Author Archives: fxpoet

Growth Had Decreased

Posted on by

While Draghi and his ECB
Evaluate their policy
The data released
Showed growth had decreased
A fact they’re unhappy to see

With limited new information on the two key stories, Brexit and the trade war, the market has turned its attention to this morning’s Flash PMI data for Europe, which it turns out was not very good. French, German and Eurozone numbers (the only ones released) all printed much lower than expected with German Manufacturing dipping to 49.9, a concerning signal about future growth there. The euro responded as would be expected, falling 0.3% and helping to drag down many other currencies vs. the dollar.

This is the backdrop to today’s ECB meeting, further signs of slowing Eurozone growth, which cannot be helping the internal debate about slowly normalizing policy. The policy statement will be released at 7:45 this morning and is expected to show no changes in rates or the balance sheet. Remember, the most recent guidance has been that rates would remain on hold “at least through the end of summer” and that maturing securities would be reinvested. But today’s data has to weigh on that process. As I have argued in the past, there is, I believe, a vanishingly small probability that the ECB raises rates at all. And that is their big problem. If the current slowdown turns into a recession, exactly what else can the ECB do to support the economy there? Nothing! I’m sure they will restart QE, and it is a given that they will roll over the TLTRO’s this year, but will it be enough to change the trajectory? Mario will be pretty happy to turn over the reins to someone else this October as the next ECB President is likely to have a very unhappy time, with lots of problems and lots of blame and not many tools available to address things. This remains the key reason I like the euro to decline as 2019 progresses.

Away from that, though, the Brexit story is waiting for Parliamentary votes next week regarding the elimination of the no-deal choice, which has been seen as a distinct GBP positive. While it is a touch softer this morning, -0.2%, the pound is getting the benefit of every doubt right now. As I wrote yesterday, maintain a fully hedged positions as the risk of a sharp decline has not yet disappeared by any stretch.

There has been no discussion on trade, no US data and no Fed speakers, so traders and investors are running out of cues on which to deal, at least for now. Overall, the dollar is firmer this morning, but that is really just offsetting yesterday’s weakness. In fact, it is very difficult to look at the current situation and anticipate any substantive price action in the near term. While the ECB could surprise by easing policy, that seems highly unlikely for now. However, if we get an even gloomier outlook from Draghi at the 8:30 press conference, I could see the euro declining further. But absent that, it is shaping up to be quite a dull session.

Good luck
Adf

Bred On Champagne

Posted on by

In Davos, the global elite
Are gathering midst their conceit
That they know what’s best
For all of the rest
Though this year they’re feeling some heat

As growth ‘round the world starts to wane
This group, which was bred on champagne
Is starting to find
Their sway has declined
And people treat them with disdain

This is Davos week, when the World Economic Forum meets in Switzerland to discuss global issues regarding trade, finance, economics and social trends. Historically, this had been a critical stopping point for those trying to get their message across, notably politicians from around the world, as well as corporate leaders and celebrities. But this year, it has lost some of its luster. Not only are key politicians missing (the entire US entourage, PM May, President Xi, President Macron, AMLO from Mexico and others), but the broad-based rejection of globalist policies that have led to a significant increase in populism around the world has reduced the impact and influence of the attendees. Of course, this hasn’t prevented those who are attending from declaring their certitude of the future, it just puts a more jaundiced eye on the matter. As to the market impact of this soiree, the lack of keynote addresses by policymakers of note has resulted in quite a reduction of influence. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see more headlines, it just doesn’t seem like it will matter that much.

Inflation forecasts
In Japan have been reduced
Again. Is this news?

The BOJ met last night and left policy settings unchanged, as universally expected. This means that the BOJ is still purchasing assets at a rate of ¥80 trillion per year (ostensibly) and interest rates remain at -0.10%. Their problem is that despite the fact that they have been doing this for more than 6 years, as well as purchasing corporate bonds and equity ETF’s, they are actually getting worse results. Last night they downgraded their growth and inflation forecasts to 0.9% for both GDP and CPI as they continuously fail in their attempts to stoke price increases.

While the Fed has already begun normalizing policy and the ECB is trying to move in that direction (although I think they missed the boat on that), the BOJ is making no pretenses about the fact that QE is a fact of life for the foreseeable future. Policy failure at the central bank level has become the norm, not the exception, and the BOJ is Exhibit A. As such, the yen is very likely to see its value remain beholden to the market’s overall risk appetite. If we continue to see sessions like yesterday, where equities and commodities suffer while Treasuries are bid, you can be pretty sure the yen will strengthen. While this morning the currency is actually weaker by 0.3%, that seems more like a position adjustment rather than a commentary on risk. In fact, if equities continue to suffer, look for the yen to regain its lost ground and then some.

As to Brexit, the pound is trading back above 1.30 this morning for the first time since the first week of November, which was arguably more about the US elections than the UK. But the market is becoming increasingly convinced that a hard Brexit is off the table, and that some type of deal will get done, maybe not by March, but then after a several month delay. If this is your belief, then the pound clearly has further to rally, as the market remains net short, but my only advice is to be very careful as policy mistakes are well within the remit of all government organizations, not just central banks.

