Monthly Archives: November 2018

Problem’s Aplenty

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Two stories have traders’ attention
The first showed the Fed’s apprehension
That their preferred path
Was earning the wrath
Of markets, thus causing dissention

The other is that the G20
(According to the cognoscenti)
May let Xi explain
A trade war’s insane
Since both men have problems aplenty

Once again the market has narrowed its focus on two things only, in this case the Minutes from the November FOMC meeting and the upcoming dinner between Presidents Trump and Xi at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. It seems that traders in virtually every market are taking their cues from these stories.

Starting with the Minutes, it is clear that the Fed finds itself at an inflection point in their policymaking with the easy part now behind them. Up until September, it was evident that policy was extremely accommodative, and the Fed’s goal of gradually reducing that accommodation was easy to achieve, hence the steady pace of a 25bp rate hike every other meeting. However, despite the fact that nobody actually knows where the neutral rate of interest (also known as r*) is, it is apparent that the current Fed funds rate is much closer to that mythical rate than it used to be. Hence the dilemma. How much further should the Fed raise rates, and at what pace? The last thing they want is to raise rates sufficiently to slow the economy into a recession. But they also remain quite wary of policy settings that are too easy, since that could lead to financial instability (read bubbles) and higher inflation. This is why they get paid the big bucks!

Signals from the US economy lately have been mixed, with the housing market slowing along with auto sales, but general consumer confidence and spending remaining at very high levels. Underpinning the latter is the ongoing strength in the labor market, where the Unemployment rate remains near 50 year lows of 3.7%. There is a caveat with the labor market though, and that is the Initial Claims data, which had been trending lower consistently for the past nine years, but has suddenly started to tick higher over the past month. While this could simply be a temporary fluctuation based on changes in seasonal adjustments, it could also be the proverbial canary in the coalmine. We will have a better sense next Friday, when the November NFP report is released, but based on the recent Initial Claims data, a soft employment report is entirely within reason.

The upshot is that the Fed is no longer certain of its near term rate path which means that many of the investing memes of the past ten years, notably buy-the-dip, may no longer make sense. Instead, the volatility that we have seen lately across all markets is likely to be with us going forward. But remember, too, that volatility is a market’s natural habitat. It has been the extreme monetary policies of central banks that have moderated those natural movements. And as central banks back away from excessive monetary ease, we should all expect increased volatility.

The second story is the upcoming meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi tomorrow night. Signals from Trump going into the meeting have been mixed (aren’t all his signals mixed?) but my take is that sentiment is leaning toward at least a pause in any escalation of the trade war, with the true optimists expecting that concrete progress will be made toward ending the tariffs completely. Color me skeptical on the last part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a temporary truce is called and negotiations restarted as both men are under increasing domestic pressure (China’s PMI just fell to 50.0 last night indicating the economy there is slowing even more rapidly than before) and so a deal here would play well both on a political level, as well as to markets in each country. And when the needs of both parties are aligned, that is when deals are made. I don’t think this will end the tension, but a reduction in the inflammatory rhetoric would be a welcome result in itself.

Recapping the impact of the two stories, the fact that the Fed is no longer inexorably marching interest rates higher has been seen as quite the positive for equities, and not surprisingly a modest negative for the dollar. Meanwhile, optimism that something positive will come from the Trump-Xi dinner tomorrow has equity bulls licking their collective chops to jump back into the market, while FX traders see that as a dollar negative. In other words, both of the key stories are pointing in the same direction. That implies that prices already reflect those views, and that any disappointment will have a more significant impact than confirmation of beliefs.

As it happens, the dollar is actually a bit firmer this morning, rallying vs. most of its G10 counterparts, but only on the order of 0.2%. The pound remains under pressure as traders continue to try to handicap the outcome of the Parliamentary vote on Brexit on December 11, and the signs don’t look great. Meanwhile, the euro has softened after weaker than expected CPI data (headline 2.0%, core 1.0%) and continued weak growth data are making Signor Draghi’s plans to end QE next month seem that much more out of touch.

This morning brings a single data point, Chicago PMI (exp 58.0) as well as a speech from NY Fed President John Williams. However, at this point, given we have heard from both the Chairman and vice-Chairman already this week, it seems unlikely that Williams will surprise us with any new views. Remember, too, that Powell testifies to Congress next week, so we will get to hear an even more detailed discussion on his thinking on Tuesday. Until then, it seems that the dollar will continue its recent range trading. The one caveat is if there truly is a breakthrough tomorrow night in Buenos Aires, we can expect the dollar to respond at the opening in Asia Sunday night. But for today, it doesn’t feel like much is on the cards.

Good luck and good weekend
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Yikes!

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Said Powell, we’re now “just below”
The neutral rate, thus we’ll forego
Too many more hikes
The market said yikes!
And saw all key price metrics grow

If you wonder why I focus on the Fed as much as I do, it is because the Fed continues to be the single most important player in global financial markets. This was reinforced yesterday when Chairman Powell indicated that the current Fed Funds rate, rather than being “…a long way from neutral at this point,” as he described things on October 3rd, are in fact, “…just below” the neutral rate of interest. The implication is that the Fed is much closer to the end of their rate hiking cycle than had previously been anticipated by most market participants. And the market response was immediate and significant. US equity markets exploded higher, with all three major indices rising more than 2.3%; Treasury yields continued their recent decline, with the 10-year yield falling 4.5bps to levels not seen since mid-September; and the dollar fell sharply across the board, with the euro jumping 1% at one point, although it has since given back about 0.3% of that move. But it wasn’t just the euro that rallied, overnight we saw IDR and INR, two of the worst performing EMG currencies, each rally more than 1.0% as a more dovish Fed will clearly bring relief to what has ailed economies throughout the emerging markets.

