Tin tức thì trường

According to ActionForex, analysts at RBC Financial Group note that that Canadian employment rose by 953k in June, the second month of improvement. 

"This was a fair bit stronger than the consensus expectation of 700k, and, together with May’s showing, means that roughly 40% of the jobs lost in March and April have been recovered. The labour force also recovered markedly, up 786k net persons, leaving the headline unemployment rate at 12.3% (down from 13.7% in May)."

"Statistics Canada continued to report labour market “underutilization”: about 27% of the potential labour force remained underutilized last month, meaning unemployed, not in the labour force but wanting a job, or working less than half of normal hours. This marked a further improvement from May’s 34% rate, but is nevertheless well above historic norms."

"June brought a 167k drop in the level of unemployment, and the composition has changed in line with re-openings and a return of job searchers. Temporary layoffs now account for about a quarter of unemployment, down from half two months ago, while those who were previously not in the labour force more than doubled to roughly 40% of the total."

"Another step in the right direction. There remains a long road ahead to regain the roughly 3 million jobs lost as a result of the pandemic, but the pace so far has defied expectations. It was not just the employment gains that were encouraging, but also the strong rise in the labour force. This may be telling us that Canadians are becoming a bit more confident from a health perspective – recall that at the height of the pandemic, there was a massive increase in people who had stopped looking for work entirely. The generally improving new infection numbers provide hope that the labour market healing can continue."

"The pace of future gains remains an open question. There is the risk that what we’ve seen so far has been the “low hanging fruit” as operations that are able to safely re-open have done so. The pattern of gains will likely vary in the coming months as well. International travel restrictions are likely to remain in place for some time, with implications for those that tend to serve domestic versus international tourists, for instance."

"Ultimately, while today’s numbers are encouraging, there are almost 1.8 million lost jobs yet to be recovered. It is still a long way to the finish line."

FXStreet notes that Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, announced it is buying the US natural gas assets formerly held by Dominion Energy. There is deep optionality embedded in physical energy assets which could ultimately be worth multiples of what Buffett paid should market volatility return to pre-shale levels, according to strategists at Rabobank. 

“The US and even global natural gas supplies are set to tighten dramatically and with that, we expect to see spot prices and market volatility return to pre-shale levels. If our expectations are realized, then this big US natural gas bet by Buffett could ultimately end up being worth multiples of what was paid.”

“We view the bullish natural gas play as in the ‘strong hands’ of the market while the oil bulls are split into a wide cross-section of retail traders that are generally flying by the seat of their pants. This dynamic has set up the ultimate value vs momentum trade, as we see it, and which will play out in the months and even years ahead. We remain convinced though that this transaction has the potential to be a landmark deal that could well mark the ‘bottom’ for the US natural gas industry.”

“One needs to consider who to invest alongside and also to be able to identify those honey traps set by the market and that is why our eyes are on natural gas outperforming oil in the coming years as the energy transition is brought forward as a result of the virus outbreak and its long term impact to transportation fuel demand.”

• Believes U.S. economy is already in recovery

FXStreet notes that the Canadian economy added back 952K jobs in June, beating expectations, while the unemployment rate was in line with market consensus at 12.3%. The USD/CAD muted response is no surprise as risk sentiment remains the ultimate arbiter of currency dynamics and, therefore, economists at TD Securities expect the loonie to broadly respect the 1.35-1.3630 range.

“The Canadian labour market outperformed expectations with 952k jobs created during the month of June (market: 700K, TD: 600K), split roughly evenly between full (+488K) and part-time workers (+465K).”

“The unemployment rate was slightly higher than expected at 12.3% in June (market: 12.1%, TD: 12.2%), down from 13.7%, but this reflected a sharp increase in participation, which has recovered to 63.8% from <60% in April.”

“USD/CAD. This is not a surprise, as risk remains the ultimate arbiter of currency dynamics at this time. On this front, we do look poised for risk to end the week on a mediocre note, which could keep USD/CAD biased to trade near daily downtrend resistance around 1.3620/30.” 

“Biased for the loonie to remain sandwiched between 200-dma support at 1.35 and daily downtrend resistance around 1.3630. A break of the latter would expose 1.3730 June pivot but that would require a really sour turn in risk.”

