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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 its decision to maintain the current official cash rate, clearly showing a hawkish attitude in its public remarks. The short-term price of NZD to USD climbed over 40 pips to a weekly new height of 0.6347. RBNZ hasn’t observed fundamental changes in monetary policy outlook with employment at a full level and inflation kept within a target range, suggesting there’s remaining scope for more fiscal and monetary stimulus. Inflation expectation is a key signal for observers, and the market expects that New Zealand will continue to treat sluggish inflation as a sign of down-slope economy for a while. But the latest announcement shows RBNZ expects to see inflation rate inching up towards 2% under growing stress in production capacity and business profitability as well as influences of rising importation cost and wages. This suggests inflationary pressure has rallied while economic recession is alleviated, backing the view that there won’t be another interest rate cut immediately. RBNZ is satisfied with the effect of previous interest rate cut, while the prospect of more financial stimulus on the way also helps to ease market’s expectation of further interest rate cut from RBNZ. RBNZ also underlines that as escalating geopolitical tensions and global trade frictions continue to slow down global economic growth, economy in New Zealand also faces short-term pressure. Since New Zealand’s economy heavily depends on exportation, an aggravated global trade environment can also affect RBNZ’s expectations. Previously-released data indicates New Zealand’s GDP growth in the 2nd quarter, although slightly lower than in the first, had exceeded market estimation. According to a statement from Statistics New Zealand, the 2nd quarter GDP growth has been mainly driven by a 0.7% increase in the service sector production, which accounts for almost two thirds of the total. A steadying NZD supports commodity money, particularly AUD, so it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on AUD/JPY. AUD/JPY is currently at a key reversal of 38.2% following the rising trend from August 26th to September 13th. Investors can seek opportunities to buy when the curve hits 72.80. Daily pivot points: 72.86---73.00 S1: 72.57 R1: 73.16 S2: 72.34 R2: 73.52 Source from WikiFX.

Asian stocks fell on Wednesday after the U.S. lawmakers called for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, increasing the prospects of prolonged political uncertainty in the world’s largest economy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.55%, while Australian shares fell 0.66%. “There are a lot of factors out there that could potentially hurt market sentiment,” said Tsutomu Soma, general manager of fixed income business solutions at SBI Securities in Tokyo. However, some hedge funds have to close their books at the end of the month, so it may be difficult for the market to move. US. stock futures, rose 0.19% early in Asia on Wednesday, but the mild gains are unlikely to improve sentiment for Asian shares. #Stock #Japan #Australia #WikiFX

The US Dollar’s complete dominance of the global financial system shines out from a new survey of activity from the Bank of International Settlements. Despite US-China trade war, ballooning deficits and, let’s be honest, the most divisive presidency in living memory, the greenback is still on one side of fully 88% of all foreign exchange trades, the BIS said. This stark fact also underlines the importance of the Federal Reserve and its monetary policy way beyond US shores. The Dollar was not the only example of dominance in the survey. The UK may be wrestling with Brexit but London has tightened its grip on the enormous foreign exchange market where it’s by far the leading single center. The UK capital has increased its overall marked share by six percentage points in the last three years, giving it 43% of the market. The UK also reclaimed its position as the main global hub for trading in interest-rate swaps and over-the counter derivatives. London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong together control 79% of the foreign exchange market. #USD #UK #ForeignExchange #WikiFX

