Russia Hosts G20 – Obama To Attend?

Obama is headed for Sweden on Tuesday, then off to the next G20 meeting in…………if you can believe it – RUSSIA!

The uphill battle in looking for global support in attacking Syria looks to be moving as suggested. Britain’s out, and as suggested The U.N Security Council shows no support for the move, as well I believe NATO ( please don’t quote me as I’ve read a million stories here this morning) has also squashed the idea.

This leaves Obama “literally” on his own, as actions against Syria under these conditions would now put “HIM” in breach and violation of International Law.

I’m trying my best to wrap my head around a scenario where this quack shoots “unauthorized missiles” at a country where “proof of wrong doing” is still just a “headline in U.S news” , and then plans to sit around a table with other world leaders at the G20 in Russia  – just a few days later.

If this Bashar al – Assad guy is a nut bar, then we’d better create another category of “nut bars” for Obama.

You’d have to be out of your mind to do something like this – absolutely out of your mind.

The Market Implications of Going Rogue

USD Weakness Already Pricing In Political Isolation

Look, the dollar has already started telegraphing what happens when you become the global pariah. We’re seeing classic risk-off flows accelerating, and it’s not just about Syria anymore – it’s about credibility. When your closest allies won’t back your play, when NATO gives you the cold shoulder, and when you’re literally flying solo into what could be the biggest foreign policy blunder since Vietnam, the market takes notice. The DXY has been bleeding out steadily, and this is just the beginning. Smart money doesn’t wait for missiles to fly – they position ahead of the inevitable diplomatic fallout. Every time Obama opens his mouth about “red lines” and “decisive action,” we see another leg down in USD strength. The market is pricing in a president who’s lost his international mojo, and that spells trouble for dollar dominance across all major pairs.

Safe Haven Flows Scrambling Traditional Logic

Here’s where it gets really interesting from a trading perspective. Normally, when America rattles sabers, you’d expect classic safe haven flows into USD and treasuries. But this time? The market is treating the U.S. as the risk factor, not the safe harbor. We’re seeing money flood into CHF, JPY, and even gold – anything that’s not tied to American foreign policy credibility. The Swiss franc has been absolutely ripping higher against the dollar, and the BOJ’s intervention threats are looking more hollow by the day as investors pile into yen. This is a complete inversion of normal geopolitical risk dynamics. When your own military actions are seen as the primary threat to global stability, you lose that reserve currency premium real fast. Watch EUR/USD closely here – despite Europe’s own structural problems, the euro is starting to look like the stable alternative to dollar chaos.

Oil Volatility Creating Cross-Currency Carnage

The energy complex is going absolutely haywire, and that’s sending shockwaves through commodity currencies that most retail traders aren’t even connecting. Crude is pricing in everything from Strait of Hormuz disruptions to full-scale Middle East conflagration, and every $5 move higher is hammering currencies tied to oil imports while boosting the petro-currencies. CAD, NOK, and even RUB are seeing flows as traders position for energy supply disruptions. But here’s the kicker – if Obama actually pulls the trigger without international backing, we could see oil spike to levels that crash the global recovery entirely. That would flip this whole trade on its head. The commodity currencies would get crushed on demand destruction fears, and we’d see a massive flight to quality that might actually benefit USD despite the political mess. This is the kind of multi-layered volatility that creates career-making opportunities for traders who can read the shifting narratives correctly.

G20 Showdown Could Trigger Coordinated Dollar Intervention

Now picture this scenario: Obama bombs Syria without authorization, then shows up in Russia expecting to play nice with the same world leaders he just gave the finger to on international law. You think Putin is going to roll out the red carpet? This G20 meeting could turn into a coordinated assault on American economic hegemony. We could see currency swap agreements that bypass the dollar, coordinated central bank interventions to punish USD strength, and trade pacts that explicitly exclude American participation. China and Russia have been looking for an excuse to challenge dollar dominance for years – Obama might just hand it to them on a silver platter. The technical setup on major USD pairs is already looking precarious, and if we get any hint of coordinated foreign intervention against the greenback, we could see waterfall declines that make the 2008 crisis look tame. This isn’t just about Syria anymore – it’s about whether America maintains its role as global financial hegemon or gets relegated to just another country that other nations actively work to contain. The forex implications of that shift would be absolutely massive, and it could all start with one rogue decision in the next few days.

