Dollar flat against yen, euro amid thin trade

The dollar was largely unchanged against the yen and the euro in quiet trading in Asia on Friday, with the reduced number of market participants amid the holiday season avoiding any major moves.

The dollar USDJPY, +0.16%  was at ¥120.19 from ¥120.15 late Thursday in North America. The euro EURUSD, -0.16%  was at $1.2216 from $1.2222.

The euro EURJPY, +0.01%   was at ¥146.82 from ¥146.83.

The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, +0.11% a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.07% at 82.52.

Gasoline and Gas Market Update

 Nymex January gasoline RBF5, +0.81%  rose 0.6% to $1.52 a gallon, while January heating oil HOF5, +0.72%  improved by 0.4% to $1.93 a gallon.

Rounding out the major energy trade, Nymex January natural gas NGF15, +0.59%  advanced 0.4% to $3.04 per million British thermal units.

Oil futures edge back up

After wild price swings in recent sessions, crude-oil futures took it slow in electronic trading early Friday, with both the New York and London benchmarks making relatively moderate gains.

New York Mercantile Exchange-traded February crude CLG5, +0.11%  improved by 0.5% to $56.11 a barrel on Globex, clawing back a bit of its 2.2% drubbing Wednesday when the market was heading into the Christmas holiday.

London-traded Brent North Sea crude for February LCOG5, +0.10%  also added 0.5% to trade at $60.54 a barrel after taking a 2.4% loss Wednesday.

KLSE IForex Recommendations

TRADING TIPS :

EUR/USD hit fresh two-year lows at 1.2165 before retracing to 1.2186, down 0.35% for the day.In a revised report, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index ticked down to 93.6 this month from a reading of 93.8 in November. Analysts expected the index to fall to 93.1 in December.The University of Michigan also said its inflation expectations for the next 12 months slipped to 2.8% in December from 2.9% the previous month.Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales fell 1.6% last month to 438,000 units from a revised total of 445,000 units in October. .Data also showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.6% in November, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain. U.S.Personal spending rose 0.3% in October, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.2% uptick.



INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Support: 1.2163
Resistance: 1.2206

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy EUR/USD Above 1.2210-TG:1.2230/1.2260 SL 1.2180
2. Sell EUR/USD Below 1.2160-TG:1.2140/1.2110 SL 1.2190

INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Immediate Support: 1.5525
Immediate Resistance: 1.5577

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy GBP/USD Above 1.5580-TG:1.5600/1.5630 SL 1.5550
2. Sell GBP/USD Below 1.5523-TG:1.5503/1.5473 SL 1.5553

KLSE Comex Recommendations

INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY NEWS :

Brent futures fell toward $61 per barrel on Wednesday, giving up some of the previous session’s gains, as the U.S. dollar held near its highest level in nearly nine years on strong data.The dollar index stayed close to its highest since April 2006 after a revised third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product report blew past expectations to register the fastest pace of growth in 11 years.A strong dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback expensive for holders of other currencies.Brent for February delivery dropped 28 cents to $61.41 by 0235 GMT after settling up $1.58 on Tuesday.U.S. crude fell 29 cents to $56.83 after settling $1.86 higher in the previous session.”It’s ironic. The U.S. economy is starting to boom and crude oil prices are contracting in the opposite direction,” said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney’s OptionsXpress.



TRADING STRATEGY :

BUY GOLD ABOVE 1286 TARGET 1291 1297 SL 1280

SELL GOLD BELOW 1279 TARGET 1274 1268 SL 1285