FXStreet reports that analysts at Natixis suggest that financial markets do not believe Joe Biden will win as there are no rise in expected inflation in the US and in expectations for long-term interest rates, no fall in share prices and no depreciation of the USD. 

“The proposed doubling of the federal minimum wage in the United States (to $15 per hour), which would bring it to a high level relative to the median wage, would undoubtedly be inflationary.”

“Long-term interest rates would be driven higher by the rise in expected inflation and a significant increase in public spending (healthcare, security, education, infrastructure, the energy transition).”

“A fall in the equity market would be triggered by a fall in profits under the effect of tax hikes (higher taxes on income, profits, wealth and capital gains) and wage increases.”

“If US financial markets became less attractive due to the hike in the tax burden and the fall in profits, capital inflows would probably fall and the dollar would depreciate.”

• Says his base case is 2020 GDP decline of 4.5 to 5.0% in 2020 - Fox Business 
• U.S. has lots of excess capacity, expect disinflation
• If we all wear a mask, the economy will grow faster
• In the future there will be a point when Fed will need to show restraint, but during current crisis it's actions are appropriate

The Labor Department reported on Friday the U.S. producer-price index (PPI) fell 0.2 percent m-o-m in June, following an unrevised 0.4 percent m-o-m advance in May.

For the 12 months through June, the PPI fell 0.8 percent, the same pace as in the previous month.

Economists had forecast the headline PPI would increase 0.4 percent m-o-m but drop 0.2 percent over the past 12 months.

According to the report, the June drop in the final demand index was attributable is attributable to a 0.3-percent m-o-m decline in prices for final demand services (the largest decrease since February). Meanwhile, the index for final demand goods rose 0.2 percent m-o-m.

Excluding volatile prices for food and energy, the PPI fell 0.3 percent m-o-m but edged up 0.1 percent over 12 months. Economists had forecast gains of 0.1 percent m-o-m and 0.4 percent y-o-y.

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people climbed by 952,900 m-o-m in June (or +5.8 percent m-o-m) after an unrevised gain of 289,600 m-o-m in the previous month. Economists had forecast an increase of 700,000 m-o-m.

Meanwhile, Canada's unemployment fell to 12.3 percent in June from a record high of 13.7 percent in May, above than economists’ forecast for 12.0 percent.

According to the report, full-time employment rose by 488,100 (or +3.5 percent m-o-m) in June, while part-time jobs jumped by 464,800 (or +17.9 percent m-o-m).

In June, the number of public sector employees rose by 74,500 (or +2.0 percent m-o-m), while the number of private sector employees surged by 867,300 (or +8.7 percent m-o-m). At the same time, the number of self-employed increased by 11,100 (or +0.4 percent m-o-m) last month.

Sector-wise, employment increased both in goods-producing (+4.6 percent m-o-m) and service-producing (+6.1 percent m-o-m) businesses.

• I am optimistic we will reach compromise  

JPY rose against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday as demand for safe havens increased as new coronavirus cases in the U.S. and some other countries surged, triggering concerns about fresh COVID-19 restriction measures that could stall the economic recovery. Meanwhile, the commodity currencies, such as AUD and NZD, which tend to depreciate in times of decreased risk appetite, fell.

The U.S. reported near 60,500 cases on Thursday, recording its sixth single-day record in 10 days. Overall, the U.S. has 3,118,109 cases of COVID-19, the most in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Deaths in the country increased to 133,291, also the most in the world. The total number of confirmed global coronavirus cases rose to 12,272,098 and deaths grew to 554,989.

Spiking coronavirus cases in the U.S. and elsewhere raised questions about the health of the global economy moving forward. Investors fear that the reintroduction of lockdown measures could blunt the recent improvements in manufacturing production and consumer spending seen in major economies around the world.

FXStreet reports that analysts at Credit Suisse note that S&P 500 has again as expected rejected key flagged resistance from the top of the price gap from early June and potential downtrend from March at 3180/90 as the fall in bond yields adds further weight to the view that markets are set for a fresh ‘risk-off’ phase.