On September 18th, local time, US Federal Reserve cut interest rate by 25 basis points, lowering the target range to between 1.75%-2.00%. It’s the second interest rate cut that the Fed made this year, following the last one less than 2 months ago. Trade frictions and global economic slowdown spurred the rate cut despite a relatively robust US economy. Previously, the ECB (European Central Bank) announced to restart QE (Quantitative Easing) scheme, central banks in UK and Japan decided last Thursday to maintain the current interest rate level, while emerging economies continued to stick to easing monetary policies. Clearly enough, global central banks have entered a new round of quantitative easing which is expected to persist, against a background of increasing down-slope pressure in global economy and gloomy outlook in geopolitical issues. The August NFP statistics as well as other indicators suggesting an economic downdraft echoed with the observation that the US economy faces “tangible risks”, made by the Federal Reserve Chair Powell in his earlier speech. His speech and the views of several economists all suggested great possibility of another interest rate cut in September. US economist Michael Feroli even predicted that the latest NFP removed the last barrier for Federal Reserve to cut interest rate by 0.25%. The global market, anticipating the Fed’s interest rate decision announcement on September 18th, local time in last week, had witnessed dramatic changes. Crude oil price roller-coastered after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s major oil plant; currency shortage on the market on Monday and Tuesday pushed the Fed into repurchase measures again; People’s Bank of China chose MLF (Midterm Lending Facility) operation and kept a 3.3% interest rate on September 17th quite unexpectedly. The chain of events had put considerable pressure on the Federal Reserve which, already facing both domestic and international challenges, raised global attention in every move regarding interest rate cut and the scale of adjustment. After the recent decrease of 25 basis point, there had been divided opinions within the Fed about whether a further rate cut should take place this year. The latest Federal Reserve dot plot showed the target rate for 2019, 2020 and 2021 to be 1.875%, 1.875% and 2.125% respectively, while long-term interest rate target is set at 2.5%, in addition to the target rate of 2.375% for 2022. This suggests a plan for no further cuts in 2019 and 2020, and interest rate increases in both 2021 and 2022. Among the 17 Fed officials who participated in the vote, 7 supported another rate cut this year, 5 thought the rate should stay unchanged and 5 considered an interest rate increase is necessary. As China is the other major global power engaged in the trade war, what measures China’s central bank will take in this global wave of interest rate cut remains in question. Despite the MLF operation of PBOC on the 17th,the market was still expecting a rate cut and looked forward to the release of LPR rate scheduled on September 20th. A financial analyst from a securities firm in Beijing observed that even if the LPR rate remains unchanged after 20th this month, from long-term perspective there’s still a high probability for lowering MLF rate in 2019, due to the growing stress in macro-economy. Xu Junzhe, the Research Director of Yu Xiu Capital in Shanghai, said that the recent wave of global quantitative easing has created favourable external environment for China’s currency policies. Overall, China is very likely to continue to pursue a marginal easing monetary policy. The Fed’s interest rate slash stirred up the financial market, making the 3 key indices in US stock market plunged and affecting gold and bond prices to various degrees. Forex market, with most of its transactions centering around the USD, is inevitably influenced by these changes. Therefore, investors need to follow closely factors that can affect the fast-changing forex market, understand the market trend and choose the right trading opportunity. WikiFX will follow the latest forex news and make analysis of major events in the News Flash column. Stay tuned as we present you more forex updates.

Asian shares started higher on Monday on hopes of an interim Sino-U.S. tariff deal after the two countries described their talks as “productive” and “constructive”, while oil gained more than 1% as Middle East tensions remained elevated. Japan's Nikkei opened on a firm note, rising 0.2% while Australian shares added 0.5%. New Zealand's benchmark index was 0.1% higher. South Korea's Kospi was a touch weaker after disappointing trade data. That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. MIAPJ0000PUS up 0.5% at 511.3 points. It is up 3.4% so far in September. The E-mini futures for U.S. S&P 500 ESc1 climbed 0.5% while Dow minis 1YMc1 were up 0.4%. #Asianshares #tariff #oil #WikiFX

