Technical Analysis by TradeSmarter.com, August 22, 2012

The EUR/USD pair had a back-and-forth session during the Monday trading day, to in the session and basically unchanged. The candle is very neutral, and sitting on an uptrend line from the rising wedge that we’ve been talking about. This suggests to us that the 1.23 level is going to act as support, and as such we think the market will continue to rise.

We still see the 1.24 to 1.25 level as massively resistive, and as such we are still looking for candles that are bearish enough to sell. We simply do not have that right now, but we think it’s only a matter of time. Because of this, and all the problems in the European Union, we are flat of this market. For short-term traders, a move to the 1.24 level is very likely.

GBP/USD rose during the Monday session, but was repelled again just above the 1.57 level. This area has acted as massive resistance over the last few weeks, and we think that it is without a doubt the most important level on this chart. We think that resistance runs all 100 pips higher, and as such are looking to buy a daily close above the 1.58 level.

Even with all of this resistance, this is a chart is difficult to sell mainly because of all of the long wicks underneath. The buyers keep step in and buying this market which of course causes higher lows and shows real tension from below in order to push prices higher. Because of this, we want to buy a daily close above 1.58, but will sit tight until we get that signal.

Crude Oil Prices August 22, 2012, Technical

Light sweet crude markets had a positive session again on Tuesday, and broke above the highs from the Monday session in order to trigger buy orders. However, by the end of the day we saw this entire market pullback and form a shooting star. This suggests to us that there is some downward pressure, but we think that the $95 level will continue to offer significant support. In other words, it looks like we’re setting out for consolidation.

This of course can change at a moment’s notice based upon headlines. There are reports coming out of Israel that the Israelis are getting ready to preemptively attack the Iranians because of their nuclear program. Whether this is true or not it doesn’t matter, it’s simply put fear into the marketplace which should drive prices higher overall. With this in mind, we are buying supportive action close to the $95 level. As for selling, we aren’t even considering it at this point.