Said Draghi, if things get much worse
Then more money, I will disburse
And negative rates
Which everyone hates
Will never go into reverse!

This morning, the Germans reported
That IP there’s lately been thwarted
Now markets are waiting
For payrolls, debating
Why everything seems so distorted

India. Malaysia. New Zealand. Philippines. Australia. India (again). Federal Reserve (?). ECB (?).

These are the major nations that have cut policy rates in the past two months, as well as, of course, the current forecasts for the two biggest central banks. Tuesday and Wednesday we heard from a number of Fed speakers, notably Chairman Powell, that if the economy starts to weaken, a rate cut is available and the Fed won’t hesitate to act. At this point, the futures market has a 25% probability priced in for them to cut rates in two weeks’ time, with virtual certainty they will cut by the late July meeting.

Then yesterday, Signor Draghi guided us further out the calendar indicating that interest rates in the ECB will not change until at least the middle of 2020. Remember, when this forward guidance started it talked about “through the summer” of 2019, then was extended to the end of 2019, and now it has been pushed a further six months forward. But of even more interest to the markets was that at his press conference, he mentioned how further rate cuts were discussed at the meeting as well as restarting QE. Meanwhile, the newest batch of TLTRO’s will be available at rates from -0.3% to 0.10%, slightly lower than had previously been expected, but certainly within the range anticipated. And yet, despite this seeming dovishness, the market had been looking for even more. In the end, the euro rallied yesterday, and has essentially maintained its recent gains despite Draghi’s best efforts. After all, when comparing the policy room available to the Fed and the ECB, the Fed has the ability to be far more accommodative in the near term, and markets seem to be responding to that. In the wake of the ECB meeting, the euro rallied a solid 0.5%, and has only ceded 0.1% of that since. But despite all the angst, the euro has not even gained 1.0% this week, although with the payroll report due shortly, that is certainly subject to change.

Which takes us to the payroll report. Wednesday’s ADP data was terrible, just 27K although the median forecast was for 180K, which has a number of analysts quite nervous.

Given the way this market is behaving, if NFP follows ADP, look for the dollar to fall sharply along with a big bond market rally, and arguably a stock market rally as well. This will all be based on the idea that the Fed will be forced to cut rates at the June meeting, something which they are unwilling to admit at this point. Interestingly, a strong print could well see stocks fall on the idea that the Fed will not cut rates further, at least in the near future, but it should help the dollar nicely.

Before I leave for the weekend, there are two other notable moves in the FX markets, CNY and ZAR. In China, an interview with PBoC Governor Yi Gang indicated that they have significant room to ease policy further if necessary, and that there is no red line when it comes to USDCNY trading through 7.00. Those comments were enough to weaken the renminbi by 0.3%, above 6.95, and back to its weakest level since November. Confirmation that 7.00 is not seen as a crucial level implies that we are going to see a weaker CNY going forward.

As to ZAR, it has fallen through 15.00 to the dollar, down 0.5% on the day and 3.4% on the week, as concerns grow over South Africa’s ability to manage their way through the current economic slump. Two key national companies, Eskom, the electric utility, and South African Airways are both struggling to stay afloat, with Eskom so large, the government probably can’t rescue them even if they want to. Slowing global growth is just adding fuel to the fire, and it appears there is further room for the rand to decline.

In sum, the global economic outlook continues to weaken (as evidenced by today’s German IP print at -1.9% and the Bundesbank’s reduction in GDP forecast for 2019 to just 0.6%) and so easier monetary policy appears the default projection. For now, that translates into a weaker dollar (more room to move than other countries) and stronger stocks (because, well lower rates are always good, regardless of the reason), while Treasuries and Bunds should continue to see significant inflows driving yields there lower.

Good luck and good weekend
Adf