Tis coming increasingly clear
That growth is at ebb tide this year
The PMI data
When looked at, pro rata
Shows industry cow’ring in fear

Meanwhile in Osaka, the meet
Twixt Trump and Xi lowered the heat
On tariffs and trade
Which most have portrayed
As bullish, though some are downbeat

With all the buildup about the meeting between President’s Trump and Xi, one might have thought that a cure for cancer was to be revealed. In the end, the outcome was what was widely hoped for, and largely expected, that the trade talks would resume between the two nations. Two addenda were part of the discussion, with Huawei no longer being shut out of US technology and the Chinese promising to buy significantly more US agricultural products. Perhaps it was the two addenda that have gotten the market so excited, but despite the results being largely in line with expectations, equity markets around the world have all exploded higher, with both Shanghai and Tokyo rallying more than 2.2%, Europe seeing strong gains, (DAX +1.35%, FTSE + 1.15%) and US futures pointing sharply higher (DJIA +1.1%, NASDAQ +1.75%). In other words, everybody’s happy! Oil prices spiked higher as well, with WTI back over $60 due to a combination of an extension of the OPEC+ production cuts and the boost from anticipated economic growth after the trade truce. Gold, on the other hand, is lower by 1.4% as haven assets have suffered. After all, if the apocalypse has been delayed, there is no need to seek shelter.

But a funny thing happened on the way to market salvation, Manufacturing PMI data was released, and not only was it worse than expected pretty much everywhere around the world, it was also below the 50 level pretty much everywhere around the world. Here are the data for the world’s major nations; China 49.4, Japan 49.3, Korea 47.5, Germany 45.0, and the UK 48.0. We are awaiting this morning’s US ISM report (exp 51.0), but remember, that Friday’s Chicago PMI, often seen as a harbinger of the national scene, printed at a disastrous 49.7, more than 3 points below expectations and down 4.5 points from last month.

Taking all this into account, the most important question becomes, what do you do if you are the Fed? After all, the Fed remains the single most important actor in financial markets, if not in the global economy. Markets are still pricing in a 25bp rate cut at the end of this month, and about 100bps of cuts by the end of the year. In the meantime, the most recent comments from Fed speakers indicate that they may not be that anxious to cut rates so soon. (see Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin’s Friday WSJ interview.) If you recall, part of the July rate cut story was the collapse of the trade talks and the negative impact that would result accordingly. But they didn’t collapse. Now granted, the PMI data is pointing to widespread economic weakness, which may be enough to convince the Fed to cut rates anyway. But was some of that weakness attributable to the uncertainty over the trade situation? After all, if global trade is shrinking, and it is, then manufacturing plans are probably suffering as well, even without the threat of tariffs. All I’m saying is that now that there is a trade truce, will that be sufficient for the Fed to remain on hold?

Of course, there is plenty of other data for the Fed to study before their next meeting, perhaps most notably this Friday’s payroll report. And there is the fact that with the market still fully priced for a rate cut, it will be extremely difficult for the Fed to stand on the side as the equity market reaction would likely be quite negative. I have a feeling that the markets are going to drive the Fed’s activities, and quite frankly, that is not an enviable position. But we have a long time between now and the next meeting, and so much can, and likely will, change in the interim.

As to the FX market, the dollar has been a huge beneficiary of the trade truce, rallying nicely against most currencies, although the Chinese yuan has also performed well. As an example, we see the euro lower by 0.3%, the pound by 0.45% and the yen by 0.35%. In fact, all G10 currencies are weaker this morning, with the true outliers those most likely to benefit from lessening trade tensions, namely CNY and MXN, both of which have rallied by 0.35% vs. the dollar.

Turning to the data this week, there is plenty, culminating in Friday’s payrolls:

So, there will be lots to learn about the state of the economy, as well as the latest pearls of wisdom from Fed members Clarida, Williams and Mester in the first part of the week. And remember, with Thursday’s July 4th holiday, trading desks in every product are likely to be thinly staffed, especially Friday when payrolls hit. Also remember, last month’s payroll data was a massive disappointment, coming in at just 75K, well below expectations of 200K. This was one of the key themes underpinning the idea that the Fed was going to cut in July. Under the bad news is good framework, another weak data point will virtually guaranty that the Fed cuts rates, so look for an equity market rally in that event.

In the meantime, though, the evolving sentiment in the FX market is that the Fed is going to cut more aggressively than everywhere else, and that the dollar will suffer accordingly. I have been clear in my view that any dollar weakness will be limited as the rest of the world follows the Fed down the rate cutting path. Back in the beginning of the year, I was a non-consensus view of lower interest rates for 2019, calling for Treasuries at 2.40% and Bunds at 0.0% by December. And while we could still wind up there, certainly the consensus view is for much lower rates as we go forward. Things really have changed dramatically in the past six months. Don’t assume anything for the next six!

Good luck
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