It is abundantly clear that a more dovish Fed will have significant consequences for markets around the world. In this event we can expect the recent equity market correction to come to an end, we can expect the dollar to give back some portion of its recent gains, and we can expect Treasury yields to level off, especially in the front end, with fears over a yield curve inversion dissipating rapidly. However, is the Fed really changing its tune? Or is yesterday’s market reaction significantly overdone? Unfortunately, it is far too soon to judge. In fact, this will add further significance to the FOMC Minutes from the October meeting, which will be released at 2:00pm today. Remember, that meeting was held nearly four weeks after Powell’s ‘long way from neutral’ comments, so would reflect much more updated thinking.

Something else to keep in mind regarding the potential future path of interest rates is that we continue to see evidence that key sectors of the US economy are slowing down. Yesterday’s New Home Sales data reinforced the idea that higher mortgage rates, a direct consequence of Fed actions during the past two years, continue to take a toll on the housing sector as the print was just 544K, well below expectations and indicative of a market that is flatlining, not growing. We have also seen the trade data deteriorate further despite the president’s strenuous efforts at reversing that trend. In other words, for a data dependent Fed, there is a growing segment of data showing that rates need not go higher. While Powell was clear that there is no preset path of interest rates, the market is now pricing in just two more hikes, one in December and one in March, and then nothing. If that turns out to be the case, the dollar may well come under pressure.

Of course, FX is really about interest rate differentials, not merely interest rates. And while changes in Fed expectations are crucial, so are changes in other central bank actions. For example, early this morning we saw that Eurozone Consumer Confidence fell for the 11th straight month; we saw that Swiss GDP shrank -0.2% unexpectedly in Q3; and we saw that Swedish GDP shrank -0.2% unexpectedly in Q3. The point is that the slowing growth scenario is not simply afflicting the US, but is actually widespread. If Eurozone growth has peaked and is slipping, it will be increasingly difficult for Signor Draghi and the ECB to begin to tighten policy, even if they do end QE next month. The Swedes, who are tipped to raise rates next month are likely to give that view another thought, and the Swiss are certain to maintain their ultra-easy policy. In other words, the interest rate differentials are not going to suddenly change in favor of other currencies, although they don’t seem likely to continue growing in the dollar’s favor. Perhaps we are soon to reach an equilibrium state. (LOL).

On Threadneedle Street there’s a bank
That raised interest rates to outflank
Rising inflation
But now fears stagnation
If they walk the Brexit gangplank

The only currency that has not benefitted from the Powell dovish tone has been the British pound, which has fallen 0.5% this morning back toward the bottom of its recent trading range. The Brexit debate continues apace there and despite analyses by both the government and the BOE regarding the potential negative consequences of a no-deal Brexit (worst case is GDP could be 10% smaller than it otherwise would be with the currently negotiated deal) it seems that PM May is having limited success in convincing a majority of MP’s that her deal is acceptable. Interestingly, the BOE forecast that in their worst-case scenario the pound could fall below parity with the dollar, although every other pundit (myself included) thinks that number is quite excessive. However, as I have maintained consistently for the past two years, a move toward 1.10-1.15 seems quite viable, and given the current political machinations ongoing, potentially quite realistic. All told, the pound remains completely beholden to the Brexit debate, and until the Parliamentary vote on December 11, will be subject to every comment, both positive and negative, that is released. However, the trend remains lower, and unless there is a sudden reversal of sentiment amongst the politicians there, it is feeling more and more like a hard Brexit is in our future. Hedgers beware!

Quickly, this morning’s data brings Initial Claims (exp 221K), Personal Income (0.4%), Personal Spending (0.4%), and the PCE data (Headline 2.0%, Core 1.9%) as well as the FOMC Minutes at 2:00. Unless the PCE data surprises sharply, I expect that markets will remain quiet until the Minutes. But if we see softer PCE prints, look for equities to rally and the dollar to suffer.

Good luck
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Headwinds Exist

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Of late from the Fed we have heard
That “gradual” is the watchword
Though headwinds exist
The Fed will persist
Their rate hikes just won’t be deferred

It appears there is a pattern developing amongst the world’s central bankers. Despite increasing evidence that economic activity is slowing down, every one of them is continuing to back the gradual increase of base interest rates. Last week, Signor Draghi was clear in his assessment that recent economic headwinds were likely temporary and would not deter the ECB from ending QE on schedule and starting to raise rates next year. This week, so far, we have been treated to Fed speakers Charles Evans and Richard Clarida both explaining that the gradual increase of interest rates was still the appropriate policy despite indications that economic activity in the US is slowing. While both acknowledged the recent softer data, both were clear that the current policy trajectory of gradual rate hikes remained appropriate. Later this morning we will hear from Chairman Powell, but his recent statements have been exactly in line with those of Evans and Clarida. And finally, the Swedish Riksbank remains on track to raise rates next month despite the fact that recent economic data shows slowing growth and declining consumer and business confidence.

Interestingly, the San Francisco Fed just released a research paper explaining that inflation was NOT likely to rise significantly and that the increases earlier this year, which have been ebbing lately, were the result of acyclical factors. The paper continued that as those factors revert to more normal, historical levels, inflation was likely to fall back below the Fed’s 2.0% target. But despite their own research, there is no indication that the Fed is going to change their tune. In fact, the conundrum I see is that Powell’s Fed has become extremely data focused, seemingly willing to respond to short term movement in the numbers despite the fact that monetary policy works with a lag at least on the order of 6-12 months. In other words, even though the Fed is completely aware that their actions don’t really impact the data for upwards of a year, they are moving in the direction of making policy based on the idiosyncrasies of monthly numbers.

