iFOREX Daily Analysis : July 05,2018

 | Jul 05, 2018 04:32AM ET

In a slow trading session on Wednesday, due to the Independence Day Holiday in the US, the US Dollar modestly declined against other major currencies, with the US Dollar Index (USDX) closing 0.13 percent lower.

WTI oil fell from its recent 3-1/2 high as US President Trump urged the OPEC cartel to reduce prices. China is expected to put tariffs on its US crude oil imports at some point, should the US go through with the plan to levy tariffs on Chinese imports. Gold traded almost unchanged ahead of the publication of the FOMC meeting minutes on Thursday.

US equity indices futures closed moderately on Independence Day, while investors await what happens next in the trade standoff.

Cryptocurrencies continued their recovery, with Bitcoin hitting a 12-day high. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash also continued to trade higher.

On Thursday in terms of data, the focus will be mainly on the US as job market data, such as the ADP Employment Report and Jobless New Claims level will be released. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to publish its weekly crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventory data.

EUR/USD


The EUR/USD gained on Wednesday and continued to trade higher in early trading on Thursday. With no data coming in from the US, due to the Independence Day Holiday, the focus was on European data. German Services PMI reached level of 54.5, surpassing expectations (expected and previous 53.9). The European Services PMI also managed to surpass expectations at 55.2 (expected 55.0).

Markets remain concerned what happens, if the United States actually go through with their plan as scheduled this Friday, to impose tariffs on $34B worth of imports from China.

On Thursday in Germany Manufacturer’s Orders data is set to be released. In the US data on Jobless claims, Services PMI and the ISM Non-Manufacturing statistics are due to be released. Also on Thursday the minutes from the last meeting of the FOMC will be published.