Tag Archives: #Lagarde

Every Reason

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While prices in Europe are leaping
According to Christine’s bookkeeping
She’s got “every reason”
To keep on appeasin’
The ECB doves who are sleeping

So, rather than look to the Fed
She’s focused on China instead
Where they just cut rates
As growth there stagnates
And Covid continues to spread

One has to wonder exactly what Christine Lagarde is looking at when she makes comments like she did this morning.  Specifically, she said the following in a radio interview in France, [emphasis added] “We have every reason to not react as quickly and as abruptly as we could imagine the Fed might, but we have started to respond and we, of course, stand ready to respond with monetary policy if figures, data, facts, require it.”  Remember, the ECB has a single mandate, achieving price stability which they define as 2% inflation over the medium term.  With this in mind, let me recount this morning’s data, which clearly has Madame Lagarde nonplussed: German Dec PPI +5.0% M/M and +24.2% Y/Y, the highest figures ever in the history of German record keeping back to 1949.  Eurozone Dec CPI +0.4% M/M and 5.0% Y/Y, also the highest since the creation of the Eurozone.  I realize I am a simple FX salesman, but to my uneducated eye, those indications of inflation seem somewhat above 2.0%.  Perhaps mathematics in France is different than here in the US, but I would challenge Madame Lagarde to explain a bit more carefully why, despite all evidence to the contrary, she thinks the ECB is acting in accordance with their mandate.  I suspect there are about 83 million people in Germany who may be wondering the same thing.

Certainly, traders do not believe her or her colleagues when they say, as Pablo Hernandez de Cos did “an increase in interest rates is not expected in 2022.”   De Cos is the head of the Spanish central bank and a Governing Council member and clearly not a hawk.  Yet, the OIS market in Europe is pricing in 0.20% of rate hikes by the end of 2022 (the ECB has been moving in 10 basis point increments), so two rate hikes.  I also realize that there appear to be many econometric models around that are forecasting a return to much lower inflation within the next twelve months, certainly those are the models the central banks themselves are using.  It seems that the real question is at what point will the central banks, specifically the Fed and ECB, recognize that their models may not be a very accurate representation of reality?  And I fear the answer is, never!

Perhaps Madame Lagarde was channeling Yi Gang, the PBOC’s Governor, although the situation on the ground in China is clearly different than that in Europe.  For instance, after cutting two important interest rates last Friday, the PBOC cut two different interest rates last night, the 1-year loan prime rate by 0.10% down to 3.70%, and the 5-year rate was cut by 5 basis points to 4.60%.  China continues to struggle with their zero covid policy.  They continue to fall behind the curve there as the omicron variant is so incredibly transmissible.  But what is clear is that China is growing increasingly concerned over the pace of growth in the economy and so the PBOC has begun to act even more aggressively.  While 5 and 10 basis point moves may not seem like a lot, given how infrequently the PBOC has been willing to cut interest rates, they are an important signal to market participants that support is at hand.  This was made clear by the equity markets last night where the Hang Seng, home to so many property companies, exploded higher by 3.4% although Shanghai’s market was quite subdued, actually slipping 0.1%.

In the end, it is clear that global synchronicity is not an appropriate way to think about the current macroeconomic situation.  Given the dramatically different ways that different nations approached the Covid pandemic, it should be no surprise that there are huge differences in rates of growth and inflation around the world.  The hedging implications of this outcome are that it will require more specific analysis of each country in which there is an exposure to determine the best way to mitigate risks there.

With that in mind, let us take a look at markets this morning.  Despite Shanghai’s lackluster performance, the rest of Asia was actually quite solid with the Nikkei (+1.1%) rounding out the top markets.  Europe, on the other hand, has been less positive with the DAX (+0.1%) edging higher while both the CAC (-0.1%) and FTSE 100 (-0.1%) are slipping a bit.  I guess more promises of ongoing policy ease were not enough to overcome the soaring inflation story on the continent.  US futures are all pointing higher at this hour, with NASDAQ (+0.9%) leading the way although that index has fallen by 10% from its highs, so has more room to catch up.

Looking at the bond market, I can’t help but wonder if we have seen peak hawkishness earlier this week, at least for the Fed.  After the long weekend, we saw the 10-year Treasury yield trade up to 1.88%, but since then it has slipped back with today’s price action seeing yields fall an additional 2.7 basis points and placing us 4bps off those highs.  Now, this could simply be a short-term correction, but with the Fed announcement next week, it really does feel like the market has gotten way ahead of itself.  At this point, the only way next week’s FOMC could be seen as hawkish would be if they actually raised rates, something to which I ascribe a zero probability.  One other thing to recall is that recent surveys continue to show a large contingent of fund managers believe that inflation is transitory which implies that they are likely to take advantage of the current rise in yields and prevent things from running away.

On the commodity front, oil (-0.4%) has stopped running higher, although this pause seems much more like a consolidation than a change in views.  NatGas (-1.5%) is also a bit softer today in both the US and Europe as seasonal or higher temperatures continue to reduce marginal demand.  Turning to metals markets, gold (-0.2%) is slightly softer this morning, but overall, despite rising interest rates, has held up quite well lately and remains well above the $1800/oz level.  Interestingly, silver (0.0% today +4.6% this week) seems to be having a much better time of things and technically looks to have broken out higher.  Arguably, this information blends well with the thought that bond yields may have peaked, but we shall see.

As to the dollar, it is mixed this morning with both gainers and losers in both the G10 and EMG spaces.  The funny thing is, other than RUB (-0.6%) which is leading the way lower today on the back of threats of more substantial sanctions in the event Russia does invade the Ukraine, the rest of the story is much harder to pin down.  For instance, from a news perspective Bank Indonesia met last night and left rates on hold, as expected, but indicated that it would begin normalizing monetary policy in March, returning its RRR to its pre-covid levels, but the rupiah only rose 0.2%.  In fact, today’s leading gainer is ZAR (+0.75%), but given the dearth of either data or news, the best bet here seems to be a response to precious metals strength.  One other thing to remember is that despite easing by the PBOC, the renminbi continues to edge higher.  Frankly, I see no reason for it to weaken anytime soon, especially with my view the dollar will be suffering going forward.

On the data front, Initial Claims (exp 225K), Continuing Claims (1563K), Philly Fed (19.0) and Existing Home Sales (6.43M) are on the calendar.  Remember, Empire Manufacturing was a huge bust earlier this week, so watch the Philly Fed number for any indication of weakness and slowing growth here at home.  In fact, it is that scenario that will allow the Fed to remain on the dovish side, although I fear it will not slow down the inflation train.

If there are any inklings that the Fed is not going to be as hawkish as had seemed to be believed just a few days ago, I expect that the dollar will come under further pressure.  In fact, in order to change that view we will need to see a very hawkish outcome from next Wednesday’s FOMC, something I do not anticipate.  Payables hedgers, I fear the dollar may be near its peak, so don’t miss out.

Good luck and stay safe
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A Wrong Turn

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In Europe, the reading today
For CPI led to dismay
With prices still rising
Lagarde’s now revising
The timing for QE’s decay

Then later this morning we’ll learn
If Jay has a cause for concern
Should payrolls be strong
It will not be long
Til stock markets take a “wrong” turn

There seem to be three stories of note today with varying impacts on market behavior, and in the end, they are all loosely tied together.  Starting in Europe, CPI printed at a higher than forecast 5.0% in December, rising to a historic high for the Eurozone as currently constituted.  While energy prices were the largest driver of the data, even excluding those, CPI rose 2.6%, well above the current ECB target.  Given the series of remarkable energy policy blunders that have been made by the Europeans, one has to believe that it will be many more months before energy inflation has any chance of abating.  And as long as the continent remains reliant on Russia for its natural gas supplies, it will almost certainly be held hostage across other issues.  Remember, too, the more money spent on energy, where those funds leave the continent as they don’t really produce much of their own, the less money available for things like manufacturing and consumption of other goods.

The problem for the ECB is that the specter of slowing growth conflicts with their alleged desire to reduce QE and allow policy to “normalize”.  As we see in virtually every nation, the tension between addressing inflation and stifling growth is the crux of central bank decision making.  Madame Lagarde finds herself between the proverbial rock and hard place here.  As things currently stand, I fear the Eurozone is going to find itself in a position dangerously close to stagflation as the year progresses.  Do not be surprised if there are some major electoral changes this year.  PS, none of this is actually very good for the single currency, so keep that in mind as well.  While it has seemed to have stabilized over the past two months, another leg lower feels like it is still on the cards.  What Will Christine Do? History shows that central banks almost always err on the side of higher inflation, so do not be surprised if that is the case here as well.

