Start your trading week right by prepping for these top-tier catalysts and checking out my potential trade setup.
Don’t forget to review which factors drove forex market price action last week, too!
Major Economic Events:
U.S. non-farm payrolls (Apr. 2, 1:30 pm GMT) – Uncle Sam’s jobs report is the only main event on the economic calendar this week.
With some markets closed for holidays on Friday, low liquidity could bring about volatile trading conditions then.
Analysts are expecting to see an even stronger increase in hiring of 633K for March versus the earlier 379K gain. This might be enough to bring the unemployment rate down from 6.2% to 6.0%. Meanwhile, the average hourly earnings figure is slated to post another 0.2% uptick.
OPEC meetings (Apr. 1 & 2) – The Black Crack Mafia have meetings that might be worth keeping tabs on as well. Any updates on their output deal could spur big moves for crude oil, but note that the cartel already agreed to extend its duration lately.
The OPEC is also expected to reassure markets that supply chain disruptions and potential fuel shortages resulting from the Suez Canal cargo ship blockage would be temporary.
Forex Setup of the Week: GBP/USD
Gonna keep close tabs on this break-and-retest setup on Cable this week!
The pair is still in correction mode and is hovering around the area of interest, which is near the 50% Fibonacci retracement, 200 SMA dynamic resistance, and 1.3850 minor psychological level.
Are sellers ready to return soon?
Technical indicators suggest that resistance levels are likely to hold, as the 100 SMA is below the 200 SMA while Stochastic is turning lower from the overbought area.
All eyes are on the NFP release later in the week and, with an upbeat jobs figure expected, dollar bulls might be eager to charge prior to the actual release.
Leading indicators like the ADP non-farm employment change and ISM business PMI surveys are also slated to post strong hiring gains, which might be enough to push GBP/USD back to the swing low at 1.3670 or lower.
