.S. Commerce Secretary met with Chinese economic adviser Liu He in Beijing in June
· A summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was useful but U.S. sanctions against Moscow are counter-productive and pointless, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
Putin also said Europe needed the Moscow-led Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project and that Russia was the most suitable supplier of energy for Europe.
· Investors have trimmed their short positions on Asian currencies over the last two weeks, a Reuters poll showed, as a weaker dollar, coupled with optimism over Sino-U.S. trade tensions and tightening monetary policy in the region improved risk appetite.
· Oil prices slipped on Thursday, weighed down by the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, although a decline in U.S. commercial crude inventories offered some support.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $74.54 per barrel at 0647 GMT, down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $67.80 per barrel, down 6 cents from their last settlement, somewhat supported by a decline in U.S. crude inventories.
Reference: Reuters,Trading View,CNBC
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