Turning to the States, it is payroll day with the following forecasts:

Nonfarm Payrolls 447K
Private Payrolls 405K
Manufacturing Payrolls 35K
Unemployment Rate 4.1%
Average Hourly Earnings 0.4% (4.2% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.8
Participation Rate 61.9%

Source: Bloomberg

With the market and investors still absorbing what seemed to be an even more hawkish set of FOMC Minutes than anticipated, where they extensively discussed QT, this has all the trademarks of a ‘good news is bad’ set-up, such that a strong print (>600K) will result in a bond and stock market sell-off as investors flee duration assets.  Remember, too, the ADP number printed at 807K, nearly double expectations and the highest since May21.  Since that release, forecasts have risen by about 50K and whispers even more.  The point is that if US data really starts to show significantly more strength, expectations are going to grow for more rate hikes this year as well as a quicker pace of allowing the balance sheet to shrink.  And that, my friends, will not be a good look for risky assets.

There once was a firm, Evergrande
In China, that bought tons of land
In order to build
Apartment blocks filled
With people, but now must disband

The problem for China is they
Explained, when this firm went astray
Twas under control
And they would cajole
Investors, their sales, to delay

Finally, before we move on to today’s markets, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out a change of tone from China overnight, one that was not officially announced but is true nonetheless.  You may remember back in September when we first heard about China Evergrande and the fact that the second largest property developer in that country, and the most indebted, was having trouble repaying its loans.  Initially there was talk by the doomsayers that this was China’s Lehman moment, and everything would unravel quickly.  Of course, that did not happen, although what we have seen since is a slower unraveling of that company and many others in the sector.  It turns out that when your business model is premised on borrowing excessive amounts of money to build apartment blocks in ghost cities, there could be problems down the line.

At any rate, the PBOC was adamant that everything was under control and that, anyway, China Evergrande’s borrowings weren’t that big compared to China’s GDP.  (That always sounded an awful lot like Bernanke’s comments regarding subprime mortgages.)  More recently, the PBOC imposed three ‘red lines’ regarding the ability of property developers to borrow money as they were really trying to squeeze the speculation out of the property market, but without causing the bubble to actually burst, simply deflate.  These rules, though, meant that Evergrande, and the other very weak companies in the space, suddenly had no source of funding.  Well, last night it was discovered that the PBOC has actually instructed banks to lend to property companies more aggressively.  Apparently the PBOC’s red lines have as much value as Qaddafi’s or Obama’s, in other words, none.  It can be no surprise that the PBOC has reversed course given the potential problems that exist in the Chinese property sector.  Just beware as things there remain opaque and in flux, although I doubt the renminbi is set to move dramatically soon.

Ok, quickly, after yesterday’s US equity fizzle, where markets slid slightly, Asia was mostly the same although the Hang Seng (+1.8%) did manage to rally sharply after it became clear Evergrande would get more funding.  Europe has done essentially nothing, despite a generally weak mix of data (German IP -0.2%, French IP -0.4%) as investors seem to be waiting for the payroll number to assess the Fed’s actions.  US futures are little changed at this hour as well.

We are seeing similar lack of activity in the bond market as here, too, investors await the payroll numbers.  Yesterday saw essentially no change in the 10-year Treasury yield although shorter maturity bonds did see yields rise a couple of ticks as the market continues to look for rate hikes sooner rather than later.  Europe is also biding its time to see what comes from NFP, with no major markets having moved even 1 basis point from yesterday’s levels.

Oil prices continue to rise (+0.75%) with WTI now above $80/bbl for the first time in two months.  But we are seeing strength throughout this space with NatGas (+1.4%) and Uranium (+3.5%) showing all energy is bid.  In fairness, the Uranium story is squarely on the back of the uprising in Kazakhastan where some 40% of global uranium is mined.)  On the metals front, both precious (Au +0.2%, Ag +0.2%) and base (Cu +0.3%, Al +0.5%, Zn +2.7%) are all in favor with only agricultural prices under pressure today.

As to the dollar, it is somewhat softer but not universally so.  SEK (+0.4%) and NOK (+0.3%) are the leading gainers in the G10 with oil helping the latter while the former continues to benefit from perceptions of still strong economic activity despite the latest wave of omicron.  However, other than these, movement is 0.1% or less in either direction, signifying absolutely nothing.  EMG currencies, though, have definitely seen more strength with ZAR (+0.7%), RUB (+0.7%) and CLP (+0.5%) all responding positively to the commodity rally.

And that is really it for the day.  My take on the NFP data is that good news (i.e. a strong print) will be a negative for risk assets as estimates will be that the Fed needs to move that much quicker to alleviate the inflation pressures.  That means a classic risk-off scenario of stronger dollar, stronger yen and weaker equities.  Bonds, however, are likely to see curve flattening more than higher rates, as the front end will be sold aggressively while the back lags appreciably.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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Dire Straits

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In Europe, the UK, and States
The central banks face dire straits
Inflation’s ascending
But omicron’s trending
So, what should they do about rates?

First Jay will most certainly say
More tapering is on the way
But Andrew is stuck
With Covid amok
While Christine, a choice, will delay

It is central bank week and all eyes are on the decisions and statements to be made by the Fed on Wednesday and the BOE and ECB on Thursday.  In fact, the BOJ will be meeting Friday, but by that time, given the fact that markets are likely to be exhausted from whatever occurs earlier in the week and the assumption nothing there will change, that news seems unlikely to matter much.

By this time, the market narrative (as opposed to the Fed’s preferred narrative) has evolved to the Fed must taper QE even more rapidly with doubling that rate seen as the bare minimum.  You may recall that in November, the Fed announced it would be reducing its QE purchases by $15 billion / month until such time as QE ended.  At that point, they would then consider the idea about raising interest rates assuming inflation remained a concern.  Of course, since then, no matter how you measure inflation, (CPI, core PCE, Trimmed Mean, Sticky) it has risen to levels not seen since the early 1980’s.  This has resulted in a near hysterical call by the punditry for much faster tapering and nearly immediate interest rate hikes.  The longer the Fed delays the process, the fact that rising inflation forces real yields lower means that monetary conditions are easing during a period of extraordinary fiscal policy led demand.  This simply exacerbates the inflation situation feeding this self-reinforcing loop.  Quite frankly, I believe the punditry is correct on this issue, but also expect that the Fed will do less than has become widely believed is necessary because inaction is their default setting.

The dollar, which is largely firmer across the board this morning, continues to benefit from the anticipated hawkishness that this new narrative has evoked.  Arguably, that sets up the opportunity for a sell-off in the greenback if Powell doesn’t deliver the goods, and realistically, even if he does on a ‘sell the news’ outcome.

Turning to the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, Governor Andrew Bailey has already drawn the ire of financial markets (and some members of Parliament) with his comments from October that many took as a ‘promise’ to raise the base rate then in an effort to address rising inflation in the UK.  But he didn’t do so, and blamed market participants for hearing what he said as such a promise.  That led to investors and traders assuming the rate hike would be coming this week, with more to follow, and that the base rate, currently at 0.10%, would be raised to 1.25% by the end of 2022.  However, omicron has thrown a wrench into the works as the Johnson government is now considering Plan B, or C or D (I lose count) as their newest lockdown strictures to prevent the spread of the latest variant.  Arguably, raising interest rates into a period where the economy is shutting down would be categorized as a policy mistake, and one easily avoided.  Thus, the BOE finds itself in a difficult spot, wait to find out more about omicron despite inflation’s rapid and persistent rise, or address inflation at the risk of tightening into a slowing economy.

The pound, despite expectations which had been focused on the BOE leading the interest rate cycle amongst the big four central banks, has traded back down to its lowest level in a year, although realistically to its average over the past five years.  The trend, though, is clearly lower and any reasonable hawkishness by the Fed is likely to see Sterling test, and break below, 1.30, in my view.  At this point, I feel like the pound is completely beholden to Powell, not Bailey.

