Tag Archives: #Fed

It’s Still Transitory

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Said Jay, I’m not worried ‘bout wages
Creating inflation in stages
I’ll stick to my story
It’s still transitory
And will be for many more ages

So now it’s the Old Lady’s turn
To help explain if her concern
‘Bout rising inflation
Will be the causation
Of rate hikes and trader heartburn

Like a child having a temper tantrum, the Fed continues to hold its breath and stamp its feet and tell us, “[i]nflation is elevated, largely reflecting factors that are expected to be transitory. Supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have contributed to a sizable price increase in some sectors.” [my emphasis.]  In other words, it’s not the fault of their policies that inflation is elevated, it’s the darn pandemic and supply chain issues.  (This is remarkably similar to how the German Reichsbank president, Rudy Havenstein, behaved as that bank printed trillions of marks fanning the flames of the Weimar hyperinflation.  At every bank meeting the discussion centered on rising prices and not once did it occur to them that they were at fault by continuing to print money.)

Nonetheless, Chairman Powell must be extremely pleased this morning as he was able to announce the tapering of QE purchases, beginning this month, and equity and bond markets responded by rallying.  There was, however, another quieter announcement which may well have helped the cause, this one by the Treasury.  Given the rally in asset prices, collection of tax receipts by the government has grown dramatically and so the Treasury General Account (the government’s ‘checking’ account at the Fed) is now amply funded with over $210 billion available to spend.  This has allowed the Treasury to reduce their quarterly refunding amounts by…$15 billion, the exact amount by which the Fed is reducing its QE purchases.  Hmmmm.

So, to recap the Fed story, the tapering has begun, inflation is still transitory, although they continue to bastardize the meaning of that word, and they remain focused on the employment situation which, if things go well, could achieve maximum employment sometime next year.  Rate hikes will not be considered until they finish tapering QE to zero, and they will taper at the pace they deem correct based on conditions, so the $15 billion/month is subject to change.  One more thing; when asked at the press conference about inflation rising faster than anticipated, Powell responded, “We think we can be patient.  If a response is called for, we will not hesitate.”  Them’s pretty big words for a guy who can look at the economy’s behavior over the past twelve months and decide that inflation remains only a potential problem.

Enough about Jay, he’s not going to change, and in my view, he only has two meetings left anyway.  Consider this; President Biden needs to get the progressives onboard to have any chance of passing any part of the current spending bills and in order for them to compromise on that subject, they will want something in return.  They also hate Powell, as repeatedly vocalized by Senator Warren, so it is easy to foresee the President sacrificing Powell for the sake of his spending bill.  Especially given the results of the Virginia elections, which moved heavily against the Democrats, the administration will want to get this done before the mid-term elections next year.  I think Powell is toast.

On to the rest of the central bank world where this morning the BOE will announce their latest decision.  The market continues to be about 50/50 on a rate hike today, but have fully priced one in by December, so either today or next month.  Interestingly, the UK Gilt market is rallying this morning ahead of the announcement, with yields lower by 3.1 basis points.  What makes that so interesting is that the futures market is pricing in 100 basis points of rate hikes by the BOE within the next 12 months, which would take the base rate up to 1.0%.  Right now, 10-year Gilt yields are 1.03%.  If the futures market is right, then either Gilts are going to sell off sharply as the yield curve maintains its current shape or the market is beginning to price in much slower growth in the UK.  My money is on the latter as the UK has proven itself to be willing to fight inflation far more strenuously than the Fed in the past.  If slowing growth is a consequence, they will accept that more readily I believe.

Still on the central bank trail, it is worth highlighting that Poland’s central bank raised rates by 0.75% yesterday in a huge market surprise as they respond to quickly rising inflation.  Concerns are that CPI will reach 8.0% this year, so despite the rate hike, there is still much work to do as the current base rate there, after the hike, is 1.25%.  This morning the Norgesbank left rates on hold but essentially promised to raise them by 25bps next month to 0.50%. While they are the first G10 country to have raised interest rates, even at 0.50%, their deposit rate remains far, far below CPI of 4.1%.

So, to recap, central banks everywhere are finally starting to move in response to rapidly rising inflation.  While some countries are moving faster than others, the big picture is rates are set to go higher…for now.  However, when economic growth begins to slow more dramatically, and it is already started doing so, it remains to be seen how aggressive any central bank will be, especially the Fed.

Ok, let’s look at today’s markets.  As I said earlier, equities are rocking.  After yesterday’s US performance, where all 3 major indices reached new all-time highs, we saw strength in Asia (Nikkei +0.9%, Hang Seng +0.8%, Shanghai +0.8%) and Europe (DAX +0.5%, CAC +0.5%, FTSE 100 +0.2%).  US futures, on the other hand, are mixed with NASDAQ (+0.5%) firmer while the other two indices are little changed.

Bond prices have rallied everywhere in the world, which given the idea of tighter policy seems incongruent.  However, it has become abundantly clear that bond prices no longer reflect market expectations of inflation, but rather market expectations of QE.  At any rate, Treasuries (-3.5bps) are leading the way but Gilts (-3.1bps), Bunds (-1.7bps) and OATs (-1.8bps) are all seeing demand this morning.

After yesterday’s confusion, commodity prices are tending higher this morning with oil (+1.7%) leading the way, but gains, too, in NatGas (+0.75%), gold (+0.5%) and copper (+0.6%).  Agricultural products are mixed, as are the rest of the industrial metals, but generally, this space has seen strength today.

As to the dollar, it is king today, firmer vs. virtually every other currency in both the G10 and EMG blocs.  The euro (-0.6%) is the laggard in the G10 as the market is clearly voting the ECB will be even more dovish than the Fed going forward.  But the pound (-0.4%) is soft ahead of the BOE and surprisingly, NOK (-0.4%) is soft despite both rising oil prices and a relatively hawkish Norgesbank.  The best performer is the yen, which is essentially unchanged today.

In the EMG space, PLN (-1.0%) and HUF (-1.0%) are the laggards as both countries grapple with much faster inflation and lagging monetary policy.  But CZK (-0.7%) and TRY (-0.65%) are also under relative pressure as their monetary policies, too, are lagging the inflation situation.  Throughout Asia, most currencies slid as well, just not as much as we are seeing in EEMEA.

On the data front, Initial Claims (exp 275K) headlines this morning along with Continuing Claims (2150K), Nonfarm Productivity (-3.1%), Unit Labor Costs (7.0%) and the Trade Balance (-$80.2B).  It is hard to look at the productivity and ULC data and not be concerned about the future economic situation here.  Rapidly rising labor costs and shrinking productivity is not a pretty mix.  As to the Fed, mercifully there are no additional speakers today, so we need look only at data and market response.

Clearly market euphoria remains high at this time, and so further equity gains seem likely.  Alas, the underlying structure of things does not feel that stable to me.  I expect that we are getting much closer to a more substantial risk-off period which will result in a much stronger dollar (and yen), and likely weaker asset prices.  For hedgers, be careful.

Good luck and stay safe
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A Touch of Despair

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The Beige Book detected the fact
That bottom lines all have been whacked
As wages explode
While growth, somewhat, slowed
Inflation, it seems, ain’t abstract

Meanwhile we heard from a vice-Chair
Whose words had a touch of despair
It seems he now thinks
There just might be links
Twixt QE and price everywhere

Chairman Powell’s comments due tomorrow are taking on much greater importance than just a few days ago as the Fed narrative is seemingly in the middle of a change.  While many have been willing to dismiss the fact that the regional Fed presidents have been more hawkish lately, leading the charge for the beginning of tapering, the Fed governors had been far more sanguine on the subject, at least until very recently.  Tuesday, we heard from Governor Waller about his concerns that inflation could be more persistent, especially if one looked at the headline measures as he dismissed the other measures as efforts at manipulation.  Yesterday it was vice-Chair Quarles’ turn to put the market on notice that inflation’s persistence has begun to become troublesome and while he still felt price pressures would abate next year, his level of confidence in that forecast was clearly declining.  Both of them hinted at the possible need for rate hikes sooner than previously expected.

