A recap of central bank actions
Shows sameness across all the factions
The doves are ascendant
And markets dependent
On easing for all their transactions

Yesterday’s markets behaved as one would expect given the week’s central bank activities, where policy ease is the name of the game. Stock markets rose sharply around the world, bond yields fell with the dollar following yields lower. Commodity prices also had a good day, although gold’s rally, as a haven asset, is more disconcerting than copper’s rally on the idea that easier policy will help avert a recession. And while, yes, Norway did raise rates 25bps…to 1.25%, they are simply the exception that proves the rule. Elsewhere, to recap, the three major central banks all met, and each explained that further policy ease, despite current historically easy policy, is not merely possible but likely going forward.

If there were questions as to why this is the case, recent data releases serve as an excellent answer. Starting in the US yesterday, Philly Fed, the second big manufacturing survey, missed sharply on the downside, printing at 0.3, down from last month’s 16.6 reading and well below expectations of 11.0. Combined with Monday’s Empire Manufacturing index, this is certainly a negative harbinger of economic activity in the US.

Japan’s inflation
Continues to edge lower
Is that really bad?

Then, last night we saw Japanese CPI data print at 0.7%, falling 0.2% from the previous month and a strong indication that the BOJ remains far behind in their efforts to change the deflationary mindset in Japan. It is also a strong indication that the BOJ is going to add to its current aggressive policy ease, with talk of both a rate cut and an increase in QE. The one thing that is clear is that verbal guidance by Kuroda-san has had effectively zero impact on the nation’s views of inflation. While the yen has softened by 0.2% this morning compared to yesterday’s close, it remains in a clear uptrend which began in April, or if you step back, a longer-term uptrend which began four years ago. Despite the fact that markets are anticipating further policy ease from Tokyo, the yen’s strength is predicated on two factors; first the fact that the US has significantly more room to ease policy than Japan and so the dollar is likely to have a weak period; and second, the fact that overall evaluations of market risk (just not the equity markets) shows a great deal of concern amongst investors and the yen’s haven status remains attractive.

Closing out our analysis of economic malaise, this morning’s Flash PMI data from Europe showed that while things seem marginally better than last month, they are still rotten. Once again, Germany’s Manufacturing PMI printed well below 50 at 45.4 with the Eurozone version printing at 47.8. These are not data points that inspire confidence in central bankers and are amongst the key reasons that we continue to hear from virtually every ECB speaker that there is plenty of room for the ECB to ease policy further. And while that is a suspect sentiment, there is no doubt that they will try. But once again, the issue is that given the current status of policy, the Fed has the most room to ease policy and that relative position is what will maintain pressure on the buck.

Away from the central bank story, there is no doubt that market participants have ascribed a high degree of probability to the Trump-Xi meeting being a success at defusing the ongoing trade tensions. Certainly, it seems likely that it will help restart the talks, a very good thing, but that is not the same thing as making concessions or coming to agreement. It remains a telling factor that the Chinese are unwilling to codify the agreement in their legal system, but rather want to rely on administrative rules and guidance. That strikes as a very different expectation, compared to the rest of the developed world, regarding what international negotiations are designed to achieve. When combined with the fact that the Chinese claim there is no IP theft or forced technology transfer, which are two of the key issues on the table for the US, I still have a hard time seeing a successful outcome. But I am no trade expert, so my views are just my own.

And finally, Brexit has not really been in the news that much lately, at least not on this side of the pond, but the Tory leadership contest is down to the final two candidates, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary. The process now heads to the roughly 160,000 active members of the Conservative Party, with Johnson favored to prevail. His stance on Brexit is he would prefer a deal, but he will not allow a delay past the current October 31, 2019 deadline, deal or no deal. It is this dynamic which has undermined the pound lately and driven its lagging performance for the past several months. However, this will take more time to play out and so I expect that the pound will remain in limbo for a while yet.

On the data front, we see only Existing Home Sales (exp 5.25M) this morning, but with the FOMC meeting now past and the quiet period over, we hear from two Fed speakers, Governor Brainerd (a dove) and Cleveland Fed President Mester (a hawk). At this point, all indications are that the Fed is leaning far more dovish than before, so it will be telling to hear Ms Mester. If she comes across as dovish, I would expect that we will see both stocks and bonds rally further with the dollar sinking again. Thus, a tumultuous week is ending with the opportunity for a bit more action. The dollar remains under pressure and I expect that to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Good luck
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