Finally, the ECB also announces their policy decisions on Thursday, just 45 minutes after the BOE.  Here the discussion has been around what happens when the PEPP, which is due to expire in March 2022, ends and what type of additional support will they be pumping into the economy.  It has already become clear that the original QE program, the APP, will be expanded in some form, but one of the things about that was the requirement that the ECB stick to the capital key with respect to its purchases, and the inability of that program to purchase non-IG debt.  The problem there is that Greece remains junk credit, but also the Greek government bond market remains entirely dependent on the ECB’s purchases to continue to function.  At the same time, Germany, where inflation is running the hottest (Wholesale Prices rose 16.6% in November, the highest level ever in the series back to June 1968) is where the largest proportion of bonds is purchased, easing local financial conditions even further thus exacerbating the inflation story there.  In many ways, it is understandable as to why there is less clarity on the ECB’s potential actions.  As many problems as the Fed has created for themselves, the ECB probably has more, and Madame Lagarde is not a central banker by trade, but rather a politician.  As such, she is far more likely to push for a politically comfortable solution than an economically sound one.

The euro had been trending steadily lower until Thanksgiving when we saw a bounce and it has been consolidating ever since.  However, my take is the ECB is likely to be more dovish, rather than less, and in the wake of a Fed that is clearly tightening policy and will be seen to have to tighten further going forward, the euro is likely to feel more pressure to decline going forward.  Look for a test of 1.10 sometime early in Q1.

OK, now that we’ve set the stage for the week ahead, let’s quickly tour the overnight activity.  After yet another rally in the NY afternoon, Asia was mostly higher (Nikkei +0.7%, Hang Seng -0.2%, Shanghai +0.4%) with Europe showing a similar type of performance (DAX +0.9%, CAC +0.15%, FTSE 100 -0.1%).  US futures are all pointing a bit higher, but only about 0.2%.  Net, risk appetite seems to be modest today ahead of the meetings this week.

Interestingly, despite decent equity market performance, and despite no end in sight for inflation pressures, bond markets have generally rallied today with yields edging lower.  Treasury yields have slipped by 1.4bps, while Bunds (-1.0bps), OATs (-1.5bps) and Gilts (-1.7bps) all show similar yield declines.  This seems a little odd given the inflation narrative remains strong, but perhaps is a response to concerns over a policy mistake, or three, amongst the central banks.

Commodity prices are mixed this morning with oil (-0.7%) under pressure while NatGas (+1.5%) is making gains based on colder weather.  (PS, European NatGas is up 9.3% this morning to $38.33/mmBTU, compared to US NatGas at $3.98/mmBTU).  That is NOT a typo, almost 10x the price.  It seems that colder weather and the ongoing Russia/Ukraine/Belarus issues are having a big impact.  Metals prices are generally firmer with precious (Au +0.4%, Ag +0.4%) looking solid while industrial (Cu +0.3%, Al +1.2%) also perform well although some of the lesser metals like Ni (-0.6%) and Sn (-0.2%) are underperforming.

As to the dollar, it is universally stronger vs. the G10 with NOK (-0.6%) and AUD (-0.5%) the laggards although CAD (-0.3%) is also under the gun.  It seems oil is an issue as well as the Chinese economy with respect to the Aussie.  EMG currencies are broadly softer, but other than TRY (-2.0%) which continues to trade to new historic lows amid policy blunders, the movement has not been excessive.  MYR (-0.4%) is the next worst performer, consolidating recent gains as traders await presumed hawkish news from the Fed, with most other currencies showing similar types of losses on the same story.  The exceptions to this rule are ZAR (+0.5%) which rallied on the strength of the metals complex and IDR (+0.2%) which benefitted based on a reduced borrowing plan for the government.

On the data front, ahead of the Fed we see PPI and Retail Sales plus a bit more stuff later in the week.

Tuesday NFIB Small Biz Optimism 98.4
PPI 0.5% (9.2% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.4% (7.2% Y/Y)
Wednesday Empire Manufacturing 25.0
Retail Sales 0.8%
-ex autos 0.9%
Business Inventories 1.1%
FOMC Meeting
Thursday Initial Claims 195K
Continuing Claims 1938K
Housing Starts 1566K
Building Permits 1660K
Philly Fed 29.6
IP 0.7%
Capacity Utilization 76.8%

Source: Bloomberg

The demand story certainly seems robust based on Retail Sales, and that has to continue to influence the Fed.  I find the inventories data interesting as firms evolve from just-in-time to just-in-case models, another inflationary process.  But in the end, this week is all about the Fed (and BOE and ECB) so until we know more from there, look for choppy markets with no real direction.

Good luck and stay safe
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A Mishap

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When most of us think of an APP
It’s something on phones that we tap
But Madame Christine,
The ECB queen,
Fears PEPP’s end would be a mishap

So, word is next week when they meet
Expansion of APP they’ll complete
Thus, PEPP they’ll retire
But still, heading higher
Are PIGS debt on their balance sheet

Over the next seven days we will hear from the FOMC, ECB and BOE with respect to their policies as each meets next week.  Expectations are for the Fed to increase the speed at which they are tapering their QE purchases, with most pundits looking for that to double, thus reducing QE by $30 billion/month until it is over.  Rate hikes are assumed to follow shortly thereafter.  However, if they sound quite hawkish, do not be surprised if the equity market sells off and all of our recent experience shows that the Fed will not allow too large a decline in stock prices before blinking.  Do not be envious of Chairman Powell’s job at this point, it will be uncomfortable regardless of what the Fed does.

As to the ECB, recent commentary has been mixed with some members indicating they believe continued support for the economy is necessary once the PEPP expires in March, and that despite internal rules prohibiting the ECB from buying non IG debt, they should continue to support Greece via the Asset Purchase Program.  The APP is their original QE tool, and has been running alongside the PEPP throughout the crisis.  Both the doves on the ECB and the punditry believe that any unused capacity from the PEPP will simply be transferred to the APP so there is more buying power, and by extension more support for the PIGS.  However, we are hearing more from the hawks recently about the fact that QE has been inflating asset prices and inflation, and perhaps it needs to be reined in.  When considering ECB activity, though, one has to look at who is running the show, just like with the Fed.  And Madame Christine Lagarde has never given any indication that she is considering reducing the amount of support the ECB is providing to the Eurozone economy.  Rather, just last week she explained that inflation’s path is likely to be a “hump” which will fall back down to, and below, their 2.0% target in the near future, so there is no need to be concerned over recent data.

Finally, the BOE finds itself in a sticky situation because of the relatively larger impact of the omicron variant in the UK versus elsewhere.  While Governor Bailey had indicated back in October that higher rates were on the way, the BOE’s failure to act last month was a shock to the markets and futures traders are now far less certain that UK interest rates will be rising in order to fight rapidly rising prices there.  Instead, there is increased discussion of the negative impact of omicron and the fact that the Johnson government appears to be setting up for yet another nationwide lockdown, something that will clearly reduce demand pressure.  So, there is now only a 20% probability priced into the BOE raising rates to 0.25% next week from the current 0.10% level.  This is not helping the pound’s performance at all.

And lastly, the PBOC
Adjusted a rare policy
FX RRR
Was raised to a bar
Two points o’er its prior degree

One last piece of news this morning was the PBOC announcement that they were raising the FX Reserve Ratio Requirement from 7% to 9% effective the same day the RRR for bank capital is being cut.  This little-known ratio is designed to help the PBOC in its currency management efforts by forcing banks to increase their FX liquidity.  This is accomplished by local banks buying dollars and selling renminbi.  It is a clear sign that the PBOC was getting uncomfortable with the renminbi’s recent strength.  Today is the second time they have raised the FX RRR this year with the first occurring at the end of May.  Prior to that, this tool had not been used since 2007!  Also, if you look at the chart, following this move in May, USDCNH rose 2.25% in the ensuing three weeks.  Since the announcement at 6:10 this morning, USDCNH is higher by 0.5% already.  It can be no surprise that the Chinese are fighting the strength of the yuan as it remains a key outlet valve for economic pressures.  And while Evergrande is officially in default, as well as several other Chinese property developers, the PBOC maintains that is not a problem.  But it is a problem and they are trying to figure out how to resolve it without flooding the economy with additional liquidity and without losing face.

With all that in mind, let’s see how markets have behaved.  Yesterday’s ongoing rebound in US equity markets only partially carried over to Asia with the Nikkei (-0.5%) failing to be inspired although the Hang Seng (+1.1%) and Shanghai (+1.0%) both benefitted from PBOC comments regarding the resolution of Evergrande.  European bourses are in the red, but generally not by that much (DAX -0.35%, CAC -0.2%, FTSE 100 -0.2%).  There was little in the way of data released in the Eurozone or UK, but Schnabel’s comments about PEPP purchases inflating assets have put a damper on things.  US futures, too, are sliding this morning with all three major indices lower by about -0.4% or so.

