This week, EUR/USD was subjected to increased volatility, with initial gains (a high of 1.2446) giving way to losses toward the end of the week. The weakness appears to have coincided with the ECB meeting and press conference, something which we find somewhat surprising. Aside from the dropping of the easing bias (and the generally constructive tone on economic activity), we could not find anything fundamentally bearish in the central bank’s message. News on the US administration signing import tariffs on steel and aluminum might have also played a role, though we doubt that they will be fundamentally supportive of the dollar.

This is how trading strategies look like:

EUR/USD

Trading strategy: Long

Open: 1.2330

Target: 1.2580

Stop-loss: 1.2210

Recommended size: 1.67 mini lots per $10,000 in your account

Short analysis: Yesterday’s corrective move was rejected today and a bullish hammer is forming on a daily chart. This may suggest a continuation of the bullish trend in the coming days.

Previous position: Short opened at 1.2300, profit taken at 1.2180, earned: 120 pips, $328 per $10,000 in your account.

GBP/USD

Trading strategy: Long

Open: 1.3780

Target: 1.4100

Stop-loss: 1.3640

Recommended size: 1.07 mini lots per $10,000 in your account

Short analysis: The GBP/USD bounced from the daily cloud support (1.3780) and is trying to pierce 14-day EMA now. A close above this level would be an important bullish signal and give some hope to our long position.

Previous position: Short opened at 1.3930. Profit taken at 1.3770, earned: 160 pips, $301 per $10,000 in your account.

USD/JPY

Trading strategy: Short

Open: 106.20

Target: 104.20

Stop-loss: 107.20

Recommended size: 1.58 mini lots per $10,000 in your account

Short analysis: Our USD/JPY short is struggling. The pair broke above some important short-term moving averages. Now we see some strong resistance ahead: 107.17 (23.6% retrace of 113.38-105.26 drop), 107.20 (daily high on March 1) and 107.24 (38.2% retrace of the 1110.48-105.26 drop).