All this sounds like a recipe for some policy mistakes going forward. However, as I wrote two weeks ago, current attempts to normalize policy are very likely simply addressing previous policy mistakes. After all, the fact that pretty much every central bank in the G20 is seeking to ‘normalize’ monetary policy despite recent growth hiccups is indicative of the fact that they all realize their policies are in the wrong place for the end of the economic cycle. Belatedly, it seems they are beginning to understand that they will have very limited ability to address the next economic downturn, which I fear will occur much sooner than most pundits currently predict.

The reason I focus on the central banks is because of their outsized impact on the currency markets. After all, as I have written many times, the cyclical factor of relative interest rates continues to be one of the main drivers of FX movements. So as long as central banks are telling us that they are on a mission to raise rates, the real question becomes the relative speed with which they are adjusting policy and how much of that adjustment is already priced into the market. The reason that yesterday’s comments from Evans and Clarida are so important is that the market had begun pricing out rate hikes for 2019, with not quite two currently expected. However, if the Fed maintains its hawkish tone that implies the dollar has further room to rise.

Speaking of the dollar, despite the risk-on sentiment that has been evident in equity markets the past two sessions, the dollar continues to perform well. That sentiment seems to be driven by the idea that the Trump-Xi meeting on Saturday will produce some type of compromise and restart the trade talks. I am unwilling to handicap that outcome as forecasting this president’s actions has proven to be extremely difficult. We shall see.

Pivoting to the market today, the dollar is actually little changed this morning, with the largest G10 movement being a modest 0.3% rally in the pound Sterling. There are numerous articles describing the ongoing machinations in Parliament in the UK regarding the upcoming Brexit vote, and today’s view seems to be that something will pass. However, away from the pound, the G10 is trading within 10bps of yesterday’s close, although yesterday did see the dollar rally some 0.4% across the board. Yesterday’s US data showed that consumer confidence was slipping from record highs and that house prices were rising less rapidly than forecast, although still at a 5.1% clip. This morning brings the second look at Q3 GDP (exp 3.5%) as well as New Home Sales (575K) and the Goods Trade Balance (-$76.7B). However, Chairman Powell speaks at noon, and that should garner the bulk of the market’s attention. Until then, I anticipate very little price action in the FX markets, and truthfully in any market.

Good luck
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Twixt Trade Adversaries

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A fortnight from now we will know
How Brexit is going to go
Can Minister May
Still carry the day?
Or will the vote, chaos, bestow?

Meanwhile, this week, in Buenos Aires
A meeting twixt trade adversaries
Has hopes running high
We’ll soon wave goodbye
To tariffs and their corollaries

The first thing you notice this morning in the FX markets is that the pound is under more pressure. As I type, it is lower by 0.7% as the flow of news from London is that the Brexit deal is destined to fail in Parliament. Perhaps the most damning words were from the DUP (the small Northern Irish party helping support PM May’s government), which indicated that they would not support the deal as constructed under any circumstances. At the same time, numerous Tories have been saying the same thing, and the general feeling is that there is only a small chance that PM May will be able to prevail. We have discussed the market reaction in the event of no deal, and nothing has changed in my view. In other words, if the Brexit deal is defeated in parliament in two weeks’ time, look for the pound to fall much further. In fact, it is reasonable to consider a move toward 1.20 in the very short term. Between now and the vote, I expect that the pound will be subject to every headline which discusses the potential vote outcome, but unless some of those headlines start to point to a yes vote, the pound is going to remain under pressure consistently.

Beyond Brexit, there are two other things that have the markets’ collective attention, Fed Chairman Powell’s speech tomorrow, and the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi on Friday in Buenos Aires at the G20 gathering.

As to the first, the market narrative has evolved to the point where expectations for the Fed to raise rates at their December meeting remain quite high, but there are now many questions about the 2019 rate path. If you recall, after the September FOMC meeting, the consensus was moving toward four rate hikes next year. However, since then, the data has been somewhat less robust, with both production and inflation numbers moderating. Notably, the housing market has been faltering despite the lowest unemployment rate in more than 40 years. Ignoring the President’s periodic complaints about the Fed raising rates, the data story has clearly started to plateau, at least, if not roll over, and the Fed is quite aware of this fact. (Anecdotally, the fact that GM is shuttering 5 plants and laying off 15,000 workers is also not going to help the Fed’s view on the economy.) This is why all eyes will be on Powell tomorrow, to see if he softens his stance on the Fed’s expectations. Already the futures market has priced out one full rate hike for next year, and given there is still more than two weeks before the Fed meets again, Powell’s comments tomorrow, along with vice chairman Clarida today and NY Fed President Williams on Friday are going to be seen as quite critical in gauging the current Fed outlook. Any more dovishness will almost certainly be followed by a weakening dollar and rising equity markets. But if the tone comes across as hawkish, look for the current broad trends of equity weakness and dollar strength to continue.