One cannot be surprised that bonds are rallying a bit, between the large declines seen yesterday and the growing risk-off sentiment, so Treasuries (-2.2bps) are actually lagging the move in Europe (Bunds -3.6bps, OATs -3.8bps, Gilts -4.7bps) and even PIGS bond yields have slipped.  Clearly bonds feel like a better investment this morning.

After a 1-week rally of real significance, oil (-0.7%) is consolidating some of those gains and a bit softer on the day.  NatGas (-0.7%) is also lower and we are seeing weakness in metals prices, both precious (Au -0.2%. Ag -0.7%) and industrial (Cu -1.4%).  Foodstuffs are also under pressure this morning, but at this time of year that is far more weather related than anything else.

As to the dollar, it is broadly stronger this morning with the only G10 currency to gain being the yen (+0.1%) and the rest of the bloc under pressure led by NOK (-1.0%) and AUD (-0.45%) feeling the heat of weaker commodity prices.  I must mention the euro (-0.3%) which seems to be adjusting based on the slight change in tone of the relative views of FOMC and ECB policies, with the ECB dovishness back to the fore.

EMG currencies are also mostly softer although there are a few outliers the other way.  The laggards are ZAR (-1.0%) on the back of softer commodity prices and TRY (-0.9%) which continues to suffer from its current monetary policy stance and should continue to do so until that changes.  We’ve already discussed CNY/CNH and see HUF (-0.5%) also under pressure as the 0.2% rise in the deposit rate was not seen as sufficient by the market to fight ongoing inflation pressures.  On the plus side, the noteworthy gainer is CLP (+0.5%) which seems to be responding to the latest polls showing strength in the conservative candidate’s showing.  Also, I would be remiss if I did not highlight BRL’s 1.5% gain since yesterday as the BCB raised rates by the expected 1.50% and hawkish commentary indicating another 1.50% rate rise in February.

On the data front, Initial (exp 220K) and Continuing (1910K) Claims are really all we see this morning, neither of which seem likely to have an FX impact.  Tomorrow’s CPI data, on the other hand, will be closely watched.

The current narrative remains the Fed is quickening the pace of tapering QE in order to give themselves the flexibility to raise rates sooner given inflation’s intractable rise.  As long as that remains the story, the dollar should remain well supported, and I think that can be the case right up until the equity markets respond negatively.  Any sharp decline will be met with a dovish Fed response and the dollar will suffer at that point.  Be prepared.

Good luck and stay safe
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Ill-Starred

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The latest from Treasury’s Yellen
Is really not all that compellin’
The problem, she said
Is Covid’s widespread
So, prices just won’t stop their swellin’

This morning, then, Madame Lagarde
Repeated her latest canard
If we were to tighten
Too early, we’d heighten
The risk of an outcome, ill-starred

As we begin a new week the only thing that has changed is the date, at least with respect to the official narrative regarding inflation and the economy.  Once again, this weekend, Treasury Secretary Yellen complained explained that Covid-19 is the reason inflation is running so high, and that once the pandemic is under control, prices will slow their ascent.  That seems to ignore the Fed’s balance sheet expansion of $5 trillion since last year, as well as the $5 trillion in special fiscal assistance that has been enacted by the government, the last $1.9 trillion under her guidance.  And of course, she is cheerleading the next $1.75 trillion in the Administration’s plans.  Yet she continues to claim that when Covid recedes, all will be well again.

At the same time, ECB President Christine Lagarde continues along the same lines, pooh-poohing the idea that the ECB should consider tightening policy because the current bout of inflation is only temporary (wisely, she has stopped using the term transitory at this point) and were they to act now, by the time their policy change had any effect on the economy, inflation would already be slowing down on its own.  So, you can be sure that the ECB is not about to alter its policy either anytime soon.  In fact, when the PEPP expires in March next year, you can be certain that the APP, the original Asset Purchase Plan (QE) will be expanded and extended to keep the cocaine flowing into the Eurozone economy’s bloodstream.

Will this process change at any point soon?  The odds remain extremely low in either the US or Europe given the evolution of the membership of both policy boards.  In the US, it appears the odds of a Chairwoman Lael Brainerd grow each day, and with that, the odds of easier monetary policy for an even longer time.  A telling blurb about her views recounts the time when then Chair Yellen wanted to start to raise rates in 2015 and Brainerd argued forcefully against the idea.  History shows that the Fed missed a key opportunity at that time to more fully normalize policy, leading directly to the lack of effective tools they currently possess.  While Chairman Powell has certainly been no hawk, relative to Ms Brainerd, his talons look quite sharp.

At the same time, the news that Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann is stepping down has resulted in the most forceful counterbalance to the large dovish wing in the ECB leaving the governing council.  While the next Buba president is sure to be more hawkish than most ECB members, he will not have the gravitas nor sway that Weidmann holds, and therefore, will be less able to push against the doves.

While smaller economies around the world continue to respond to rapidly rising inflation (just Thursday, Banxico raised the base rate in Mexico another 0.25% to 5.00%) it is abundantly clear that neither the Fed nor ECB is anywhere near that path.  Yes, the Fed has started to marginally slow down balance sheet expansion, but that is not tightening policy under any definition.  It is unclear what type of shock will be necessary to force these two central banks to rethink their current plans, but if history is any guide, central banks tend to overstay their welcome when it comes to easing monetary policy.  You can have too much of a good thing and I fear that is what we are all going to experience at some point in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, however, nothing seems to stop the march higher in equity markets and today is no exception.  Last night in Asia, the Nikkei (+0.6%) and Hang Seng (+0.25%) both moved higher although Shanghai (-0.2%) continues to be weighed down by the property sector with Evergrande as well as several other developers barely able to continue as going concerns.  Europe is generally firmer as well led by the CAC (+0.4%) and DAX (+0.1%) although, here too, there is a laggard in the form of the FTSE 100 (-0.2%) after housing prices slipped and seemed to portend a slowing in the economy there.  US futures are currently about 0.2% higher on the day.

In the bond market, which has been remarkably volatile lately, this morning is showing a respite, with Treasury yields (-0.3bps) nearly unchanged and similar modest yield declines throughout Europe (bunds flat, OATs -0.5bps, Gilts -0.9bps).  At this stage, the bond bulls and bears are fighting to a draw and waiting the next key signal.  Certainly, inflation would have you believe that yields should rise, but between ongoing QE and concerns over a slowing economy, the bond bulls are still in the driver’s seat.

In the commodity markets, oil is continuing last week’s sell-off, down 1.5% this morning with WTI back below $80/bbl. NatGas (-0.9%), too is falling, at least in the US, but not in Europe, where Gazprom, which had increased flows for a few days, seems to have cut back yet again.  I fear it is going to be a long, cold winter on the continent.  In the metal’s markets, gold (-0.1%) has edged lower this morning although has been performing quiet well over the past two weeks having rallied more than 6%.  But all the base metals (Cu -0.3%, al -0.7%, Sn -0.8%) are under pressure, hardly a sign of robust growth on the horizon.

Overall, the dollar is under modest pressure this morning, although recall, it has been quite firm for the past several weeks.  In the G10, AUD (+0.45%) and NZD (+0.4%) are the leading gainers as investors are sensing an opportunity in recently rising bond yields there.  Interestingly, NOK (+0.35%) is also higher despite oil’s decline, although this appears to be more of a technical correction than a trend change.  In the EMG bloc, ZAR (+0.9%) and RUB (+0.7%) are the leading gainers, both on the strength of expectations for further policy tightening by their central banks.  On the downside, PHP (-0.65%) is the key laggard as importers were seen selling dollars to pay for things like oil and gas.

Data this week is led by Retail Sales and comes as follows:

Today Empire Manufacturing 22.0
Tuesday Retail Sales 1.3%
-ex Autos 1.0%
IP 0.8%
Capacity Utilization 75.9%
Wednesday Housing Starts 1580K
Building Permits 1630K
Thursday Initial Claims 260K
Continuing Claims 2123K
Philly Fed 24.0
Leading Indicators 0.8%

Source: Bloomberg

In addition, we have ten Fed speakers on the calendar across fifteen different speaking engagements.  Be prepared for at least a little movement from that cacophony.

