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Dollar Enters Holiday Mode
http://www.tigersharktrading.com/articles/2281/1/Dollar-Enters-Holiday-Mode/Page1.html
By Jamie Saettele
Published on 12/23/2005
 
In the daily technicals, the euro remains above 1.1800, while the Japanese yen retakes 117.00.

Dollar Enters Holiday Mode

EUR/USD - Euro bulls managed to keep the 1.1800 figure after the pair found support created by the combination of the 20-day, 50-day SMA's and the 23.6 Fib of the 1.2588-1.1639 USD rally. As greenback traders once again push the pair lower, a further move to the downside will most likely see the pair head below the 1.1800 figure and target the single currency bids around 1.1776, a level established by December 12 daily low. A sustained downside momentum will most likely see the EUR/USD head lower and target 1.1639, a level marked by the 2005 Low, breaking of which will most likely see the dollar traders set their sights on the psychologically important 1.1500 handle, a level defended by the single currency bids around 1.1546, an October 17 2003 daily low. Indicators are favoring the euro longs with both positive momentum indicator and MACD treading above the zero line, while neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

USD/JPY - Japanese Yen bulls managed to push back the dollar bulls after they failed to break above 117.37, a level established by the 23.6 Fib of the 104.16-141.46 USD rally, and is further reinforced by the 50-day SMA at 117.83. As dollar longs continue to bid up the pair, the next move to the upside will most likely see the greenback traders extend their gains above the 118.00 figure and take out the yen defenses around 118.21, a level established by the November 23 daily low and is reinforced by the 20-day SMA. A sustained upside momentum on the part of the greenback longs will most likely see the USD/JPY head higher and aim for the offers above the psychologically important 120.00 handle at 120.46, a level marked by the December 13 daily high. Indicators are diverging with negative momentum indicator below the zero line while positive MACD is sloping downward toward the zero line, with ADX above 25 at 35.38, signaling an existence of a maturing trend, not a direction of one, while neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

GBP/USD - British pound traders saw their bids of dominance vanish as the pair tumbled below the 1.7400 figure only to find active bids around 1.7387, a 23.6 Fib of the 1.8500-1.7048 USD rally. A further collapse of the sterling bids will most likely see the pair aim for 1.7249, a December 2 daily low, and with a move lower heading toward 1.7054, the most recent 2005 Low and a gateway to the psychologically important 1.7000 handle. A further decline below 1.7000 will most likely see the dollar traders push the GBP/USD lower and test the sterling bids around 1.6877, a level established by the November 28, 2003 daily low. Indicators are favoring the pound longs with both positive momentum indicator and MACD treading above the zero line, while overbought Stochastic gives the greenback longs a chance to retaliate.

USD/CHF - Swiss Franc traders managed to push back the aggressive dollar traders as the pair found active offers round 1.3154, a December 8 daily high and retreated toward the 1.3100 figure. As greenback longs resume their advance, a move higher will most likely see them test the Swiss Franc offers around 1.3291, a level marked by the 2005 high with a breakout most likely seeing the pair gain upside momentum and aim for 1.3389, an October 3, 2003 daily high, a level which currently acts as a gateway toward the next psychologically important 1.3500 handle, breaking of which will see the USD/CHF test the Swiss Franc offers around 1.3525, a level established by the September 29, 2003 daily high. Indicators are favoring the Swiss Franc longs with both negative momentum indicator and MACD treading below the zero line, while neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

USD/CAD - Canadian dollar traders managed push the pair lower, but found active bids around 1.1650 as the pair stalled above the 20-day SMA at 1.1613. Another attempt by the greenback traders to break above the Loonie offers will most likely see the pair once again test the 1.1743 resistance and with a move to the upside most likely see the USD/CAD head toward 1.1830, a level established by the November 10 daily low. A sustained momentum on the part of the dollar longs will most likely see the pair head higher and test the offers around 1.1927, a 38.2 Fib of the 1.2733-1.1433 CAD rally, a level that currently acts as a gateway to the psychologically important 1.2000 handle. Indicators are diverging with positive momentum indicator above the zero line while negative MACD is sloping upward toward the zero line, while neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

AUD/USD - Australian dollar longs continued to head lower after the pair broke below the bids around .7321, a level established by the November 28 daily low and edged closer to the .7300 figure. As greenback longs extend their advance, a collapse of .7265, a 2005 low, will most likely issue a signal that the long-term trend in underway and a breakdown of .7217, a level created by the October 14, 2003 daily low, will most likely see the AUD/USD gain further momentum and aim for .71333, a level marked by the August 14, 2004 daily low, breaking of which will open the psychologically important .7000 handle as a target of opportunity for prospective greenback longs. Indicators are diverging with positive momentum indicator above the zero line while negative MACD is sloping upward toward the zero line, neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

NZD/USD - New Zealand dollar bulls saw the pair tumble below .6780, a level established by the November 15 daily low as greenback longs continued to dominate the price action. A sustained momentum to the downside will most likely see the pair break below the .6700 figure and take on the New Zealand dollar bids around .6686, a level established by the 2005 Low, and with a further collapse of the Kiwi's bids most likely seeing the pair aim for .6599, a level created by the July 16, 2004 daily low. A further move to the downside will most likely see the NZD/USD head lower and test the bids around .6514, an August 9, 2004 daily low, and is currently acting as a gateway to the psychologically important .6500 handle. Indicators are mixed with negative momentum indicator below the zero line and positive MACD sloping downward toward the zero line, while neutral oscillators give either side enough room to maneuver.

Sam Shenker is a Technical Currency Analyst for FXCM.