Tag Archives: #PPI

Not Quite Right

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The data from China last night
Could, President Xi, give a fright
While IP was fine
Consumption’s decline
Show’s everything there’s not quite right

Now, turning our focus back home
The question that’s facing Jerome
Is should he increase
The speed that they cease
QE?  Or just leave it alone?

Clearly, the big news today is the FOMC meeting with the statement to be released at 2:00 and Chair Powell to face the press 30 minutes later.  As has been discussed ad nauseum since Powell’s Congressional testimony two weeks ago, expectations are for the Fed to reduce QE purchases more quickly than the previously outlined $15 billion/month with many looking for that pace to double.  If that does occur, QE will have concluded by the end of March.  This timing is important because the Fed has consistently maintained that they would not raise the Fed funds rate while QE was ongoing.  Hence, doubling the pace of reduction opens the door for the first interest rate hike as soon as April.

And let’s face it, the Fed has fallen a long way behind the curve with the latest evidence yesterday’s PPI data (9.6%, 7.7% core) printing much higher than expected and at its highest level since the series was renamed the PPI from its previous Wholesale Price Index in 2010.  Prior to that, it was in the 1970’s that last saw prices rising at this rate.  So, ahead of the meeting results, investors are trying to analyze just how quickly US monetary policy will be changing.  Recall, yesterday I made a case for a slower reduction than currently assumed, but as of now, nobody really knows.

What we do know, however, is that the economic situation in China is not playing out in the manner President Xi would like.  Last night China released its monthly growth data which showed Retail Sales (3.9% Y/Y) Fixed Asset Investment (5.2% Y/Y) and Property Investment (6.0% Y/Y) all rising more slowly than forecast and more slowly than last month. Only IP (3.8% Y/Y) managed to grow.  As well, Measured Unemployment rose to 5.0%, higher than expected and clearly not the goal.  For the past several years China has been ostensibly attempting to evolve its economy from the current mercantilist state, where production for export drives growth, to a more domestically focused consumer-led economy like the West.  Alas, they have been unable to make the progress they would have liked and now have to deal with not only Covid, but the ongoing meltdown in the property sector which will only serve to hold the consumer back further.  Interestingly, the PBOC did not adjust the Medium-term Lending Rate as some pundits had expected, keeping it at 2.95%, and so, it should not be that surprising that the renminbi has maintained its strength, although has appeared to stop rising.  A 2.95% coupon in today’s world remains quite attractive, at least for now, and continues to draw international investment.

Aside from these stories, the other headline of note was UK inflation printing at 5.1%, its highest level since 2011 and clearly well above the BOE’s 2.0% target.  Remember, the BOE (and ECB) meet tomorrow and there remains a great deal of uncertainty surrounding their actions given the imminent lockdown in the UK as the omicron variant spreads rapidly.  Can the BOE really tighten into a situation where growth will clearly be impaired?  It is this uncertainty that has pushed the timing of the first interest rate hike by the BOE back to February, at least according to futures markets.  But as you can see, the BOE is in the same position as the Fed, inflation is roaring but there are other concerns that prevent it from acting to stem the problem.  In sum, the betting right now is the Fed doubles the pace of taper and the BOE holds off on raising rates until February, but either, or both, of those remain far less than certain.  Expect some more market volatility across all asset classes today and tomorrow.

With all that in mind, here’s a quick look at markets overnight.  Equities in Asia (Nikkei +0.1%, Hang Seng -0.9%, Shanghai -0.4%) mostly followed the US declines of yesterday, although Japan did manage to eke out a small gain and stop its recent trend lower.  Europe, on the other hand, is having a better go of it with the DAX (+0.3%) and CAC (+0.6%) both performing well as inflation data there was largely in line with expectations, albeit far higher than targets, and there is little concern the ECB is going to do anything tomorrow to rock the boat.  In the UK, however, that higher inflation print is weighing on equities with the FTSE 100 (-0.2%) underperforming the rest of Europe.  Ahead of the open, and the FOMC, US futures are little changed in general, although NASDAQ futures continue to slide, down (-0.25%) as I type.