For now, the medium-term trend remains for dollar strength, despite today’s price action, as ongoing high inflation readings continue to drive the idea that the Fed will actually tighten policy at some point.  While that remains to be seen, it is the current market view, and I would not stand in its way.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Growing Disdain

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There is now a silver haired queen
Whose role since she came on the scene
Has been to explain,
With growing disdain,
Inflation is still unforeseen
 
Her minions, as well, all campaign
To make sure the message is plain
Though prices are rising
They won’t be revising
Their plans, or so said Philip Lane
 
There is a growing disconnect between the ECB and the rest of the world’s central banks.  While the transitory narrative has been increasingly taken out back and shot, the ECB will not let that story die.  Just today, ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane defended the ECB stance, explaining, “If we look at the situation over the medium term, the inflation rate is still too low, below our 2% target.  This period of inflation is very unusual and temporary, and not a sign of a chronic situation.  The situation we are in now is very different from the 1970’s and 1980’s.”  [author’s emphasis]  In other words, in case Madame Lagarde’s comments from last week that the ECB is “very unlikely” to raise rates next year, were not clear, the ECB is telling us that their mind is made up and there will be no policy tightening in the foreseeable future.
 
In fairness, raising interest rates will not convince Russia to pump more natural gas through the pipelines to help mitigate the dramatic rise in prices there.  Nor will it help build new semiconductor fabs to alleviate that shortage.  However, what it might do is reduce demand for many things thus easing supply constraints and perhaps encouraging prices to fall.  After all, that is exactly what tighter monetary policy is supposed to do.  The problem with that logic, though, is that there isn’t a central banker on the continent that is willing to risk slowing down growth in order to address rapidly rising prices.  The politics of that move would likely bring more rioters into the streets.  Once again, central banks’ vaunted independence is shown to be a sham.  They are completely political and beholden to the government in charge at any given time.
 
And so, we are left with a situation where prices continue to rise throughout the world while the two largest economic areas, the US and Eurozone, maintain the easiest monetary policy in history.  Yes, I know the Fed said it would begin to reduce its QE purchases, but even if they do reduce purchases by $15 billion / month, they are still going to expand their balance sheet by a further $420 billion and interest rates are still at zero.  There remains virtually zero chance that inflation is going to fade as long as the current incentive structure remains in place. 
 
Speaking of the Fed, Friday’s NFP data was substantially better than expected with job growth rising 531K and revisions higher for the previous two months of an additional 235K.  The Unemployment Rate fell to 4.6% and wages continue to climb smartly, +4.9% Y/Y.  (Of course, on a real basis, that is still negative given the current 5.4% CPI with expectations that on Wednesday, the latest release will jump to 5.9%.)  However, Chairman Powell has indicated that the Fed believes there is still a great deal of slack in the labor market, based on the Participation Rate remaining well below pre-pandemic levels, and so raising rates prematurely would be a mistake.  Summing it all up, there is no reason to believe that either US or ECB monetary policy is going to be changing anytime soon, regardless of the data.
 
The question at hand, then, is what will this mean for markets in general and the dollar in particular?  As long as new, excess liquidity continues to flood the markets, there is little reason to believe that the ongoing bull market in equities, commodities, real estate, and bonds is going to end.  While history has shown that rising inflation will eventually hurt both bonds and stocks, we are not yet at that point, and quite frankly don’t appear to be approaching it that rapidly.  Though there remains a small cadre of old-timers (present company included) who have a difficult time accepting current valuations as normal and who have actually lived through inflationary times, the bulk of the market participants do not carry that baggage and so are unencumbered by negative thoughts of that nature.  But, as an example of how inflation can degrade equity markets, from Q4 1968 through Q1 1980, the S&P 500 fell 1% in nominal terms while inflation averaged 7.1% per year with a high print of 14.8%.  The point is that the last time we had an inflation situation of the current magnitude, holding equities did not solve the problem.  As George Santayana famously told us back in 1905, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
 
With this in mind, let us take a look at markets and the week ahead.  Aside from the ECB comments this morning, arguably the most impactful news from the weekend was the story that Elon Musk is planning to sell $20 billion worth of stock in order to pay his upcoming tax bill.  Not surprisingly Tesla’s stock is lower by nearly 6% on the news and it seems to have put a damper on all equity activity.  After all, if Tesla isn’t going higher, certainly nothing else can have value!
 
Looking at equity markets, Asia (Nikkei -0.35%, Hang Seng -0.4%, Shanghai +0.2%) were mixed but leaning weaker.  That is an apt description of Europe as well (DAX -0.2%, CAC +0.2%, FTSE 100 -0.1%) although overall, the movement has not been that significant.  US futures, meanwhile, are little changed although NASDAQ futures are slightly lower while the other two major indices are edging higher.
 
Bonds, on the other hand, are all under pressure with Treasuries (+2.8bps) leading the way although this was after a major rally on Friday that saw the 10-year yield fall 7bps and a total of 15bps since the FOMC last Wednesday.  But European sovereigns, too, are all lower with yields rising (Bunds +2.0bps, OATs +2.1bps, Gilts +2.9bps).  Perhaps bond investors are beginning to register their concern over the inflation story.
 
On that front, commodity prices are rebounding off the lows seen last week led by energy with oil (+1.25% and back over $82/bbl) and NatGas (+1.1%) both having good days.  The rest of the space, though, is more mixed with copper (+0.2%) and tin (+0.4%) both firmer this morning, while aluminum (-0.2%) and iron ore (-3.25%) are both suffering.  Precious metals are little changed although Friday saw a sharp rally in the barbarous relic.  And yes, the cryptocurrency space is rocking today as well.
 
As to the dollar, it has had a mixed performance this morning with both gainers and losers across the G10 and EMG spaces.  In the G10, NZD (+0.6%) is the clear leader as the government is talking of ending the draconian lockdown measures by the end of the month.  In fact, we saw similar behavior in the EMG currencies as THB (+0.8%) and IDR (+0.5%) rallied on similar news.  On the flip side, BRL (-0.8%) continues to decline despite the central bank being one of the most aggressive in its rate hike path having raised the SELIC rate from 2% in March to 7.75% last month with expectations growing for yet another hike in December.  Of course, inflation is running at 10.25% there, so real yields remain firmly negative.
 
On the data front, this is inflation week with both the PPI and CPI on the docket.
 

Tuesday

NFIB Small Biz Optimism

99.5

 

PPI

0.6% (8.6% Y/Y)

 

-ex food & energy

0.5 (6.8% Y/Y)

Wednesday

Initial Claims

263K

 

Continuing Claims

2050K

 

CPI

0.6% (5.9% Y/Y)

 

-ex food & energy

0.4% (4.3% Y/Y)

Friday

JOLTS Job Openings

10.4M

 

Michigan Sentiment

72.5

Source: Bloomberg
 
Of course, the Fed doesn’t care about CPI as its models work better with core PCE, which also happens to be designed to be permanently lower.  The rest of us, however, know better and recognize the pain.  We have a number of Fed speakers on the calendar this week as well, with Chairman Powell headlining 9 planned appearances.  My sense is that there will be a strenuous effort to press the storyline that inflation may take a little longer to fall back, but don’t worry, it will fall again.
 
If pressed, I would say the dollar is far more likely to continue to grind higher, but that any movement will be slow.  While Treasury yields are not supportive right now, the reality is that amid major currency bonds, Treasuries continue to offer the best combination of yield and liquidity so remain in demand.  I think that along with the need for other economies to buy dollars to buy energy will maintain the bid in the buck.
 
Good luck and stay safe
Adf
 

Feathered and Tarred

Posted on by

The talk of the town is that Jay
Will outline the taper today
Inflation’s been mulish
And he has been foolish
-ly saying t’would soon go away

This outcome means Madame Lagarde
Remains as the final blowhard
Who claims that inflation
Is our ‘magination
Which might get her feathered and tarred

It’s Fed day today and the market discussion continues apace as to just what Chairman Powell and his FOMC acolytes are going to do this afternoon.  The overwhelming majority view amongst the economics set is the Fed will outline its plans to taper QE purchases starting immediately.  Expectations are for a reduction in purchases by $10 billion/month of Treasuries and $5 billion/month of Mortgage Backed Securities.  Many analysts also believe the statement will leave wiggle room for the FOMC to adjust the pace as necessary depending on the unfolding economic conditions.  Powell has been taking great pains in trying to separate the timing of reducing QE with the timing of raising interest rates, and I expect that will continue to be part of the discussion.  Of course, the market is currently pricing in two 25bp rate hikes in 2022, essentially saying the Fed will finish the taper next June and hike rates immediately.  This is clearly not Powell’s desired path, but the wisdom of crowds may just have it right.  We shall see.

In addition to that part of the announcement, we are going to hear the Fed’s view on how inflation will evolve going forward, although at this point, I think even they have realized they cannot use the word transitory in their communications.  Talk about devaluing the meaning of a word!  What remains remarkable to me is the unwavering belief, at least the expressed unwavering belief, that while inflation may print high for a little while longer, it is due to settle back down to the 2% level going forward.  I continue to ask myself, why is that the central bank view?  And not just in the US, but in almost every developed nation.  For instance, just moments ago Madame Lagarde was quoted as saying, “Medium-term inflation outlook remains subdued,” and “conditions for rate hike unlikely to be met next year.”