Yesterday, too, the release of the Fed’s Beige Book presented a clear picture of two issues: wages were rising rapidly, and growth was slowing.  The problem stems from the fact that despite wage increases of 20% or more, companies are still having a problem staffing up to desired levels and that has led to reduced output.  It has also led to business after business explaining that they would be raising prices to offset increased costs for not just wages, but raw materials and shipping.  In your Economics 101 textbook (likely Samuelson’s) this was the very definition of a wage-price spiral.

It is this recent hawkish turn by several Fed governors that brings even greater attention to Chairman Powell’s comments tomorrow.  The market is already assuming that tapering will begin next month, but the question remains, will the Fed be able to continue along that line if economic activity continues to slide?  I raise this issue because after Tuesday’s weaker than expected housing data, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow indicator has fallen to 0.533% for Q3.  And that’s an annual rate, down from Q2’s 6.8% GDP growth.  It appears the Fed may have a difficult decision to make in the near future; fight rapidly rising inflation or fight rapidly slowing growth. As I’ve written before, stagflation is a b*tch.

Adding to the economic problems is the continued slowing of growth in China where ongoing power shortages combined with a resurgence of Covid related shutdowns and the implosion of China Evergrande have resulted in the slowest, non-Covid, growth in decades.  At the same time, the PBOC continues to drain liquidity from the economy in an effort to reduce leverage which has the effect of further slowing activity there.  Given China has been the global growth engine for at least the past decade, a slowdown there means we are going to see slower activity everywhere else.  Alas, for the central banking community, it is not clear that will help price pressures abate, not as long as energy and raw material prices continue to rise.

Summing it all up shows that growth worldwide is falling from Q2’s peak while price pressures are flowing from commodities to shipping and now wages.  All this is occurring with interest rates broadly at their lowest levels in history. (I know some countries have raised rates a bit, but the reality is there is far less room to ease policy than tighten overall.)  Given this backdrop, it remains amazing to me that equity markets worldwide have been able to continue to perform well.  And yet, they continue to do so broadly, albeit not last night.  However, I believe that interest rate markets are beginning to recognize that the future may not be so rosy as we are seeing yields continue to climb and inflation breakevens rise to levels not seen in nearly a decade.  Remember, there is no perpetual motion machine and no free lunch.  Central banks have spent the entire post GFC period continually supporting markets while allowing significant imbalances to develop across all segments of the economy and, ironically, markets.  I have often said the Fed’s biggest problem will arrive when they announce a policy change and the market ignores the announcement.  I fear that time is growing much nearer.

With those cheery thoughts to support us, let’s take a look at the overnight session.  It seems that risk is having a bit of a struggle today with most of Asia (Nikkei -1.9%, Hang Seng -0.5%, Shanghai +0.2%) under pressure and Europe (DAX -0.1%, CAC -0.4%, FTSE 100 -0.6%), too, having difficulty this morning.  US futures are also pointing lower, -0.3% or so across the major ones, which implies pressure at the opening at the very least.  China continues to be a drag on the global markets as other Chinese real estate companies are starting to fall and the word is Evergrande’s sales have fallen 97%.  I guess buying from a bankrupt company is not that attractive a proposition.

In a bit of a surprise, European sovereign bond yields are rising this morning (Bunds +1.6bps, OATs +1.2bps, Gilts +3.7bps) as ordinarily one would expect a rush into safe havens when risk is on the run.  However, as the EU begins another summit, it is likely to simply highlight the ongoing problems across the continent, notably in energy, and that seems to be sapping confidence from investors.  Treasury yields are very marginally softer on the day, so far, but with more and more Fed members talking up inflation worries, I expect they are likely to continue to rise for a while yet.

Commodity markets are under pressure today as well with oil (WTI -0.8%) and NatGas (-1.7%) leading the way, but weakness, too, in copper (-2.9%), aluminum (-0.3%) and all the main agriculturals (soy -0.7%, wheat -0.7%, corn -0.5%).  By contrast, gold’s unchanged price is looking good!

As to the dollar, it is broadly, though not universally, stronger this morning.  In the G10, AUD (-0.3%) and NZD (-0.3%) lead the way down with the rest of the commodity bloc also suffering a bit.  On the plus side, JPY (+0.25%) is the only gainer, which given equity price action seems pretty standard.  In the emerging markets, TRY (-2.4%) is the outlier after the central bank cut interest rates by 2.0%, double the expected outcome, to 16.0%, despite inflation running at 19.6% in September.  You may recall that President Erdogan fired several central bankers last week as they were clearly not willing to do his bidding.  There is nothing promising about the lira these days.  Aside from that, the rest of the space is softer led by ZAR (-0.7%) on weaker commodity prices, and PLN (-0.4%) as investors’ concerns grow that the EU is going to try to punish Poland for its recent court ruling that said EU law does not reign supreme in Poland.  Other movers have been less significant but are spread across all three geographies.

On the data front, this morning brings the weekly Initial (exp 297K) and Continuing (2548K) Claims numbers as well as Philly Fed (25.0), Leading Indicators (+0.4%) and Existing Home Sales (6.09M).  Of this group, I expect the Philly number will give the most information, but in truth, I believe traders and investors are more interested in hearing from Chris Waller again as well as NY Fed president Williams this morning to try to get any more information about the evolving Fed story.

Broadly speaking, I believe the US interest rate story continues to underpin the dollar and I see nothing to change that view.  The dollar has been trending higher since summer and while the last week has seen marginal dollar softness, I believe it is merely a good time to take advantage and buy dollars for receivables hedgers.

Good luck and stay safe
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A Fad that is Passing

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Said central banks, stop your harassing
Inflation’s a fad that is passing
By next year we see
(Or by ‘Twenty-three)
More bonds you will all be amassing

But lately some central bank hawks
Explained that the recent price shocks
Could well last much longer
With wage growth much stronger
And that might not be good for stocks

As we walk in on this Columbus Day holiday, where US banks and the Federal Reserve are closed, although equity markets remain open, the most notable price movement has been in oil where WTI (+2.8%) has rallied to its highest price since October 2014 and now sits well above the $80/bbl level.  Fortunately, we’ve been constantly reassured that this is a temporary transitory phenomenon by numerous central bankers around the world, most frequently by Chairman Powell and ECB President Lagarde.  The claim continues to be that the only reason prices keep rising is as a result of constricted supply chains amid a massive recovery (due to their actions) from the Covid pandemic economy-wide shutdowns.  Soon enough, they also exhort, these supply chain snafus will have been corrected and then shortages of stuff will be a distant memory as we revert to the steady growth and low inflation economies we have all come to know and love.  It’s such a nice, neat story and I’m confident that they both tell themselves constantly that it is true.

Alas, reality has a nasty way of intruding upon a good storyline and recent energy price action is pretty clearly pointing to a different story than the one being peddled by Powell and Lagarde.  In fact, some of their own colleagues, as well as brethren from other key central banks like the BOE, are singing a different tune, one much more in line with reality.  For instance, last night, Klaas Knot, the Dutch Central bank president and ECB member warned investors not to underestimate inflation risks, “This risky behavior [excessive leverage] is only sustainable at low inflation and interest rates.  From the perspective of healthy risk management, it is also important to take other scenarios into consideration.”  I wonder what other scenarios he is considering.  Refreshingly, he followed that comment with this, “There is more in the inflation process we don’t understand than we do understand,” as humble a comment as one can ever expect from a central banker!

However, given Knot’s constant hawkish rhetoric, markets did not really react to his comments, as they were not terribly new.  Of more interest were comments from two separate BOE members, Governor Andrew Bailey and Michael Saunders, the most hawkish member of the MPC.  In both cases, they commented that the market was quite right to begin pricing in higher interest rates as inflation was becoming more problematic and could be “very damaging” if policymakers don’t act.  Traders did not need much prompting beyond this to reprice interest rate futures such that a first hike of 15 basis points (to 0.25%) is now expected by December, while by the end of 2022, the market is pricing a base rate of 0.75%, so two more hikes after that.  Given that UK CPI is forecast to hit 4.0% in Q4 this year, that still seems awfully far behind the curve, but then compared to the US, where inflation is already well above 4%, even on the PCE measure, and Fed Funds remained pegged at 0.00%-0.25%, that counts as tight policy.  When the comments were first published, the pound did jump as much as 0.45%, however, that has already largely faded and as I type, the pound is only 0.1% higher on the day.