The rally in European stocks has encouraged a risk-on attitude and so bond markets are selling off a bit with yields edging higher.  Well, edging except in the UK, where Gilts (+3.7bps) are clearly showing their concern over the inflation print.  But in the US (Treasuries +0.3bps), Germany (Bunds +1.2bps) and France (OATs +0.9bps) things are far less dramatic.  Given the imminent rate decisions, I expect that there is a chance for more movement later and most traders are simply biding their time for now.

The commodity picture is a little gloomier this morning with oil (-1.2%) leading the way lower and weakness in metals (Cu -1.5%, Ag -0.5%, Al -1.4%) widespread.  Gold is little changed on the day and only NatGas (+2.1%) is showing any life.  These markets are looking for a sign to help define the next big trend and so are also awaiting the FOMC outcome today.

Finally, the dollar continues to consolidate its recent gains but has been range trading for the past month.  The trend remains higher, but we will need confirmation from the FOMC today to really help it break out I believe.  In the G10, the biggest gainer has been AUD (+0.4%), but that appears to be positional, as Aussie has been sliding for the past week and seems to be taking a breather.  Otherwise, in this bloc there are an equal number of gainers and laggards with none moving more than 0.2%, so essentially trendless.

In the emerging markets, TRY (-2.1%) continues its decline toward oblivion with no end in sight.  Elsewhere, ZAR (-0.6%) has suffered on continue high inflation and the SARB’s unwillingness to fight it more aggressively.  INR (-0.5%) suffered on the back of a record high trade deficit and concerns that if the Fed does tighten, funding their C/A gap will get that much more expensive.  Beyond those, though, there has been far less movement and far less interest overall.

We do have some important data this morning led by Empire Mfg (exp 25.0) and Retail Sales (0.8%, 0.9% ex autos) at 8:30 and then Business Inventories (1.1%) at 10:00 before the FOMC at 2:00.  The inventory data bears watching as an indication of whether companies are beginning to stockpile more and more product given the supply chain issues that remain front and center across most industries.

And that’s really what we have at this point in time.  A truly hawkish Fed should help support the dollar further, while anything else is likely to see the dollar back up as hawkish is the default setting right now.

Good luck and stay safe
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Prices Rise in a Trice#CPI, #inflationexpectations

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There once was a world where the price
Of stuff stayed the same…paradise
But then central banks
Were born, and now thanks
To them prices rise in a trice

Now, worldwide the story’s the same
As these banks, inflation, can’t tame
They’re all terrified
That stocks might just slide
And they would come in for the blame

“I’d expect price increases to level off, and we’ll go back to inflation that’s closer to the 2% that we consider normal.  In the 70’s and 80’s inflation expectations became embedded in the American psyche.  That isn’t happening now.”  So said Treasury Secretary Yellen yesterday in an interview on NPR.  One has to wonder on what she bases these expectations.  Certainly not on any of the evidence as per the most recent data releases.

For instance, the NY Fed’s latest Inflation expectation survey was released yesterday with 1-year (5.7%) and 3-year (4.2%) both at the highest level in the series’ history since it began in 2013.  She cannot be looking at yesterday’s PPI data (8.6%, 6.8% core) as an indicator given both of these are at their highest level on a final demand basis since PPI started being measured in this manner in 2011.  However, a look a little deeper at the intermediate levels, earlier in the supply chain, show inflation running at levels between 11.8% and 27.8% Y/Y.  While all of these costs are not likely to flow into the price of finished goods, you can be sure that the pressure to raise prices throughout the chain for both goods and services remains great.  And of course, later this morning we will see the CPI data (exp 5.9% Y/Y, 4.3% ex food & energy) with both indicators forecast to show substantial increases from last month.  Secretary Yellen continues to try to sell the transitory story and twelve months of increasing prices later, it is wearing thin.