To date, there has certainly been no indication that global supply chains are working more smoothly than they were during the summer, and every indication things will get worse before they get better.  The number of ships anchored off major ports continues to grow, the number of truck drivers continues to shrink and demand, courtesy of literally countless trillions of dollars of fiscal stimulus shows no sign of abating.  Add to that the current environmental zeitgeist, which demonizes fossil fuels and seeks to prevent any investment in their production thus reducing supply into accelerating demand and it is easy to make the case that prices are likely to rise going forward, not fall.

There is a saying in economics that, ‘the cure for high prices is high prices.’  The idea is that higher prices will encourage increased supply thus driving prices back down.  And historically, this has been true, especially in commodity markets.  However, the unspoken adjunct to that saying is that policies do not exist to prevent increased supply and that the incentive of higher revenues is sufficient to encourage that new supply to be created.  Alas, the world in which we find ourselves today is rife with policies that may have political support but are not economically sound.  The current US energy policy mix preventing oil drilling in ANWR and offshore, as well as the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline served only to reduce the potential supply of oil with no replacement strategy.  If policy prevents new production, then no price is high enough to solve that problem, and therefore the ceiling on prices is much higher.

I focus on energy because it is a built-in component of everything that is produced and consumed, and while the Fed may ignore its price movement, manufacturers and service providers do not and will raise prices to cover those increased costs.  The upshot here is that instead of high prices encouraging new supply, it appears increasingly likely that prices will have to rise high enough to destroy new, and existing, demand before markets can once again return to a semblance of balance.  Given the fact that fiscal largesse has been extraordinary and household savings has exploded to unprecedented heights during the pandemic and remains well above pre-pandemic levels, it seems that demand is not going to diminish anytime soon.  I fear that rising prices is a new feature of our lives, across all segments, and something we must learn to address going forward.  While there is no reason to believe we are heading to a Weimar-style hyperinflation, do not be surprised if the “new normal” CPI is 3.5%-4.5% going forward.  At the current time, there is simply nothing to indicate this problem will be addressed by the Fed although we are likely to see smaller, open economy central banks raise interest rates far more aggressively.  As that process plays out, the dollar will almost certainly weaken, but we are still months away from that situation.

So, ahead of the FOMC statement and Powell presser this afternoon, here’s what’s been happening in markets.  Despite record high closes in the US markets yesterday, Asia (Nikkei -0.4%, Hang Seng -0.3%, Shanghai -0.2%) did not follow through at all.  Europe, too, sees no joy although only the FTSE 100 (-0.2%) has even moved on the day with other major markets essentially unchanged.  US futures are also little changed at this time with everyone waiting for Jay.

Bond markets, on the other hand are continuing their recent rally with Treasury yields lower by 1.4bps and Europe (Bunds -1.5bps, OATs -2.0bps, Gilts -0.3bps) all rallying as well.  Peripheral markets are doing even better as it seems the European view is turning toward the idea that the ECB will be outlining their new QE program in December with no capital key involved.

Commodity prices continue to give mixed signals with oil (WTI -2.4%) falling sharply, ostensibly on comments from President Biden admonishing OPEC+ to pump more oil.  Will that really get them to do so?  NatGas (-0.7%) is also a bit softer, but the metals complex is actually firmer with copper (+1.05%, aluminum +1.45%, and tin +1.8%) all showing strong gains.  This as opposed to precious metals which are essentially unchanged on the day.

As to the dollar, it is hard to describe today.  While versus the G10, it is generally weaker (CHF +0.4%, NZD +0.4%, SEK +0.3%) it has performed far better against EMG currencies (TRY -0.8%, RUB -0.7%, KRW -0.6%) although PLN (+0.4%) is having a good day.  Unpacking all this the Swiss story seems to be premised on the idea that the market is testing the SNB to see if they can force more intervention while the kiwi story is a response to stronger jobs data overnight.  Sweden seems to be benefitting from the emerging view of tighter policy from the Riksbank as they reduce QE.  On the EMG side, Turkey’s inflation rate continues to be breathtakingly high (CPI 19.89%, PPI 46.31%!) and yet there is no indication the central bank will respond by tightening policy as that is against the view of President Erdogan.  Oil’s decline is obviously driving the ruble lower, surprisingly not NOK, and KRW saw an increase in foreign equity sales and outflows thus weakening the won.

Ahead of the FOMC we see ADP Employment (exp 400K), ISM Services (62.0) and Factory Orders (0.1%), but while ADP will enter the conversation tomorrow, once we are past the Fed, I expect the morning session to be extremely quiet ahead of 2:00pm.  From there, all bets are off, although my take is the level of hawkishness on the FOMC is edging higher.  Perhaps there is some dollar strength to be seen post-Powell.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Qui Vive!

Posted on by

“Inflation, inflation, inflation”
Lagarde explained might have duration
That’s somewhat extended
Before it has ended
But truly tis an aberration

Yet traders have come to believe
That Madame Lagarde is naïve
Though she’s been dogmatic
That rates will stay static
Investors are shouting qui vive!

It appears that, if anything, the gathering storm of interest rate hikes has done nothing but strengthen in my absence.  Inflation continues to be THE hot topic in markets, and central banks are finding themselves in uncomfortable positions accordingly.  Some, like the RBA, BOC and BOE, have either given up the ghost on the transitory idea and are moving or preparing to do so in order to address what has clearly become a much bigger problem.  Others, notably the ECB, remain ostrich-like and refuse to accept the idea that their policy responses to the pandemic induced government shutdowns and fiscal policy boosts have actually been quite inflationary.  In the face of the ever-increasing inflation numbers around the world, investors are flattening yield curves aggressively, with 2-year yields skyrocketing while 10-year and beyond yields drift lower.  At this point, yield curve inversion remains only a distant possibility, but one that is far more likely than had been the case just two weeks ago.  Ultimately, the market’s collective concern is that despite a slowing growth impulse, central banks will be forced to respond to the inflation data thus crimping future growth.  The major risk is they will ultimately slow growth with only a limited impact on prices thus exacerbating the situation.  Right now, it is not that much fun to be a central banker.

A quick recap shows that last week, Madame Lagarde pooh-poohed the idea that the market knew what it was doing by driving rates higher.  She whined that traders were not listening to the ECB’s forward guidance, which she claims shows rates are in no danger of being raised anytime soon.  However, futures traders in Europe are pricing in a 10bp rate hike by next summer, shortly after the PEPP expires.  Meanwhile, 10-year Bund yields, which have been negative since May 2019, have rallied to -0.10% and seem on the verge of returning to positive territory.  Of course, 2-year Bund yields have risen 30bps in the past 3 months as that curve flattens as well.  (As an aside, the FX market had a little hiccup here as well, with the euro rallying sharply after the Lagarde comments, only to give all that back and then some on Friday in the wake of higher than forecast PCE data from the US which has traders betting on more than 50bps of Fed Funds hikes in 2022 and another 100 basis points in 2023.

With that as backdrop, we have two major and one lesser central bank meetings this week, the RBA tonight, the FOMC on Wednesday and the BOE on Thursday.  While we will discuss the latter two at further length over the next several days, the current thinking is that the Fed will announce the timing of the tapering of QE while the market has the BOE as a 50-50 proposition to actually raise the base rate by 0.15%, returning it to 0.25%.

Beyond the central bank drama, we continue to see troubling economic statistics with US GDP growth slowing to 2.0% in Q3, a far cry from its 6.7% Q2 rate, while Chinese Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 and German Retail Sales fell -2.5% in September.  On the whole, the stagflation story continues to be the hottest ticket around both anecdotally and based on Google Trends.

As you can see, there is much to be discussed as the week progresses, but for now, let’s take a look at today’s markets.  Despite all the concerns over stagflation, which should theoretically be awful for equities, the US stock market knows no top and that continues to pull most other markets along for the ride.  In fact, last night, the only real issues were in China where the Hang Seng (-0.9%) and Shanghai (-0.1%) suffered as yet another Chinese real estate development company (Yango Group) is on the verge of defaulting on its debts.  However, the Nikkei (+2.6%) rallied strongly on the back of the LDP’s surprising retention of a majority (albeit reduced) of the Diet in weekend elections.  In Europe, though, there is nothing holding back equity investors with all markets in the green (DAX +0.85%, CAC +1.0%, FTSE 100 +0.5%) as bad data is ignored.  While Q3 earnings have been solid, it does seem that prospects going forward are more limited, however investors seem unconcerned for now.  And don’t worry, US futures are all firmly in the green, higher by around 0.4% at this point in the morning.