Beyond those stories, there has been no movement on the trade talks, although Larry Kudlow did highlight that some type of verification would be needed before anything is agreed. US data yesterday showed a much weaker than expected housing market with Existing Home Sales falling 10.0% since last year to just 4.99M in December. The Fed is silent as they prepare for next week’s meeting and the ECB is silent as they prepare for tomorrow’s meeting. In other words, it is not that exciting. Equity futures are pointing modestly higher, about 0.25%, although that is after a >1% decline in all markets yesterday. Treasury yields are higher by 2bps and oil prices are modestly higher (0.7%) after a sharper decline yesterday. Overall, the market remains unexciting and I expect that until we see a resolution of one of the key issues, notably trade or Brexit, things are likely to remain quiet. That said, it does appear that there are ample underlying concerns to warrant a fully hedged position for risk managers.

Good luck
Adf

 

A Few Tweaks

Posted on by

Ms May explained that her Plan B
Was really a wonder, you see
She’d get a few tweaks
And then in ten weeks
The UK would finally be free!

The way I see it, Plan B is essentially a game of chicken. To date, the EU has said that they are firm and will not cede any more ground than that already outlined in the deal on the table. However, with ten weeks to go, the reality that the UK could exit with no deal is starting to hit home. Regardless of what they have said to date, a hard Brexit is going to have real negative impacts on the EU, especially Germany, the Netherlands and France, as they are the biggest trading partners of the UK. So, PM May went back to Parliament and explained that she would go back to the EU and explain that there needed to be some changes or else it was no deal. The first cracks appeared on the EU side with Poland discussing a 5-year transition period as a possibility, although so far, no other EU nation has piped up.

But consider the situation for the ECB. Signor Draghi is desperate to move further down the road of reducing the extraordinary monetary ease that the ECB has implemented. Stopping QE was to be the beginning of the process with the next steps to be slow and steady rate increases. Now, it is already looking like a questionable call, and a hard Brexit will definitely result in even slower Eurozone growth, thus ratcheting up the pressure on Draghi to do something. Remember, this is the man who did ‘whatever it took’ to save the euro during the sovereign debt crisis in 2012. But interest rates are already negative, and they just ended QE last month. Will they really start it up again in a few months’ time? There is significant pressure building on the EU to blink, although whether or not they do is still unclear.

Yesterday I discussed the idea that Parliament would try to take matters into its own hands given its dissatisfaction with PM May’s deal, but that would be an extraordinary outcome, and is in no way certain to be achieved. This morning, the pound has edged higher (just 0.2%) after surprisingly good employment data with the Unemployment Rate falling to 4.0%. Sterling continues to trade well above the lows seen in December though well below most economist estimates of ‘fair value.’ The thing is, given the possibility that there is no Brexit, which would arguably result in a very sharp Sterling rally, as well as the possibility there is a hard Brexit, which would result in a very sharp decline, maybe the pound is in the right place after all. And for hedgers, 50/50 is the best I can offer. If pressed, I would say the odds of no Brexit have increased, but there is still no way to know at this point in time.

Other than this story, however, there is precious little new news of interest to the FX world. The trade situation continues to percolate, as does the US government shutdown, but neither one has seen any change of note overnight. In both cases, there doesn’t appear to be a deal in the near future.

Broadly speaking, risk is off today, with the dollar modestly higher against most counterparts, equity markets softening somewhat along with commodities and Treasury and Bund yields declining slightly. There are still many problems extant in the world, it’s just that none of them are acute right now. However, the odds of another significant disruption appear to be increasing, hence the risk reduction we are witnessing today.

This morning’s data is Existing Home Sales (exp 5.25M), which is unlikely to impact the dollar very much unless it misses by a lot. Otherwise, the market is likely to continue this modest risk aversion unless we hear something about either Trade or the shutdown. In other words, look for a quiet FX session today.

Good luck
Adf

A Terrible Sight

Posted on by

The data from China last night
Described their economy’s plight
With trade talks ongoing
Their growth is still slowing.
For Xi, it’s a terrible sight

While the Martin Luther King holiday in the US will close markets and keep things quiet here, the rest of the world continues to be active. Equity markets in Europe are weak on the back of disappointing data from China. In fact, that has been the story of the day. Chinese GDP in Q4 was reported at 6.4% higher than Q4 2018, its slowest pace of growth since the financial crisis in 2009. And when considered on an annual basis, the 6.6% growth in calendar 2018 was the slowest pace of growth since 1990. Retail Sales and Industrial Production also continued their long-term downtrends, with no sign that things are set to reverse anytime soon. While the trade situation with the US is clearly weighing on the Chinese economy, they are also reaping the ‘benefits’ of the decades of increased leverage needed to achieve previous growth targets. The telling statistic I’ve seen is that ten years ago, one dollar of leverage bought $0.80 worth of additional growth. Today that number is ~$0.15 of additional growth for each new dollar of leverage. That is not the recipe for long term success!

In the meantime, despite the comments on Friday about China proposing a path to reduce the US trade deficit to zero over six years, it seems that substantive talks on protecting IP and preventing its forced transfer to local Chinese partners have gone nowhere. (In addition, the idea that reducing that trade deficit to zero would be net beneficial is not actually clear. (This article by Mike Ashton, @inflation_guy (https://mikeashton.wordpress.com/author/mikeashton/)  does an excellent job of describing potential outcomes.) At any rate, Friday’s good vibes are not nearly as apparent this morning.

