Market Analysis

Forex Market - The US Dollar is Making a Comeback

 The U.S. Federal Reserve left its benchmark overnight lending rate in a target range of between 1.50 percent and 1.75 percent.

The FOMC said inflation had “moved close” to its target and downplayed a recent slowdown in economic and job growth, saying activity had been expanding at a moderate rate and job gains, on average, had been strong in recent months.

Although the US dollar was trading slightly lower on Thursday morning, the greenback is definitely the most attractive current since mid-April. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, climbed from lows of 88.94 at 17th of April to its current price at 92.35. The US dollar strength is likely to continue as the Fed outlined the need to continue on its path of slow and gradual rate increases.

 Altcoins First Quarter Analysis - Stellar Lumens, Cardano, Litecoin and Ripple

Altcoins have seen a turbulent first quarter in 2018, with prices being in the red for extended periods of time. Traders have taken profits only a handful number of times. However, in a few short weeks, things have changed for the better. For instance, Bitcoin has swung back up to almost $10,000 from the lows of $6,000 apiece. Here is an overview of how the heavy hitters moved in the market in the first quarter of 2018

 Stellar Lumens

 So far in this year, Stellar Lumens (XLM) has had a great run. There has been double-digit growth in XLM value since the beginning of the year. However, the coin was not exempt from the March bearish market. Stellar is so loved for its lightning-fast transactions.

In the past week, XLM emerged as one of the best performing unicorn crypto assets. It gained more than 70% against the USD. Kin Token announced that it was going to combine the Stellar Network and the Ethereum Blockchain to reach ultra-fast transactions.

 Cardano

 In the past week, the IOHK (team behind ADA) announced that it had found a solution to one of the most significant issues affecting the proof of stake algorithm - security. The breakthrough has seen a rise in interest of the Cardano coin. Google trends show that crypto enthusiasts have been following the efforts of the development team.

Due to this, the Cardano price is likely going to change significantly, with speculators and the HODLers who have faith in the tech hoping to see the ADA outgrow some of the most prominent altcoins in the near future.

 Litecoin

 LTC has lost ground to the newer EOS, and ADA, and is now at the 7th place. Over the past month, Litecoin has shown lots of uncertainty, swinging up and down wildly. This past week, the coin is in a state of a continued slump - which might be good news for someone who is looking for a potential buy zone. A good buying price could be anywhere between $120-$140. Charlie Lee promised to step away from the cryptocurrency someday, to increase decentralization.

Ripple

 For Ripple, the month has been good, but the past week was punishing. There were no major gains as the price declined from $0.84, opening the doors for losses. This could be a short-term correction since Ripple is less volatile compared to the major altcoins. Koinex, the Indian Exchange, added XRP trading pairs this week. Ripple had a negative sentiment since the beginning of the year, however, the coin (XRP) and the team remain a strong buy.

 Forex Market - The US Dollar is Making a Comeback

 Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Reserve left its benchmark overnight lending rate in a target range of between 1.50 percent and 1.75 percent.

The FOMC said inflation had “moved close” to its target and downplayed a recent slowdown in economic and job growth, saying activity had been expanding at a moderate rate and job gains, on average, had been strong in recent months.

Although the US dollar was trading slightly lower on Thursday morning, the greenback is definitely the most attractive current since mid-April. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, climbed from lows of 88.94 at 17th of April to its current price at 92.35. The US dollar strength is likely to continue as the Fed outlined the need to continue on its path of slow and gradual rate increases.

This article was written by FXEmpire.