Given the risk on attitude that we have seen this morning, it is no surprise that bonds are selling off with yields backing up a bit.  Treasury yields (+2.3bps) are a bit higher but still well off the highs seen two weeks’ ago.  Across Europe, sovereign yields (Bunds +1.4bps, OATs +1.7bps and Gilts (+3.0bps) are also firmer in sync with the risk attitude as we see the entire continent’s bonds come under pressure.  One other noteworthy mover were Australian bonds (-18.3bps) which retraced 2/3 of the yield spike from last week as the market prepares for the RBA meeting tonight. You may recall that the RBA had been implementing YCC in the 3yr, seeking to hold that yield at 0.10%.  However, as inflation rose, so did that yield, finally spiking last week as market participants decided the RBA would change tactics, and the RBA did not push back.  Governor Lowe has his work cut out for him this tonight in explaining what the RBA will be doing next.

Turning to commodities, oil prices (+0.5%) are rising this morning and seem to be getting set to break the recent highs and start a new leg toward, dare I say it, $100/bbl.  Overall, however, the commodity complex is directionless today with NatGas (-1.4%) lower, gold (+0.2%) higher, copper (-0.1%) lower, the ags mixed as well as the other non-ferrous metals.  In other words, today seems to be far more noise than signal.

Finally, the dollar, too, seems confused today, with both gainers and losers abounding in both the G10 and EMG spaces.  In the G10, NOK (+0.25%) is the leader as it responds to oil’s rally, while JPY (-0.3%) is the laggard, I assume responding to the election results and the broader positive risk sentiment.  The rest of the bloc is well within those bounds and other than the data mentioned, doesn’t seem to have much short-term direction.

EMG currencies have shown a bit more movement, with TRY (+0.7%) the leader followed by CZK (+0.45%).  The Turkish story seems confused as the two data points showed PMI falling compared to last month and Inflation rising, neither of which would seem to benefit the lira, but there you go!  Meanwhile, the Czech budget deficit is expected to shrink somewhat as traders push the currency higher.  On the downside, there are a few more from which to choose as THB (-0.8%) is the worst performer followed by KRW (-0.7%) and ZAR (-0.6%).  The baht suffered as international investors sold stocks and bonds locally and repatriated currency.  Korea’s won seemed to suffer on broader based dollar strength despite decent export data, but talk is the future looks dimmer as growth around the world slows.  Meanwhile, the rand fell over ongoing concerns that the SARB, when it meets later this month, will disappoint on the rate rise front.

It is, of course, a big data week between the Fed and Friday’s NFP report:

Today ISM Manufacturing 60.5
IS Prices Paid 82.0
Wednesday ADP Employment 400K
ISM Services 62.0
Factory Orders 0.0%
FOMC Rate decision 0.00%-0.25%
Thursday Initial Claims 275K
Continuing Claims 2136K
Nonfarm Productivity -3.2%
Unit Labor Costs 6.9%
Trade Balance -$79.9B
Friday Nonfarm Payrolls 450K
Private Payrolls 400K
Manufacturing Payrolls 28K
Unemployment Rate 4.7%
Average Hourly Earnings 0.4% (4.9% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.8
Participation Rate 61.8%

Source: Bloomberg

Obviously, the FOMC on Wednesday is the primary focus closely followed by Friday’s payroll report.  Before then, tonight’s RBA meeting will have the market’s attention and we cannot forget the BOE on Thursday.  All in all, it could be quite an eventful week.  As to the dollar, for now, especially against the euro, it feels like there is further room for appreciation as the market continues to see the Fed as far more hawkish than the ECB.  Quite frankly, I think both sides of that discussion will be comfortable with the outcome as a stronger dollar should help check inflation while a weaker euro can help rekindle the export engine.  Look for it to continue.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

A Beginning, a Middle and End

Posted on by

“A beginning, a middle and end”
Is how Powell outlined the trend
Of current inflation
Which has caused frustration
For central banks who overspend

As Ralph Waldo Emerson so notably observed, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”  I am reminded of this each time I read that (little statesman) Jay Powell or (the divine) Madame Lagarde explain that inflation is largely transitory.  Little-minded they certainly appear to be, no?  Every day the evidence grows that inflation is trending higher yet despite this information, they remain consistent in their belief (or at least in their comments) that all of this price appreciation will quickly pass.  Yesterday, at an ECB held virtual symposium, Powell expressed frustration that supply chain bottlenecks have not been resolved as quickly as the Fed’s models indicate they should be.  Or perhaps the frustration stems from the fact that they have been completely wrong about inflation and it is starting to have a serious impact on their idealized world.  Whatever the case, each time they try to gloss over the implications of inflation, they lose just a touch more credibility (to the extent they have any remaining) in the markets’ collective eyes.  While the Fed’s track record for forecasting has always been awful, the current situation appears to be one of either intransigence in the face of new evidence, or more likely, a recognition that a change in their narrative has the potential to lead to much worse outcomes.

Fortunately, they continue to explain that if inflation were to get out of hand, they have the tools to address the issue and they are not afraid to use them!  However, history indicates that is not the case.  Consider that those ‘tools’ consist of the ability to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy.  We all recall that just 3 years ago, as the Fed was attempting to normalize its balance sheet, allowing purchased assets to mature without being replaced, as well as slowly move interest rates higher, the equity market tumbled 20% in Q4 2018.  This led to the Powell pivot, where he decided that a declining stock market was a negative for his personal balance sheet the economy and instead, the FOMC cut rates in January to mitigate the damage already done.  The situation today appears far more dangerous with market leverage and valuations at historic highs.  Tightening policy in this market condition is likely to result in at least a 20% revaluation of equities, something the Fed can clearly not countenance.  Hence, it is far easier to ignore inflation than to respond to it.  Meanwhile, Paul Volcker spins in his grave!

In the meantime, Eurozone inflation readings released thus far this morning have shown virtually every one at the highest levels since before the GFC, at the very least, if not the highest readings in three decades.  For instance, French CPI printed at 2.7%, its highest print since June 2008.  Italian CPI, at 3.0%, is merely its highest since 2012, but in fairness, prior to the euro’s creation, Italian CPI regularly ran at much higher levels resulting in a continuing depreciation of the lire. Shortly we will see German inflation, with some of its States already reporting levels above 4.2%, their highest prints since the mid 1990’s, which is also the current forecast for the nation as a whole.  The point is, there is absolutely no evidence that inflation is peaking, and while Powell and Lagarde twiddle their thumbs, things are going to get worse before they get better.

So, what does this mean for markets?  Well, we have already seen yield curves steepen in the US and throughout Europe as there is a strong belief that despite rising inflation, neither the Fed nor ECB is going to respond.  Yes, the Fed said they would think about tapering come November, but if anything, that is likely to simply steepen the curve further as the price-insensitive buyer of last resort reduces its purchases.  The real question is, at what point will the Fed decide that yields are too high and adjust policy to rein them in?  SMBC’s house forecast is for 1.80% by the end of the year, which is in line with much of the Street.  The conundrum, however, is that Street forecasts are for continued higher prices in equities as well, and it seems to me that the two scenarios are unlikely to be achieved simultaneously.  If rates do continue higher, while I think the short-term impact will be USD positive, I fear the equity market may not be quite as sanguine.

Overnight, markets continue to wrestle with the conflicting ideas of rising inflation and central bank sanguinity on its transitory nature.  While we have seen a sharp rise in yields over the past week, last night was a consolidating session with bond market movement quite limited.  Treasury yields have edged higher by 1.2bps, but at 1.53% remain a few ticks below the peak seen Monday.  We have seen similar, modest, price action on the continent (Bunds +0.5bps, OATs +0.4bps) although Gilts (+2.4bps) have responded to better-than-expected GDP results for Q2, which showed year on year growth of 23.6%.  Not surprisingly, this has helped the pound as well, which is firmer this morning by 0.1%.

Equity markets have also had mixed reviews with Asia (Nikkei -0.3%, Hang Seng -0.4%, Shanghai +0.9%) not giving consistent direction and Europe following suit (DAX -0.2%, CAC 0.0%, FTSE 100 +0.2%).  US futures are higher by about 0.5% at this hour as traders await this morning’s data releases.

