First, a review of last week’s forecast:
- In the opinion of almost half of the experts (40%), supported by graphical analysis on H4, the pair EUR/USD, which has been moving in the medium-term rising channel that began in December 2016, had been expected to rise to 1.0690, and then by yet another 130 points. It turned out that the pair indeed immediately went northwards, starting from Monday; on Tuesday, it broke through the resistance at 1.0690 and, having turned it into a support level, the pair reached 1.0780. After this, the bulls’ energy dried up, and the pair returned to the 1.0690 zone by the end of the week’s session;
- A rebound had been expected for GBP/USD. Most analysts, supported by oscillators and trend indicators, had been inclined towards the view that the pair’s upward propulsion had not yet been exhausted and that it could reach the height of 1.2705. Not many expected the powerful support British Prime Minister Teresa May gave the bulls in announcing snap parliamentary elections. Because of such support, the pair soared almost 400 points, only stopping at 1.2904. After that, it turned and slowly descended to the strong Pivot level which the pair has been fluctuating since June 2016;
- USD/JPY. Here there was a discrepancy between the weekly and the medium-term forecasts: the former pointed southwards, the latter to the north. As a result, the pair moved in the side channel 108.10 -109.20 for almost the entire week, dominated slightly by bullish trends. It was the bulls who tried to break the upper boundary of this channel at the end of the week. However, this breakthrough was unsuccessful, since, having risen by only 30 points, the pair quickly returned to the sideways corridor;
- Unlike EUR/USD, USD/CHF reacted rather violently to the British Prime Minister’s announcement. Whilst half of the experts along with the oscillators had expected its fall to the level of 0.9980, in reality the local minimum ended up being 40 points lower. However, the pair "changed its mind" afterwards and returned to where the analysts had indicated: the zone 0.9980.
Forecast for the coming week:
Summarizing the views of a number of analysts from leading banks and brokerage firms, as well as the forecasts made based on a wide variety of technical and graphical analysis methods, we can say the following:
- The ECB and the Bank of Japan rate decisions should prove unsurprising. The presidential elections in France, however, may cause increased volatility. It is also possible, though, that there will be no sharp exchange rate jumps, especially if the vote reaches the second round. Uncertainty related to these elections has led to uncertainty in experts’ opinions. Thus, in giving their weekly forecast for EUR/USD, one third of them thought the pair will grow, one third has spoken of a fall and one third of a sideways trend. If we now turn to the medium-term forecast, here already 65% of experts, supported by graphical analysis, vote for the pair falling, indicating 1.0500 and 1.0350 as target levels. An alternative view is represented by 35% of analysts and indicators on D1, according to which the pair must return to the highs of February-March 2017;
- In the medium term, nearly 85% of experts continue to expect GBP/USD to fall (support levels are 1.2575, 1.2490, 1.2365). As for the immediate future, the situation is different: only 30% of analysts vote for its fall. The others expect it to return to the previous week’s highs and to fix in the 1.2900-1.3000 area. Both graphical analysis on H4, and indicators on D1 agree with this prospect. Only 10% of oscillators yet indicate that the pair is overbought;
- There still remains an obvious discrepancy between the week-long and medium-term forecasts for USD/JPY as well. So, if in the short term 60% of analysts speak about its fall, the monthly and quarterly forecasts are oriented northwards. The targets are the same: 112.00 and 113.55. As for technical analysis, graphical analysis and oscillators on H4 show the continuation of the pair's lateral movement in the 108.30-109.50 channel;
- Regarding USD/CHF, the battle here is between experts and indicators. 80% of analysts believe that the pair is sure to grow to the 1.0000-1.0100 zone, and 85% of oscillators and trend indicators on D1 expect it to drop. A compromise is offered by graphical analysis, which points first to the growth of the pair to 1.0050 and then to its fall to the local minimum of 0.9940.
Roman Butko, NordFX
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