Perhaps these are the first real signs that the central bank community is recognizing inflation may not be as transitory as their models (and political needs) had indicated was likely (and necessary) respectively.  Instead, its persistence is becoming more evident, even to them, and calls for tighter monetary policy to address inflation are likely to grow.  Of course, given the extraordinary levels of leverage in the global monetary system, higher rates are going to be very difficult to achieve without an ensuing dramatic decline in asset prices.  This is the corner into which the Fed (and the ECB) have painted themselves.  (As I’ve said before, if I were Chairman Powell, I would be happy to step down allowing my successor to deal with the mess that is surely coming.)  Even if the Fed does begin to taper QE purchases, they will remain behind the curve for a very long time, and those vaunted ‘tools’, which they keep describing as available, will likely not be used to full effect.  Not only is inflation going to continue to rise, but central banks are going to continue to remain behind the curve for a long time to come.  Be prepared.

Ok, with that in mind, let’s look at markets overnight.  Equities in Asia had a pretty good session, with the Nikkei (+1.6%) and the Hang Seng (+2.0%) both performing well, although Shanghai was unchanged on the day.  Europe (DAX -0.5%, CAC -0.4%), on the other hand, is a little less optimistic.  The outlier here is the UK (FTSE 100 +0.15%) where it seems investors are happy to hear of a central bank willing to address incipient inflation.  US futures are all pointing lower, however, led by the NASDAQ (-0.7%) but -0.4% losses elsewhere.

The Treasury bond market is closed in the US today, but in Europe, the trend is clear, higher yields across the board, which is exactly what we saw in Asia as well.  So, Bunds (+3.5bps), OATs (+3.0bps) and Gilts (+5.0bps) are all selling off sharply with similar movement seen across the continent.  Asia, too saw sharp declines in bond prices with Australia (+8.0bps) leading the way but even China (+6.0bps) falling sharply despite ordinary efforts to prevent volatility in that market.

In the commodity space, while oil is leading the way, pretty much everything except gold is higher with NatGas (+3.8%), copper (+1.4%) aluminum (+2.3%) and the agricultural products all firmer on the day.  Remember this, the longer food and energy prices continue to climb, the more likely those price rises bleed into “core” inflation and drive that higher as well.

Turning to the dollar, the biggest loser today is JPY (-0.6%) as the widening yield differential in favor of the dollar has reached a point where Japanese investors have started to move money more actively into USD investments on an unhedged basis.  At this point, there doesn’t seem to be much reason for JPY to rally, so a test of 115 seems to be far more likely in the near term.  After that, we shall see.  On the plus side, AUD (+0.5%) has been the biggest beneficiary of the commodity rally while surprisingly, neither NOK nor CAD, both unchanged on the day, have seen a boost from the much higher oil prices.

In the EMG bloc, INR (-0.5%) and PHP (-0.4%) are the laggards of note with RUB (+0.3%) the only notable gainer.  Oil is obviously supporting the ruble while the rupee and peso both suffer on the same story, as both India and the Philippines are major oil importers.

On the data front, nothing is released today due to the holiday, but we get some important things this week:

Tuesday NFIB Small Biz Optimism 99.5
JOLTS Job Openings 10.934M
Wednesday CPI 0.3% (5.3% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.2% (4.1% Y/Y)
FOMC Minutes
Thursday Initial Claims 320K
Continuing Claims 2686K
PPI 0.6% (8.7% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.5% (7.1% Y/Y)
Friday Empire Manufacturing 25.0
Retail Sales -0.2%
-ex autos 0.5%
Business Inventories 0.6%
Michigan Sentiment 73.5

Source: Bloomberg

Aside from critical CPI and Retail Sales data, we hear from ten different Fed speakers across more than a dozen events this week, including Governor Brainerd on Wednesday, someone we should be listening to very closely given the rising probability she is named the new Chair.

Right now, the dollar is consolidating its recent gains, but showing no signs of giving any of them back.  I expect that we will see another leg higher in the near future as there is no evidence that either inflation or US yields are going to decline soon.  And right now, I think those are the drivers.  At some point, inflation may become detrimental to the dollar, but for now, buy dollars on dips.

Good luck and stay safe
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Risks They Have Wrought

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It’s not clear why anyone thought
The ECB ever would not
Continue to buy
More bonds as they try
To safeguard ‘gainst risks they have wrought

So, when PEPP, next March, does expire
A new plan we’ll get to admire
As Christine will ne’er
Be set to foreswear
Her drive to push bond prices higher

If ever anyone was talking their own book, it was Greek central bank president Yannis Stournaras this morning on the subject of the ECB’s potential actions post-PEPP.  “Asset purchases aim at favorable financing conditions, at smooth transition of monetary policy to prevent any kind of fragmentation in jurisdictions in the euro area.  I’m sure that the Governing Council will continue to aim at this.” [author’s emphasis] These comments were in response to a report that the ECB is considering instituting a new asset purchase program when the emergency PEPP expires in March.  This is certainly no surprise as I posited this exact outcome a month ago (Severely Distraught – Sep 7) and the idea has gained credence since then.

One of the features of the ECB’s APP (original QE program from 2015) is that they are required to purchase bonds based on the so-called capital key in order to give the illusion they are not monetizing national debt.  This means that they must buy them in proportion to the relative size of each economy.  Another feature is that the bonds they purchase must be investment grade (IG).  This rules out Greek debt which currently is rated BB-, 3 notches below IG.  The PEPP, however, given the dire emergency created by governments shutting down their economies when Covid-19 first appeared, did away with those inconveniences and was empowered to buy anything deemed necessary.  Not surprisingly, purchases of bonds from the PIGS was far above their relative economic weight which has served to narrow credit spreads across the entire continent.  If the PEPP simply expires and is not replaced, it is unambiguous that PIGS’ debt would fall sharply in price with yields rising correspondingly, and those nations would find themselves in far worse fiscal shape.  In fairness, the ECB can hardly allow that to happen to just a few nations so they will continue their PEPP purchases in some manner or other.  And I assure you they will continue to purchase Greek debt regardless of its credit rating.

It is useful to compare this future to that of the Fed, where Chairman Powell has indicated that as long as the payroll number this Friday is not a complete disaster (currently expected 500K), a reduction in the pace of QE is appropriate. On the surface, it would be quite reasonable to expect the euro to decline further given what is likely to be a divergence in relative yields.  Yesterday’s ADP Employment report (568K) was better than expected and certainly seems to be of sufficient strength to support the Chairman’s view of continued strength in the labor market.  Thus, if the Fed does begin to taper while the ECB discusses its next version of QE, I would look for the euro’s recent decline to continue.

Of course, the big question is, will the Fed continue to taper if the economic situation in the US starts to show much less impetus?  For instance, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast is estimating Q3 GDP growth at 1.333%, MUCH weaker than it had been in the past and a MUCH sharper slowdown than the Fed’s own forecasts.  While the number may well be higher than that, it does speak to a run of weaker than expected economic data in the US.  Inflation, meanwhile, shows no signs of abating soon.  The Fed looks set to find themselves in a very uncomfortable position with the following choices: tighten into slowing growth or let inflation run much hotter than targeted for much longer than anticipated.  (If I were Powell, given the trainwreck that is approaching, I don’t think I would accept the offer of reappointment should it be made!)

In sum, while the decision process in Europe is much easier with slower growth and lower inflation, extending monetary largesse still seems appropriate, in the States, some tough decisions will need to be made.  The problem is that there is not a single person in any Federal position who appears capable of making (and owning) a tough decision.  In fact, it is this lack of demonstrated decision-making prowess that leads to the idea that stagflation is the most likely outcome going forward.