While oil prices have slipped a bit this morning (WTI -0.8%) the same cannot be said for NatGas (+2.7%) as the energy situation remains fraught in Europe and the UK (and Asia).  The rest of the commodity space is generally under pressure as well with copper (-1.7%) and aluminum (-0.4%) both falling while the precious sector is essentially unchanged on the day.

The dollar, while mixed in the overnight session, saw significant strength yesterday which has seen the euro fall below 1.1600 for the first time since July 2020, and looking for all the world like it has further to run.  Unless yields in the US stop rising, my take is we could well see 1.12 before long.  But in the past two days we have seen some sharp declines; NOK (-1.5%), NZD (-1.3%) and EUR (-0.9%) have all suffered.  Even the yen (-0.45%) is declining here despite some evidence of risk mitigation.  In fact, it has weakened to its lowest point since the beginning of the Covid situation in February 2020, and here, too, looks as though it as room to run.  115 anyone?

EMG currencies have shown similar price behavior, falling sharply yesterday with a more mixed overnight session.  But the breadth of the decline is indicative of a dollar story, not any idiosyncratic issues in particular countries.  While those clearly exist, they are not driving the market right now.

This morning’s data calendar brings the weekly Initial (exp 330K) and Continuing (2790K) Claims data as well as the third look at Q2 GDP (6.6%).  Then at 9:45 we see Chicago PMI (65.0).  While the GDP data contains inflation information, it is not widely followed or used in models.  However, it is interesting to note that the Core PCE calculation there is at 6.1%, which happens to be the highest print since Q3 1983!  Perhaps this is why it is ignored.

We also hear from six Fed speakers in addition to Powell and Yellen sitting down in front of the House Financial Services Committee.  Of course, Powell has made clear his views on the transitory nature of inflation and I’m confident no question from a Congressman will get him to admit anything different.  Rather, I expect a staunch defense of the two disgraced Fed regional presidents who resigned after their insider trading was made known, and both he and Yellen to beseech Congress to raise the debt ceiling and not allow the government to shut down.  In other words, nothing new will occur.

The dollar has pretty clearly broken out of its recent range and I expect that this move has some legs.  I would be buying dollars on dips when the opportunity arises.  For payables hedgers, pick your spots and lock in comfortable rates.  The trend is now your friend.

Good luck and stay safe
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Reason to Fear

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In Europe, the price of Nat Gas
Has risen to new highs, alas
As winter comes near
There’s reason to fear
A rebound will not come to pass

As well the impact on inflation
Is likely to add to frustration
Of Madame Lagarde
As she tries so hard
To hide the debt monetization

Some days are simply less interesting than others, and thus far, today falls into the fairly dull category.  There has been limited new news in financial markets overall.  While the ongoing concerns over the imminent failure of China Evergrande continue to weigh on Asian stocks (Nikkei -0.6%, Hang Seng -1.5%, Shanghai -1.3%), the story that is beginning to see some light in Europe is focused on the extraordinary rise in Natural Gas prices.  As a point of reference, in the US, Nat Gas closed yesterday at $5.34/MMBtu, itself a significant rise in price over the past six months, nearly doubling in that time.  Europeans, however, would give their eye teeth for such a low price as the price in the Netherlands for TTF (a contract standard) is $22.61/MMBtu!  This price has risen nearly fourfold during the past six months and now stands more thar four times as costly as in the US.  Whatever concerns you may have had about your personal energy costs rising in the US, they are dwarfed by the situation in Europe.

This matters for a number of reasons beyond the economic (for instance, how will people in Europe afford to heat their homes in the fast approaching winter and continue to feed their families as well?)  but our focus here is on markets and economics.  Thus, consider the following:  Europe remains a manufacturing and exporting powerhouse and is reliant on stable supply and pricing of natural gas to power their factories.  Obviously, recent price action has been anything but stable, and given the European dependence on Russian gas supplies, there is a geopolitical element overhanging the market as well.  LNG can be a substitute, but Asian buyers have been paying up to purchase most of those cargoes, so Europe is finding itself with reduced supply and correspondingly rising prices.

The first big industrial impact came yesterday when a major manufacturer of fertilizer shut down two UK plants because the cost of Nat Gas had risen too far to allow them to be competitive.  Consider the chain of events here: first, closure of the plant means reduced overall output, as well as furloughed, if not fired, workers. Second, reduction in the supply of fertilizer means that the price for farmers will almost certainly rise higher, thus forcing farmers to either raise their prices or reduce production (or go out of business).  Higher food prices, which have already risen dramatically, will result in reduced non-food consumption and strain family budgets as it feeds into inflation.  Net, slower growth and higher prices are the exact wrong combination for any economy and one to be avoided at all costs.  Alas, this is very likely the type of future that awaits many, if not most, European countries, the dreaded stagflation.  The ECB has its work cut out to combat this issue effectively while the Eurozone economy sits on more than €11.3 trillion in debt.  I don’t envy Madame Lagarde’s current position.

Beyond the macroeconomic issues, what are the potential market impacts?  Here things, as always, are less clear, but thus far, we have seen one impact, and that is a declining euro (-0.4%).  In fact, all European currencies are falling today as it becomes clearer that economic activity across the pond is going to be further impaired by this situation.  It has been sufficient to offset perceived benefits of European economies reopening in the wake of the spread of the delta variant of Covid.  However, the upshot of this currency weakness has been equity market strength.  It seems that any concerns of the ECB considering tighter policy have been pushed even further into the future thus encouraging investors to continue to add risk to their portfolios.  Hence, this morning, in the wake of the ongoing rise in Nat Gas prices, we see European equities all in the green (DAX +0.5%, CAC +1.0%, FTSE 100 +0.45%).  Under the guise of TINA, weaker growth leads to continued low rates and higher stock prices.  What could possibly go wrong?

US markets are biding their time at this hour, with futures essentially unchanged and really, so are bond markets.  Of the major sovereigns, only Gilts (+1.8bps) have moved more than a fraction of a basis point this morning.  While risk may be on, it is not aggressively so.  Either that, or European banks are back to buying more and more of their national bonds tightening the doom loop that ultimately led to the Eurozone crisis in 2012.

Commodities?  Well, as it happens, after a multi-day rally, oil prices are consolidating with WTI (-0.25%) basically holding the bulk of the $10 in gains it has made in the past month.  Nat Gas, too, is consolidating this morning, down $0.16/MMBtu, although that represents 3% (Natty is very, very volatile!)  With the dollar rocking, we are also seeing weakness across the metals’ markets, both precious (gold -0.75%) and industrial (Cu -2.0%, Al -0.6%, Pb -1.6%).  In fact, the only commodity that is performing well today is Uranium, which is higher by a further 8.1%.

Finally, the dollar is king today, rising against 9 of its G10 counterparts with CHF (-0.5%) the laggard and only NZD (+0.1%) able to show any strength today.  The Kiwi story has been a much better than expected GDP print (2.8% vs 1.1% expected) leading to growing expectations of a 0.50% rate hike next month.  Meanwhile, the rest of the bloc is suffering from the aforementioned cracks in the rebound theory as well as broad-based dollar strength.  This strength has been universal in EMG markets, with every currency sliding against the greenback.  Thus far, the worst performer has been PLN (-0.6%) followed by THB (-0.5%) and HUF (-0.5%).  Beyond that, most currencies are down in the 0.2% range.  Interestingly, for both PLN and HUF, the market discussion is about raising interest rates with Hungary looking at 50bps while Poland has called for a “gentle” rise, assumed to be 0.25%.  As to THB, it seems the market has been reacting to a rise in the number of Covid cases which is perpetuating the Asian risk-off theme.

We have a full slate of data today at 8:30 with Initial (exp 323K) and Continuing (2740K) Claims; Philly Fed (19.0) and the biggest of the day, Retail Sales (-0.7%, 0.0% ex autos).  Tuesday’s Empire Manufacturing data was MUCH stronger than expected, so there will be some hope for Philly to beat.  But the Retail Sales data is the key.  Remember, this number started to slide once the stimulus checks stopped, and last month we saw a much worse than expected -1.1% outcome.  Given the uncertainty over the near-term trajectory of the economy, this will be seen as an important number.

Well, the dollar managed to strengthen despite lacking support from yields, certainly a blow to the dollar bears out there.  The thing is, against the G10, I continue to see the dollar in a range (1.17/1.19) and will need to see a break of either side to change views.  If forced to opine, I would say the medium-term trend for the dollar is gradually higher, but would need to see the euro below 1.17, or the DXY above 93.50 before getting too excited.

I will be out of the office tomorrow so no poetry until Monday.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
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