9 Responses

  1. John August 31, 2013 / 12:59 pm

    And, is not the main opposition to Assad America’s arch enemy…Al Queda!!!!…add that to your ‘nut bar’ collection…

  2. robert August 31, 2013 / 1:42 pm

    Obama to seek congress approval..what now for usd? Down it goes due to risk off n equities to rally?

    • Forex Kong August 31, 2013 / 2:16 pm

      Yup.

      All going according to plan.

      This leg down right into Sept 9th type area makes great sense. Then “pending” strike sends USD on it’s “fear trade” higher.

      Kong 1 – Markets 0!

      • Forex Kong August 31, 2013 / 2:20 pm

        I really can’t speak for equities here, as I’ve been trading for weeks now with the overlying theme of USD down AND US Equities down, short of the two day bounce in USD here last week.

        The correlation could just as easily “flip again” here, but I’m just stickin with short USD for a call this weekend.

        I’d rather see both continue lower but…at this point ( being a large topping process ) it’s pointless to really take sides.

        Sideways / churn / down in my view.

  3. Andrew August 31, 2013 / 3:55 pm

    Kong, are you bearish the USD across the board or just against certain pairs? The dollar index has a breakout on the chart with a measuring target 100 points or so higher and the USD/CAD does too with a measuring target near the recent highs (indeed it has been in an uptrend for nearly a year now). USD/JPY, EUR/USD, and GBP/USD are at pivots and could go either way in my eyes. Beyond speculation based on your interpretation of the fundamentals (which I understand principally drives your trading), do you see any evidence of bearish order flow for the USD?

    • Forex Kong August 31, 2013 / 4:05 pm

      I’ve been meaning to address this at some point, and possibly lay out a couple examples with respect to my trading specifically.

      I “will do it” – eventually. As I trade from a fundamental standpoint first….100 pips isn’t really of any real concern to me, as I would likely continue to pick of spikes / adding in a staggered order approach.

      USD /CAD is a great example as I’ve entered short Aug 26th – and am literally “exactly flat” some 5 days later with “DXY smashing higher in several pairs”. If this pair went 100 pips against me here…I’d just sell more.

      So yes….I am very specific with my order size/ position size “per pair”, and when I say “short USD” it can manifest in many trades.

      Take me getting long EUR/NZD as well EUR/AUD on Friday for example. Under current conditions ” these pairs as well ” should reflect continued USD weakness.

      It’s a mine field Andrew! A mine field I tell u!

  4. Andrew August 31, 2013 / 4:32 pm

    Thanks Kong! I appreciate the opportunity to interact with someone up as much as you are for the year. You’re definitely doing something right 🙂

  5. schmederling September 1, 2013 / 1:39 am

    My understanding was he declined the G20 invite – was all over the news weeks or a month ago unless I have my events mixed up…… this could very well be the case… LOL

    Would make sense that we see weakness in the USD over the next couple weeks lining up perfectly with PM movements in Sept….. Historically Sept provides the largest % gains in this sector with Nov running second…. So weakness till middle to late Sept…. rally in Oct & then back lower again through late Oct in Nov…..

    Still tracking a weekly squeeze in the DXY & looking for a Neg fire starting the first week of Sept…. USD/CAD & USD/JPY also have multiple set-ups here looking for a Neg fire with short positions in both CAD & JPY….. should be a nice 2 weeks ahead of us with the return of the Vacation boys!!!

    Cheers Schmed,

    • Forex Kong September 1, 2013 / 9:17 am

      Hey Schmed thanks for the addtion of Gold’s yearly movements, as you’ve obviously been tracking it longer than I. I appreciate the correlation input, and also find it a tad “ironic” how these things “magically” tend to line up.

      Obama is slated to appear at G20 as I read it.

      Again the irony…..an attack on Syria ( however short ) “should” provide the catalyst for markets, when you and I have been looking at this date/area for shifts “regardless” of the news.

      Forex markets are very forward looking in my view, as we already knew something was going to happen!

      Cheers man

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