“With bond yields breaking lower through key resistance levels it looks likely we set for a fresh ‘risk-off’ phase. Key support stays seen at the 13-day average and 38.2% retracement of the recent swing higher at 3124/13, also yesterday’s low, a close below which can reinforce this view with support seen next at 3092, then 3070/67. Below this latter area can see a retest of the 200-day average, currently at 3026.” 

“Resistance at 3180/90 is expected to continue to cap. Above though can quickly reassert an upward bias for a look at the 3223/33 June highs.” 

“The VIX continues to hold key support from its 200-day average and June low at 26.29/23.54 and we look for a fresh rise from here in line with our corrective view above, with resistance seen initially at 33.20.”

FXStreet notes that though below consensus, economists at TD Securities think the CAD will welcome a good jobs report in the absolute sense. They also think that markets will be keen to hear what Governor Macklem has to say next week, which might help USD/CAD to find a home between 200-DMA at 1.35 and daily downtrend resistance near 1.3620/30. 

“Our bias is that the CAD will be satisfied with a solid jobs number even if it comes in below expectations. We think the CAD could reflect concern if we see a substantial disappointment, perhaps below 500k. Ultimately, the data will need to be taken in conjunction with the tone in risk sentiment however, as that remains the dominant factor.” 

“We are mindful that markets may be keen to see what Governor Macklem has to say next week. For this reason, USD/CAD might still find a home between the 200-dma at 1.35 and daily downtrend resistance near 1.3630. A very large upside surprise would risk a re-test of the June lows near 1.33.”

FXStreet notes that the AUD/USD pair sits above 0.69, trading comfortably above its average for the past 12 months, but economists at Rabobank see the risk appetite tumbling by the end of the year which would weaken the aussie towards the 0.64 level. 

“In our view investors are currently over-estimating the ability of the global economy to bounce back from the pandemic. We see risk of a drop in sentiment by the end of the year which is likely to drag AUD/USD lower.”

“Any news that China could be targeting Australian exports in retaliation for the government’s political stance would also leave the AUD vulnerable. We forecast AUD/USD at 0.64 on a six-month view.”

FXStreet reports that analysts at Credit Suisse note that EUR/USD has seen a fresh and aggressive rejection of resistance at 1.1369 – the 38.2% retracement of the entire 2018/2020 bear trend – to reassert the sideways range with support seen at 1.1258/54.

“Below support at 1.1258/54 would see an in-range top complete to keep the immediate risk lower in the range with support seen next at 1.1219, then back at the range lows and 38.2% retracement of the rally from late April, starting at 1.1185 and stretching down to 1.1157. Whilst we would look for a fresh attempt to hold here, a break can see weakness extend to test the 38.2% retracement of the entire rally from March at 1.1122, but with better buyers expected to show here.” 

“Resistance is seen at 1.1305 initially, then 1.1317, back above which can see strength back to 1.1349/71. Beyond here remains needed to resolve the range higher, with resistance then seen next and initially at 1.1399.”

• We will have clearer vision of where we are in process towards autumn
• We will ask the Commission to prepare Brexit need assessment by February 2021 to support countries, regions and sectors that would be most affected and could be supported with new 5 billion euro Brexit fund

CNBC reports that the Irish finance minister has been elected to the euro zone’s top position, in a defeat for Germany and France, as well as the highest-indebted nations in the region.

Paschal Donoghoe will be the new president of the Eurogroup, which is made up of the 19 finance ministers of the euro area in charge of negotiating aspects of fiscal policy in the bloc.

The decision was a blow to France and Germany, who had publicly stated their support for Spanish candidate Nadia Calvino. The most-indebted nations in the region — Greece, Italy and Portugal — had also expressed their preference for the Spanish minister.

“Pressure for fiscal adjustment will likely resume once the recovery takes hold, creating the risk that more vulnerable Southern economies could be forced into fresh tightening at a time when their economies are still reeling from the downturn,” analysts at research firm Eurasia Group said in a note.

Paschal Donoghoe, who will start the new role on Monday, has made it clear that the euro area will have to work towards reinstating fiscal targets.

Back in March, the euro area agreed to put these rules on hold so countries would have the flexibility to spend and support their own economies in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking to CNBC last week, Donoghoe said that reinstating fiscal targets “was not imminent,” but the region had to monitor the economic developments and adapt to the situation.

