07:45am  ~  I am up early this morning as I’ve admin work to do and three Skype calls before lunch and then we’re off for a weekend away in Barcelona later this afternoon. I have already been for a quick 10 mile cycle ride so I’m now at my desk with a few favourite charts open.

On the markets yesterday the U.S. Dow Jones 30 Index gained in value for the first day in six after the government reported that unemployment claims fell close to their lowest level in six years. We also saw encouraging news from some big retailers after the Consumer Comfort Index rose for the third straight week boosting the stock market. The Dow rose 55 points to close at 15328.30 – he S&P500 also finished up.

Long overdue, the WTI Crude Oil prices broke a string of five bearish sessions bouncing back 56 cents to $102.84 a barrel. It has done that despite a weaker US dollar which usually puts pressure on energy prices. Most probably, it was likely to have been bargain hunter traders who find the idea that crude oil could drop below $100 per barrel a bit hard to stomach.  The Gold price had a second day stuck in a narrow channel, we need either good news or bad to get it going again into a definite direction, although my charts seem to suggest a drop down to the $1300 support level may be on the cards in the short term.

08:25am  ~ Well my Friday trading session is under way already, the S&P500 gave me a signal with one of the trendFX strategies a short while ago, and I’m in the market with a ‘short’ position.

10:55am  ~  A few minutes ago I came out of my S&P500 trade, the price seems to have slowed down slightly so 46 pips in profit will do me nicely !  Bit of shopping (& lunch) now and then off to Stansted Airport at 4pm.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES (+46 pips)      I traded for three hours this morning