But it is still a few weeks/months before these decisions will need to be made and, in the meantime, Buy Stonks!  Well, at least, that seems to be the investor mindset as fleeting fears over contagion from China Evergrande’s slow motion bankruptcy and comments from Vladimir Putin that Russia would, of course, supply the necessary NatGas for Europe, have been sufficient to remind the equity crowd that a 5% decline from an all-time high price level is an amazing opportunity to buy more stocks.  Hence, yesterday morning’s fears have abated and all is once again right with the world.

(As an aside, it strikes me that relying on a key geopolitical adversary to supply the life’s blood of your economy is a very risky strategy.  But Putin would never use this as leverage for something else, would he?  I fear it could be a very long cold winter in Europe.)

OK, with that in mind, let’s look at markets this morning.  Equity markets are green everywhere ranging from the Nikkei (+0.5%) to the Hang Seng (+3.1%) with all of Europe in between (DAX +1.2%, CAC +1.35%, FTSE 100 +1.0%) while China remains closed.  US futures are also firmer, currently pointing to a 0.75% rise on the open.

Bond markets are in pretty good shape as well.  Yesterday, after substantial early session weakness, they rebounded, and this morning are continuing on that trend.  While Treasuries are only lower by 0.2bps, in Europe we are seeing much better buying (Bunds -1.7bps, OATs -2.1bps, Gilts -1.2bps) with PIGS bonds (Italy -5.1bps, Greece -3.0bps) showing even more strength.

Commodity prices are consolidating after what has been a significant run higher with oil (-1.6%) and NatGas (-2.0%) both off highs seen yesterday morning.  Gold is unchanged on the day while copper (+1.1%) has bounced along with other base metals.  Ags, too, are a bit firmer this morning.

This positive risk attitude has seen the dollar cede some of its recent gains with AUD (+0.35%) leading the way in the G10 on the back of stronger commodity prices, followed by SEK (+0.3%) and NZD (+0.3%) both benefitting from better risk appetite as well.  Only NOK (-0.1%) is under pressure on the back of the oil price decline.  EMG currencies are universally stronger led by ZAR (+0.7%), PHP (+0.6%) and RUB (+0.5%).  ZAR is clearly benefitting from the commodity rally while PHP was higher on some positive growth comments from the central bank there.  The ruble seems to be benefitting from the view that a higher than expected CPI print there will force the central bank to raise rates more than previously anticipated.

On the data front, today brings only Initial (exp 348K) and Continuing (2762K) Claims.  Given tomorrow is payroll day, these are unlikely to move the market.  We also hear from Cleveland Fed president Mester, one of the more hawkish voices, discussing inflation, but my sense is all eyes are on tomorrow’s NFP to make sure that the taper is coming.  As such, today is likely to continue to see risk appetite with higher stock prices and a soft dollar.  But large moves seem unlikely.

Good luck and stay safe
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Would That, Fear, Provoke?

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Remember when everyone said
That Jay and his friends at the Fed
Would taper their buying
While still pacifying
Investors, lest screens all turn red?

Well, what if before the Fed spoke
That Evergrande quickly went broke?
Would traders still bet
The buying of debt
Will end? Or would that, fear, provoke?

Fear is in the air this morning as concerns over the status of China Evergrande’s ability to repay its mountain of debt seriously escalate.  Remember, Evergrande is the Chinese property developer with more than $300 billion in debt outstanding, and that has said they will not be repaying an $84 million loan due today, with the prospect for interest payments due this Thursday also gravely in doubt.  One cannot be surprised that the Hang Seng (-3.3%) reacted so negatively this morning, after all, that is the Evergrande’s main listing exchange.  Other property developers listed there came under substantial pressure as well, with one (Sinic Holdings Group) seeing its price fall 87% before trading was suspended.

Of equal interest to the fact that equity markets are trembling on the Evergrande story is the plethora of press that continues to explain that even if Evergrande goes bust, any fallout will be limited.  Columnists and pundits point to the damage that occurred when the Fed allowed Lehman Brothers to go bust and explain that will never be allowed again.  And while I’m certain they are correct, financial officials have exactly zero interest in allowing that type of situation to repeat, it remains far from clear they can prevent it.  That is, of course, unless the Chinese government is going to step in and pay the debts, something that seems highly unlikely.  As I continue to read and hear how this situation is nothing like Lehman, having had a front row seat to that disaster, I cannot help but see a great many parallels, including many assurances that the underlying cause of that contagion, subprime mortgage loans, was a small portion of the market and any fallout would be controlled.  We all know how well that worked out.

Remember, too, that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been aggressively attacking different sectors of the Chinese economy, specifically those sectors where great wealth (and power) was amassed and has implemented numerous changes to the previous rules.  This is the key reason the Shanghai stock market has underperformed the S&P 500 by 25% over the past year.  One of Xi’s problems is that property development has been a critical part of the growth of China’s economy and a source of significant income to all the provinces and cities.  Proceeds from the sales of property have funded infrastructure as well as helped moderate taxes.  If Evergrande goes under, the impact on the entire Chinese economy seems likely to be significant.  And all this is happening while the growth in China’s credit impulse has been declining rapidly, portending slower growth there anyway.

History has shown that situations of this nature are rarely effectively contained and there is usually fallout across numerous different areas.  Consider that global equity market indices have been hovering just below all-time high levels with stretched valuations on any measure on the basis of TINA and FOMO.  But between the two key emotions evident in investing, fear and greed, I assure you, fear is by far the more powerful.  While anything can still happen, fear is starting to spread more widely today than last week as evidenced by the sea of red across all equity markets today.

If you think that the Fed is going to taper their asset purchases into a period of market weakness, you are gravely mistaken.  The combination of slowing growth and market fear will induce a call for more support, not less, and history has shown that ever since October 1987 and Alan Greenspan’s response to Black Monday, the Fed will respond with more money.  The question this time is, will it be enough to stop the fall?  Interesting times lie ahead.

Most of Asia was on holiday last night, with only Hong Kong and Australia (ASX 200 -2.1%) open.  But Europe is open for business and the picture is not pretty.  The FTSE 100 (-1.55%) is the best performing market today with the continent (DAX -2.15%, CAC -2.1%) emblematic of every market currently open.  US futures, meanwhile, are the relative winners with losses ‘only’ ranging from the NASDAQ (-1.1%) to the Dow (-1.6%).  Now, don’t you feel better?

It can be no surprise that bonds are in demand this morning as risk is undeniably ‘off’ across all markets.  Treasury yields have fallen 3.6bps amid a flattening yield curve, while European sovereigns have all seen price gains as well with yields there slipping between 2.6bps (OATs) and 3.2 bps (Bunds).  In every case, we are seeing yield curves flatten, which tends to imply an increasing expectation of weaker economic activity.

Commodity prices are broadly under pressure as well this morning, with oil (-2.0%) leading the way but weakness across industrial metals (Cu -2.0%, Al -0.65%, Sn -1.2%) and agriculturals (corn -1.6%, wheat -0.9%, soybeans -1.0%) as well.  Gold (+0.2%) on the other hand, seems to have retained some of its haven status.

Speaking of havens, the dollar, yen and Swiss franc remain the currencies of choice in a crisis, so it should be no surprise they are today’s leaders.  Versus the dollar, the yen (+0.4%) and franc (+0.2%) are the only gainers on the day.  Elsewhere in the G10, AUD (-0.55%), SEK (-0.5%), CAD (-0.5%) and NOK (-0.4%) are the worst performers.  Obviously, oil’s decline is weighing on the krone and Loonie, but AUD is feeling it from the rest of the commodity complex, notably iron ore (Australia’s largest export by value) which has fallen to $105/ton, less than half its price on July 15th!

In the emerging markets, RUB (-0.8%) is feeling the heat from oil, while ZAR (-0.55%) has metals fatigue.  But every EMG currency that was open last night or is trading right now is down versus the dollar, with no prospects of a rebound unless risk attitude changes.  And that seems unlikely today.