Illegal broker: E-Trans Regulatory status: cloned-license Complainant: Mr. Zhu Cause of complaint: withdrawal failure Brokers with cloned license account for quite a large proportion of illegal forex brokers. Recently, WikiFX got an investor’s complaint against such a broker E-Trans, who unscrupulously copied the high-rating broker Etrans from logo to company’s name, in order to defraud investors. Here’s how Mr. Zhu became a victim of the illegal broker. Event recap When Mr. Zhu downloaded MT4 trading software this July, someone who claimed to be introducing broker of Goldman Sachs Bitcoin found Mr. Zhu and recommended the broker E-Trans, telling him he can sign up at the platform and then select E-Trans in the MT4 software to start trading. On July 9th, Mr. Zhu successfully opened an account on E-Trans and made deposit, and the broker sent him a confirmation email. He later made several more deposits, some were immediately confirmed while others took longer. His last deposit of US$ 1,000, made on July 29th, was never confirmed by the platform. Depositing to E-Trans was bothersome enough, yet withdrawing from it was even worse. Mr. Zhu’s withdrawal application in mid-July had neither been approved, nor did he received the money, while his email request about the matter, sent on July 26th, received no response from the customer service. Besides withdrawal failure, Mr. Zhu also noticed that the broker’s website had become inaccessible since August, and he couldn’t reach anyone from E-Trans. On August 15th, Mr. Zhu again emailed E-Trans customer service, but failed to get a reply, and his later inquiries all met the same fate, even when Mr. Zhu declared he’d take legal actions against E-Trans if the issue remains unsolved. Until now, Mr. Zhu still has unwithdrawn balance in his account, and with E-Trans website closed and its staff inaccessible, it seems unlikely he can get the money back. Analysis Forex broker recommended by “IB” and the deceptive camouflage of E-trans are the 2 most worth-noting points in Mr. Zhu’s case. 1. Forex IB is an indispensable part and a permanent topic of the forex circle, yet their promises of high gains to investors could also be hidden traps. While IB agents may have more access to brokers’ information, investors should remain cautious about what these agents said and always check the compliance of a broker before making investment. 2. When looking up E-Trans online, we also found an Australian forex broker Etrans which has a similar name and logo with E-Trans. Further investigation shows that Etrans is a regulated broker with WikiFX rating 8.25 and has been in business for over 5 years, while E-Trans is an illegal broker that cloned Etrans’ MM license no.439303, issued by ASIC(Australia). As the website of E-Trans is no longer accessible, we have no idea whether it also copied the official site of Etrans, but what it had already cloned from Etrans was enough to trick Mr. Zhu who, considering himself experienced with brokers, still fell into the trap. Conclusion According to WikiFX App, E-Trans is a cloned-license broker that has been in business for less than a year, with a rating of only 1.12 on WikiFX App. We suggest investors to stay away from this illegal broker.

US and European Union start a new wave of interest rate cut Central banks around the world are stepping up their quantitative easing efforts to stimulate an economic recovery. On September 12th, European Central Bank (ECB) announced after decision meeting to further cut the deposit reserve rate from -0.4% to -0.5%, while restarting the quantitative easing scheme from November with a plan to purchase €20 billion-worth of bonds each month. On September 19th, US Federal Reserve will also release its decision on interest rate, which is expected to be down by 25 basis points in September. Emerging economies in Asia may be next Since the beginning of this year, the manufacturing in Asian countries and regions have experienced low tides due to trade war and other financial incidents. With the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping below the 50 mark, many emerging market economies in Asia are joining the US and EU in cutting interest rates. This week has seen slight fluctuations in Asian currencies, with dips in the prices of PHP, INR and MYR against USD. Over 10 Asian economies including the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia may try to boost domestic economy through further interest rate cut. According to a survey of Reuters, Bank Negara Malaysia may keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday to save room for further interest rate drop to counteract domestic economic slowdown and uncertainties in global trade. Risks that forex investors should beware of Advanced economies like European countries may benefit from currency depreciation as it creates economic stimulus through inflation and more competitive exportation. However, devaluation of currency may lead to excessive deflation which will further harm the already vulnerable economy in developing countries. The latest wave of interest rate drop has driven prices of currencies to their lowest point in many years, which not only causes investors heavy losses but also shakes the global market. Forex market is full of uncertainties, which require investors be more risk-conscious and follow the latest market trends, particularly the macroeconomic policies, including fiscal and monetary policies, of central banks, as they have direct implications on forex rates. In addition, key economic indicators as well as investors’ hedging sentiments will also affect the rate of currencies. If you’d like to learn more about forex market trends and investment tips, you can download the WikiFX App to check out the forex information we constantly update for investors.

