USD Forecast June 4-8

USD continued moving higher surrounded by the BOC decision and decrease in oil prices. The jobs report stands out in a busy week. Here are the highlights and an updated technical analysis for USD/CAD.(daily forex signals) 

The Bank of Canada puts a positive way by removing warnings on increasing rates and the need for obliging monetary policies. An add-on with this they were confident about wages and Q1 growth rate. The Q1 growth expectation proved wrong as quarterly GDP raised by only 1.3% annually. The C$ raised on the BOC and fell on GDP. Afterward, Trump came up with the execution of tariffs on steel and aluminum. This puts Canada on a fire which retaliated immediately. The Canadian dollar comprehended its falls. Oil prices decreased following the hints from OPEC and non-OPEC members that they will increase production. This weighed on the loonie.

1. Labor Productivity: On Tuesday at 12:30, high growth is good for the economy but lower inflation anticipated and with the result to this leads to the central bank on hold. An increase of 0.2% was seen in productivity in the last quarter of 2017. We will now get the figures for Q1. A small increase of 0.3% is on the cards.

2. Ivey PMI: On Tuesday at 14:00, Around 175 purchasing managers have been contemplated by The Richard Ivey School of Business for its monthly survey. For April, they reported a hike to 71.5 points, showing very strong growth. A decrease from these hikes is likely: 69.7 is expected.

3. Trade Balance: On Wednesday at 12:30, Canada has a rising trade deficit that reached 4.1 billion in March, a multi-year high. Another deficit is likely for April.

4. Building Permits: On Wednesday, 12:30. The figures are quite turbulent but it can still provide a hint about the housing sector. After a decrease of 2.8% in February, the number of starts bounced back 3.1% in March. Recent figures have been quite solid.

5. Housing Starts: Thursday, 12:15 With a  Contrary to the above figure, this one is more relatable. Annualized starts of new homes fell short of prediction in April and stood at 214K. The fresh figures for May may see an inflation. A small increase to 217K is projected.(forex singapore)

6. BOC Financial System Review: The financial system has been reported by The Bank of Canada for its stability twice a year. The report was seriously watched just after the financial crisis which was faced by the Canadian banks quite well. With developing concerns about exalted house prices, any concerns raised here may weigh on the loonie.

7. Canadian jobs report Friday, 12:30. Canada's labor market report will be in the highlights, having a special influence on USD/CAD as the US Non-Farm Payrolls report has already been published. Back in April, Canada lost 1,100 jobs, a discouraging result. A bounce back is likely now. The unemployment remained at 5.8% for the third month in a row.

8.Capacity Utilization Rate: Friday, 12:30 Depressed by the jobs report, the figure matters nonetheless as the BOC cares about the level of stagnancy in the economy. The level of utilization reached a peak of 86% in Q4 2017, indicating less stagnancy than Assumed. A similar figure is likely for Q1.

USD/CAD Technical Analysis

Dollar/CAD tackled the 1.30 level (mentioned last week) but struggled to make a meaningful break in a very tempestuous week.

Technical lines from top to bottom:

1.3180 was a support line in 2017 and now turns into resistance. 1.3125 is the high point for 2018 so far. 1.3050 was the high point in May and also earlier in the year.

1.30 is a round number that is eyed by many. 1.2920 capped the pair in late April and early May as well. 1.2810 served as support in early May.

1.2730 was a swing low seen mid-May. It is followed by 1.2690 which was a swing high back in February. Further down, 1.2615 and 1.2535 where the top and bottom of a range seen in early April.

I remain bullish on USD/CAD

The trade war could bury NAFTA negotiations. Even if it doesn’t, trade wars could weigh on the Canadian economy which is dependent on the US. source

Bursa Malaysia's Islamic Markets Offer a Wide Range of Shariah Compliant

BSAS is aware of exchanging stage particularly devoted to encouraging Islamic liquidity administration and financing by Islamic money related establishments. Started as a national undertaking, BSAS shows the coordinated effort of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia) and the business players in the help of the Malaysia International Islamic Finance Center (MIFC) activity. It gets close co-task and the solid help of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) and Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC). (oil trading signals)

The completely electronic online stage furnishes industry players with a road to attempt multi ware and multi cash exchanges from all around the globe. 

This spearheading exertion bonds Malaysia's quality in both Islamic fund and Crude Palm Oil industry. BSAS is another inventive offering and a world's first for Malaysia, additionally fortifying its situation as a universal Islamic budgetary center point. As a result, BSAS incorporates the worldwide Islamic money related and capital markets together with the item advertise. 

All organizations and exercises of BSAS are overseen by Bursa Malaysia Islamic Services Sdn. Bhd. (BMIS), an entirely possessed auxiliary of Bursa Malaysia which is directed, straightforward and completely Shariah consistent. Source

10 Facts That Investors Should Know About Bumitama Agri Ltd’s

Bumitama Agri Ltd. is one of the leading producers of palm oil (PO) & palm kernel (PK), with oil palm plantation in Indonesia. Listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2012, our primary business activities are cultivating oil palm trees, as well as harvesting and processing fresh palm fruit bunches (FFB) into PO and PK, which we sell to refineries in Indonesia.(oil trading signals)

Earlier this month, Bumitama Agri Ltd  (SGX: P8Z) released its 2018 first quarter (1Q FY18) earnings update.

As a quick introduction, Bumitama Agri is a palm oil producer. Its primary business activities are the cultivation of oil palm trees, harvesting of fresh palm fruit bunches, processing of the bunches into crude palm oil and palm kernel oil, and sale of the oils to refineries.

Here are 10 things investors should know about Bumitama Agri’s latest results:

1. Revenue for the reporting quarter decreased 9.1% year-on-year to IDR 1,908 billion.

2. Gross profit for the quarter declined by 4.5% year-on-year to IDR 518 billion.

3. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for the reporting quarter went down by 3.7% year-on-year to IDR 520 billion.

4. Profit attributable to shareholders fell by 16.8% year-on-year to IDR 232 billion.

5. The gross margin for the reporting quarter grew from 25.8% in 2017’s first quarter to 27.2%. Similarly, the EBITDA margin improved from 25.7% to 27.2% over the same period.

6. Bumitama Agri generated operating cash flow of IDR 428 billion in the quarter, down as compared to IDR 432 billion in 2017’s first quarter.

7. As of 31 March 2018, Bumitama Agri’s total borrowings stood at IDR 4,989 billion, up from IDR 4,410 billion at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, its cash and cash equivalents improved from IDR 217 billion to IDR 247 billion. These numbers show that Bumitama Agri’s balance sheet has weakened.

8. In the first quarter of 2018, the company’s fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production grew by 19.1% year-on-year to 967,061 tonnes.

9. The company’s sales volumes also grew during the reporting quarter. Volume for crude palm oil (CPO) was up 3.2% year-on-year to 205,859 tonnes while that for palm kernel was up 13.6% to 44,687 tonnes.

10. The average sales price of the company’s products fell during the quarter. The price for CPO declined 7.6% to IDR 7, 832 per kg while that for palm kernel dropped 21.5% to IDR 6,620 per kg. source