Of course, the other storyline that has been nonstop is Brexit, with today the deadline for PM May to put forth her Plan B. It remains unclear as to what she can actually change to get Parliament to agree, but she will try for something. An interesting analysis I saw this weekend actually made the case that the risk of a no-deal Brexit was actually vanishingly small. The idea is that Parliament will vote to make that outcome illegal, meaning the government cannot accept that as an outcome. (Remember, Parliament and the government are not the same institution, similar to our legislative and executive branches in the US.) The alternatives are to delay the deadline in order to get a new referendum put together, or to unilaterally decide not to leave. The problem I have with that idea is that it seems a bit like Parliament declaring that recessions are illegal. As much as they would like to avoid having them, it is not clear they control the situation. Certainly, the FX market is coming around to that view as the pound has been rallying for five weeks (although there was virtually no movement overnight), but it seems to me that there is still a significant risk of a no-deal outcome, which given the recent rally, will almost certainly result in a sharp fall in the pound.

Away from those two stories, things remain remarkably dull in the FX world. The ongoing government shutdown in the US has had limited impact (arguably just that some data has not been released), while within the Eurozone, data continues to ebb and the political will to make changes of substance remains absent. Japan remains in stasis and there is virtually no possibility, in my view, that either the ECB or the BOJ tightens policy at all in 2019. In fact, I continue to believe that they will both seek to ease further at the margins.

What about the emerging market you may ask? Again, the story remains one of limited new news, at least news that is sufficient to drive market movement. Overall, investors and traders are wedded to the big picture stories like trade and Brexit, and we continue to see broad based moves accordingly.

The data story this week is unimpressive (largely due to the shutdown) with just two data points coming, tomorrow’s Existing Home Sales (exp 5.24M) and Thursday’s Initial Claims (218K). With the Fed meeting next week, they are now in their quiet period so there are no speakers on the docket. Arguably, the ECB meeting on Thursday is the biggest FX news of the week, but there is no expectation for anything new. I imagine the press conference will focus on the previous comments about tightening later this year in the context of the ongoing economic slowdown there, but we have a few days before we have to worry about that. In the end, the dollar is modestly higher this morning, but I expect it to see very limited movement in the holiday market.

Good luck
Adf

 

Ill at Ease

Posted on by

The nation that once ruled the seas
Has lately been brought to its knees
The Minister, Prime
Has run out of time
And Parliament’s still ill at ease

In ten days, some votes will be held
As MP’s there all feel compelled
To take more control
Around the black hole
Of Brexit, so fears might be quelled

There continue to be two main stories driving markets, Brexit and the trade war between the US and China. Everything else has faded into the background amid moderating global growth and concerns of worse to come.

Starting with Brexit, in a week and a half (it’s actually 11 days, but that didn’t fit into the limerick), Parliament will be holding a series of votes to try to wrest control of the process from the government and to explain their demands on behalf of the ‘people’. Alas, what is clear is that there is no consensus on how to proceed, with a large number not wanting to go through with it at all, while others seek a hard Brexit. PM May has insisted that the vote was for leaving the EU, and that is exactly what the UK is going to do. Currently, the best idea that anybody seems to have is to seek to delay the official date for up to a year in order to come up with more support for any action at all. There is talk of holding a second referendum, talk of a snap election to help PM May win a mandate on how to proceed, and talk of a hard Brexit. The one thing that is clear is that the deal on the table will not be the roadmap, at least not as currently written.

With all that in mind, the FX market is starting to vote, and they are coming around to the idea that there will be no Brexit at all. At least that is my take on the fact that the pound has been rising steadily since the beginning of the year. While it is actually slightly softer this morning (-0.35%) on the back of weaker than expected Retail Sales figures (-0.9% in Dec), it is higher by 3.5% since January 2nd. My view that a hard Brexit will result in a much lower pound is universal, while a deal would clearly help the pound’s value. But no Brexit at all might open up a very significant rally. Remember, before the vote, the pound was trading around 1.45-1.50. Price action indicates to me that there are more and more traders and speculators who are betting on no Brexit and a sharp rebound. I will say that if there is a decision to hold a second referendum, look for the pound to rally very sharply, easily another 5%-8%, and to do so quickly. I just don’t think there will be another referendum.

As to the trade spat, the WSJ published an article of rumors and innuendo about the idea that the US is contemplating removing tariffs as a sign of good faith and a spur to help an agreement be reached. What was interesting was that at the very end of the article, it was mentioned that all of this talk was in the context of how to move the talks forward, and not an agreed plan of action. But equity markets around the world continue to look for positive catalysts and the end of the trade war would definitely fit that bill. Given the story was published late yesterday afternoon, it is no surprise that equity markets around the world have rallied, with Asia (Nikkei +1.3%, Shanghai +1.4%) and Europe (+1.0%-1.5% across the board) both performing quite well while US futures are pointing higher as well, albeit not quite as robustly (+0.4%). But the dollar has seen very little impact from this news as aside from the pound’s modest decline, it is doing very little overall.

