Trade war results, dollar’s future and a lot of statistics

May 10, 2019

The data on the US trade balance was published yesterday. In the light of the unfolding trade wars, this publication can be regarded as an indicator of victory/failure. So, the negative trade balance between the USA and China in March decreased to a record low in the last 5 years. Formally, this can be written as a victory for the United States. But on the other hand, in the first quarter, imports to the United States from China fell by 13.6%, while exports fell by 17.6%. Well, probably, this cannot be considered as a victory, maybe only a pyrrhic victory.

In addition, the US trade deficit with Mexico reached a record $ 9.5 billion in March, and with Europe it grew by more than half to $ 14.2 billion (Trump could send greetings to the weak peso and the euro, as well as a strong dollar).

Markets are increasingly worried that Trump is not bluffing when he accuses China of disrupting negotiations and threatens a new active phase of the trade war.

In addition, attacks on a strong dollar from Trump’s side might intensify. Strengthening the dollar, as we see, eliminates the effects of current victories in trade wars. So besides the new victories, Trump also needs to ensure a lower dollar. Goldman Sachs currency strategists obviously “feel” that, because they observe the prerequisites for a weaker dollar in the medium term.

Also, it should be noted that Friday will be intensive with macroeconomic statistics such as a block of data from the UK, which among other things include statistics on GDP, industrial production and the trade balance. Given the volume and importance of data, an explosion of volatility in pound pairs is almost inevitable. Since the pound movement direction directly depends on the output data, therefore today we recommend today to try trading on the news.

So, a couple of minutes before the data release, we place buy-stop and sell-stop orders at 20-30 points from the current price at that time. GBPUSD will be best for work with. News and the subsequent surge in volatility will lead to the directional movement, the formation will be possible to earn on. Using this trading tactic, do not try to predict the price movement, but simply join the general market movement.

In addition to statistics from the UK we are waiting for a block of data on the labor market in Canada, as well as consumer inflation in the United States. So in the afternoon in dollar pairs, and especially USDCAD will not be boring. Again, this is a reason for active trading and earnings.

Our positions did not change much at the end of the week. We are continuing to look for points for buying the Australian dollar and the euro against the dollar, selling of oil and the Russian ruble, as well as gold and the Japanese yen buying.