The headline event risk for the week will be the FOMC rate decision with overnight index swaps pricing in an 85.4 percent chance of a 25-basis point rate cut. However, the market’s ultra-dovish expectations for further easing could be once again cooled by Mr. Powell who has reiterated for the past year that the central bank is on a data-dependent path. What is more telling, however, is how the US Dollar has performed against this backdrop. Despite market expectations growing increasingly more dovish, the Greenback has continued to rise. This suggests that the US Dollar’s appeal as the most liquid currency is rising, possibly indicating underlying premonitions about future market conditions. #FOMCRate #USDollar #Currency #WikiFX

Forex broker: Blackrock Visited on: August 28th, 2019 Conclusion: the broker truly exists On-the-spot investigation Regulatory information shows that the office of licensed forex broker Blackrock in Singapore is at 20 Anson Road, and WikiFX team recently visited this office of Blackrock. We arrived at Anson Road, a well-known CBD that accommodates many shopping centers and office buildings, and found the magnificent office building on 20 Anson Road. The building runs strict security check on visitors, with a modernized access-control system and 2 guards to check visitors’ identities. Near the building entrance, we found Blackrock’s logo on a directory, which showed the company to be on level 18, and the receptionist also confirmed that Blackrock is on level 18. We concluded that Blackrock’s office in Singapore truly exists. Analysis Singapore has a well-established financial regulation system as one of the pioneering countries in this aspect. The main regulatory body, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), was established in 1971 and enjoys great independence and authority which allow it to effectively oversee the financial industry in Singapore. In recent years, the institution has further improved its reputation by implementing efficient and safe regulation infrastructure and improving market transparency. Investors are showing more interest in brokers based in Singapore, so WikiFX is visiting some of these brokers to bring investors more information. According to Blackrock’s website, it is a global corporation that offers assets management, risk management and consultation services. With over 70 offices in 30 countries and regions across America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa, the company is among the largest of its kind, providing comprehensive services to clients through a synergy of its global influence and local network. Regulatory information shows that Blackrock is currently under the supervision of MAS (Singapore), holding a license for retail forex brokerage. Conclusion WikiFX App shows that Blackrock is registered in Hong Kong. The broker currently holds HKSFC’s futures license, a retail forex license from MAS (Singapore), common financial service license from ASIC (Australia) and investment advisory license from FCA (UK), among which the ASIC license and FCA license are not authorized for forex brokerage. Blackrock has been in business for 15 years and has a WikiFX rating of 7.36, but as 2 of the broker’s licenses are not authorized for forex brokerage, investors should still be careful about risks of overrun business in choosing this broker.

Major Indices have enjoyed a two-fold tailwind from warming US-China trade ties and dovish central bank policy which has allowed them to post gains in September thus far. As it stands, the fundamental landscape lies largely with Wednesday’s FOMC meeting at which the Federal Reserve is expected to cut the Federal Funds rate by 25 basis points. With the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 trading slightly beneath resistance, will they require a fundamental catalyst to break above or drive higher in the coming days regardless? Either way, the FTSE 100 has a perilous path ahead. Continued Brexit uncertainty will likely divert some attention away from monetary policy matters and could keep the Index beneath resistance at 7,367 until loose-ends are tied. The Index could encounter subsequent resistance at the ascending trendline around 7,475 and 7,570. Unlike the FTSE, the CAC 40 enjoys a relatively stable domestic backdrop. To that end, the French equity Index has enjoyed a steeper climb than its British counterpart and rests slightly beneath recent highs at 5,672. The level will look to resist a continuation higher. If surpassed, the CAC 40 could target levels not seen since 2007 when the Index traded above 6,000. #FTSE100 #CAC40 #Brexit #FederalReserve #WikiFX