On the data front, aside from the Fed on Wednesday, it is a housing related week.

Tuesday Housing Starts 1550K
Building Permits 1600K
Wednesday Existing Home Sales 5.88M
FOMC Rate Decision 0.00%-0.25%
Thursday Initial Claims 320K
Continuing Claims 2630K
Flash PMI Manufacturing 60.8
Friday New Home Sales 710K

Source: Bloomberg

As well as the Fed, on Thursday the Bank of England meets and while there is no expectation of a policy move then, there is increasing talk of tighter policy there as well.  Again, if fear continues to dominate markets, central banks are highly unlikely to tighten, and, in fact, far more likely to add yet more liquidity to the system.  Once the Fed meeting has passed, the FOMC members will get back out on the circuit to insure we understand what they are trying to do.  so, we will hear from five of them on Friday, and then a bunch more activity next week.

Today’s watchword is fear.  Markets are afraid and risk is being tossed overboard.  Absent a comment or event that can offset the China Evergrande led story, I see no reason for the dollar to do anything but rally.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Flames of Concern

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While Fed commentary is banned
Inflation has certainly fanned
The flames of concern
And soon we’ll all learn
If prices are acting as planned

Meanwhile transitory’s the word
Jay’s used to describe what’s occurred
But most people feel
Inflation is real
And denial is naught but absurd

It is CPI day in the US today and recently the results have gained nearly as much attention as the monthly payroll data.  This seems reasonable given that pretty much every other story in the press touches on the subject, although as is constantly highlighted, the Fed pays attention to PCE, not CPI.  Nonetheless, CPI is the data that is designed to try to capture the average rate of increases in price for the ordinary consumer.  As well, virtually all contracts linked to inflation are linked to CPI.  So Social Security, union wage contracts and TIPS all use CPI as their benchmark.

Of course, the reason inflation is the hot topic is because it has been so hot over the past nine months.  Consider that since Paul Volcker was Fed Chair and CPI peaked at 14.8%, in 1980, there has been a secular decline for 40 years.  Now, for the first time since 1990, we are likely to have four consecutive Y/Y CPI prints in excess of 5.0%.  Although Powell and the FOMC have been very careful to avoid defining ‘transitory’, every month that CPI (and PCE) prints at levels like this serves to strain their credibility.

This is evidenced by a survey conducted by the New York Fed itself, which yesterday showed that the median expectation for inflation in one year’s time has risen to 5.2% and in three years’ time to 4.0%.  Both of these readings are the highest in the survey’s relatively short history dating back to 2013.  But the point is, people are becoming ever more certain that prices will continue rising.  And remember, while inflation may be a monetary phenomenon, it is also very much a psychological one.  If people believe that prices will rise in the future, they are far more likely to increase their demand for things currently in order to avoid paying those future high prices.  In other words, hoarding will become far more normal and expectations for higher prices will become embedded in the collective psyche.

In fact, it is this exact situation that the Fed is desperately trying to prevent, hence the constant reminders that inflation is transitory and so behavioral changes are unnecessary.  This is what also leads to absurdities like the White House trying to explain that except for the prices of beef, pork and poultry, food prices are in line with what would be expected.  Let’s unpack that for a minute.  Beef, pork and poultry are the three main protein sources consumed in this country, if not around the world, so the fact that those have risen in price makes it hard to avoid the idea that prices are rising.  But the second half of the statement is also disingenuous, “in line with what would be expected” does not indicate prices haven’t risen, only that they haven’t risen as much as beef etc.  I’m sure that when each of you heads to the supermarket to stock up for the week, you have observed the price of almost every item is higher than it was, not only pre-Covid, but also at the beginning of the year.  Alas, at this point, there is no reason to expect inflation to slow down.

Median expectations according to Bloomberg’s survey of economists show that CPI is forecast to have risen 0.4% in August with the Y/Y increase declining to 5.3% from last month’s 5.4% reading.  Ex food and energy, the forecasts are +0.3% and 4.2% respectively.  Now, those annual numbers are 0.1% lower than the July readings, which have many economists claiming that the peak is in, and a slow reversion to the lowflation environment we experienced for the past twenty years is going to return.  Counter to that argument, though, is the idea that the economy is cyclical and that includes inflation.  As such, even if there is an ebb for now, the next cycle will likely return us to these levels once again, if not higher.  PS, if the forecasts are accurate, as I mentioned before, this will still be the fourth consecutive month of 5+% CPI, a fact which makes it much easier for the masses to believe inflation has returned.  You can see why Powell and the entire FOMC continue to harp on the transitory concept, they are desperate to prevent expectations from changing because, as we’ve discussed before, they cannot afford to raise interest rates given the amount of leverage in the system.

Keeping all this in mind, it is easy to understand why the CPI data release has gained so much in importance, even to the Fed, who ostensibly focuses on PCE.  We shall see what the data brings.

In the meantime, the markets overnight have been mostly quiet with a few outlying events.  China Evergrande, the massively indebted Chinese property company has hired two law firms with expertise in bankruptcy.  This is shaking the Chinese markets as given the massive amount of debt involved (>$300 billion of USD debt) there is grave concern a bankruptcy could have significant knock-on repercussions across all sub-prime markets.  It should be no surprise that Chinese equity markets fell last night with Shanghai (-1.4%) and the Hang Seng (-1.2%) both under continued pressure.  However, the Nikkei (+0.7%) rose to its highest level since 1990, although still well below the peak levels from the Japanese bubble of the late ‘80s.  Europe is also mixed with the DAX (+0.1%) managing to eke out some gains while the rest of the continent slides into the red (CAC -0.4%, FTSE 100 -0.3%). US futures are basically unchanged this morning as we all await the CPI data.

Interestingly, despite a lot of equity uncertainty and weakness, bonds are also under pressure with yields rising across the board.  Treasuries (+1.2bps), Bunds (+1.9bps), OATs (+1.6bps) and Gilts (+3.8bps) have all sold off, with only Gilts making some sense as UK employment data was generally better than expected and indicative of a rebound in growth.

In the commodity markets, oil (WTI + 0.6%) continues to rebound as another hurricane hits the Gulf Coast and is shutting in more production.  But metals prices are under pressure led by copper (-1.25%) and aluminum (-1.0%).

As to the dollar, mixed is the best description I can give this morning.  In the G10, AUD (-0.5%) is the laggard after RBA Governor Lowe questioned why market participants thought the RBA would be raising rates anytime soon despite potential tapering in the US and Europe.  Australia is in a very different position and unlikely to raise rates before 2024.  On the plus side, NOK (+0.4%) continues to benefit from oil’s rebound and the rest of the bloc has seen much more modest movement, less than 0.2%, in either direction.

EMG markets are a bit weaker this morning, seemingly responding to the growing risk off sentiment as we see ZAR (-0.65%) and RUB (-0.5%) both under a fair amount of pressure with a long list of currencies declining by lesser amounts.  While declining metals prices may make sense as a driver of the rand, the ruble seems to be ignoring the oil price rally, as traders await the CPI data.  On the plus side, KRW (+0.45%) was the best performer as positions locally were adjusted ahead of the upcoming holiday there.

And that’s really the story as we await the CPI release.  The dollar, while softening slightly from its best levels recently, continues to feel better rather than worse, so I suspect we could see modest further strength if CPI is on target.  However, a miss in the print can have more significant repercussions, with a high print likely to see the dollar benefit  initially.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Could Be Dead

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The tapering talk at the Fed
Continues as they look ahead
Though growth’s clearly slowing
Inflation is growing
So, QE, next year, could be dead

In Europe, though, it’s not the same
As price rises largely are tame
But plenty of squawks
From ECB hawks
Have feathered the doves with great shame

Central bank meetings continue to be key highlights on the calendar and this week is no different.  Thus far we have already heard from the RBA, who left policy unchanged, as despite inflation running at 3.8% Q/Q, are unwilling to tighten policy amid a massive nationwide lockdown.  After all, how can they justify tighter policy as growth continues to sag?

