Will Mario cut rates again?
And if so, by twenty or ten
Plus when will he start
To fill up his cart
With more bonds to piss off Wiedmann

Today is all about the ECB which will release its policy statement at 7:45 this morning. Then at 8:30, Signor Draghi will hold his press conference where reporters will attempt to dig deeper. At this stage, markets have priced in a 0.10% cut in the base rate, to -0.50%, with a 32% chance of a 0.20% cut. Just last week markets had priced in a 50% chance of that larger cut, so clearly the commentary from the hawks had an impact. At the same time, 80% of analysts surveyed are expecting a restart to QE with estimates of €30B – €35B per month as the jumping off point. This remains the case despite the vocal opposition by German, Dutch and French central bankers. Clearly, Draghi will have a lot of convincing to do in order to get his way. As I mentioned yesterday, bond prices have retreated driving yields higher which in the case of Bunds and other European paper implies a somewhat lower expectation of more QE.

It is also important to see what type of forward guidance we get as this has become one of the most powerful tools in central bank toolkits. Promises of a continuation in this policy until a specific inflation target is met would be quite powerful. Similarly, any indication that the ECB’s self-imposed limits on QE are under review would also be seen as quite bond bullish with both of these messages sure to undermine the euro. And perhaps that is the interim goal, weakening the euro such that the Eurozone can import a little inflation. Of course with Chinese prices declining and the huge trade uncertainty restricting business investment thus keeping a lid on growth, even a weak euro doesn’t seem that likely to drive inflation higher. At least not the time being. But central bankers remain convinced that they must do something, even if they know it will be ineffective. Finally, you can be sure there will be further pleas for fiscal stimulus to help address the current economic malaise. (Of course, Brussels will still seek to prevent the Italians from adding stimulus, of that you can be sure.)

The US-Chinese rapprochement
Has bolstered the Chinese yuan
Thus equities rose
Although I suppose
This could be another false dawn

It wouldn’t be a complete day without some new trade story and today’s is clearly on the positive side. President Trump delayed the imposition of the additional 5% tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks, so they will now not go into effect until October 15. This gesture of good will is allegedly to allow the Chinese to celebrate their founding day without new clouds. The Chinese were appreciative and indicated they were now looking at imports of agricultural items, something they have purposely shunned in an attempt to pressure President Trump politically. Of course, given the swine fever that has decimated more than half the Chinese hog population, it seems likely that they are pretty keen to import US pork. At any rate, look for the next round of trade talks to occur during the first half of October while the détente is ongoing. The market response was immediately positive with the Nikkei and Shanghai indices both closing higher by 0.75%, although Eurozone equity markets are little changed, clearly waiting the ECB decision. Perhaps even more impressively, the renminbi has rallied 0.4% to its strongest level since August 23 and closing the gap on the charts that opened up when China last raised tariffs on US goods. At this point, market technicians may get involved as there is an island top in place on the charts. Don’t be surprised if USDCNY falls back to at least 7.00 before this move is over, and perhaps below if the trade situation seems to be easing.

Finally, the last of our big 3 stories, Brexit, has seen more political machinations and an uproar in the UK as the government was forced to release its planning document for a no-deal Brexit. Despite the fact that there were several potential scenarios, all the focus was on the worst-case which described massive potential shortages of food, fuel and medicine along with potential rioting. I have not seen the probability estimates for that scenario, and I’m pretty sure that no news source that favors Remain (all of them?) will publish one. However, despite the uproar in the papers, the pound is unchanged on the day. Remember, parliament is not in session, nor will it be until October 14. It will be fascinating to watch how this plays out. As to the pound, it remains a binary play; hard Brexit leads to 1.10 or below; any deal agreed leads to 1.30-1.35. Place your bets!

This morning we see the most important data of the week, CPI (exp 1.8%, 2.3% ex food & energy) as well as the weekly Initial Claims number (215K). If we see the recent trend continue, where CPI edges higher (was as low as 1.5% in February), that could well give pause to the FOMC. After all, cutting rates when inflation is rising and growth is stable at trend is much tougher to justify. That said, if the FOMC doesn’t cut I would expect a market bloodbath and a cacophony from the White House that would be unbearable, especially if Mario somehow manages to be extremely dovish.

Finally, a short time ago the Central Bank of Turkey cut rates more than expected to 16.5%, with new Central Bank head, Murat Cetinkaya, clearly accepting President Erdogan’s view that high rates cause inflation. At any rate, the lira has been the best performer of the day, rallying 1.1% as I type. Broadly, the dollar is softer ahead of the ECB, but that is simply position squaring before the decision. All the action will come after that.

Good luck
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