Investors may still remember that in last September, the European Union issued a new regulation which prohibits any leverage higher than 1:30 being offered to trading accounts under its regulation. Yet some unscrupulous brokers tried to dodge the EU restriction on leverage through offshore branches, in order to attract investors with higher leverage. Recently the forex media Finance Magnates interviewed 10 Europe-based forex brokers supervised by Cyprus or Britain regulators. 5 of these brokers were willing to offer higher leverage and provided a link to registration page or website of offshore branch. The risks of excessive forex leverage If you have ever traded forex, you’d know that forex price moves very slightly, which means it takes a large investment and more time to profit. But with forex leverage, the minute changes of forex price can be converted into larger profits of investors more efficiently. Many investors think that a higher leverage enables them to harness more capital and thus make more profits, yet they tend to ignore that with higher leverage, the risks of investment also increase. Once the market turns against them, investors trading with higher leverage will also suffer heavier loss. The “high-leverage” traps of illegal forex brokers “High leverage” is also a selling point that illegal forex brokers on the market often use to trick more investors, and investors usually have a hard time deciding the credibility of such brokers. For instance, BFS which topped the WikiFX most complained brokers list in August claims to offer a leverage as high as 1:1000. However, the broker is in fact illegal as its VFSC(Vanuatu) regulated license was canceled, while WikiFX got 50 complaints against this broker from investors in the past 3 months. BFS is now labeled an illegal broker on WikiFX App. How to identify “high-leverage” scams ? As in countless forex scam cases like the “1:1000 leverage” of BFS, misleading advertisements of illegal brokers on so-called “high leverage” cause many investors heavy losses. Investors need to pay close attention to the warning signs such as “high leverage”, “low trading threshold” and “great bonus” and other enticing slogans, and check the broker’s compliance and regulatory status to ensure its legitimacy. If you have any doubt about a broker’s compliance, you may download WikiFX App and check broker’s profile conveniently.

Now that the ECB cut interest rates in September – meeting expectations, as overnight index swaps were discounting a 100% chance of a 10-bps rate cut – investors are quickly shifting their expectations for future policy moves. Overnight index swaps are currently pricing in a 62% chance of a 10-bps rate cut at the October ECB meeting. If not, there is a 71% chance of a second 10-bps rate cut coming at the December ECB meeting. But this is the big move: whereas last week rates markets were pricing in three 10-bps rate cuts in September and October 2019 and January 2020; after the September rate cut, rates markets now see the next cuts coming in October 2019 and July 2020. That the third rate cut has been pushed back by six months may give the Euro some room to breathe in the short-term. #rate #euro #bps #WikiFX

On September 6th, US Bureau of Labor Statistics released Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) for August, 2019. Actual NFP reached 130,000, less than the forecast 160,000, while the previous was revised down from 164,000 to 159,000. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell observed in his recent talk that the US economy faces notable risks, and the actual NFP, as well as other indicators pointing to a down-slope economy, seemed to support his conclusion. Besides message from Powell, economists also predict the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates in September. US economist Michael Feroli thinks the latest NFP removed the last barrier for Federal Reserve to cut interest rate by 0.25%. But according to Eric Rosengren, the president of Federal Reserve of Boston, easing financial policy may be a good choice if the risk of potential economic downturn becomes reality, but interest rate cut is not necessary at the moment. The release of NFP usually causes big swings of the forex market, creating a favourable opportunity for investors to trade forex. Meanwhile, brokers’ slippage and trading speed are key to investors’ trading success. WikiFX conducted trial trading on forex brokers against NFP release last month, and the results which demonstrated each broker’s capability received positive feedback from investors. After NFP was released this month, WikiFX tested 43 forex brokers rated over 7.0 on WikiFX App, carefully analyzed the data and listed the top 20 brokers in terms of their slippage and trading speed. The table listed 20 brokers with the lowest slippage on the day of NFP release in September. USGFX who topped the list kept its average slippage at a remarkable 0.14. Generally speaking, slippage may result from network delay, a change in the bid/ask price during a time of high market volatility and broker’s manipulation. As slippage is a key indicator for a broker’s performance, it is often a main factor that investors consider when choosing a broker. As for average trading speed (order execution speed), most brokers tested have done well with fast response. Among the brokers, LION ranked first with an outstanding average trading speed of 169 milliseconds per order, breaking the threshold of 200 milliseconds per order. As a main indicator of US economy, NFP data has a significant impact on the forex market. At the point of great market volatility when NFP is released, WikiFX’s trial-trading test has set a benchmark for the competence of brokers, and investors can use the test result as a reference, while taking into account relevant information like regulation and compliance, to choose the broker that suits them best. Detail information of all the brokers listed are available on both the WikiFX website and App, investors may check it to gain a more comprehensive view of these brokers. As key economic indicators often have great implications on the forex market as well, WikiFX will keep a close watch on these indicators and conduct further trading tests of brokers to offer investors more valuable information.