This morning the BOC meets, and the universal view is that the Overnight Lending rate will be left unchanged at 0.25%.  However, you may recall that the BOC has actually begun to taper its QE purchases, reducing the weekly amount of purchases to C$2 billion from its peak setting of C$4 billion.  Most of the punditry believe that there will be no change in the rate of QE at this meeting as the bank will want to evaluate the impact of the delta variant on the Canadian economy more fully, but most also believe that the next step lower will occur in October.  In either event, though, it seems the currency markets remain far more focused on the US half of the equation than on what the other central bank is doing.  After all, since the BOC began to taper policy in April, the Loonie has weakened by more than 1%, although it did show initial strength in the wake of the surprise announcement.

Turning to tomorrow’s ECB meeting, there has also been a clear delineation between the hawks and doves as to the proper steps going forward.  Given the macroeconomic situation in Europe, where growth is slowing from relatively modest levels and inflation remains far below levels seen in either the US or Canada (or Australia or the UK), it would seem that the doves should retain the upper hand in the discussion.

But one of the key, inherent, flaws in the Eurozone is that different countries tend to have very different economies as well as very different fiscal policies, and so the individual economic outcomes vary greatly.  Thus, while Spain remains mired with excessively high unemployment and lackluster growth prospects, as does Italy, Germany has seen rising prices in a much more sustained fashion, with CPI there running a full percentage point above the Eurozone as a whole.  Given that German DNA is vehemently anti-inflation (a result of the suffering of the Weimar Hyperinflation of the 1920’s), this situation has resulted in Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and some of his closest colleagues (Austria’s Holtzmann and the Netherlands’ Knot) vociferously calling for a reduction in the rate of purchases in the PEPP.  However, most of the rest of the committee sees no need to slow things down.  The question tomorrow is whether or not Madame Lagarde will be able to tether the hawks.  While there is market talk that tapering will occur, my money is on no change in the pace of purchases.  The direct impact of this should be further modest weakness in the euro and a rebound in European sovereign bond market prices.

As to the Fed, they meet in two weeks’ time and after Powell’s Jackson Hole performance, I think there are vanishingly few players who believe they are going to even announce the tapering schedule then.  However, that does not mean that the segment of the FOMC who are adamantly pro-taper will be quiet, and so expect to hear a steady stream of tapering talk until the quiet period begins on Saturday.  In fact, just last night St Louis President Bullard was interviewed by the FT and reiterated his vocal stance that tapering needs to begin right away.  As well, we will hear from Dallas’ Kaplan later today with his message guaranteed to be the same.  Of more interest will be NY’s Williams, who speaks this afternoon at 1:10pm, and who has yet to voice his tapering opinion.  If he does say tapering is necessary, that would be an important signal, so we must pay close attention.

With all that in mind, markets overnight have started to take a somewhat dimmer view of risk, especially in Europe.  In fact, looking around, only the Nikkei (+0.9%) has been able to see any positivity as the rest of Asia (Hang Seng -0.1%, Shanghai -0.1%) edged lower while Europe (DAX -0.7%, CAC -0.4%, FTSE 100 -0.5%) are seeing much greater selling.  That said, the situation on the Continent was worse earlier in the session with losses everywhere greater than 1.0%.  US futures, meanwhile, are essentially unchanged on the morning, although leaning slightly lower.

In the bond market, buyers have returned with Treasury yields falling 2.4bps, reversing half of yesterday’s climb.  But Europe, too, is seeing demand for havens with Bunds (-1.2bps), OATs (-1.5bps) and Gilts (-1.0bps) all decently bid this morning.  Certainly, if the ECB does reduce its PEPP purchases you can expect yields across the board in Europe to rise.  And, in fact, that is why I don’t expect that to occur!

In a bit of a conundrum, commodity prices are generally higher, alongside the dollar.  Looking at WTI (+1.4%), it seems that energy is on the rise everywhere.  (Pay attention to Uranium, which has rallied 32% in the past month and is structurally bullish as current demand is significantly greater than the run rate of production.)  But weirdly, other than copper (-0.8%) every other key commodity is higher this morning with Au (+0.3%), Al (+0.5%) and Soybeans (+0.7%) leading the way.

This is strange because the dollar is broadly, albeit generally modestly, higher this morning.  In the G10, EUR, CAD and DKK are all softer by 0.2% while only NZD (+0.1%) has managed any gains on the back of the strength in commodity prices.  In the emerging markets, the situation is far more pronounced with TRY (-1.0%) leading the way lower after the central bank indicated rate cuts were coming, although we also saw weakness overnight in KRW (-0.75%), THB (-0.5%) and TWD (-0.4%).  All of these Asian currencies suffered on a pure risk-off viewpoint as equity markets in these nations fell as well.  But it’s not just APAC currencies as we are seeing weakness in EMEA with HUF (-0.5%) and PLN (-0.3%) also under pressure.

On the data front, today brings the JOLTS Job Openings report (exp 10.049M) which continues to indicate the labor market is quite tight despite the payroll data last week.  And after that we get the Fed’s Beige Book at 2:00.  To my mind, Williams’ speech at 1:10pm is the most important story of the day, so we will need to pay close attention when he starts speaking.

Overall, it appears that the dollar bulls have regained the upper hand and are slowly pushing the greenback higher versus most counterparts.  If Williams does agree tapering is needed, I expect the dollar to take another leg higher.  But if he is clear that there is no rush, especially with the delta variant impact, look for the dollar to cede some of its recent gains and equity markets to regain a little spring in their step.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Severely Distraught

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At Jackson Hole, Powell explained
Inflation goals have been attained
But joblessness still
Is high, so they will
Go slow ere their bond buying’s waned

The market heard slow and they thought
The stock market had to be bought
So, prices keep rising
And it’s not surprising
The hawks are severely distraught

In my absence, clearly the biggest story has been Chairman Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, where he promised at some point that the Fed would begin to taper their bond purchases, but that it was still a bit too early to do so.  He admitted that inflation had achieved their target but was still quite concerned over the employment portion of the Fed’s mandate, hence the ongoing delay in the tapering.  And perhaps he was prescient as after Jackson Hole the NFP number was a massively disappointing miss, just 235K vs 733K median forecast.  And to be clear, that number was well below the lowest forecast of 70 estimates.  The point is, the evolution of the economy is clearly not adhering to the views expressed by many, if not most, FOMC members.  We have begun to see significant reductions in GDP growth forecasts for the second half of the year, with major investment banks all cutting their forecasts and the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow number falling to a remarkably precise 3.661% for Q3.

With this as a backdrop, it can be no surprise that the dollar has fallen dramatically during the past two weeks.  For instance, in the G10, NOK (+4.2%) and NZD (+4.2%) both led the way higher as commodity prices rebounded, oil especially, and the US interest rates fell.  In fact, the only currency to underperform the dollar since my last note has been the Japanese yen (-0.15%), which is essentially unchanged.  The story is the same in the EMG space with virtually every currency rising led by ZAR (+6.9%) and BRL (+4.1%).  In fact, only Argentina’s peso (-0.65%) managed to decline over the previous two weeks.  The point is, the belief in a stronger dollar, based on the idea of the Fed tapering QE and then eventually raising interest rates, has come a cropper.  The question is, where do we go from here?

With Jay in the mirror, rearview
It’s Christine’s time, now, to come through
On Thursday we’ll hear
If she’s set to steer
The ECB toward Waterloo

As the market walks in after the Labor Day holiday in the US, we are seeing the beginnings of a correction of the past two week’s price action, at least in the FX markets.  Surveying the overnight data shows a minor dichotomy in Germany, where IP (+1.0%) rose a bit more than expected although the ZEW Surveys were both softer than expected.  Meanwhile, Eurozone GDP grew at a slightly better than previously reported 2.2% quarterly rate in Q2, although that does not include the most recent wave of delta variant imposed lockdowns.  In other words, we are no longer observing either uniform strength or weakness in the data, with different parts of each national economy being impacted very differently by Covid-19.  One other thing to note here is the decline in support for the ruling CDU party in Germany where elections will be held in less than two weeks.  It seems that despite 16 years of relative prosperity there, under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the populace is looking for a change.  This matters to the FX markets as a change in German economic policy priorities is going to have a major impact on the Eurozone, and by extension the euro.  Of course, at this point, it is too early to tell just what that impact may be.