The US, though, is not the only place with this problem, it is a global issue.  Last night China released its inflation readings with PPI (13.5%) rising far more than expected and touching levels not seen since 1995.  CPI there rose to 1.5%, a tick higher than expected which indicates that either there is a serious lack of final demand in the country or they are simply manipulating the data to demonstrate that the government is in control.  (In fact, it is always remarkable to me when a Chinese data point is released that is not exactly as expected given the control the government exerts on every aspect of the process.)  Regardless, the fact is that price pressures continue to rise in China on the back of rising energy costs and shortages of available energy, and ultimately, given China’s status as the world’s largest exporter, those costs are going to feed into other nations’ import prices.

How about Europe?  Well, German CPI rose 4.5% Y/Y in October, the highest level since September 1993 in the wake of the German reunification which dramatically shook up the economy there.  Remember, too, the German’s have a severe phobia over inflation given the history of the Weimar Hyperinflation, so discontent with the ECB’s performance is growing apace in the country.

Essentially, it is abundantly clear that rising prices have become the norm, and that any idea that we are going to ease back to moderate inflation in the near-term are fantasy.  Naturally, with inflationary pressures abundant, one might expect that central banks would be out to address them by tightening policy.  And yet, while peripheral nations have already done so, the biggest countries remain extremely reluctant to tighten as concern over economic output and employment growth continue to dominate their thoughts.

Historically, central bank decision making always required balancing the two competing goals of pumping up supporting the economy while preventing prices from running away.  Between the GFC and the pandemic, though, there was no need to worry as measured inflation never reared its ugly head, so easy money supported growth with no inflationary consequences.  But post-pandemic fiscal largess has changed the equation and now central banks have to make a decision, with significant political blowback to either choice.  Yet the biggest risk is the lack of a decisiveness may well lead to the worst of all worlds, rising prices and slowing growth, i.e. stagflation.  I promise you a stagflationary environment will be devastating to financial assets all over.

Now, as we await the CPI data, let’s take a look around the markets to see how traders and investors are responding to all the latest news and data.

Equity markets are mostly following the US lead from yesterday with declines throughout most of Asia (Nikkei -0.6%, Hang Seng +0.7%, Shanghai -0.4%) and most of Europe (DAX -0.2%, CAC -0.3%, FTSE 100 +0.4%).  US futures are all pointing lower at this hour as well (DOW -0.3%, SPX -0.3%, NASDAQ -0.5%) so there is little in the way of joy at the current moment.  Risk is definitely under pressure.

What’s interesting is that bonds are not seen as a viable replacement despite declining stock prices as yields in Treasuries (+2.7bps) and throughout Europe (Bunds +0.8bps, OATs +2.1bps, Gilts +3.4bps) are higher.  So, stocks are lower and bonds are lower.  Did I mention that stagflation would be negative for financial assets?

On this very negative day, commodity prices, too, are under pressure with oil (-0.6%), NatGas (-1.8%), gold (-0.35%), copper (-0.3%) and tin (-1.1%) all suffering.  In fact, throughout the entire commodity complex, only aluminum (+2.0%) and corn (+0.5%) are showing gains.  At this point, oil remains in a strong uptrend, so any pullback is likely technical in nature.  NatGas continues to respond to the glorious weather in the northeast and Midwest with reduced near-term demand.  Even in Europe, Gazprom has finally started to let some more gas flow hence reducing price pressures there although it remains multiples of the US price.

Turning to the dollar, it is today’s clear winner, gaining against 9 of its G10 brethren, with CAD (flat) the only currency holding its own.  SEK (-0.6%) and NOK (-0.5%) lead the way lower with the latter tracking oil’s declines while the former is simply showing off its high beta characteristics with respect to dollar movement.  In the EMG bloc, TRY (-1.1%) is the laggard as traders anticipate another interest rate cut, despite high inflation, and there is concern over the fiscal situation given significant foreign debt payments are due next week.  ZAR (-0.9%) is slumping on the commodity story as well as concerns that the budget policy may sacrifice the currency on the altar of domestic needs.  But the weakness extends throughout the space with APAC currencies under pressure as well as LATAM currencies.  This is a dollar story today, with very little holding up to the perceived stability of the buck.

