Psephologists have now decided
The run-off election provided
A blue wave at last
So laws can be passed
Republicans view as misguided

The market responded by sellin’
The 10-year, with traders foretellin’
Inflation to come
As Powell stays mum
While financing Treasury’s Yellen

While the election results from Georgia are not yet final, the indications at this time are that the Democratic party won one of the seats with the second one still too close to call.  However, the market has already made its decision, that both seats flipped to the Democrats and that the Senate will now be split 50:50, which means that the Vice President will be able to cast the deciding vote.  The clear implication is that, while hardly a mandate, the Democrats will control both the executive and legislative branches and be able to implement a great deal of their agenda.  In other words, the blue wave high tide has finally crested.

The initial reaction to this news has been seen in the sell-off of the 10-year Treasury, where the yield has risen to 1.02% as I type, its first foray above 1.00% since March 19th, during the first days of the Covid-19 market panic.  The reflation trade is back in vogue, with expectations now that the new administration will be aggressively adding fiscal stimulus, thus increasing Treasury issuance significantly and ultimately steepening the yield curve as demand for long-dated Treasuries will not be able to keep pace with the new supply.  However, given the already record levels of debt outstanding, the government simply cannot afford for interest rates to rise too far, as if they do, interest payments will soak up an ever-increasing proportion of available revenues.  It is for this reason that I continue to believe the Fed will increase their current activity, and whether tacitly, by expanding QE and extending the maturity of purchases, or explicitly, by setting a yield target, implement Yield Curve Control (YCC).

At the same time, the Fed has made it abundantly clear that higher inflation is of no concern to the committee.  The latest proof comes from Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who explained to us yesterday, “Frankly, if we got 3% inflation, that would not be so bad.  It is very difficult to imagine out of control inflation, even with the large debt that fiscal authorities have been running up.”   Perhaps, as a Regional Fed President, he simply lacks imagination.  After all, just yesterday, almost at the same time he was recounting his views, the ISM Prices Paid index printed at 77.6, well above expectations and at a level seen only twice, briefly, in the past decade.  There is a strong correlation between this index and PPI, so the idea that inflation pressures are building is hardly unimaginable.

Which brings us back to the prospects for the dollar, as well as other markets.  While yields have climbed today, the prospect of inflation rising more rapidly and real rates falling further into negative territory still informs my view that the dollar has further to decline.  This will become more obvious when the Fed steps in to prevent the rise in nominal yields, which I am confident will occur sooner rather than later.  Again, while I don’t anticipate a dollar collapse, as other central banks will fight to prevent such an outcome, further dollar weakness is in the cards.

Speaking of other central banks fighting the dollar’s weakness, last night the PBOC started to do just that by establishing the CNY fix at a weaker renminbi rate than anticipated.  Since August 1st, CNY has appreciated by nearly 8% vs. the dollar, which for an economy that remains heavily reliant on exporting for GDP growth, is a growing problem.  As the PBOC makes no bones about directing the value of the currency, you can expect that they will be actively managing the renminbi’s value going forward in an effort to prevent too much further strength.  But, as long as both nominal and real yields remain positive in China, that will attract significant capital flows and continue to pressure the renminbi higher.

So, what has all this news done to other markets?  Well, most of Europe is ecstatic at the election outcome, at least that seems to be the case based on the rallies seen in equity markets there.  The FTSE 100 (+2.3%) is leading the way, but we are seeing strong gains in the DAX (+0.9%) and CAC (+0.8%) as well, despite the fact that the PMI Services data disappointed across the board.  The story in Asia was more mixed with the Nikkei (-0.4%) and Australia (-1.1%) underwhelmed by the outcome, although the Hang Seng (+0.2%) and Shanghai (+0.6%) both wound up in the green.  As to US futures, as I type, they are a mixed bag, with DOW futures higher by 0.2%, SPU’s lower by 0.4% while NASDAQ futures are down 2.0%.  The latter’s decline are a response to the election results as concerns grow that Big Tech will now be in the crosshairs of Congress for more regulation if not outright dismemberment.

While we have already discussed the Treasury market, European government bonds are mostly softer today as well, with yields rising as much as 4bps in the UK, although German bunds are unchanged on the session.

Another inflationary impulse comes from oil, where yesterday the Saudis surprised the market by unilaterally cutting production by 1 million barrels/day helping to take WTI above $50/bbl for the first time since late February.  If this rally continues, look for gasoline prices to creep higher, one of the key sentiment indicators regarding the perception of inflation.

And finally, the dollar remains broadly under pressure this morning, with NOK (+0.75%) the leading gainer in the G10 on the back of the oil rally, although both AUD (+0.6%) and NZD (+0.65%) are also having a good day as both commodity prices gain and they serve as a proxy for Asian growth.  Meanwhile, the euro (+0.35%) is trading at new highs for the move and back to levels not seen since April 2018.

Emerging market currencies are universally higher this morning, led by PLN (+0.85%), MXN (+0.8%) and HUF (+0.8%).  Those stories are easy to see, with oil helping the peso, while the CE4 currencies are tracking the euro’s strength.  Asian currencies, while all firmer, did not show nearly the enthusiasm, with gains between 0.1% and 0.2%, but of course, the election results were not fully known during their session.

On the data front, this morning brings ADP Employment (exp 75K) as well as Factory Orders (0.7%) and the PMI Services index (55.2).  Then, this afternoon, we see the FOMC Minutes of the December meeting, one where they disappointed many folks by not easing further. The first thing to note is that after yesterday’s ISM data, the ADP forecast increased from 50K.  Clearly, the manufacturing sector remains in better shape than expected.  At the same time, the Minutes ought to be interesting as perhaps we will learn more about attitudes regarding any prospects for what could change policy.  Of course, given the world was a different place then, and as Evans explained, inflation is of no concern, the real question from the Minutes will be what will the Fed do next to ease further.

As to the dollar, it is hard to see a short-term path in any direction other than lower, but I continue to expect the decline to be slow and orderly.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf