The Japan Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI was expected to reach 50.2 in July but came in at 48.8. This figure is below the expansion threshold, reflecting a contraction in the manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n
In foreign exchange markets, the EUR\/USD pair is trading around 1.1775, responding to optimism over a potential EU-US trade agreement. Meanwhile, GBP\/USD remains near two-week highs at 1.3580 amid positive sentiment and ahead of UK PMI data.<\/p>\n
The gold price is under pressure below $3,400 due to trade optimism following reports of a potential US-EU tariff agreement. In the crypto market, a sharp sell-off led to the liquidation of over $737 million in leveraged positions, with 85.3% of these being long positions.<\/p>\n
Under Trump\u2019s second presidency, the first six months have seen chaotic policy shifts yet resilient markets. The volatility underscores the unpredictable nature of financial markets during his term.<\/p>\n
For those trading in 2025, selecting among the best brokers for EUR\/USD can help navigate market dynamics. Evaluating brokers based on spreads, execution speed, and platform capabilities is recommended for all levels of traders.<\/p>\n
Given the unexpected contraction in the manufacturing sector, we see potential weakness for the Japanese Yen. We are looking at strategies like buying USD\/JPY call options to profit from a potential currency decline. The Bank of Japan’s current interest rate, hovering near just 0.1%, leaves the currency highly sensitive to such negative economic surprises.<\/p>\n
The optimism surrounding a potential EU-US trade deal supports a stronger Euro. We believe traders can ride this momentum by purchasing EUR\/USD call spreads, which can manage costs while capturing further upside near the 1.1775 level. A similar approach can be taken for the pound, which is reacting positively ahead of its own economic data releases.<\/p>\n
With the gold price retreating on trade deal hopes, we see an opportunity to position for further declines if this risk-on sentiment holds. Buying put options on gold below the $3,400 level offers a defined-risk way to speculate on this trend. We saw a similar dynamic in late 2019 when US-China trade tensions eased, causing a temporary pullback in the metal’s price.<\/p>\n
The massive liquidation of leveraged long positions in the crypto market suggests that the recent sell-off may be overextended. With over $630 million in long positions flushed out, we view this as a potential entry point for cash-secured puts or conservative call options. Historically, such “long squeezes,” like the one seen in May 2021, often precede a period of price stabilization as forced selling subsides.<\/p>\n
The policy unpredictability noted under his administration demands a focus on volatility management. We recommend using derivatives to hedge, such as buying VIX call options, which typically increase in value when market fear spikes. During his first term, the CBOE Volatility Index saw jumps of over 40% on single days following unexpected policy announcements, highlighting the need for such protective positions.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Manufacturing contracts in Japan; EUR\/USD rises on trade optimism; crypto markets tumble amid leveraged sell-offs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":17043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}