As well as the CPI data, given tomorrow’s holiday, we see Initial (exp 260K) and Continuing (2050K) Claims at 8:30.  There are actually no further Fed speakers today with Bullard yesterday remarking that two rate hikes were likely in 2022.  We shall see.

With the inflation narrative so strong, this morning’s data will be key to determining the short-term direction of markets.  A higher than expected print is likely to see further declines in both stocks and bonds with the dollar benefitting.  A weaker outcome seems likely to unleash yet another bout of risk acquisition with the opposite effects.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Outmoded

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In Germany prices exploded
While confidence there has eroded
Now all eyes will turn
Back home where we’ll learn
On Tuesday if QE’s outmoded

The most disturbing aspect of the inflation argument (you know, is it transitory or not) is the fact that those in the transitory camp are willing to completely ignore the damage inflation does to household budgets.  Their attitude was recently articulated by the chief European economist at TS Lombard, Dario Perkins, thusly, “There is nothing inherently dangerous about inflation settling in, say, a 3-5% range instead of the 1-2% that’s been normal for the past decade.”  He continued, “the bigger risk is that hitherto dovish central bankers lose their nerve and raise interest rates until it causes a recession, like they’ve done in the past.”

Let’s consider that for a moment.  The simple math shows that at a 2% inflation rate, the price of something rises about 22% over the course of a decade.  So, that Toyota Camry that cost $25,000 in 2011 would cost $30,475 today.  However, at a 5% inflation rate over that time, it would cost $40,725, a 63% increase.  That’s a pretty big difference.  Add in the fact that wage gains have certainly not been averaging 5% per year and it is easy to see how inflation can be extremely damaging to anybody, let alone to the average wage earner.  The point is, while to an economist, inflation appears to be an abstract concept that is simply a number input into their models, to the rest of us, it is the cost of living.  And there is nothing that indicates the cost of living will stop rising sharply anytime soon.

This was reinforced overnight when Germany released its wholesale price index, which rose 12.3% in the past twelve months.  That is the highest rate of increase since 1974 in the wake of the OPEC oil embargo.  Now fortunately, the ECB is on the case.  Isabel Schnabel, the ECB’s head of markets explained, “The prospect of persistently excessive inflation, as feared by some, remains highly unlikely.  But should inflation sustainably reach our target of 2% unexpectedly soon, we will act equally quickly and resolutely.”  You know, they have tools!

On the subject of Wholesale, or Producer, Prices, while Germany’s were the highest print we’ve seen from a major economy, recall last week that Chinese PPI printed at 9.5%, in the US it was 8.3% and even in Japan, a nation that has not seen inflation in two decades, PPI rose 5.6% last month.  It appears that the cost of making “stuff” is rising pretty rapidly.  And even if the pace of these increases does slow down, the probability of prices declining is essentially nil.  Remember, the current central bank mantra is deflation is the worst possible outcome and they will do all they can to prevent it.  All I can say is, I sure hope everyone’s wages can keep pace with inflation, because otherwise, we are all at a permanent disadvantage compared to where things had been just a year or two ago.

Well, I guess there is one beneficiary of higher inflation…governments issuing debt.  As long as inflation grows faster than the size of their debt, a government’s real obligations decline.  And you wonder why the Fed insists inflation is transitory.  Oh yeah, for all of you who think that higher inflation will lead to higher interest rates, I wouldn’t count on that outcome either.  Whether or not the Fed actually tapers, they have exactly zero incentive to raise rates anytime soon.  And as to bonds, they have shown before (post WWII) that they are willing to cap yields at a rate well below inflation if it suits their needs.  And I assure you, it suits their needs right now.

So, what will all this do to the currency markets?  As always, FX is a relative game so what matters is the degree of change from one currency to the next.  The medium-term bearish case for the dollar is that inflation in the US will run hotter than in Europe, Japan or elsewhere, while the Fed caps yields in some manner.  The resultant expansion of negative real yields will have a significant negative impact on the dollar.  This argument will fail if one of two things occurs; either other central banks shoot for even greater negative yields, or, more likely, the Fed allows the back end of the curve to rise thus moderating the impact of negative real yields.  In either case, the dollar should benefit.  In fact, this is why the taper discussion is of such importance to the FX market, tapering implies higher yields in the back end of the US yield curve and therefore an opportunity for a stronger dollar.  Remember, though, there are many moving pieces, so even if the Fed does taper, that is not necessarily going to support the dollar all that much.