The next week-and-a-half bring a busy economic calendar loaded with items of interest, key of which are Central Bank rate decisions out of Europe and the FOMC. FX markets are relatively quiet with the big drivers on the horizon, but a number of areas present pockets of potential opportunity. In the US Dollar, the currency is holding at a key zone of resistance that runs from 98.33-98.50, which can help to keep the door open for short-side strategies. Is this the meeting where the European Central Bank makes another throw into the QE array? A rate cut here is widely-expected but that may not move the needle much in Euro price action. A QE announcement, however, could bring far more impact but the bigger question is whether the bank is there yet and with a leadership change set to take place later this year, it may be an inopportune time to make new announcements that will have to be executed upon by someone who hasn’t even taken office yet. This can set the Euro up for strength potential on an ECB disappointment. From a technical perspective, there isn’t yet much to work with although setups on either side can be justified based on timeframe used for analysis. #FX #EUR #USD #WikiFX

Broker: Alfa Capital Visited on: August 18th, 2019 Conclusion: the broker truly exists On-the-spot investigation Regulatory information shows that Alfa Capital, holder of CySEC(Cyprus)’s MM license, is at the 4th floor of Julia House on 3, Themistokli Dervi in Nicosia. Themistokli Dervi is a main street in the pedestrian zone of Nicosia’s CBD, where many renowned global companies are located. We reached Julia House and noticed the logos of Alfa Capital and Alfa Forex as soon as we entered the lobby. Taking the elevator to level 4, we soon found the office of Alfa Capital and Alfa Forex. From what we saw while we communicated with the company staff, the office has about 40 cubicles and is of considerable size. We confirm that Alfa Capital’s office in Cyprus really exists. Analysis Alfa Capital’s websites shows the company to be a subsidiary of ABH Financial Limited. The company has been under the regulation of Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission(CySEC) since 2004, holding license number 025/04. Per investigation, information from Alfa Capital’s website matches the regulatory information from CySEC. The company was issued forex brokerage license on May 4th, 2004 and has been in business for over 15 years. Given that CySEC was only established in 2003, Alfa Capital which managed to register and obtain a license in 2004 is truly among the forex pioneers of Cyprus. Despite incidents in recent years that raised questions about the soundness of Cyprus regulation, Alfa Capital continues to grow against unfavorable conditions, showing its strength and capability. Conclusion WikiFX App shows that besides the MM license of CySEC(Cyprus), Alfa Capital also holds EEA license of FCA, demonstrating rich expertise through over 15 years of experience in forex brokerage. The broker is rated at 7.33 on WikiFX App and has a satisfactory performance. However, as Alfa Capital uses non-MT4/5 trading software, investors are suggested to remain cautious during your investment to ensure the safety of your assets.

EURUSD appears to be stuck in a narrow range as the ECB prepares for its quarterly meeting, and the central bank may unveil new measures to insulate the Euro area as the Governing Council struggles to achieve its one and only mandate for price stability. -The broader outlook for EURUSD is becoming more bearish as the exchange rate clears the May-low (1.1107) following the Federal Reserve rate cut in July, with the 1.1100 (78.6% expansion) handle no longer offering support. -Will keep a close eye on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) as the oscillator continues to track the downward trend from June, but a break of trendline resistance may accompany a larger rebound in the exchange rate as the bearish momentum abates. -Nevertheless, the failed attempt to push above the 1.1100 (78.6% expansion) handle may continue to generate range-bound conditions, with a move below 1.1040 (61.8% expansion) bringing the Fibonacci overlap around 1.0950 (100% expansion) to 1.0980 (78.6% retracement) back on the radar. #EUR #USD #ECB #WikiFX