The European Commission downgraded its economic forecasts for the region earlier this week, and now expects the euro zone to contract 8.7% in 2020. The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, said in June that the 19-member region could shrink by 10.2% this year.

FXStreet reports that in the event of a second lockdown, analysts at Natixis believe equity markets would collapse, the number of bankruptcies would soar, governments would have no other choice than to increase fiscal deficits even further and central banks would have no choice but to fully monetise these even larger fiscal deficits. 

“On the eve of the first lockdown (March 2020), companies’ financial situation was healthy (high profits, reasonable debt). In a second lockdown, companies’ financial situation would be poor (lower profits and a sharp increase in debt due to the first lockdown).”

“The quantity of money supplied by central banks would become immense (far higher than what is forecast at present). This would give rise to a new risk of flight from money and a rejection of public currencies. The considerable excess money supply (in dollars, euros, etc.) would lead economic agents to refuse to hold public currencies.”

Reuters reports that new bank lending in China rose 22.3% in June from May as authorities continued to boost credit and ease policy to get the world's second-largest economy humming again after a sharp coronavirus-induced contraction.

Chinese banks extended 1.81 trillion yuan (£205.11 billion)in new yuan loans in June, up from 1.48 trillion yuan in May and slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, according to data released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Friday.

That pushed bank lending in the first half of this year to a record 12.09 trillion yuan, beating a previous peak of 9.67 trillion yuan in the first half of 2019, the data showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted new yuan loans would rise to 1.80 trillion yuan in June.

The monthly tally was 9% higher than 1.66 trillion yuan a year earlier. While lending in China typically picks up in June, analysts say policymakers want to maintain strong credit growth until the economy gets back on solid footing.

Household loans, mostly mortgages, rose to 978.8 billion yuan in June from 704.3 billion yuan in May, while corporate loans rose 927.8 billion yuan from 845.9 billion yuan, according to Reuters calculation based on the central bank data.

FXStreet reports that the current level for USD/CNY at around 7 is not sustainable from a fundamental point of view as the worsening virus spread, slowing growth recovery in China and escalating geopolitical tensions point to higher USD/CNY, Nordea’s Amy Yuan Zhuang reports.

“USD/CNY reached the current level due to the stock market euphoria this week. Since Chinese stocks are not in a ‘healthy’ bull market, as deemed by a Chinese state media, it is hard to imagine that the rally can last.” 

“The pandemic is still worsening on a global scale and particularly in the US, which has a crucial impact on overall risk sentiment. Other countries have also registered more infections, which have led to regional lockdowns in several countries.”

“The post-lockdown recovery in China is showing signs of leveling off. The sharp rebound so far was due to pent-up demand and government stimulus. Production of high-tech goods and infrastructure-related products have led the rebound but slowed in May. The Q2 GDP, expected on Thursday, will likely remind the market that Chinese economic activity remains far below the normal levels.”

“The long dollar-renminbi trade is further supported by the rising geopolitical risks surrounding China. We have always expected to see a fair share of China bashing ahead of the US election in November. But the Sino-US relations have cooled so much lately that Washington will likely not give Beijing any leeway on the import commitments entailed in the phase one trade deal. An official collapse of the trade deal would push USD/CNY far higher than 7.15, which the pair reached during the peak of the trade war.”

Reuters reports that European Council President Charles Michel is due to propose a smaller 2021-27 EU budget than previously envisaged, officials said on Friday, in a bid to make the bloc's mass economic stimulus more palatable to thrifty northern member states.

With the EU economy headed for its worst recession, the bloc is haggling over how to finance recovery from the coronavirus pandemic with the frugal, wealthy north facing off against the high-debt southern countries hit harder by COVID-19.

Under discussion is the bloc's next budget, so far envisaged at 1.1 trillion euros, and an attached 750-billion-euros recovery fund. The frugals want a smaller budget and economic reforms as a condition for accessing the extra funds.

The 27 national EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels next week for their first face-to-face talks since coronavirus drove Europe into lockdown in March to bargain over the proposal.