Ok, let’s look at this morning’s markets, where risk is largely being acquired, although there is no obvious reason why that is the case.  Equity markets in Asia were mixed with both gainers (Nikkei +0.2%, Shanghai +0.3%) and Losers (Hang Seng (-1.5%) as the ongoing Chinese crackdown on internet companies received new news.  It seems that the Chinese government is going to split up Ant Financial such that its lending business is a separate company under stricter government control.  Ali Baba, which is listed in HK, not Shanghai, fell sharply, as did other tech companies in China, hence the dichotomy between the Hang Seng and Shanghai indices.  But excluding Chinese tech, stocks were in demand.  The same is true in Europe where the screen is entirely green (DAX +1.1%, CAC +0.8%, FTSE 100 +0.8%) as it seems there is little concern about a passthrough of inflation, but great hope that reopening economies will perform well.  US futures are also looking robust this morning, with all three major indices higher by at least 0.5% as I type.

Funnily enough, despite the risk appetite in equities, bond prices are rallying as well, with 10-year Treasury yields lower by 1.7bps, and European sovereigns also seeing modest yield declines of between 0.5 and 1.0 bps. Apparently, as concerns grow over the possibility of a technical US default due to a debt ceiling issue, the safety trade is to buy Treasuries.  At least that is the explanation being offered today.

On the commodity front, oil (WTI +0.8%) is leading the way higher although we are seeing gains in many of the industrial metals as well, notably aluminum (+1.6%), which seems to be feeling some supply shortages.  Copper (-0.45%), surprisingly, is softer on the day, but the rest of that space is firmer.  I mentioned Uranium last week, and as an FYI, it is higher by 5% this morning as more and more people begin to understand the combination of a structural shortage of the metal and the increasing likelihood that any carbonless future will require nuclear power to be far more prevalent.

Finally, the dollar is broadly, although not universally, stronger this morning.  In the G10, only NOK (+0.2%) and CAD (+0.1%) have managed to hold their own this morning on the strength of oil’s rally.  Meanwhile, CHF (-0.7%) is under the most pressure as havens lose their luster, although the rest of the bloc has only seen declines of between -0.1% and -0.3%.  In the EMG bloc, THB (-0.75%) and KRW (-0.6%) lead the way lower as both nations saw equity market outflows on weakness in Asian tech stocks.  But generally, almost all currencies here are softer by between -0.2% and -0.4%.  the exceptions are TRY (+0.3%) and RUB (+0.25%) with the latter supported by oil while the former is benefitting from hope that the central bank will maintain tight policy to fight inflation.

On the data front, we have both CPI and Retail Sales leading a busy week:

Today Monthly Budget Statement -$175B
Tuesday NFIB Small Biz Optimism 99.0
CPI 0.4% (5.3% Y/Y)
-ex food & energy 0.3% (4.2% Y/Y)
Wednesday Empire Manufacturing 18.0
IP 0.4%
Capacity Utilization 76.4%
Thursday Initial Claims 320K
Continuing Claims 2740K
Retail Sales -0.8%
-ex auto -0.1%
Philly Fed 19.0
Friday Michigan Sentiment 72.0

Source: Bloomberg

With no recent stimulus checks, Retail Sales are forecast to suffer greatly.  Meanwhile, the CPI readings are forecast to be a tick lower than last month, but still above 5.0% for the third consecutive month.  Certainly, my personal experience is that prices continue to rise quite rapidly, and I would not be surprised to see a higher print.  Mercifully, the Fed is in its quiet period ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting, so we no longer need to hear about when anybody thinks tapering should occur.  The next information will be the real deal from Chairman Powell.

