The price of crude oil slipped after the EIA released its weekly inventories report. The numbers showed that there was a drawdown of more than 1.396 million barrels per week. This was a higher drawdown than the 1.2 million barrels that traders were expecting. Previously, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that there was a drawdown of more than 3 million barrels. Still, the price of crude is near the five-month high and there is a possibility that WTI and Brent will test last year’s highs of $73 and $85 respectively.
The Aussie was relatively unchanged after the country released employment numbers for March. During the month, the unemployment rate rose to 5.0% from the previous 4.9%. The participation rate rose to 65.7% from the previous 65.6%. The participation rate is an important number that measures the percentage of working-age people who are either working or looking for work. In March, the economy added 25.7K jobs, which was higher than the expected 12K.
Focus will be on the euro as the region releases PMI numbers for April. In Germany, the manufacturing PMI is expected to gain to 45 from the previous 44.1. The services PMI is expected to decline to 55.1 from 55.4. In the EU, the manufacturing PMI is expected to rise slightly to 47.9 while the services PMI is expected to drop to 53.2 from the previous 53.3. Other than PMIs, traders will receive the Bank of England’s credit conditions survey and retail sales for the month of March. In the United States, the labor department will release the initial jobless claims. Other key data will be the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index and the retail sales.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair declined ahead of important data from Europe and US. The pair is trading at the 1.1293, which is along the lower band of the Bollinger Bands. This price is above the important support line shown below. On the hourly chart, the commodities channel indicator has moved below the oversold line of 100. The same is true with the Force Index. If the pair continues to drop, it will likely test the important support level of 1.1280.
AUD/NZD
The AUD/NZD cross has been gaining since March 21 when the pair traded at 1.0276. Yesterday, the pair reached a high of 1.0732, which is the highest level since November last year. On the four-hour chart, the pair is along the upper line of the Bollinger Bands and above all the short and medium-term moving averages. The RSI has moved close to the overbought level of 70.
XTI/USD
The XTI/USD pair moved to a low of 63.57. On the hourly chart, this price is along the lower line of the Envelopes indicator and above the important resistance level of 63. The commodities channel index has moved up to above the 100 level while the volumes have shrunken. The pair will likely remain within the current range as investors think of a way forward regarding the oil market. Still, there is a possibility that the upward side will prevail.