And finally, we must give a nod to the other elephant in the room, the meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi at this weekend’s G20 meeting. Hopes are running high that the two of them will be able to agree to enough common ground to allow more formal trade talks to move ahead while delaying any further tariff implementation. The problem is that the latest comments from Trump have indicated he is going to be raising the tariff rate to 25% come January, as well as seek to implement tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports to the US. It seems that the President believes the Chinese are feeling greater pressure as their economy continues to slow, and they will be forced to concede to US demands sooner rather than later. And there is no question the Chinese economy is slowing, but it is not clear to me that Xi will risk losing face in order to prevent any further economic disorder. I think it is extremely difficult to handicap this particular meeting and the potential outcomes given the personalities involved. However, I expect that sometime in the next year this trade dispute will be resolved, as Trump will want to show that his tactics resulted in a better deal for the US as part of his reelection campaign.

And those are the big stories today. There are two data points this morning, Case-Shiller House Prices (exp 5.3%) and Consumer Confidence (135.9), but neither seems likely to have an impact on the FX market. However, as mentioned above, Fed vice-chairman Richard Clarida speaks first thing this morning, and his tone will be watched carefully for clues about how the Fed will behave going forward. My take here is that we are likely to hear a much more moderate viewpoint from the Fed given the recent data flow, and that is likely to keep modest pressure on the dollar.

Good luck
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There Is No Plan B

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Said Europe, “there is no Plan B”
This deal is the best that you’ll see
Opponents keep saying
The deal is dismaying
Because it cedes full sovereignty

It turns out last week was quite a difficult one in markets, with equity prices around the world under significant pressure as concerns continue to grow regarding growth prospects everywhere. In fact, for the first time we heard Fed Chair Jay Powell moderate his description of the US economy’s growth trajectory. It seems that the clear slowing in the housing sector combined with less positive IP and Durable Goods data has been enough to alert the Fed to the possibility that all may not be right with the world. While there is no indication that the Fed will delay its December rate hike, questions about 2019’s rate path have certainly been debated more aggressively with the consensus now believing that we can see a pause before just two more rate hikes next year. With the Powell Fed indicating that they are truly data dependent (as opposed to the Yellen Fed which liked the term, but not the reality), if we continue to see slowing US growth, then it is quite reasonable to expect a shallower trajectory of rate hikes in the US.

But that was last week’s news and as the new week begins, the biggest story is that the EU has agreed the terms of the Brexit negotiations that were just completed two weeks ago. The entire process now moves on to the next stage, where all 28 parliaments need to approve the deal. Given the terms of the deal, which has the opportunity to lock the UK into the EU’s customs union with no say in its evolution, it would be surprising if any of the other 27 members reject the deal. However, it remains unclear that the deal will be accepted by the UK parliament, where PM May does not hold a majority and rules because of a deal with the Northern Irish DUP. Of course the irony here is that Northern Ireland is the area of greatest contention in the deal, given the competing desires of, on the one hand, no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and on the other hand, the desire to be able to separate the two entities for tariff and immigration purposes.

At this stage, it seems there is at best a fifty-fifty chance that the deal makes it through the UK parliament, as the opposition Labour Party has lambasted the deal (albeit for different reasons) in the same manner as the hard-line Brexiteers. But political outcomes rarely follow sound logic, and so at this point, all we can do is wait until the vote, which is expected to be on December 12. What we do know is that the FX market is not sold on the deal’s prospects as despite the announcement by the EU, the pound has managed to rally just 0.25% today and remains, at 1.2850, much closer to the bottom of its recent trading range than the top. I continue to believe that a no vote will be tantamount to a hard Brexit and that the pound will suffer further from here in that event. However, if parliament accepts the deal, I would expect the pound to rally to around1.35 initially, although its future beyond that move is likely to be lower anyway.

Last week’s risk-off behavior led to broad-based dollar strength, with the greenback rallying on the order of 1.0% against both its G10 and major EMG counterparts. While that movement pales in comparison to the rout in equity markets seen last week, it was a consistent one nonetheless. This morning, though, the dollar is under a modicum of pressure as the fear evident last week has abated.

For example, despite softer than expected German IFO data (102.0 vs. exp 102.3), the euro has rallied 0.25% alongside the pound. A big part of this story seems to be that the Italians have made several comments about a willingness to work with a slightly smaller budget deficit in 2019 than the 2.4% first estimated. While the euro has clearly benefitted from this sentiment, the real winner has been Italian debt (where 10-year BTP’s are 17bps lower) and Italian stocks, where the MIB is higher by 2.7%. In fact, that equity sentiment has spread throughout the continent as virtually every European market is higher by 1% or more. We also saw strength in APAC equity markets (Nikkei +0.75%, Hang Seng +1.75%) although Shanghai didn’t join in the fun, slipping a modest 0.15%. The point is that market sentiment this morning is clearly far better than what was seen last week.

Looking ahead to the data this week, the latest PCE data is due as well as the FOMC Minutes, and we have a number of Fed speakers, including Chairman Powell on Wednesday.

Tuesday Case-Shiller Home Prices 5.3%
  Consumer Confidence 135.5
Wednesday Q3 GDP 3.5%
  New Home Sales 578K
Thursday Initial Claims 219K
  Personal Income 0.4%
  Personal Spending 0.4%
  PCE 0.2% (2.1% Y/Y)
  Core PCE 0.2% (1.9% Y/Y)
Friday Chicago PMI 58.3

In addition to Powell, we hear from NY Fed President Williams as well as Vice-Chairman Richard Clarida, both of whom will be closely watched. Given the recent change in tone to both the US data (slightly softer) and the comments from Fed speakers (slightly less hawkish), I think the key this week will be the Minutes and the speeches. Investors will be extremely focused on how the evolution in the Fed’s thinking is progressing. But it is not just the Fed. Remember, the ECB has promised to end QE come December despite the fact that recent data has shown slowing growth in the Eurozone.