Beyond those stories, much less of note is happening. Next week the ECB meets, and we are starting to see analysts discuss the prospects for the previously expected rate hikes later this year. Given the ongoing softness in Eurozone data, it remains hard to believe that the ECB is going to think that raising rates is the correct move. Rather, more likely will be an extension of the TLTRO’s and interest rates remaining right where they are for an extended period from here. All eyes will be on Signor Draghi’s characterization of the economy, as to whether risks are tilted to the downside or things are balanced, but even if he claims balance, the reality is the data is pointing lower. At some point, that will be acknowledged, and it will be clearer to all that policy will not tighten further in Europe for many years. In fact, it is much easier to believe that the next move will be for easier policy than tighter. And as I have continued to explain, I believe that will help the dollar overall.

As to this morning’s data, we see IP (exp 0.2%), Capacity Utilization (78.5%) and Michigan Sentiment (97.0). Canadian Inflation is also on the docket (1.7%), which hardly seems a reason to expect higher rates there. Looking ahead, there are no more Fed speakers until the meeting on the 30th as they have entered their quiet period. But the message we have received is quite clear, patience is a virtue and there will be no rate hike in either January or March. After that, if the data supports the idea that growth and inflation are picking up, I think they will move, but unfortunately, given the overall tone of data, that seems unlikely. As to the tone for today, it is hard to get too excited about the FX market without further specific news. It wouldn’t surprise to see the pound drift a bit lower as there will be some profit taking on the recent move, but for now, the dollar is likely to remain under very modest pressure overall. Especially if equities in the US perform like those elsewhere.

Good luck and good weekend
Adf

 

Plan B

Posted on by

As PM May turns to ‘Plan B’
The choices are not one, but three
Will Brexit be hard?
Or will she discard
The vote so Bremainers feel glee

The third choice is seek a delay
From Europe so that the UK
Can head to the polls
To sort out their goals
And maybe this time choose to stay

Once again Brexit remains the topic du jour as the ongoing political maelstrom in the UK is both riveting and agonizing at the same time. The latest news is that PM May survived the no-confidence vote. Her next step was to reach out to all opposition parties to try to determine what they wanted to see in Brexit as a prelude to going back to the EU with more demands requests. But the market has dismissed that idea as a non-starter (which I think is correct) and instead is clearly expecting that the decision will be for the UK to seek an extension of several months so that the UK can organize a second referendum on the question. At that point, the result would be binary, either stay in the EU or accept a hard Brexit. At least, that seems to be the current thinking amongst market participants and pundits. The pound has continued its slow recovery from the December lows as investors and traders start to assume that there will be no Brexit after all, and that the only reason the pound trades at its current levels is because of the prospect of leaving the EU. I cannot handicap how a second referendum would turn out, but it does appear that any result would be extremely close in either direction. Like many of you, I am ready for this saga to end, but I fear we will be hearing about it for another six months. In the meantime, the pound will remain hostage to the latest thoughts on the outcome, with Brexit still resulting in a significant decline, while confidence in Bremain will result in sterling strength.

As an indication of just how remarkable the Brexit story has become, Fed activity has faded from the front pages. We continue to hear from Fed speakers and the consistent message is that the Fed is now in ‘wait-and-see’ mode, with no rate hikes likely in the near future unless economic data indicates that prices are rising sharply. It appears that the Fed is losing faith in its Phillips Curve models, and although there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on what should replace them, concerns over runaway inflation based on continued low Unemployment rates are diminishing.

Economic data from around the world continues to moderate, if not outright slow, and while recession remains in the future, it is arguably closer. The upshot is that no central banks are going to consider tightening policy further for quite a while, and the odds favor more policy ease from the big banks instead. As I have consistently written, the FX market remains entirely focused on the Fed without considering the fact that the ECB is in no position to think about raising interest rates later this year and is, in fact, more likely to have to reintroduce QE as the Eurozone economy slows. If the market is beginning to price in rate cuts by the Fed, which it is, then rate cuts by the ECB (or at least QE2) is a given. It is very difficult to see a path where the Fed eases and the ECB doesn’t follow suit, if not lead. This is not a positive outlook for the single currency.

Speaking of easing policy, the PBOC has been at it consistently as growth in China ebbs with no indication they will be reducing these efforts soon. While policy rates remain unchanged, the PBOC has continued to inject excess liquidity into the market there (so far this week they have injected CNY 1.169 Billion) in an effort to bring down short term financing costs for banks. The objective is to help the banks maintain their loan books, especially for those loans that are underperforming. As long as the renminbi remains relatively firm (and although weakening 0.3% overnight remains more than 3.0% from the 7.00 level that is seen as critical in preventing capital outflows), they will be able to continue this easing policy. However, at the point in time that the renminbi begins to weaken (and it will at some point), the PBOC will find its toolkit somewhat more restricted. Remember, despite the fact that so much has occurred in markets and policy circles recently, we are less than three weeks into 2019. There is plenty of time for trader and investor views to change if forecasted activities don’t materialize.