Their chairman Michel is due at 0900 GMT on Friday to lay out his compromise plan and two officials familiar with the proposal said he would lower the size of the budget to try bring the frugals onboard.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its new oil market report that new data confirm that the worst of the demand destruction was in the first half of the year when demand fell by 10.75 million barrels per day (mb/d). 

"For the second half we expect an improvement in the level of decline to 5.1 mb/d. We estimate that global oil demand this year will average 92.1 mb/d, down by 7.9 mb/d versus 2019, a slightly smaller decline than forecast in the last Report. This is mainly because the decline in 2Q20 was less severe than expected. For 2021, we have made some minor adjustments to our outlook and demand will be 97.4 mb/d; but due to the improved outlook for 2020 the recovery next year is lower at 5.3 mb/d. Average demand in 2021 will be 2.6 mb/d below the 2019 level with jet/kerosene accounting for three-quarters of the deficit", - IEA said.

On the supply side, global oil production fell sharply in June to stand 13.7 mb/d below the April level. The compliance rate with the OPEC+ supply agreement was 108%. This includes over-performance by Saudi Arabia which cut production by 1 mb/d more than required, reducing OPEC crude output to its lowest point in nearly three decades. This solid performance by the OPEC+ group has been supplemented by substantial market-driven cuts, mainly in the United States. Total US oil production fell by nearly 1 mb/d in April versus March and we estimate that May and June will see further month- on-month falls of 1.3 mb/d and 0.5 mb/d, respectively. However, in the second half of the year supply could start to grow: we see US production bottoming out and then slowly growing and OPEC+ countries are set to ease their existing cut by around 2 mb/d from August. Also, by the end of the year Libya’s oil production could be as much as 0.9 mb/d higher than it is today.

FXStreet reports that China has engineered a strong economic rebound and the USD/CNY has moved lower from 7.06 to below the 7.00 psychological level as yesterday the pair posted a three-month low at 6.98. Economists at Westpac forecast USD/CNY at 6.90 by year-end.

“China's Reminbi remains the best evidence of Asia's promise. With the threat of an outbreak in Beijing seemingly quashed and evidence of a strong rebound in economic activity continuing to build, USD/CNY has moved materially lower over the past month. To our mind, this is most certainly a sustainable trend.” 

“We expect a further move lower in USD/CNY into the year end to around 6.90, then to near 6.60 as 2021 concludes. Note that this forecast level is still materially higher than where the Renminbi traded prior to US/China trade tensions taking hold – a low for USD/CNY of 6.30 having been seen in early-2018.” 

Reuters reports that China's auto sales in June rose 11.6% from a year earlier, industry data showed on Friday, up for a third consecutive month as the world's biggest vehicle market comes off lows hit during coronavirus lockdowns.

The increase follows a rise of 14.5% in May and 4.4% in April, before which sales had languished in a nearly two-year slump.

Sales in June rose to 2.3 million vehicles, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the country's largest auto industry body.

Sales of commercial vehicles, which include trucks, vans and buses, outpaced the overall auto market with a 63.1% jump in sales to 536,000 units in June.

In June, sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) fell for the twelfth straight month, to 104,000 units. NEVs include battery-powered electric, plug-in petrol-electric hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

Automakers such as Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, Great Wall Motor, Tesla Inc and Ford Motor Co reported positive China sales in June.

China's auto sales are expected to fall by 10%-20% this year, from over 25 million units sold in 2019, CAAM said last month.

FXStreet reports that GBP/USD consolidates the downside as the cable was capped by the 1.263/93 resistance. The pair trades at 1.2585, down -0.18% on a day, though is unlikely to retest the 1.2543 support, Commerzbank’s Axel Rudolph briefs.

“GBP/USD has reached the 1.2643/93 resistance zone which capped as expected. It consists of the April highs and the 200-day moving average.” 

“The 1.2543 June 24 high is to soon be retested. Minor support below the 1.2543 June 24 high can be spotted along the 55-day moving average at 1.2434 and also along the March-to-July support line at 1.2341. Below the 1.2251 late June low lies the April low at 1.2163 and the May trough at 1.2072.” 

“Above the 200-day moving average at 1.2693 sits the June peak at 1.2814.”