The greatest fear central bankers currently have is that their economy rolls into a recession while interest rates are already at “emergency” levels and monetary policy remains extremely loose. After all, if rates are negative, what can they do to stimulate growth? This has been one of the forces driving central bankers to hew to a more hawkish line lately as they are all keen to get ahead of the curve. The problem they face collectively is that the data is already beginning to show the first indications of slowing down more broadly despite the continuation of ultra easy monetary policy. In the event that the global economy slows more rapidly than currently forecast, there is likely to be a significant increase in market volatility across equities, bonds and currencies. In this case, I am not using the term volatility as a euphemism for declines, rather I mean look for much more intraday movement and much more uncertainty in expectations. It is this scenario that fosters the need for hedgers to maintain their hedge programs at all times. Having been in the markets for quite a long time, I assure you things can get much worse before they get better.

But for today, there is no reason to believe that will be the case, rather the dollar seems likely to drift slightly lower as traders position for the important stuff later this week.

Good luck
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That Might Be Obtuse

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For those who are hoping next week
The meeting where Trump and Xi speak
Will end with a truce
That might be obtuse
As progress this weekend was bleak

The holiday week opens with a mixed picture in the currency markets and limited movement in both equity and bond markets. This past weekend saw an APEC meeting end with no communiqué, adding to the recent trend of a lack of ability for current trading partners to find common ground amongst themselves. In this case, it seems that the Chinese were unwilling to accept a particular sentence in the final draft as follows: “We agreed to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices.” It is not clear if the problem was the term protectionism, or the reference to unfair trade, but the twenty members aside from China, including the US, were all comfortable with the phrase. What is clear, however, is that there has been very little movement toward consensus on how trade issues should be handled and what actually constitutes free and fair trade.

The immediate impact was that APAC currencies, including AUD and NZD, were broadly weaker on the day, with Kiwi actually falling the furthest, -0.8%. It seems that all the nations in the region are going to continue to have to tiptoe around the trade situation between the US and China, which given that every one of them has built their economy based on trade with China and security from the US military, has become a very difficult balancing act. Until the US-China trade issues are resolved, it seems likely that these currencies will underperform their peers.

The other impact from this situation is that it now seems increasingly unlikely that the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi, scheduled for next week at the G20 conference in Buenos Aires, will be able to find enough common ground between the two to prevent a further escalation in the trade war. If you recall, President Trump has indicated that tariffs on Chinese exports would be increased to 25% in January from the current 10% level, and that the administration would open comments on attaching tariffs to the other $257 billion of Chinese imports not already affected. Both businesses and market participants have been counting on the fact that Trump and Xi would halt this negative spiral, but after this weekend, it seems somewhat less likely that will be the result. Of course, anything is possible, especially in the case of political negotiations, so all is not lost yet.

Otherwise, things have been pretty dull. In the UK, both Brexiteers and Bremainers have been trying to muster their troops for the upcoming internal battle. The Europeans have said that the deal on the table is the best that is coming and there will be no further changes. However, M. Barnier also tried to spin things by indicating that the deal, as it stands, does not mean the UK would be beholden to EU rules forever. Meanwhile, the machinations in the UK parliament are ongoing, where allegedly 42 MP’s have written letters seeking a no confidence vote in PM May, just six less than the 48 required to call such a vote. In the event a vote is called and PM May loses, it is not clear how things will play out. A new PM could be elected, or there might be an entirely new national vote. However, in either case, it would delay the UK process and that is a big problem given that there are now just over four months remaining before Brexit is official. While I had always assumed that some fudge deal would be completed, I have to say that the odds of that are perhaps no better than 50:50 now. In the end, traders who had been somewhat optimistic at the end of last week are less so this morning with the pound having fallen 0.25%. Absent a big change in sentiment, it appears that the pound has further to fall.

And really, those are the only two stories of note this morning. The Italian budget opera remains ongoing, but has not garnered any headlines lately as we are in the midst of reviews, although it seems certain that the EU will take the next step and propose sanctions. Aside from the APEC trade story, there is nothing else specific from China, and as this is a holiday week, there is limited data due. One thing that may be changing, however, is that the Fed may be softening its stance as recent data in certain segments of the economy, notably housing, has been less robust. While a rate hike next month seems certain, the trajectory for 2019 seems less clear than it did back in September. If that is the case, my dollar bullishness is likely to be tempered.

Here is the data for the abbreviated week:

Tuesday Housing Starts 1.23M
  Building Permits 1.27M
Wednesday Initial Claims 214K
  Durable Goods -1.2%
  -ex transport 0.3%
  Michigan Sentiment 98.3
  Existing Home Sales 5.2M

While each data point represents further information for the FOMC, it is not clear that any one of these will stand out on its own. As to Fed speakers, there is only one this week, NY Fed President Williams speaks this morning, but after that it appears the FOMC is taking the Thanksgiving week off.

It seems unlikely that either today’s session, or the rest of the week will be too exciting. The one exception would be if there is a ‘no-confidence’ vote in the UK, where the outcome would have a direct impact on the pound. If PM May holds on, I would look for the pound to rally sharply as that implies that she will have sufficient support to push through the Brexit deal, however if she loses, it will be very cheap to go to London for Christmas!

Taking my cue from the Fed, I will not be writing a letter until next Monday, November 26th.