Once again, beyond those three stories, FX remains generally dull. Overall, the dollar is little changed this morning, rising against some currencies (CNY, NZD, RUB, MXN) and falling against others (JPY, EUR, GBP, BRL). The data releases were uninspiring with Eurozone inflation the most noteworthy release but coming in exactly as expected at 1.6% headline and 1.0% core. Those are not inflation rates that quicken the pulse. Yesterday’s Beige Book indicated an increase in uncertainty by a number of businesses but described ongoing decent economic activity. This morning we see Initial Claims (exp 220K) and Philly Fed (10.0), with the latter more likely to be interesting than the former. But for now, FX market attention continues to focus on Brexit first and then the Fed. And today that is not a recipe for excitement! I see little reason, at this point, for the dollar to do much of anything today.

Good luck
Adf

 

Disgraced

Posted on by

Prime Minister May was disgraced
As Parliament calmly laid waste
To hopes that her deal
With Europe could heal
The schism that Brexit emplaced

Yesterday’s Parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal negotiated between PM May’s government and the EU resulted in a resounding rejection. While the UK remains fairly evenly divided on the absolute concept of Brexit, what was made clear was that the terms proposed were unacceptable to all sides. As I have maintained, the Irish border issue is an intractable one, where one side or the other simply must cede ground. There is no middle way. At this time, neither side is willing to do so, and quite frankly, unless Northern Ireland is willing to reunite with Ireland, (which seems highly unlikely any time soon), there can be no deal that will be acceptable to both sides. This leaves three potential outcomes; the UK could leave the EU with no deal in hand and go back to WTO tariff rules; the UK could opt not to leave at all (based on the European Court of Justice ruling from November); or there is a small possibility that the deadline could be delayed a number of months in order to reopen negotiations.

Let’s unpack those three choices.
1. In a no-deal Brexit, pretty much every published analysis by economists has forecast a nearly apocalyptic result for the UK economy, with a deep recession followed by much slower growth. Or course, every one of those economists likely voted to remain as the demographics of the vote showed professionals, especially financial industry professionals, overwhelmingly voted to remain. In other words, they are talking their book. Will the UK suffer? Almost certainly. Will the UK collapse into a depression? Absolutely not. The UK was a strong and viable nation before the EU came into existence and will certainly continue to be so going forward. The market impact of this outcome is likely to be quite negative in the short term, however, with both the pound and UK equity markets falling sharply if it becomes clear this will be the outcome. While both will recover eventually, the timing on that is unclear.

2. If the May government opted to remain in the EU, essentially repudiating the results of the referendum, I fear it would lead to riots in the streets, certainly in the Midlands which led the vote to leave. In fact, I could see an alliance between the French gilets jaune and the Brexiteers as both will be taking to the streets in an effort to change the government. A unilateral decision not to leave would have much deeper consequences with regard to the political system within the UK, as there would be whole swathes of the nation that would cease to trust the government entirely. I actually think this is the least likely scenario, although in the event it occurred, I would expect both the pound and the FTSE to rally sharply initially, but as the consequences of that act became clearer, I imagine both would suffer greatly.

3. Delaying the deadline seems like the best fudge available to both sides at this point, although the initial comments by EU officials followed the line that, given the depth of the defeat of the already negotiated deal, there seems little chance to make small changes and get a new result. This will also require unanimous approval by the remaining 27 members of the EU, which sounds daunting, although if there it was believed there was a serious chance of coming up with a better deal would get done. Here, too, the market response will be for a rally in the pound, and probably the FTSE, as investors would likely take the stance that the delay presages a deal.

However, for the time being, PM May’s first course of business is to fight off the no-confidence motion brought by Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn in his attempt to bring down the government and force a general election. Pundits believe that while the deal was unacceptable, May will hold on. The problem is, she has no ideas as to how to move the process forward. Certainly, the probability of a no-deal Brexit has increased somewhat after the vote. Interestingly, the FX markets have not really priced for that outcome. In fact, since the original vote date, December 11, when May pulled the bill to try to garner more support, the pound has rallied pretty steadily and is nearly 3% higher over the past month. It would seem that FX traders believe a deal will be found.

The other story of note is that the Chinese government is now set to cut taxes in an effort to add fiscal stimulus to their ongoing monetary stimulus efforts. Remember, they have already cut bank reserve requirements by another 1% this year, adding to 2% cuts from last year, and they have created a loan targeting policy for SME’s. Now income tax cuts are to be included as well. This highlights just how poorly the Chinese economy is performing right now, and how critical President Xi believes it is to continue publishing GDP growth above 6%. While the FX market has shown little response to these actions, they have had a much more positive impact on equity markets, with yesterday’s rallies easily attributed to the announcement. The one thing that is certain is that Xi will continue to do whatever he things is necessary to support economic growth in the short run, regardless of the potential longer-term negative consequences. After all, despite being President for life, he is still a politician!

Pivoting to the data story, yesterday Germany reported 2018 GDP growth of just 1.5%, its weakest performance in 5 years, although there was no report on Q4 growth. Given the surprise decline in Q3, pundits were watching to see if Germany had entered a technical recession, although it appears not to be the case. However, it is clear that growth in the engine of Europe is continuing to slow which doesn’t bode well for the entire Eurozone. Nor does it bode well for the ECB’s nascent attempts to remove policy accommodation. In fact, their biggest fear has to be that growth slows further there and they have basically no monetary tools left to combat the situation. This morning’s data has shown that inflation continues to ebb in Europe (France 1.6%, Germany 1.7%, Spain 1.2%, Italy 1.1%), and the UK (2.1%) as well, which reduces pressure to tighten policy at all. While US inflation is also softening, it continues to puzzle me that there is any belief the ECB (or the BOE for that matter) will consider raising interest rates any time soon. So even if the Fed is more dovish (and given remarks from the always hawkish KC President Esther George yesterday, it is clear that there is no rate hike in the near future in the US), the idea that any other central bank is going to be tightening policy is absurd.