Of more immediate interest to the market will be Thursday’s ECB meeting, where, while policy settings will not be altered, all eyes and ears will be on Madame Lagarde to understand if the ECB, too, is now beginning to consider a tapering of its QE purchases.  Last week, CPI data from the Eurozone printed at 3.0%, its highest level since September 2008, and well above the ECB’s 2.0% target (albeit not quite as far above as in the US).  This has some of the punditry starting to expect that the ECB, too, is ready to begin to taper QE.  However, the Eurozone growth impulse remains significantly slower than that in the US, and with the area unemployment rate still running at an uncomfortably high 7.6%, (much higher in the PIGS), it remains difficult to see why they would be so keen to begin removing accommodation.  Given the ECB storyline, similar to the Fed, is that inflation is transitory, there is no reason to believe the ECB is getting set to move soon.  Rather, I expect that although the PEPP may well end next March on schedule, it will simply be replaced with either an extension or expansion of the original APP, and likely both.  The reality is that the bulk of the Eurozone would see a collapse in growth without the ongoing support of the ECB.

Turning away from that happy news, a quick survey of markets shows that equities in Asia have continued their recent strong performance (Nikkei +0.9%, Hang Seng +0.7%, Shanghai +1.5%), all of which have rallied sharply in the past two weeks.  Europe, however, has not embraced today’s data, or is nervous about potential ECB action, as markets there are a bit softer (DAX -0.3%, CAC -0.1%, FTSE 100 -0.4%).  US futures markets are essentially unchanged at this hour, continuing their recent very slow grind higher.

Of more interest today is the bond market, where Treasury yields have rallied 4.1 basis points and we are seeing higher yields throughout Europe as well (Bunds +3.9bps, OATs +4.3bps, Gilts +3.2bps).  During my break, yields have managed to rally 10bps (including today) which really tells you that the market is still completely in thrall to the transitory story.  Either that, or the Fed continues to absorb any excess paper around.  However, higher yields seem to be helping the dollar more than other currencies despite similar size movements.

While the movement has not been significant, especially compared to the dollar weakness seen during the past two weeks, we are seeing strength in the dollar vs G10 currencies (AUD -0.5%, CAD -0.4%); EMG currencies (ZAR -0.6%, TRY -0.6%); and commodities (WTI -0.6%, Au -0.7%, Cu -1.1%).  Looking at today’s price action, it appears that US rate movement has been the dominant driver.

On the data front, it is a remarkably quiet week with just a handful of numbers:

Wednesday JOLTs Job Openings 10.0M
Fed’s Beige Book
Thursday Initial Claims 335K
Continuing Claims 2744K
PPI 0.6% (8.2% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.5% (6.6% Y/Y)

Source: Bloomberg

We also hear from six Fed speakers, with NY President Williams the most important voice.  But thus far, the Fed’s messaging has been quite effective as they continue to assuage fixed income investors with the transitory tale and thus interest rates remain near their longer-term lows.  While at some point I expect this narrative to lose its hold on the investment community, it does not appear to be an imminent threat.

While I was out, the market flipped its views from concern over tapering leading to higher interest rates, to when tapering comes, it will be “like watching paint dry”*.  FX investors and traders determined there was no cause for a much stronger dollar, and so the buck gave back previous gains and now sits back in the middle of its trading range.  As such, we need to search for the next potential catalyst to change big picture views.  While my money is on the collapse of the transitory narrative, and ensuing dollar weakness, you can be certain the Fed will fight hard to keep that story going.  In other words, I expect that the trading range will remain intact for the foreseeable future.  Trade accordingly.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

*June 15, 2017 comments from then Fed Chair Janet Yellen regarding the normalization of Fed policy and the balance sheet, where she described the process as similar to watching paint dry.  It turns out, that policy process was a bit more exciting, especially in Q4 2018 when equity markets fell 20% and Chair Powell was forced to abandon that policy.

Nothing Will Thwart

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Inflation continues to be
The problem the Fed will not see
The latest report
Shows nothing will thwart
Their views that it’s transitory

Perspective is a funny thing; it has the ability to allow different people to see the same events in very different ways.  For example, yesterday’s CPI report, which printed at 5.4% headline and 4.3% ex food & energy, was fodder for both those with an inflationary bias and those who are in the transitory camp.  As predicted here yesterday morning, any number that was not higher than the June report would be touted as proof inflation is transitory.  And so it has been.  The highlighted facts are the month on month reading was ‘only’ 0.5%, much lower than the previous three months’ readings of 0.9%.  Of course, that is true, but it ignores the fact that a monthly rate of 0.5% annualizes to 6.16%, still dramatically higher than the target.  As well, there was much ink spilled on the fact that used car prices, which had admittedly been rising remarkably quickly due to the unusual circumstances of the semiconductor shortage impeding new car production, fell back to a more normal pace of growth.  The problem with that story is despite one of the ostensible key reasons inflation had been misleadingly higher, used car prices, ceasing to be an issue, inflation still printed at 5.4%!  Clearly there are other things at work here.

Another aspect of perspective comes in the form of the averaging concept, which is the Fed’s latest ruse in rationalizing higher inflation.  For instance, those in the transitory camp, which seems to include the entire FOMC, but also much of the punditry, remain hostile to the idea of inflation settling in at a rate of 1.8%, slightly below the Fed’s target, but are entirely sanguine about that same statistic running at 2.8% for a while to help make up for lost time.  It is this distorted lens that seems to drive the description of inflation as ‘too-low’.  From up here in the cheap seats, inflation cannot be too low.  The idea that we are all better off with prices rising is wrong on its face.

And the idea that wage increases drive inflation also needs to be reconsidered.  After all, if that were the case, we would all be rooting for inflation as that means our wages would be rising quickly.  However, as we know simply by living our lives, and as has been demonstrated by the data, wage increases are broadly lagging inflation.  In fact, yesterday, as part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics data dump, Real Average Hourly and Weekly Earnings showed Y/Y declines of -1.2% and -0.7% in July.  It is no secret that inflation destroys the real value of your earnings, and yet the Fed continues to target a higher level of inflation than had been seen during the past decade and remains comfortable that the current sharply higher numbers are inconsequential in the long run.

However, in the end, whether we agree or disagree with the Fed’s current policy stance and its impacts, the reality is we are not going to have any say in the matter.  All we can do is strive to understand their reaction functions and manage our risks accordingly.  Ultimately, I continue to see the biggest risk as a significantly higher rate of inflation in the US, which will eventually drive nominal yields somewhat higher and real yields still lower than current levels.  That cannot be good for the dollar but will likely help the prices of ‘stuff’.  In the end, be long anything on the periodic table, as that will maintain its value.

The summer doldrums continue as market movement remains fairly limited across equities, bonds, commodities and currencies.  This is not to say there aren’t individual things that move or are trending, just that the broader picture is one of a decided lack of activity.

Last night, for instance, Asian equity markets (Nikkei -0.2%, Hang Seng -0.5%, Shanghai -0.2%) were all lower, but only just.  European markets are more mixed, with both gainers (DAX +0.4%, CAC +0.2%) and losers (FTSE 100 -0.1%) but as can be seen, the movements are not terribly exciting.  This morning saw the release of a plethora of UK data led by Q/Q GDP (+4.8%) and then many of its details showing Consumption by both the government and the population at large grew dramatically, while businesses slowed down somewhat, with IP and Construction both lagging estimates.  I guess investors were generally unimpressed as both the stock market and the pound (-0.1%) have edged somewhat lower after the reports.  Finally, US futures are either side of unchanged again, with the NASDAQ continuing to lag in the wake of the recent rise in US 10-year yields.

