Market News

• Prior month -15.9
• Flash estimate for August -15.5 versus -16.3 estimate

Every month, the Directorate-GeneralEconomic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) of the European Commission releases the flash CCI for the EU andeuro-area aggregates, using the data available on the cut-off date. The final Consumer Survey results are thenpublished as part of the full Business and Consumer Survey release at the end of the month.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

The USDCHF fell sharply this week, helped by the fundamental catalyst of U.S. Treasury buying and the subsequent selling of the U.S. dollar. The move pushed the pair below the value area that had contained most of the price action over the past two-plus months, giving sellers greater technical control.

More specifically, the price broke below a swing area between 0.8029 and 0.8034, and then through another swing area at 0.8009 to 0.80178. The selling continued on Thursday with a break below the 100-day moving average, but downside momentum stalled near the 61.8% retracement at 0.79519. The low reached 0.7949 before buyers stepped in and pushed the price higher late in the session.

In trading today, the price action has been more up and…

• Prior month 53.9
• Manufacturing PMI flash 53.2 versus 53.9 estimate.
• Services PMI 56.8 versus 54.0 estimate. Prior month 54.6.
• Composite 56.0 versus 54.5 prior.

The manufacturing index was lower than expectations, but the services in the composite indices were higher. All 3 indices remain above the 50 level indicative of growth.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence commented on the report saying:

“US business is booming, with firms reporting the fastest output growth for over four years so far in the third quarter as the expansion picked up further momentum in August. The survey data for the third quarter are currently pointing to annualized growth approaching 3.0%, up solidly from the 1.5% pace seen in…

Canada retail sales came in better than expectations today, helping to keep pressure on USDCAD. The pair is trading lower, although it has seen a modest bounce off the session lows.

The broader move this week has been firmly to the downside, with selling accelerating following the U.S. Treasury announcement earlier in the week. Ongoing discussions surrounding the framework for a U.S.-Canada trade agreement have also helped underpin the Canadian dollar.

Technically, USDCAD started the week by moving into a key support area defined by a lower channel trendline and the 200-day moving average near 1.3846. Buyers leaned against that support and pushed the price higher Tuesday and into Wednesday. However, the rebound stalled ahead of the 100-day…

• Prior was +1.0%
• The advanced July reading was 0.8%
• Retail sales for June 0.6% vs 0.4% estimate
• Ex Autos for June 0.5% vs 0.4% estimate. Prior 1.2%.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.

The U.S. dollar is starting the day on the defensive, trading lower against all of the major currencies. The largest declines are against the AUD and NZD, which are higher by 0.77% and 0.67%, respectively. Against the EUR, JPY and GBP, the dollar is lower by around 0.20% to 0.30% to kickstart the trading day.

In today’s Kickstart video, I take a look at the key technical levels driving the major currency pairs and outline the bias, risk and targets — three things every trader should be aware of as the new trading day gets underway. 

U.S. Treasury yields are mixed and little changed to start the day, with rates generally sitting near the middle of this week’s volatile trading ranges.

The volatility this week has been particularly pronounced…

Headlines:

• Gold stays poised to post third straight week of gains
• US Treasury move risks creating unintended consequences for markets and the economy
• Why markets care more about the signal than the size of the Treasury buyback
• How have interest rate expectations changed after this week's events?
• Stock market sector rotation explained: Where investors are moving their money now
• ECB's Kazāks says September decision will be based on data, adds there are pros and cons to hiking further
• French business activity contracts further in August as demand conditions remain subdued
• Germany August flash manufacturing PMI 54.1 vs 52.0 expected
• Euro area business activity sees further pick up in August despite France, Germany softness
• UK August flash services PMI…

If you ask any executive in the forex industry what they stand for, you will hear the same words. Everyone claims to be an honest forex broker. Everyone talks about transparency. But execution quality is not built on marketing phrases. It is built on the floor, decision by decision, week in and week out. It is a series of operational choices that define how you actually treat the traders putting their capital at risk on your platform.

If you really want to understand how A-Book brokers make money, you have to look at the work itself. Over the course of the A-Book STP series, we have talked a lot about the structures that govern execution. But today, I want to take you onto the operations floor. These are the six decisions we make on a…

We're seeing a return back to the Wednesday moves as traders are continuing to weigh the US Treasury decision to double long-term debt buybacks this week. While there is a good argument that the relief bought may be a short-term solution, that is not to say that the signaling will be so quickly undone.

Bessent doubled down with some verbal intervention yesterday and that continues to reaffirm their conviction in wanting markets to follow their signal.

And amid some key technical breaks in dollar pairs (as well as gold), we're seeing that continue to run in the final stretch of the week. EUR/USD is up 0.2% to 1.1705 with buyers slowly inching towards a key test of 1.1800 down the road. Meanwhile, USD/JPY is down 0.4% to 158.48 and nearing…

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.50%, Shanghai Composite up 0.01% Hang Seng up 0.71% ASX down 0.31%
• Commodities : Gold at $4,587.56 (0.35%) Silver at $68.845 (1.10%), Brent Oil at 93.65 (-0.13%), WTI Oil at 86.59 (-0.28%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.707, UK 10-year yield at 5.0700, Germany 10-year yield at 3.2555

News & Data:

• (USD)   Unemployment Claims
•   206K  to 210K  expected

Markets Update:

Stock futures were little changed Thursday night after a sharp Wall Street sell-off pushed the major averages toward weekly losses.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures hovered around the flatline. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1%. The moves left the S&P 500 down…

Bitcoin forecasts for 2027: One speculative fractal scenario maps a $148,000 peak

Bitcoin could approach $145,000-$150,000 around summer 2027 under one long-range chart scenario. The projection combines a repeated historical price pattern with an extended resistance line drawn across three major Bitcoin tops. However, this is a low-confidence scenario, not a trade plan or a claim that Bitcoin must follow the projected path.

Key takeaways from this Bitcoin forecast

• Projected peak: Approximately $148,000, potentially during summer 2027.
• Bitcoin price when the chart was created: Around $73,400 on August 21, 2026.
• Distance to the projected peak: Bitcoin was trading at roughly half the forecasted high, meaning the scenario implies approximately…