In fact, I would argue that the dollar’s recent weakness has been predicated solely on the idea that the Fed will back off on previously forecast rate hikes. But if the Fed is stopping, you can be 100% certain that any thoughts of tighter policy elsewhere are also out the window, and so relatively speaking, the US remains the tightest policy around. I still like the dollar for that reason.

Good luck
Adf

Trumped

Posted on by

A great nation in the Far East
Is seeing its growth rate decreased
Their trade has been ‘Trumped’
As exports have slumped
According to data released

There are two stories of note this morning as follows:

1. Chinese Trade data
2. Brexit vote tomorrow

While both of these stories have knock-on effects, they are the conversation drivers today.

Starting with China, last night’s data showed that both exports (-4.4%) and imports (-7.6%) fell much further than forecast with the resulting Trade balance expanding to a $57 billion surplus. Adding to the concerns was a -13% decline in vehicle sales there, so a trifecta of poor data. The short-term response has been for equity markets to sell off as concerns over slowing global growth mount. In Asia the Hang Seng fell -1.4% while Shanghai fell -0.7%. European equities are also suffering, with the Stoxx 600 down -0.8% amid universal weakness there, and US futures are pointing toward opening declines on the order of -0.8%.

Highlighting the risk sell off, Treasury yields have fallen 3bps, oil prices are down 1.5% and gold has climbed 0.6%. Finally, in the FX market, the yen is today’s leader, rising 0.45% as I type. However, while that describes today’s market movement, the narrative seems to be shifting slightly, toward the idea that a resolution of the trade conflict between the US and China is coming sooner than previously thought. Certainly, if growth in China is slowing more rapidly than expected, President Xi will be motivated to get a deal done, and with the ongoing tribulations in Washington, President Trump would love nothing more than to trumpet a victory on trade. So, it certainly makes sense that both sides will find a solution, but it must be remembered that there are a number of very difficult issues to address, notably the question of IP theft and forced technology transfer, which will not be easy to fudge. With that said, it is clear that a resolution to the trade fight will result in a significant risk-on atmosphere in global markets.

The other story is the imminent vote in the UK Parliament regarding PM May’s Brexit deal. As should be expected in any compromise, nobody is happy with the deal. However, in this case, given May’s weak underlying support (remember she is leading a minority government), it appears that the deal has extremely limited support, even from her own party. It is no longer a question of whether the vote will go against the government, (it will), but by how many votes will it lose. Apparently, anything on the order of 40-50 votes could be seen as close enough for PM May to go back to the EU and seek some minor tweaks in order to get the deal done. However, it is increasingly looking like the loss will be catastrophic, on the order of 100 votes, which will remove any possibility of a Brexit deal.

A ‘No’ vote will leave two possible outcomes, either a no-deal Brexit, something that is greatly feared by markets and politicians alike, or no Brexit at all! The second choice seems quite confusing, given the referendum results in 2016, but several months ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that the UK could unilaterally decide to remain in the EU. Of course, if that is the decision it seems likely to ignite an extraordinary political firestorm within the UK, given that a legal referendum called for Brexit. So, all eyes will be on London tomorrow, but for right now, traders seem to be falling into the no Brexit camp as the pound has rallied 0.3% this morning. I would argue, however, that a no Brexit outcome would see major government upheaval and have quite a negative impact on the UK economy and the pound in the short run.

Away from those stories, there is not much interesting discussion. Overall, the dollar is mixed this morning, with both AUD (-0.3%) and CNY (-0.15%) falling after the Chinese trade data, RUB (-0.45%) and CAD (-0.15%) softer on weakening oil prices and TRY (-1.10%) suffering the slings and arrows of US threats in the event the Turks attack the US-backed Kurds in Syria. On the plus side, it has mostly been the yen and the pound as described above. Net, the dollar is little changed on the day.

Turning to this week’s data, there is a decent amount highlighted by the Fed’s Beige Book on Wednesday.

Tuesday PPI -0.1% (2.5% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.9% Y/Y)
  Empire Manufacturing 11.25
Wednesday Fed’s Beige Book  
Thursday Initial Claims 220K
  Philly Fed 10
Friday Capacity Utilization 78.5%
  IP 0.2%
  Michigan Sentiment 97.0

In addition, we hear from four more Fed speakers, including uber-dove Kashkari and NY Fed President Williams. However, the Fed speak is unlikely to have changed from the onslaught last week, meaning there will still be a dovish bias perceived by the market.

As for today, while risk has been reduced, it does not feel like a major rout, but rather a modest adjustment to positions. My sense is that the Brexit vote tomorrow will be the big story for the market, and we will likely bide our time for the rest of the day, at least in FX markets. As long as the narrative continues to focus on a dovish Fed, the dollar will remain under pressure, that is unless the focus turns to more disruptive possible outcomes, when fear really blossoms. However, I don’t see a good reason for that to occur in the short run, so the dollar is apt to stay soft for now.