Until then, good luck and have a wonderful holiday
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QE He’ll Dismember

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The head of the Fed, Chairman Jay
Implied there might be a delay
In how far the Fed
Will push rates ahead
Lest policy does go astray

Meanwhile, his Euro counterpart,
Herr Draghi’s had no change of heart
He claims, come December
QE he’ll dismember
Despite slower growth in Stuttgart

In what can only be seen as quite a twist on the recent storylines, Wednesday’s US CPI data was soft enough to give pause to Chairman Powell as in two consecutive speeches he highlighted the fact that the US economy is facing some headwinds now, and that may well change the rate trajectory of the Fed. While there was no indication of any change coming in December, where a 25bp rate hike is baked in, there is much more discussion about only two rate hikes next year, rather than the at least three that had been penciled in by the Fed itself back in September. Powell mentioned the slowing growth story internationally, as well as the winding down of fiscal stimulus as two potential changes to the narrative. Finally, given that the Fed has already raised rates seven times, he recognized that the lagged effects of the Fed’s own policies may well lead to slower growth. The dollar has had difficulty maintaining its bid from the past several weeks, and this is clearly the primary story driving that change of heart.

At the same time, Signor Draghi, in a speech this morning, reiterated that the risks to growth in the Eurozone were “balanced”, his code word to reassure the market that though recent data was soft, the ECB is going to end QE in December, and as of now, raise rates next September. Now, there is a long time between now and next September, and it is not hard to come up with some scenarios whereby the Eurozone economy slows much more rapidly. For example, the combination of a hard Brexit and increased US tariffs on China could easily have a significant negative impact on the Eurozone economy, undermining the recent growth story as well as the recent (alleged) inflation story. For now, Draghi insists that all is well, but at some point, if the data doesn’t cooperate, then the ECB will be forced to change its tune. His comments have helped support the euro modestly today, but the euro’s value is a scant 0.1% higher than its close yesterday.

Adding to the anxiety in the market overall is the quickening collapse of the Brexit situation, where it seems the math is getting much harder for PM May to get the just agreed deal through Parliament. Yesterday’s sharp decline in the pound, more than 1.5%, has been followed by a modest rebound, but that seems far more likely to be a trading event rather than a change of heart on the fundamentals. In my view, there are many more potential negatives than positives likely to occur in the UK at this point. A hard Brexit, a Tory rebellion ousting May, and even snap elections with the chance for a PM Corbyn all would seem to have negative overtones for the pound. The only thing, at this time, that can support the currency is if May somehow gets her deal agreed in Parliament. It feels like a low probability outcome, and that implies that the pound will be subject to more sharp declines over time.

Pivoting to the Emerging markets, the trade story with China continues to drive equity markets, or at least all the rumors about the trade story do that. While it seems that there are mid-level conversations between the two nations ahead of the scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi later this month, we continue to hear from numerous peanut gallery members about whether tariffs are going to be delayed or increased in size. This morning’s story is no deal is coming and 25% tariffs are on their way come January 1. It is no surprise that equity futures are pointing lower in the US. Look for CNY to soften as well, albeit not significantly so. The movement we saw last week was truly unusual.

Other EMG stories show that Mexico, the Philippines and Indonesia all raised base rates yesterday, although the currency impacts were mixed. Mexico’s was widely anticipated, so the 0.5% decline this morning seems to be a “sell the news” reaction. The Philippines surprised traders, however, and their peso was rewarded with a 0.5% rally. Interestingly, Bank Indonesia was not widely expected to move, but the rupiah has actually suffered a little after the rate hike. Go figure.

Yesterday’s US data arguably leaned to the strong side with only the Philly Fed number disappointing while Empire State and Retail Sales were both quite strong. This morning brings IP (exp 0.2%) and Capacity Utilization (78.2%), although these data points typically don’t impact the FX market.

As the week comes to a close, it appears the dollar is going to remain under some pressure on the back of the newly evolving Fed narrative regarding a less aggressive monetary policy. However, if we see a return of more severe equity market weakness, the dollar remains the haven of choice, and a reversal of the overnight moves can be expected.

Good luck and good weekend
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Troubles Anew

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Though yesterday all seemed okay
Today, poor Prime Minister May
Has troubles anew
As two from her crew
Of cabinet ministers stray

As I wrote yesterday, it seemed odd to me that despite the headline news of a Brexit deal being reached, and ostensibly signed off by PM May’s cabinet, the market response was tepid, at best. Given that the Brexit story has been THE key driver of the pound for the past eighteen months, how was it that one of the biggest developments in the entire saga was met with a collective yawn by the market? One would have expected a sharp rally in the pound on the news of a Brexit deal being agreed. Instead, what we got was a pound that fell slightly after the announcement, seeming to respond to modestly softer inflation data rather than to the Brexit story.

Well, today we learned the answer to that question. The news this morning is that Brexit Minister, Dominic Raab, as well as Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, both resigned from the cabinet citing the PM’s Brexit deal. Both indicated that they could not support the deal in its current form given the relatively high probability that it will result in different treatment for Northern Ireland than for the rest of the UK, a de facto sovereign rift within the UK. While May remains in office, and there has not, as yet, been any official effort to dethrone her, it is also clear that the probability of this deal being passed by Parliament has fallen sharply. And along side that probability falling, so too has the pound fallen sharply, down 1.5% as I type. In truth, this outcome can be no real surprise given the intractable nature of the underlying problem. A nation is defined by its borders. Insisting that there be no border and yet two distinct nations has been an inherent dilemma during the entire Brexit process. One side has to concede something, and thus far neither side is willing to do so. It remains to be seen if one side does cave in. For now, however, the pound is likely to remain under pressure.