EURUSD appears to be stuck in a narrow range as the ECB prepares for its quarterly meeting, and the central bank may unveil new measures to insulate the Euro area as the Governing Council struggles to achieve its one and only mandate for price stability. -The broader outlook for EURUSD is becoming more bearish as the exchange rate clears the May-low (1.1107) following the Federal Reserve rate cut in July, with the 1.1100 (78.6% expansion) handle no longer offering support. -Will keep a close eye on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) as the oscillator continues to track the downward trend from June, but a break of trendline resistance may accompany a larger rebound in the exchange rate as the bearish momentum abates. -Nevertheless, the failed attempt to push above the 1.1100 (78.6% expansion) handle may continue to generate range-bound conditions, with a move below 1.1040 (61.8% expansion) bringing the Fibonacci overlap around 1.0950 (100% expansion) to 1.0980 (78.6% retracement) back on the radar. #EUR #USD #ECB #WikiFX

The yen slipped on Thursday as global tensions including the U.S.-China trade conflict showed signs of thawing, bolstering investor confidence and reducing demand for safe-haven currencies. The pound rose to its highest level against the dollar in more than a month on hopes that a no-deal Brexit would be avoided. In late U.S. trading, the dollar was up 0.53% at 106.975 yen after reaching 107.235 yen, which was its highest level since late July. Against the euro, the yen was 0.5% lower at 118.015 after falling to 118.6, marking a three-week low versus the common currency. Source: Reuters #Yen #Sterling #Investor #WikiFX

In this August, escalation of the Sino-US trade conflict, Federal Reserve interest rate cut and a hard Brexit continue to destabilize the global forex market and fuels into investors’ risk-hedging sentiments. As the RMB plunged, GBP tumbled downhill and US Treasury bonds showed inverted yield curve, the currencies of SE Asian countries were also affected and dropped drastically. SE Asian economies suffered much from the collateral damages of the trade war between China and the US. Being the world’s two largest economies, China and US not only bruised each other, but also hurt the economy of SE Asia by locking up in a tit-for-tat trade war. Since China is the largest trade partner of ASEAN countries, the high level of economic inter-dependency between them means ASEAN countries face greater pressure as China’s export decreased. Statistics of SE Asian countries in the second quarter of 2019 showed signs of economic slowdown. Singapore’s GDP in Q2 grew by 0.1% year-on-year, the lowest in a decade. Besides Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines also saw their growth in Q2 lower than that of Q1. Although the central bank in Malaysia released more positive data, analysts in Malaysia warned that the accumulating global risks also post significant challenges to Malaysia’s economic outlook. In addition, in the forex report of the first half of 2019, the US Treasury added Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam to the watch list of currency manipulators, targeting the forex industry in SE Asia. US Treasury estimated in the report that in 2018, Singapore’s net purchases of foreign currency reached at least 17 billion USD, which was equivalent to 4.6% of its GDP, while Malaysia’s central bank made net sales of foreign currency equivalent to 3.1% of its GDP; Meanwhile, Vietnam’s current account balance gained a surplus of over 5 percent of GDP in the four quarters through June 2018. Although Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Malaysia’s central bank and the Vietnamese government all dismissed accusations of currency manipulation, US may still impose sanctions over these countries, such as restricting US businesses from investing in SE Asia, or taking further measures such as imposing tariff penalties on certain SE Asian countries. John Lee, CEO of the May Bank’s Singapore branch, pointed out during an interview with The Nikkei: “The US government wants more than targeting China. Ultimately, it aims to reverse the current trade imbalance with many countries, ASEAN countries could be the next targets if they continue to maintain a trade surplus against the US.” Against the backdrop of an ever-changing global market, investors in SE Asia can follow forex news and market trends closely and adjust your investment accordingly to minimize your risks. You may also download WikiFX App to conveniently check forex data, market news and broker information.

