The dollar ended broadly firmer across the board this Wednesday

EUR/USD

The dollar ended broadly firmer across the board this Wednesday, reaching fresh multi-week highs across the board but against the Pound, after the FED released the minutes of the April´s FOMC meeting, which left doors clearly opened for a June rate hike. The common currency suffered ever  since the day started, as inflation data coming from Europe showed that the region fell back into deflation last April, with the CPI down by 0.2% yearly basis, and flat at 0.0% compared to the previous month.

The release of FOMC Minutes for the April meeting was behind dollar's momentum, as it showed that most FED's officers said that a rate hike is likely for next June, if economic data continue to improve. Odds for a rate hike jumped from 4% earlier this week to 26% and are now on the rise, supporting some further dollar's gains for this Thursday. 

The EUR/USD pair fell down to 1.1221,  standing a few pips above it, but more relevant, above  April's low of 1.1215, and the technical picture favors a break below the level as in the 4 hours chart, the price is accelerating far below a bearish 20 SMA, whilst the Momentum indicator heads sharply lower below its mid-line, whilst the RSI also heads south around 25.  A break below the mentioned monthly low, can see the pair testing the 1.1160 level during the upcoming sessions, with the main bearish target being 1.1120, a major static support level. Should the decline extend below this last, dollar's momentum will likely extend in the longer run, with scope to test 1.1000 during the upcoming week. 

Support levels: 1.1215  1.1160 1.1120

Resistance levels: 1.1245 1.1280 1.1330 

USD/JPY

USD/JPY rose to the 110.00 region , as yen was under pressure ever since the day started. During Asian trading hours,  the Japanese Q1 GDP surprised to the upside, taking out some of the immediate pressure over the BOJ to add stimulus. The economy dodged a technical recession, at least in this past quarter, as the economy grew 0.4% against expectations of a 01% advance and fears of a negative reading. The USD/JPY advanced up to 110.04 following the hawkish FED's stance, which lifted odds of rate hike in June. The pair however, is not yet able to confirm a break above the critical psychological figure, weighed by nose-diving stocks. Nevertheless the technical bias is now bullish, as the pair finally broke above the 61.8% retracement of its latest daily fall at 109.55, now the immediate support. Additionally, short term technical readings support the advance, as in the 1 hour chart, indicators head north well above their mid-lines, whilst the 100 and 200 SMAs are finally gaining some bullish slopes well below the current level. In the 4 hours chart, indicators also head higher within positive territory, although the moving averages maintain their bearish slopes. If the rally extends, the level to watch is 110.60, a major static resistance that needs to be broken to confirm a more sustainable recovery in the mid-term. 

Support levels: 109.55 109.10 108.70 

Resistance levels: 110.10 110.60 111.00

GBP/USD

The Pound jumped to its highest in two weeks against the greenback, reaching 1.4634 early in the US session. The UK currency started the day losing ground, as the latest employment report showed that during  the first quarter of this year, jobs´ creation was way below the Q1 of 2005, but above expected. The unemployment rate remained steady at 5.1% whilst wages posted a modest bounce, but resulted disappointing as it resulted  in a fall in weekly earnings on the month of April.  Another Brexit poll, showing that the "remain" vote keeps advancing above the "leave" one, was behind the intraday recovery, which prevails by the end of the day, despite the pair shed around 70 pips on the back of broad dollar's strength  In the short term, the latest decline seems mostly corrective as in the 1 hour chart, the technical indicators are turning lower from extreme overbought territory, but the price is far above a still bullish 20 SMA. In the 4 hours chart, the technical indicators are also turning slightly lower from extreme overbought levels, but the price remains well above the 38.2% retracement of the latest bullish run at 1.4525, the level to break to consider a downward continuation. 

Support levels: 1.4560 1.4525 1.4480 

Resistance levels: 1.4630 1.4660 1.4700

AUD/USD

The AUD/USD pair kept falling this Wednesday, with the Aussie hit at the beginning of the day by data coming from Australia, as the Q1 Wage Price index rose 0.4%, below market's expectations and taking the  annual wage growth to a record low of 2.1%. Having been as low as 0.7224, the pair settled a few pips above this last ahead of the Asian opening, and not far from the 61.8% retracement of this year's rally at 0.7210, the immediate support. A break below this last should see the AUD/USD pair heading towards the 0.7000 figure during the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime, the short term outlook is clearly bearish, as the price failed to sustain gains above a bearish 20 SMA on an early spike, whilst the technical indicators head strongly lower near oversold territory. In the 4 hours chart, the price was capped by a flat 20 SMA, whilst the technical indicators head south within bearish territory, in line with further slides for this Thursday. 

Support levels: 0.7210 0.7170 0.7130 

Resistance levels: 0.7250 0.7290 0.7330 

Dow Jones

Wall Street closed mostly flat, with the DJIA up down by 4 points or 0.02% at 17,526.62. The Nasdaq added  0.50% to close at 4.739.12, while the S&P added 0.2%, to 2,047.63. Stocks fell after the release of the latest FOMC Minutes, showing higher chances of a June rate hike in the world's largest economy, but trimmed losses before the close. Bank-related shares saved the day, buoyed after the announcement, with Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan closing over 1.0% higher. The technical picture, however, is increasingly bearish, as daily basis, the index has posted a lower low and a lower high, while in the same chart, the technical indicators keep heading lower in negative territory, and the 20 SMA caps the upside, now around 17,732. In the 4 hour chart, the index failed to recover above a bearish 20 SMA, while the Momentum indicator heads sharply lower below the 100 level and the RSI consolidates around 41, supporting a downward continuation on a break below 17,413, the intraday low.  

