Data drives EURUSD lower; Stocks recover from soft start

Summary:

• EURUSD drops to 1-week low after US and German data

• USDTRY tests the 6.0 level as Lira gains

• Indices in the green on European close

• Stock of the week: Barrick Gold

• Does N. Korea use crypto to evade US sanctions

There’s been several data releases from the US this afternoon with the feeling a little mixed. Closer to home the most recent figures on German inflation have shown a bigger than forecast increase .The EURUSD has come under pressure since the announcements and fallen to its lowest level in a week and in doing os the market has dipped back below the 1.17 level.

In the FX space The Turkish lira is a standout on Thursday as more and more sources suggest a repair in relations between the US and Turkey where a court could free US pastor next month. USDTRY has fallen close to the key level of 6.00, a barrier that was not broken even after the central bank raised rates to 24%. This test could decide over the future of this currency pair for the next few weeks.

Stock indices have enjoyed a good day on the whole with notable gains seen in Europe while the US has recovered from last night’s swoon. However, bulls should remain on guard. Tomorrow, Friday 28th September, marks not only the final trading day of the week but also the month and the third quarter. Markets can tend to be pushed in a certain direction at quarter end as managed money looks to mark up their positions and window dress them. Going back to 1997 there’s been quite an easy to spot trend for the S&P500 (US500 on xStation) on the final trading day of Q3 with some notable weakness evident.

The gold mining industry is about to experience a major change of landscape. Barrick Gold (ABX.US), the largest gold mining company in the World, announced that it had agreed with other major gold producer on the merger. In this analysis we will provide the details of the deal, discuss operations of two involved companies and take a look at the latest earnings report of Barrick Gold.

Crypto markets have been a little quiet today with fairly small moves in most the market s and Bitcoin little changed around 6500. Litecoin is the biggest gainer and standout performer, moving higher by around 9% and moving back above the 60 mark. According to two Washington-based financial experts the Asian country is increasingly using cryptocurrencies to evade US sanctions (those are related to nuclearisation of North Korea). These pundits are Lourdes Miranda, a financial crimes investigator specialized in intelligence collection and analysis, and Ross Delston who specializes in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.