The US dollar rose slightly against other currencies as traders focused on rising tensions between the United States and China. In a statement yesterday, the US ordered the country to close its consulate in Houston as China threatened to retaliate. According to Mike Pompeo, the decision was meant to help protect the US intellectual property and other trade secrets. That is after federal officials arrested a group of Chinese citizens accused of stealing research materials from American pharmaceutical giants. The US dollar also rose because of emerging risks to other stimuli after some Republican senators cautioned against more debt.
Nasdaq futures are in the green as investors reacted to earnings from Tesla. In its results, the biggest automaker by market cap said that it made more than $6.04 billion in the second quarter. That was $1 billion higher than analysts were expecting. It also made a net profit of $104 million. Earnings per share rose to $2.18. The superb performance surprised analysts considering that the firm had closed some of its facilities during the lockdown. Microsoft revenue rose by 13% as the Azure cloud grew by 47%.
The price of crude oil remained at elevated levels as traders focused on the rising coronavirus and geopolitical risks. The price also responded to the increasing inventories build up in the US. According to the EIA, inventories rose by more than 4.8 million barrels in the previous week. That was a huge increase after last week’s drawdown of more than 7.4 million barrels. Analysts were expecting a 2-million-barrel drawdown. Rising tensions between the US and China could affect demand and have a negative impact on crude oil prices.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair is trading at 1.1575, which is a few pips below yesterday’s high of 1.1600. On the four-hour chart, the price is above the short, medium, and long-term exponential moving averages. The RSI has remained slightly above the overbought level of 70 while the momentum indicator has continued to rise. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls attempt to move above 1.1600.
XBR/USD
The XBR/USD pair is trading at 44.55, which is slightly below this month’s high of 44.95. On the four-hour chart, the price is above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages. It is also above the important resistance level at 43.93. The signal and main line of the MACD has remained above the neutral line. Therefore, with no major data expected today, the pair is likely to continue moving sideways.
XAU/USD
The XAU/USD pair declined slightly to the current level of 1868. On the four-hour chart, the price is above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages while the RSI has moved above the overbought level of 70. Also, it is above the important support level at 1800. Therefore, even with the current pullback, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls view the next resistance at 1900.