Speaking of yields, after the very sharp rise seen in the previous five sessions, yesterday’s Treasury price action was far less exciting and this morning we see the 10-year yield higher by just 1.0 basis point after a decline of similar magnitude Wednesday.  European sovereigns show Bunds (+0.8bps) and OATs (+0.7bps) modestly softer while Gilts (+2.5bps) seem to believe that the UK data was actually better than other market impressions.

Commodity prices are mixed this morning as oil (-0.2%) has given up early gains, along with gold (-0.1%) and the agricultural space.  Copper, however, is bucking the trend and higher by 0.8%.

Lastly, the dollar can only be characterized as mixed this morning, with some weakness in AUD and NZD (-0.25% each) and some strength in NOK (+0.2%) and otherwise a lot of nothing in between.  It is hard to make a case that there is much market moving news in any of these currencies as the UK was the only country with significant new information.

Emerging market currencies are also split, with KRW (-0.4%) continuing to lag the rest of the space as concern grows over the semiconductor manufacturing sector leading to continued equity market outflows and currency sales.  I would imagine that the recent rantings by Kim Jong-Un’s little sister about increased nuclear activity cannot be helping the situation there, but it is not getting headline press in financial discussions.  Otherwise, PLN (-0.3%) is the next weakest currency in the bloc today which seems to be a reaction to some legislation passed that would ostensibly restrict media and speech in the country.  On the plus side, TRY (+1.0%) is today’s champion as traders and investors respond to the central bank’s moderately more hawkish than expected statement after leaving interest rates unchanged (at 19.0%!) as widely expected.  Otherwise, there is nothing noteworthy in the space.

Data today brings the weekly Initial Claims (exp 375K) and Continuing Claims (2.9M) data as well as PPI (7.2%, 5.6% ex food & energy).  However, with CPI already having been released, this data seems relatively insignificant.  There are no scheduled Fed speakers as most FOMC members seem to be going on vacation ahead of the Jackson Hole conference in two weeks’ time.

For now, the dollar seems to be tracking yields pretty well, so if we see movement in the bond market, look for the dollar to follow.  Otherwise, we are likely to remain rangebound for the time being.

Good luck and stay safe
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The Chorus has Grown

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T’was only a few months ago
When Kaplan from Dallas said, whoa
The time has arrived
Where growth has revived
And bond buying needs to go slow

Since then, though, the chorus has grown
As seven more members have shown
That they all agree
It’s time for QE
To end and leave markets alone

We continue to hear from more FOMC members that it is time to taper the Fed’s purchases of both Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.  Last Wednesday, of course, the big news was that Vice-Chairman Richard Clarida came out so hawkishly in his comments, not only calling for tapering bond purchases but also raising rates sooner than the median forecast had anticipated.  Yesterday, three Fed speakers were all on the same page, with Boston’s Eric Rosengren the newest name added to the tapering crew (Bostic and Barkin were already known taperers.)  That takes the count to at least eight (Clarida, Bostic, Barkin, Rosengren, Bullard, Daly, Waller and Kaplan) with the two most hawkish FOMC members, Loretta Mester and Esther George, on the docket for today and tomorrow respectively.  It is not unreasonable, based on their respective histories, to expect both of them to call for tapering as well.  That would make ten of the seventeen members as confirmed supporters of the process.

The question is, will that be enough?  The Fed’s power core for the last several years has been concentrated in four members, Powell, Clarida, Williams and Brainerd.  Of this group, only Clarida has publicly proclaimed it has come time to taper.  And potentially, his importance is diminishing as his term ends within months and he is seen as highly unlikely to be reappointed.  Rather, the talk of the town is that Chairman Powell is also losing fans in the Senate with respect to his reappointment, and that Governor Lael Brainerd is the new leading candidate to become Fed Chair.  As it happens, neither of those two have come out for tapering soon, and in fact, last week, Ms Brainerd was adamant in her belief it was far too early to do so.  The point is, the Fed has never been a democratic institution although it is an extremely political one.  Having a majority of members agree on a view only matters if it is a majority of the right members.  By my count, that is not yet the case.  Perhaps come Jackson Hole in two plus weeks, we will hear the Chairman agree, but tapering is not yet a done deal.

Traders, however, see the world very differently than pundits, and certainly very differently than the Fed itself.  And what has become very clear in the past several days is that traders are increasingly placing bets that tapering is coming…and coming soon.  The combination of all those Fed speakers talking about tapering, the very strong NFP data as well as yesterday’s JOLTs blowout (>10 million jobs are open), and the constant stream of stories about rising wages (just this morning a BBG story on JPM raising salaries to compete to hold onto staff is simply the latest) have been sufficient to logically conclude that it is time for the Fed to begin removing accommodation.  Hence, Treasury yields have backed up nearly 20 basis points from the lows seen last Wednesday morning, the dollar has risen against all its counterparts and the price of oil has fallen by more than 4%.

Looking ahead, the question becomes, is this likely to continue?  Or have we reached a peak?  It is not unreasonable to assume that both George and Mester will call for tapering this week.  It is also not unreasonable to assume that the CPI data tomorrow is going to point to a still rising price environment, whether it ticks slightly higher or lower than last month’s 5.4% headline print.  Any number in that vicinity remains far above the Fed’s average target of 2.0%.  The point is that there is nothing obvious on the horizon that should cause the tapering hawks to back off, at least not until the end of the month.  As such, hedgers need to be prepared for a continuation of the recent price action.

Meanwhile, a look at today’s markets shows that these recent trends remain intact.  While Asian equity markets continue to follow their own drummer (Nikkei +0.25%, Hang Seng +1.25%, Shanghai +1.0%), European bourses continue to struggle (DAX +0.2%, CAC +0.1%, FTSE 100 -0.1%) as do US futures with all three major indices either side of unchanged.  Asia seems to be benefitting from the view that the PBOC is preparing to ease policy further as China responds to the increased lockdowns due to the delta variant of Covid that has been spreading quite rapidly there, in addition to the fact that the Chinese authorities have not named a new target in its seemingly random crackdown of successful companies.

Bond markets, while edging higher today, have been generally losing ground.  So, while Treasury yields are lower by 0.5bps this morning, they are at 1.32%, well off the lows seen last week.  European sovereigns are generally a touch firmer as well, with yields down by between 0.5bps and 1 bp but they, too, have seen yields climb back a bit lately.

Commodity prices, which have been under severe pressure, are rebounding slightly this morning, although this has the appearance of a trading bounce more than a sea change in view.  Commodity prices are likely to be amongst the hardest hit if the Fed really does start to tighten policy.  But this morning, oil (+2.0%) has rebounded nicely although gold (0.0%) has been unable to bounce from yesterday’s massive sell-off.  Copper (+0.65%) is leading base metals modestly higher and ags have bumped up a bit as well.

As to the dollar, right now it is arguably slightly stronger overall, but only just as there are a mix of gainers and losers vs. the greenback.  In the G10 space, the euro (-0.1%) is continuing toward its test of key support at 1.1704, albeit quite slowly.  The entire space, though, is +/- 0.2% or less, which is indicative of position adjustments rather than news driven activity.

EMG currencies are also mixed with KRW (-0.5%) the weakest of the bunch on the back of concerns over the impact of the delta variant as well as equity market outflows by international investors.  PLN (-0.4%) is the next weakest as central bank comments seemed to delay the timing of a mooted rate hike.  On the flip side, TRY (+0.6%) is the leader as Unemployment data there was released at a much lower than expected 10.6%.

Data today showed that Small Business Optimism has suffered lately with the NFIB Index falling to 99.7.  At 8:30 we see Nonfarm Productivity (exp 3.2%) and Unit Labor Costs (+1.0%), although it is unlikely either will have a big market impact.  Arguably, market participants are all waiting for tomorrow’s CPI data for the next big piece of news.

At this point, the dollar’s modest uptrend remains in place and I see no reason to believe that will change.  At least not until we hear differently from Powell or the data turns much worse.

Good luck and stay safe
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