US index futures were relatively unchanged today as investors waited for Jerome Powell’s testimony. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 indices rose by less than 30 points each while the greenback and bond yields declined. The ten-year dropped to 1.484%, lower than this year’s high of 1.76%. In prepared statements published yesterday, Jay Powell said that the US economy was heading in the right direction. He wrote that the unemployment rate will keep falling while inflation will start to normalize. Investors expect him to clarify last week’s interest rate decision. Some of the top movers in the premarket were APA Holding, which Barclays and Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded. Meme stocks like ContextLogic and Torchlight also surged.

The relentless cryptocurrency sell-off accelerated today as investors focused on the happenings in China. Investors are reacting to news that China ordered financial companies like Alipay and banks to take a more active role in curbing crypto trading. The country is doing this as it seeks to protect retail traders. It also has some privacy concerns because of the anonymity of transactions. In addition to these measures, the country has also intensified its pressures on crypto miners and exchanges. Bitcoin declined by 3.45% to $31,500 while Ether and Dogecoin fell by 3.67% and 11.65%, respectively.

Commodities continued to struggle as investors remained concerned about demand and the strong dollar. Gold dropped to $1,785 while silver fell to $26. Other commodities like lumber and iron ore have also declined significantly recently. This is also in part because of the ongoing crackdown on commodity speculators in China. Still, some analysts are optimistic. In a note, analysts at Goldman Sachs said that copper and gold have fallen too far too fast. They expect to see the price recover soon. Meanwhile, oil prices dropped today after it emerged that Russia was proposing boosting production ahead of the OPEC+ meeting next week.

EURUSD

The EURUSD pair erased some of yesterday’s losses as the pair fell to 1.1896. The pair is at the same level as the 25-day moving average on the hourly chart while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and MACD have started to retreat. The pair has also moved below the dots of the Parabolic SAR. Therefore, the pair will likely keep falling ahead or during Jerome Powell’s testimony.

USDJPY

The USDJPY pair rose to an intraday high of 110.46, which was relatively higher than last week’s low of 109.70. On the four-hour chart, the pair moved above the short and long-term moving averages. It is also between the ascending channel that is shown in pink. The pair is also above the dots of the Parabolic SAR while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has risen. Therefore, the pair will likely keep rising as bulls target the upper side of the channel at 110.66.

BTCUSD

The BTCUSD relentless sell-off accelerated today. It dropped to the intraday low of 31,437, which was the lowest it has been in two weeks. On the four-hour chart, the pair is approaching the key support level at 30,000. As a result, it has moved below the 25-day and 15-day moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has also dropped to the oversold level of 30. Therefore, a more severe decline will be validated when the price moves below the important support at 30,000.