The other story on which FX traders have focused was the speech by Chairman Powell last evening, where in a subtle change in tone, he recognized potential headwinds to the US growth story. These include, slowing growth elsewhere in the world, trade friction and the lagged impact of the Fed’s own policy changes, as well as the diminishing impact of this year’s fiscal stimulus. While none of this is ‘new’ information, what is new is the communication that the Fed is paying close attention. It had seemed to some pundits that the Fed was on autopilot and ignoring the changes that were ongoing in the global economy. By his remarks, Powell made it very clear that was not the case. The market impact, however, is a belated recognition of that fact, and instead will respond to the information that they see. If financial conditions tighten sufficiently because the underlying growth situation is weaker, the Fed has made it clear they will adjust policy accordingly.

The result of these comments was a very mild softening in the dollar as traders and investors implicitly reduce the probability of further policy tightening. However, the movement has not been very significant. Since Monday’s dollar peak, it has drifted lower by about 1% in a relatively smooth manner. Certainly, yesterday’s US CPI data didn’t help the dollar as it printed slightly softer than expected. Combining that with the Powell comments has been plenty to help stop the dollar’s recent rally. The question, of course, is how will upcoming data and information impact things. At this time, the market is following a completely logical pattern whereby strong US data results in a stronger dollar and weak data the opposite. With that in mind, I would suggest that this morning’s data will be of some real importance to the FX market.

Here are expectations for today:

Initial Claims 212K
Philly Fed 20.0
Empire State Manufacturing 20.0
Retail Sales 0.5%
-ex autos 0.5%
Business Inventories 0.3%

In addition, Chairman Powell speaks again at 11:00 this morning, although it would be hard to believe that he will have something new to say versus his comments yesterday. In all, if today’s data shows signs of faltering US growth, I expect the dollar will slide a little further, whereas strong data should see the dollar retraces some of yesterday’s losses. As to the pound, absent another resignation, it has likely found a new home for now. However, it will be increasingly difficult for the pound to rally unless a new idea is formulated, or we hear soothing words from the EU. At this time, neither of those seems very likely.

Good luck
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Into the Tank

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The German economy shrank
Japan’s heading into the tank
Italians declared
The budget prepared
Is gospel, and oil just sank

There are a number of stories this morning competing for market attention as investors and traders continue to try to get a reading on growth prospects going forward. Perhaps the most surprising story is that German GDP, which had been expected to print at 0.0% in Q3, actually fell -0.2%, significantly worse than expected. While every pundit and economist has highlighted that it was a confluence of one-time events that drove the data and that expectations for Q4 are far more robust, the fact remains that Q3 growth in Germany, and the whole of Europe, has been much weaker than anticipated. The euro has not benefitted from the news, falling 0.25%, and broadly continuing its recent downtrend.

Adding to the single currency’s woes is the ongoing Italian budget opera, where the EU huffed and puffed and demanded the Italians change their plans. The Italians, formally, told the EU to pound salt yesterday evening, and now the EU is at a crossroads. Either the emperor has no clothes (EU does nothing and loses its fiscal oversight capability) or is in fact well dressed and willing to flaunt it (initiates procedures to sanction and fine Italy). The problem with the former is obvious, but the problem with the latter is the potential impact on EU Parliamentary elections to be held in the spring. Attacking Italy could easily result in a far more antiestablishment parliament with many of the current leadership finding themselves in the minority. (And the one thing we absolutely know is that incumbency is THE most important aspect of leadership, right?) The point is that there are ample reasons for the euro to remain under pressure going forward.

At the same time, Japanese economic data continues to disappoint, with IP declining -2.5% Y/Y in September and Capacity Utilization falling 1.5%. At the same time, we find out that the BOJ’s balance sheet is now officially larger than the Japanese economy! Think about that, Japan’s debt/GDP ratio has long been over 200%, but now the BOJ has printed money and bought assets equivalent to the entire annual output of the nation. And despite the extraordinary efforts that the BOJ has made, growth remains lackluster and inflation nonexistent meaning the BOJ has failed to achieve either of its key aims. At some point in time, and it appears to be approaching sooner rather than later, central banks around the world will completely lose the ability to adjust market behavior through either words or action. And while it is not clear which central bank will lose that power first, the BOJ has to be the frontrunner, although the ECB is certainly trying to make a run at the title.

Meanwhile, from Merry Olde Englande we have news that a draft Brexit deal has been agreed between PM May and the EU. The problem remains that her cabinet has not yet seen nor signed off on it, and there is the little matter of getting the deal through Parliament, which will be dicey no matter what. On the one hand, it is not wholly surprising that some type of agreement was reached, but as is often the case in a situation as fraught as Brexit, nobody is satisfied, and quite frankly, it is not clear that it will gather sufficient support from either the UK Parliament, or the EU’s other nations. This is made evident by the fact that the pound has actually fallen today, -0.2%, despite the announcement. I maintain that a Brexit deal will clearly help the pound’s value, so the market does not yet believe the story. At the same time, UK inflation data was released at a softer than expected 2.4% in October, thus reducing potential pressure on the BOE to consider raising rates, even if a Brexit deal is agreed. After all, if inflation falls to 2.0%, their concerns will be much allayed.

One other story getting a lot of press has been the sharp decline in the price of oil, which yesterday fell 7.1% in the US, and is now down more than 26% since its high in the beginning of October, just six weeks ago. There is clearly a relationship between commodity prices and the dollar given the fact that most commodities are priced in dollars, and that relationship is consistently an inverse one. The question, that I have yet to seen answered effectively, is the direction of the causality. Does a stronger dollar lead to weaker commodity prices? Or do weaker commodity prices drive the dollar higher? While I am inclined to believe in the first scenario, there are arguments on both sides and no research has yet been able to answer the question effectively. However, it should be no surprise that the dollar continues to rally coincidentally with the decline in oil, and other commodity, prices.