Support levels: 17,485 17,413 17,352

Resistance levels: 17,588 17,642 17,710

FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 closed the day slightly lower, down 0.03% or 2 points at 6,165.80, as the mining related sector suffered from dollar's early strength. Anglo American dropped 3.59%, while  Antofagasta shed 2.93%, hit by a drop in copper prices. Earnings data also weighed on the Footsie, as shares in Burberry slid 2.71%  after the fashion group reported a fall in full-year profits and said profits this year would be at the low end of forecasts. The daily chart shows that the downside remains favored for the index, as the technical indicators maintain bearish slopes within bearish territory, whilst the 20 DMA accelerated its decline above the current level. In the same chart, however, the 100 DMA continues acting as a strong dynamic support, currently at 6,087. In the shorter term, the 4 hours chart presents a neutral stance, with technical indicators heading nowhere around their mid-lines, and the index stuck around a horizontal 20 SMA.

Support levels: 6,087 6,044  6,006 

Resistance levels: 6,178 6,225 6,301

DAX

European stocks closed the day generally higher, with the German DAX up 53 points to end at 9,943.23, despite negative news coming from the EU, as inflation in the region fell into deflationary territory last April, according to preliminary readings. Auto makers  again led the decline, with major companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW shedding between 0.4% and 1.1%. The index erased half of its Tuesday's losses, but the negative tone prevails, as in the daily chart, the benchmark remains below a bearish 20 SMA, and the technical indicators within bearish territory, but with limited downward strength. In the 4 hours chart, the technical indicators are currently stuck around their mid-lines, while the index is barely above a bearish 20 SMA, but below the 100 and 200 SMAs. A recovery beyond 10,000, however, can see the index gathering some additional momentum this Thursday and rally up to the 10,140 region. 

Support levels: 9,752 9,680  9,617

Resistance levels: 10,005 10,068 10,138

Nikkei

The Nikkei 225 turned lower this Wednesday, weighed by previous Wall Street's slump, but closed the day merely 8 points lower at 16,644.69, helped by better-than-expected Japan's first quarter GDP readings, up 0.4% against expectations of a 0.1% advance. Also, keeping the benchmark limited was an extreme cautious mood ahead of the release of the FOMC Minutes.  Energy-related shares were among the biggest winners, as continued concerns over oil supply outages in Canada and Nigeria, kept oil prices running.  The index rose in after hours trading, little concerned over US developments as Wall Street closed for the most flat, trading now around 16,720. The daily chart for the benchmark shows that the index remains within its latest range,  but near the highs, aiming to extend above a bearish 100 DMA, whilst the technical indicators crossed their mid-lines towards the upside, supporting some additional advances for this Thursday. In the 4 hours chart, however, the neutral stance prevails, with indicators still hovering around their mid-lines, and the index barely above its moving averages.

Support levels: 16,588 16,504 16,447 

Resistance levels: 16,802 16,915 16,992 

Gold

Spot gold plummeted to its lowest for the week and trades a few cents below $ 1,260.00 a troy ounce, on renewed expectations of a US June rate hike. Nearing past week low of 1,256.79, the immediate support, the commodity has been largely correlating with FED's tone, down on a hawkish stance and up when a rate hike looked less likely in the nearer term. Despite holding within the daily descendant channel coming from this year high of 1,303.00, the bearish potential has increased exponentially with the news, and technical readings in the daily chart are aligned with market's sentiment, as in the daily chart, the technical indicators have accelerated within negative territory, whilst the price is well below its 20 SMA for the first time since late April. In the shorter term, the 4 hours chart shows that the price is holding above a bullish 200 SMA, but is well below the 20 and 100 SMAs, both converging at 1,274.40, while the Momentum indicator has lost its bearish strength, well below its 100 level, and the RSI indicator keeps heading lower, supporting a continued decline towards the base of the figure.

Support levels: 1,256.80 1,248.10 1,239.50

Resistance levels: 1,265.40 1,274.40 1,283.50

WTI Crude Oil

Crude oil prices continued rallying on Wednesday, with WTI futures nearing the key psychological level of $50 a barrel, in the US afternoon, fueled by continued supply outages. The commodity pared gains after topping at $48.93, following news that US stockpiles   unexpectedly rose by 1.3 million barrels to 541.3 million barrels in the week ended May 13,  according to the Energy Information Administration  report. The good news were that refined products stockpiles fell by more than crude-oil inventories rose. Dollar's broad strength has sent price below $48.00 by the end of the day, and the daily chart shows that it stands in the red daily basis, but with the price far above a bullish 20 SMA and with the technical indicators partially losing their upward strength within bullish territory, indicating limited downward scope. In the shorter term, the 4 hours chart the price has decline towards its 20 SMA that anyway maintains a strong upward slope, whilst the technical indicators have turned south and are about to cross their mid-lines towards the downside, supporting additional slides on a break below 47.50, the immediate support. 

Support levels: 47.50 46.70 46.20

Resistance levels: 48.60 49.20 50.00