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the euro and declined against the yen as investors withdrew from risky assets due to the increase in the number of new cases of COVID-19 coronavirus infection in a number of countries around the world.

The ICE Dollar index, which shows the value of the dollar against six major world currencies, rose by 0.21% relative to the previous trading day.

Demand for safe haven assets is rising again as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world continues to grow, undermining confidence in the near-term recovery of the economy.

According to the latest data, more than 60,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the US, which is the largest one-day figure among all countries affected by the pandemic so far. All this happened due to the fact that many american citizens returned to a normal lifestyle and began to massively go out to public places. Of course, all these facts undermine the chances of rapid growth and recovery of the American economy.

FXStreet reports that Axel Rudolph, Senior FICC Technical Analyst at Commerzbank, expects the USD/CHF to stabilize near-term though while below the 0.9467 mark a negative bias will endure. 

“USD/CHF briefly slipped below the 0.9376 June low before stabilising at 0.9363. Since this new July low has been accompanied by positive divergence on the daily RSI we expect to at least see short-term stabilisation taking place.” 

“Much further down lies the 0.9184 March low. This would be in focus on a drop through the June 11 low at 0.9324.” 

“While capped by the two-month resistance line at 0.9467 a negative bias should persist. Further resistance can be spotted at the 0.9532/53 mid and late June highs. These would need to be overcome for current downside pressure to be alleviated and for a recovery to the five month downtrend line at 0.9637 to become possible.”

Reuters reports that International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath urged governments to shift to “equity-like” support from one focused on loans as the coronavirus pandemic inflicts prolonged damage on companies.

Gopinath said the massive scale of the shock meant more firms will become insolvent as they suffer lower revenues for many months.

Government support in the form of loans would saddle such companies with huge debt, which would serve like a tax that makes it difficult for them to emerge from the crisis, she said.

“Because there’s a bigger insolvency issue here, government support would have to shift more towards being equity-like as opposed to debt-like. Otherwise, you would end up with a lot of firms that exit this crisis with a huge amount of debt over-hang,” she said.

“If the lending takes form more like equity ... then that’s less onus on the firms. That will make it easier for firms to recover from the crisis,” Gopinath said in a webinar co-hosted by the IMF and the University of Tokyo on Friday.

She did not elaborate on how such financing support would work. During its domestic banking crisis in the late 1990s, Japan injected capital into firms via schemes where state-affiliated bodies bought preferred shares issued by these firms.

Gopinath said any recovery of the global economy will be “highly uneven and highly uncertain,” urging countries to continue deploying aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus measures to support their economies.

While food price inflation has risen in some countries, overall consumer inflation will likely stay low in most parts of the world because job losses will curb wages, Gopinath said.

eFXdata reports that NAB Research discusses USD/JPY outlook and adopts a neutral bias over the coming weeks.

"For now, we expect USD/JPY to continue to trade comfortably inside its key resistance (111), and support (105) levels, pivoting around the 107 mark as it has done since early April. That said, there is a risk geopolitical awakens JPY's safe-haven appeal and not just from US-China tensions. In yet another sign of a growing coalition of nations with shared values, lawmakers in Japan have drafted a resolution calling for the cancellation of a state visit by President Xi Jinping following China's clampdown on Hong Kong," NAB notes. 

"The start of US equity reporting season midway through July is also theme to watch, it has the potential to either propel USD/JPY towards 109 or below 106 depending on whether equity markets retain their current poise to skid on downward reassessment of global recovery prospects,"  NAB adds.

EUR/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.1393 (1730)

$1.1370 (664)

$1.1353 (1450)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.1269

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.1242 (411)

$1.1220 (441)

$1.1192 (1076)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options and PUT options with the expiration date August, 7 is 52416 contracts (according to data from July, 9) with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1400 (5657);

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.2778 (1629)

$1.2725 (1234)

$1.2688 (654)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.2581

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.2526 (165)

$1.2437 (310)

$1.2401 (1167)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date August, 7 is 18103 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3000 (2987);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date August, 7 is 18375 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,2400 (1467);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.02 versus 1.02 from the previous trading day according to data from July, 9

* - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bulletin (CME) is used for the calculation.

** - Open interest takes into account the total number of option contracts that are open at the moment.