I didn’t even get a chance to discuss the ongoing slowdown in Chinese economic growth, but we can touch on that tomorrow. As for today’s session, this morning we see the latest CPI readings (exp 0.3%, 2.5% Y/Y headline, 0.2% 2.2% core) and then as the FX market gets set to go home, Chairman Powell speaks, although it is hard to believe that his views on anything will have changed that much. In the end, the big picture remains that the dollar should continue to benefit from the Fed’s ongoing monetary policy activities as well as the self-inflicted wounds of both the euro and the yen.

Good luck
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A Too Bitter Pill

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Three stories today are of note
First, Italy’s rocking the boat
Next Brexit is still
A too bitter pill
While OPEC, a cut soon may vote

The outcome in all of these cases
Has been that the market embraces
The dollar once more
(It’s starting to soar)
And quite clearly off to the races

On this Veteran’s Day holiday in the US, where bond markets will be closed although equity markets will not, the dollar has shown consistent strength across the board. Interestingly, there have been several noteworthy stories this morning, but each one of them has served to reinforce the idea that the dollar’s oft-forecast demise remains somewhere well into the future.

Starting with Italy, the current government has shown every indication that they are not going to change their budget structure or forecasts despite the EU’s rejection of these assumptions when the budget was first submitted several weeks ago. This sets up the following situation: the EU can hold firm to its fiscal discipline strategy and begin the procedure to sanction Italy and impose a fine for breaking the rules, or the EU can soften its stance and find some compromise that tries to allow both sides to save face, or at least the EU to do so.

The problem with the first strategy is the EU Commission’s fear that it will increase the attraction of antiestablishment parties in the Parliamentary elections due in May. After all, the Italian coalition was elected by blaming all of Italy’s woes on the EU and its policies. The last thing the Commission wants is a more unruly Parliament, especially as the current leadership may find themselves on the sidelines. The problem with the second strategy is that if they don’t uphold their fiscal probity it will be clear, once and for all, that EU fiscal rules are there in name only and have no teeth. This means that going forward, while certain countries will follow them because they think it is proper to do so, many will decide they represent conditions too difficult with which to adhere. Over time, the second option would almost certainly result in the eventual dissolution of the euro, as the problems from having such dramatically different fiscal policies would eventually become too difficult for the ECB to manage.

With this in mind, it is no surprise that the euro is softer again today, down 0.6% and now trading at its lowest level since June 2017. In less than a week it has fallen by more than 2.0% and it looks as though this trend will continue for a while yet. We need to see the Fed soften its stance or something else to change in order to stop this move.

Turning to the UK, the clock to make a deal seems to be ticking ever faster and there is no indication that PM May is going to get one. Over the weekend, there was no progress made regarding the Irish border issue, but we did hear from several important constituents that the PM’s current deal will fail in Parliament. If Labour won’t support it and the DUP won’t support it and the hard-line Brexiteers won’t support it, there is no deal to be had. With this in mind it is no surprise that the pound has suffered greatly this morning, down 1.4% and back well below 1.30. You may recall that around Halloween, the market started to anticipate a Brexit deal and the pound rallied 3.7% in the course of a week. Well, it has since ceded 2.7% of that gain and based on the distinct lack of progress on the talks, it certainly appears that the pound has further to fall. Do not be surprised if the pound trades below its recent lows of 1.2700 and goes on to test the post-Brexit vote lows of 1.1900.

The third story of note is regarding OPEC and oil prices, which have fallen nearly 20% during the past six weeks as US production and inventories continue to climb while the price impact of sanctions on Iran turned out to be much less then expected. This has encouraged speculation that OPEC may cut its production quotas, although the news from various members is mixed. Adding to oil’s woes (and in truth all commodity prices) has been the fact that global growth has been slowing as well, thus reducing underlying demand. In fact, the biggest concern for the market has been the slow down in China, which continues apace and where stories of further policy ease by the PBOC, including interest rate cuts, are starting to be heard. Two things to note are first, the typical inverse correlation between the dollar and commodity prices such that when the dollar rises, commodity prices tend to fall, and second, in line with the dollar’s broad strength, the Chinese yuan has fallen further today, down 0.3%, and pushing back to the levels that inspired calls for a move beyond 7.00 despite concerns over increased capital outflows.

And frankly, those are the stories of note. The dollar is higher vs. pretty much every other currency today, G10 and EMG alike, with no distinction and few other stories that are newsworthy. Looking at the data this week, there are two key releases, CPI and Retail Sales along with a bit of other stuff.

Tuesday NFIB Biz Confidence 108.0
  Monthly Budget -$98.0B
Wednesday CPI 0.3% (2.5% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.2% Y/Y)
Thursday Initial Claims 215K
  Philly Fed 20.2
  Empire State 20.0
  Retail Sales 0.5%
  -ex Autos 0.5%
Friday IP 0.2%
  Capacity Utilization 78.2%

Overall, the data continues to support the Fed’s thesis that tighter monetary policy remains the proper course of action. In addition to the data we will hear from three Fed speakers including Chairman Powell on Wednesday. It seems hard to believe that he will have cause to change his tune, so I expect that as long as the rest of the world exhibits more short-term problems like we are seeing today, the dollar will remain quite strong.

Good luck
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