Russian Ruble Bares Its Teeth at the Major Currencies

Fundamentals

The US Labor Department released its initial jobless claims data on Thursday. The number of claims was worse than expected, 258,000, but this is still better than the last report. However, the renewed jobless claims number rose to 2,052,000.
In Russia, traders were watching the Central Bank International Reserves report yesterday. The RF Central Bank’s reserves grew to $399B compared to the previous $395.7B.
Today, we recommend focusing on the UK GDP, which is released at 8:30 AM GMT. The GDP growth rate in Q4 is forecast to remain at 2%. The Q4 current account balance is also released Friday. The figure is expected to be £-16.3B.
The EU CPI is released at 9 AM GMT. Inflation in the Eurozone is expected to have fallen to 1.8%. Remember that the next ECB meeting won’t be until the end of next month - April 27. The ECB is likely to leave the interest rate unchanged at 0%.
The GDP in Canada is released at 12:30 PM GMT. GDP growth is forecast to rise, just as it did in the previous period, and be 0.3%.
Among officials who are making speeches, we recommend Neel Kashkari, a voting FOMC member, who speaks at 2 PM GMT today.

Stocks

Just like yesterday, no earnings reports of interest are being released today.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is correcting upward on moderate volumes. Still, it's fairly hard to say anything specific for now. The index may still be in the correctional wave headed downwards, so the bears may return to the index and the downtrend may continue. On the weekly charts, the DJIA is trying to break through the 9-week MA. Consequently, going long should be avoided for now.
Apple shares reached the target at $144. Currently, there's no correction. The MACDF and the price are diverging on the weekly charts, however, so it is likely there will be.
The Russian stock market is starting to trade sideways. Technically, however, the MICEX Index may still be trending. If this is the case, we should expect the 3rd wave to start and develop. It could be quite extensive. The resistance is still at the notorious 2,040 level.

Currency Market

Both the EUR/RUB and USD/RUB pairs continue to fall. The Russian currency is strengthening against the major world currencies in the short term. The fundamental reasons for this are high oil prices and political risks in the Eurozone. Technically, there are no reasons for a reversal so far. If the ruble in the EUR/RUB settles below 62, the pair may well fall back to the level reached in April 2015. In terms of USD/RUB, the situation is similar, but at the 56.70 level. Despite the lower USD price, this may be a false breakout, and the pair may go back up.
As for AUD/CAD pair, the bulls are testing 1.0233 (a 78.6% Fibo retracement). For now things are not going well. A double top is starting to form on the weekly charts, while the MACDF has reverted and is going down, signaling a potential mid-term trend reversal. The ADX index has started rising with the fall of the Aussie, which confirms the strengthening of a bearish outlook.

Olymp Trade Review