The dollar was little changed on Tuesday against a basket of currencies, underpinned by safe-haven demand on worries about U.S.-China trade tensions and a chaotic British exit from the European Union.Initial strength that propelled the dollar to a more than two-year peak faded following a private report that showed the U.S. manufacturing sector in August recorded its first monthly contraction since 2016.“That’s a reflection on what has been going on on the trade front,” said Don Ellenberger, head of multi-sector strategies at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.The steeper-than-expected decline in the factory activity index of the Institute for Supply Management touched off a rally in the U.S. bond market, sending benchmark 10-year yields to their lowest levels since July 2016.Source: Reuters#Dollar #Trade #Brexit #WikiFX

Sterling wallowed near a more than two-year low on Tuesday on growing investor worries about a “no-deal Brexit” as rival British lawmakers fought for control over negotiations to leave the European Union. The euro fell to the lowest in more than two years as weak economic data from the EU underscored expectations for the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy at a meeting next week. The yuan will come into focus during Asian trading after it slipped to a record low versus the dollar in offshore trade due to fading hopes for a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war. The pound is likely to remain under pressure ahead of a vote in Britain’s parliament about Brexit later on Tuesday, the outcome of which could trigger an early election and Britain’s exit from the EU without trading agreements. A messy exit from the EU is certain to weaken the pound, but it could roil other currencies as investors adjust their positions to exit trades in riskier assets. Source: Reuters #Sterling #Brexit #Investor #WikiFX

The dollar held firm against the yen on Friday, as comments from Beijing sparked renewed hopes that China and the United States could get full-fledged negotiations back on track to resolve their protracted trade dispute. The U.S. currency was also supported by investors' month-end rebalancing needs, which has helped lift the dollar index to its highest level in a month. Against the yen, the greenback traded at 106.53 yen , flat from late U.S. levels and up 1.1% on the week. Source: Reuters #yen #dollar #tradewar #forex #WikiFX

The dollar slipped on Thursday, but moved within narrow ranges, as investors awaited a possible announcement or statement from the Federal Reserve at this week's Jackson Hole, Wyoming event to address the worsening global economic outlook. Fed policymakers were divided over whether to reduce rates but united in wanting to signal they were set on more cuts, minutes of the meeting showed. Resource from Reuters #dollar #FED #WikiFX

The dollar held gains on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting hosed down some aggressive expectations the central bank would embark on a series of deep interest rate cuts.Asian currencies are expected to trade in tight ranges on Thursday ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday for signs of just how far the U.S. central bank is prepared to lower rates.His comments are of particular interest after an inversion in the Treasury yield curve highlighted the risk that the U.S. economy may fall into recession. While the Fed's minutes tempered some dovish expectations, markets still broadly expect further rate cuts as growth slows.Resource from investing.com #dollar #forex #WikiFX

Corporate Name: United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) Address: level 6 (A) main office tower, financial park labuan complex, jalan merdeka, 87000 labuan F.T., Malaysia Visiting Date: August 19th , 2019 Visitor: WikiFX team Company profile United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) is a leading bank in Asia founded in 1935, with its headquarter in Singapore. Over the last 80 years, UOB has established an international network of over 500 offices in 19 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and North America. It is currently among the world’s top banks. On-the-spot investigation According to the regulatory address, we came to the Financial Park Complex. It is the largest business complex in the Federal Territory of Labuan, covering approximately 12 acres. Upon entering the building, we could smell a pleasant fragrance in the air. The space inside the building is huge, occupied by offices of local and international financial institutions. Since we had no reservation, the receptionist politely asked us to fill out the visitor registration form. After that, we followed the company directory and successfully found UOB’s Malaysian branch on the 6th floor. Conclusion WikiFX App indicates that UOB is rated at 5.71 and holds the MM license issued by LFSA, currently in valid regulation. As of now, we have visited hundreds of brokers, many of which are presented in multiple angles with the help of VR technology.