Good luck
Adf

Animal Spirits Were Stirred

Posted on by

All week from the Fed we have heard
That patience is their new watchword
The market’s reaction
Implied satisfaction
And animal spirits were stirred!

While it may be a new day, nothing has really changed. Yesterday we heard from both Chairman Powell and vice-Chairman Clarida and both said essentially the same thing: the Fed is watching both the economy and markets closely, and given where policy rates currently stand, they can afford to be patient before acting next. On the subject of the Fed’s balance sheet, neither indicated there was cause for a policy change, but Powell, when asked, remarked that if they thought the shrinking balance sheet was becoming a problem, they would not hesitate to adjust policy. The market interpretation was: the Fed is not going to raise rates anytime soon so we better buy stocks as quickly as we can. The result was yet another rally in equities with all three US market indices rising about 0.5% on the day. At this point, even the Fed must recognize that they have gotten their message across.

The next key story that remains ongoing is the trade situation between the US and China. There was no specific news on the subject and no comments from either side. The market view is that there was clearly some progress made during the initial discussions earlier this week and many people are optimistic that the next round of talks, which will include more senior representatives from both sides, can lead to a permanent resolution. As long as that remains the collective mindset, it is one less pressure point for global equity markets. However, it must be remembered that the US is seeking significant changes in the structure of the Chinese economy, and so a complete resolution will not be easy to achieve, especially in the accelerated timeline currently extant. I expect an extension of the timeline as the first concrete result.

The third key story has been Brexit, which continues to be a complete mess. Next week’s Parliamentary vote looks destined to fail, and now there is a growing movement for the deadline to be extended three months to the end of June. While that requires a unanimous vote to do so, comments from European members seem to be heading in that direction. The pound has benefitted from the discussion, as traders believe that the extra three months will help alleviate the risk of a no-deal Brexit and the forecast consequences on both the economy and the currency in that event. However, the Irish border remains unchanged and there has been no indication that the UK will accept an effective walling off of Northern Ireland for the sake of the deal. We shall see.

Two other stories are also gaining in their importance, the rebound in oil prices and further weakness in the Eurozone economy. As to the first, the OPEC agreement to cut production by 1.2 million barrels/day has served to remove fears of an oil glut and recent inventory figures have backed that up. As well, while WTI has traded back above $50/bbl, there is a growing belief that the US fracking community is not going to be able to produce as much oil as previously thought, especially if prices slip back below that $50 level. Oil prices have rallied for nine consecutive days but remain far below levels seen just last October. Historically, rising commodity prices have gone hand in hand with a declining dollar, and for right now, that correlation has been holding.

Finally, we continue to see weak economic data from the Eurozone, with this morning’s Italian IP data (-1.6% in Nov) the latest in a string that has shown Europe’s manufacturing sector is under increasing pressure. This story is the one that has received shortest shrift from the market overall. In fact, I would argue it has been completely ignored, certainly by FX traders. While everyone focuses intently on the Fed and the recent change of heart regarding future rate hikes, there has been almost no discussion with regard to the ECB and how, as economic growth continues to slow in the Eurozone, the idea that they will be tightening policy further come September is laughable. At some point, the market will realize that the Eurozone is in no position to normalize policy further, and that instead, the question will arise as to when they will seek to add more stimulus. My gut tells me that a change in forward guidance will be the first step as they extend the concept of rate hikes from; “not until the end of summer” to something along the lines of “when we deem appropriate based on the economic data”. In other words, the current negative rate regime will be indefinite, and if (when) the next recession arrives, look for a reintroduction of QE there. My point is that the euro has no business rallying in any substantive way.

With all of this as background, a quick tour of markets shows that while the dollar actually performed fairly well during the US session yesterday, it is giving back some of those gains this morning. For example, the euro, despite weak data, is higher by 0.3%. The pound, on the back of the renewed Brexit deal hope is higher by 0.5%. Firmer commodity prices have helped AUD (+0.6%), NZD (+0.9%) and CAD (+0.3%). But the biggest consistent winner of late has been CNY, which has rallied a further 0.65% overnight and is now up 1.6% this week. This is a far cry from the situation just a few weeks ago, when there were concerns the yuan might break through the 7.00 level. Two things come to mind here as to the cause. The first possibility is that there has been an increase in investment flows into the Chinese bond market, where yields remain higher than in much of the developed world, and the Chinese bond market is slowly being added to global bond indices requiring fund managers to add positions there. The second, slightly more conspiratorial idea is that the Chinese government is pushing the yuan higher during the trade negotiations with the US to insure that its value is not seen as an impediment to reaching any deal. Whatever you think of President Trump’s tactics, there is no question that the Chinese economy has come under increased pressure since the imposition of US tariffs on their exports. It is not hard to believe that the stronger yuan is a direct response to help reach an agreement as quickly as possible.

And that’s pretty much everything to watch today. This morning we get CPI data with expectations for headline to print at -0.1% (1.9% Y/Y) and ex food & energy to print at +0.2% (2.2% Y/Y). Thankfully there are no more Fed speakers, but I would say given the near unanimity of the message from the nine speakers this week, we have a pretty good idea of what they are thinking. Equity futures are pointing slightly lower following European markets, which are softer today. However, given that equity markets around the world have rallied steadily all week, it can be no real surprise that a little profit taking is happening on a Friday. As to the dollar, in the short term I think it remains under pressure, but over time, I continue to see more reasons to own it than to short it.

