Forex and Cryptocurrencies Forecast for December 12 - 16, 2022
EUR/USD: Ahead of the Fed and ECB Meetings
Two key events await us next week. The first is the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which will be held on Wednesday, December 14. Recall that the key interest rate on the dollar is 4.00% at the moment, and that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed on November 30 that the pace of rate growth may slow down in December. These words of his convinced market participants that the rate would be increased in December not by 75 basis points (bp), but by only 50 bp. The actual developments on December 14 will set the mood of the regulator for 2023. Naturally, an important role here will be played not only by the decision on the interest rate itself, but also by the economic forecasts of the FOMC and the press conference of the management of this organization following the meeting.
It is highly likely that the decision of the Committee members will be influenced by data on inflation in the US: the November values of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be announced on the eve of the meeting, on Tuesday, December 13.
The second event is the ECB meeting on Thursday, December 15. The interest rate on the euro is 2.00% at the moment, and according to forecasts, the European regulator will also raise it by 50 bp, which will keep the advantage in favor of the US currency: 4.50% against 2.50%. As in the case of the Fed, the comments and forecasts of the ECB leaders, which will be made after this meeting, will also be important for market participants.
As for the past week, the DXY Dollar Index did not manage to win back at least some of the losses it has suffered since the end of September. This time it was hampered by statistics from China. On the one hand, China's manufacturing sector continues to deflate: the Producer Price Index (PPI) has been falling by 1.3% for the second month in a row. On the other hand, inflation is slowing down: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November was 1.6% against 2.1% a month ago. In this situation, the Chinese government has taken a course of easing monetary policy (QE) to support the country's economy. A survey conducted by Bloomberg showed that the market expects the People's Bank of China to cut interest rates on the yuan as early as Q1 2023. Against this background, stock indices, primarily Asian ones, went up, and the dollar went down. Optimism over the easing of strict COVID-19 restrictions in China also supported the positive tone in equity markets.
Additional pressure on the US currency was exerted by statistics on the US labor market. The number of initial applications for unemployment benefits became known on Thursday, December 08. This figure showed a slight increase from 226K to 230K, which was fully in line with the forecast. But repeated applications have reached a maximum over the past ten months: 1671K, which is also a signal for the Fed, pointing to problems in the economy.
On the contrary, European macro statistics looked good. Thus, the GDP of the Eurozone in Q3 turned out to be higher than the forecast, 0.3% vs. 0.2% (q/q) and 2.3% vs. 2.1% (y/y).
As a result, EUR/USD abandoned a deep correction and, having reached a local low of 1.0442 on December 07, reversed and rose to the level of 1.0587 on December 09. The Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Confidence Index from the University of Michigan made modest adjustments to the prices at the very end of the working week, after which the pair finished at 1.0531.
50% of analysts count on its further growth, 25% expect the pair to turn south. The remaining 25% of experts point to the east. It should be noted here that when moving to a medium-term forecast, the number of bearish supporters who expect the pair to drop below the parity level of 1.0000 increases sharply, up to 75%.
The picture is different from the oscillators on D1. All 100% of the oscillators are colored green, while 10% is in the overbought zone. Among the trend indicators, the 100% advantage is on the green side.
The nearest support for EUR/USD is located at the 1.0500 horizon, then there are levels and zones 1.0440, 1.0375-1.0400, 1.0280-1.0315, 1.0220-1.0255, 1.0130, 1.0070, followed by the parity zone 0.9950-1.0010. Bulls will meet resistance at levels 1.0545-1.0560, 1.0595-1.0620, 1.0745-1.0775, 1.0865, 1.0935.
We will see other important macro statistics next week in addition to the above. Thus, data on consumer inflation (CPI) and economic sentiment (ZEW) in Germany will be released on Tuesday, December 13. And business activity indicators in the manufacturing sectors of Germany and the Eurozone (PMI), as well as the November value of the European Consumer Price Index (CPI) will become known on Friday, December 16.
GBP/USD: Ahead of the Bank of England Meeting
Not only the ECB, but also the Bank of England (BoE) will decide on the interest rate on Thursday, December 15. It should be noted that the regulator of the United Kingdom was one of the first among the G10 Central Banks, following the Fed, to curtail the policy of quantitative easing (QE). It raised the pound interest rate by 75 bps in November. However, it is expected that like the ECB and the Fed, it will raise it by only 50 bp in December, after which it will reach 3.50%. According to a survey conducted by Reuters, 96% of economists have voted for this step. And only 4% of them insist on 75 bp.
Most respondents believe that the recession will be long and shallow. According to forecasts, the economy contracted by 0.2% in Q3 2022 (exact data will be known on December 12) and will decrease by another 0.4% in Q4. The fall in the first three quarters of 2023 may be 0.4%, 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.
As for inflation, the survey conducted by the BoE showed that the fears of the UK population about it have slightly decreased. If we talk about economists' forecasts, it is expected that in it will reach a peak of 10.9% in Q4, and then it will decline. The current value is more than five times higher than the target level of 2.0%. And the Bank of England will be forced to continue to raise the rate to fight inflation, despite the threat of a deepening recession. It is predicted that BoE will raise it in Q1 and Q2 2023, another 50 bp and 25 bp, respectively, to 4.25%.
GBP/USD, as well as EUR/USD, has been developing an upward trend since the end of September taking advantage of the weakness of the dollar. In addition, it is being pushed up by the end of the fiscal micro-crisis and the Bank of England's actions to tighten monetary policy and support the British government bond market. GBP/USD reached its maximum value on December 05 at the height of 1.2344, however, it did not go further north and completed the five-day period at the level of 1.2260 in anticipation of the decisions of the coming week.
Strategists at the German Commerzbank consider the current situation only a temporary respite and expect increased pressure on the British currency. “At present,” they write, “the relief that the fiscal crisis has been brought under control prevails, and there are no signs of a further worsening of the energy crisis. In our opinion, this is only a temporary respite for the pound. The deteriorating economic outlook, relatively prudent monetary policy […] and continued high inflation continue to put major pressure on the pound.”
The median forecast for the near term copies the forecast for EUR/USD in full: 50% of experts side with the bulls, 25% side with the bears, and the remaining 25% prefer to remain neutral. At the same time, there is a slight difference when moving to the medium-term forecast: the number of bear supporters here is 10% higher, 85%.
The readings of trend indicators and oscillators on D1 also copy the readings of their counterparts for EUR/USD: all 100% are on the green side, and 10% of the oscillators give signals that the pair is overbought.
Levels and support zones for the pair are 1.2210-1.2235, 1.2150, 1.2085-1.2105, 1.2030, 1.1960, 1.1900, 1.1800-1.1840, 1.1700-1.1720, 1.1475-1.1500, 1.1350, 1.1230, 1.1150, 1.1100. When the pair moves north, it will meet resistance at the levels of 1.2290-1.2310, 1.2345, 1.2425-1.2450 and 1.2575-1.2610, 1.2750.
As already mentioned, Monday, December 12, when the country's GDP data will be published, attracts attention this week, as for the events concerning the economy of the United Kingdom. Data on unemployment and wages will arrive the following day, that on consumer prices (CPI) will become known on Wednesday, December 14, and on retail sales and business activity in the UK - on Friday, December 16. And of course, a special emphasis is on December 15, when the Bank of England will issue its verdict on the interest rate.
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