Good luck and good weekend
Adf

 

Greater Clarity

Posted on by

Last year rate hikes had regularity
But now the Fed seeks greater clarity
‘Bout whether our nation
Is feeling inflation
Or some other source of disparity

Investors exhaled a great sigh
And quickly realized they must buy
Those assets with risk
To burnish their fisc
Else soon prices would be too high

The December FOMC Minutes were received quite positively by markets yesterday as it appears despite raising rates for the fourth time in 2018, it was becoming clearer to all involved that there was no hurry to continue at the same pace going forward. The lack of measured inflation and the financial market ructions were two key features that gave pause to the FOMC. While the statement in December didn’t seem to reflect that discussion, we have certainly heard that tune consistently since then. Just yesterday, two more Fed regional presidents described the need for greater clarity on the economic situation before seeing the necessity to raise rates again. And after all, given the Fed has raised rates 225bps since they began in December 2015, it is not unreasonable to pause and see the total impact.

However, regarding the continued shrinking of the balance sheet, the Fed showed no concern at this point that it was having any detrimental effect on either the economy or markets. Personally I think they are mistaken in this view when I look at the significant rise in LIBOR beyond the Fed funds rate over the past year, where Fed Funds has risen 125 bps while LIBOR is up 187bps. But the market, especially the equity market, remains focused on the Fed funds path, not on the balance sheet, and so breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday.

Given this turn of events, it should also not be surprising that the dollar suffered pretty significantly in the wake of the Minutes’ release. In the moments following the release, the euro jumped 0.7% and continued subsequently to close the day nearly 1% stronger. One of the underpinnings of dollar strength has been the idea that the Fed was going to continue to tighten policy in 2019, but the combination of a continuous stream of comments from Fed speakers and recognition that even back in December the Fed was discussing a pause in rate hikes has served to alter that mindset. Now, not only is the market no longer pricing in rate hikes this year, but also analysts are backing away from calling for further rate hikes. In other words, the mood regarding the Fed has turned quite dovish, and the dollar is likely to remain under pressure as long as this is the case.

Of course, the other story of note has been the trade talks between the US and China which ended yesterday. During the talks, market participants had a generally upbeat view of the potential to reach a deal, however, this morning that optimism seems to be fading slightly. Equity markets around the world have given back some of their recent gains and US futures are also pointing lower. As I mentioned yesterday, while it is certainly good news that the talks seemed to address some key issues, there is still no clarity on whether a more far-reaching agreement can be finalized in any near term timeline. And while there has been no mention of tariffs by the President lately, a single random Tweet on the subject is likely enough to undo much of the positive sentiment recently built.

The overnight data, however, seems to tell a different story. It started off when Chinese inflation data surprised on the low side, rising just 1.9% in December, much lower than expected and another red flag regarding Chinese economic growth. It seems abundantly clear that growth there is slowing with the only real question just how much. Forecasts for 2019 GDP growth have fallen to 6.2%, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them lowered going forward. On the other hand, the yuan has actually rallied sharply overnight, up 0.5%, despite the prospects for further monetary ease from Beijing. It seems that there is a significant inflow into Chinese bond markets from offshore which has been driving the currency higher despite (because of?) those economic prospects. In fact, the yuan is at its strongest level since last August and seemingly trending higher. However, I continue to see this as a short-term move, with the larger macroeconomic trends destined to weaken the currency over time.

As to the G10 currencies, they have stabilized after yesterday’s rally with the euro virtually unchanged and the pound ceding 0.25%. Two data points from the Eurozone were mixed, with French IP slipping to a worse than expected -1.3% while Italian Retail Sales surprised higher at +0.7% back in November. While there was no UK data, the Brexit story continues to be the key driver as PM May lost yet another Parliamentary procedural vote this morning and seems to be losing complete control of the process. The thing I don’t understand about Brexit is if Parliament votes against the current deal next week, which seems highly likely at this stage, what can they do to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Certainly the Europeans have not been willing to concede anything else, and with just 79 days left before the deadline, there is no time to renegotiate a new deal, so it seems a fait accompli that the UK will leave with nothing. I would welcome an explanation as to why that will not be the case.

Turning to this morning’s activity, the only data point is Initial Claims (exp 225K), but that is hardly a market moving number. However, we hear from three regional Fed presidents and at 12:45 Chairman Powell speaks again, so all eyes will be focused on any further nuance he may bring to the discussion. At this point, it seems hard to believe that there will be any change in the message, which if I had to summarize would be, ‘no rate changes until we see a strong reason to do so, either because inflation jumps sharply or other data is so compelling that it forces us to reconsider our current policy of wait and see.’ One thing to keep in mind, though, about the FX markets is that it requires two sets of policies to give a complete picture, and while right now all eyes are on the Fed, as ECB, BOJ, BOE and other central bank policies evolve, those will have an impact as well. If global growth is truly slowing, and the current evidence points in that direction, then those banks will start to sound more dovish and their currencies will likely see plenty of selling pressure accordingly. But probably not today.

Good luck
Adf