The tapering argument seems to be the driver right now, with a growing belief the Fed will reduce its QE purchases and US rates will rise, at least in the back end.  That seems to be the genesis of the dollar’s support.  As long as that attitude exists, the dollar should do well.  But if the data this week points to further slowing in the US economy, I would expect the taper story to fade along with the dollar.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

A Charade

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The news there was movement on trade
Twixt China and us helped persuade
Investors to buy
Though prices are high
And it could well be a charade

We also learned wholesale inflation
Was lower across the whole nation
Thus fears that the Fed
Might still move ahead
Aggressively lost their foundation

The dollar is little changed overall this morning, although there are a few outlier moves to note. However, the big picture is that we remain range bound as traders and investors try to determine what the path forward is going to look like. Yesterday’s clues were twofold. First was the story that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has reached out to his Chinese counterpart, Liu He, and requested a ministerial level meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the trade situation more actively ahead of the potential imposition of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. This apparent thawing in the trade story was extremely well received by markets, pushing most equity prices higher around the world as well as sapping a portion of dollar strength in the FX markets. Remember, the cycle of higher tariffs leading to higher inflation and therefore higher US interest rates has been one of the factors underpinning the dollar’s broad strength.

But the other piece of news that seemed to impact the dollar was a bit more surprising, PPI. Generally, this is not a data point that FX traders care about, but given the overall focus on inflation and the fact that it printed lower than expected (-0.1%, 2.8% Y/Y for the headline number and -0.1%, 2.3% Y/Y for the core number) it encouraged traders to believe that this morning’s CPI data would be softer than expected and therefore reduce some of the Fed’s hawkishness. However, it is important to understand that PPI and CPI measure very different things in somewhat different manners and are actually not that tightly correlated. In fact, the BLS has an entire discussion about the differences on their website (https://www.bls.gov/ppi/ppicpippi.htm). The point is that PPI’s surprising decline is unlikely to be mirrored by CPI today. Nonetheless, upon the release, the dollar softened across the board.

This morning, however, the dollar has edged slightly higher, essentially unwinding yesterday’s weakness. As the market awaits news from three key central banks, ECB, BOE and Bank of Turkey, traders have played things pretty close to the vest. Expectations are that neither the BOE or the ECB will change policy in any manner, and in fact, the BOE doesn’t even have a press conference scheduled so there is likely to be very little there. As to Draghi’s presser at 8:30, assuming there is no new guidance as expected, questions will almost certainly focus on the fact that the ECB staff economists have reduced their GDP growth forecasts and how that is likely to impact policy going forward. It will be very interesting to hear Draghi dance around the idea that softer growth still requires tighter policy.

But certainly the most interesting meeting will be from Istanbul, where current economist forecasts are for a 325bp rate rise to 22.0% in order to stem the decline of the lira as well as try to address rampant inflation. The problem is that President Erdogan was out this morning lambasting higher interest rates as he was implementing new domestic rules on FX. In the past, many transactions in Turkey were denominated in either USD or EUR (things like building leases) as the financing was in those currencies, and so landlords were pushing the FX risk onto the tenants. But Erdogan decreed that transactions like that are now illegal, everything must be priced in lira, and that existing contracts need to be converted within 30 days at an agreed upon rate. All this means is that if the currency continues to weaken, the landlords will go bust, not the tenants. But it will still be a problem.

Elsewhere, momentum for a Brexit fudge deal seems to be building, although there is also talk of a rebellion in the Tory party amongst Brexit hardliners and an incipient vote of no confidence for PM May to be held next month. Certainly, if she is ousted it would throw the negotiations into turmoil and likely drive the pound significantly lower. But that is all speculation as of now, and the market is ascribing a relatively low probability to that outcome.

FLASH! In the meantime, the BOE left rates on hold, in, as expected, a unanimous vote, and the Bank of Turkey surprised one and all, raising rates 525bps to 24.0%, apparently willing to suffer the wrath of Erdogan. And TRY has rallied more than 5% on the news, and is now trading just around 6.00, its strongest level since late August. While it is early days, perhaps this will be enough to help stabilize the lira. However, history points to this as likely being a short reprieve unless other policies are enacted that will help stabilize the economy. And that seems a much more daunting task with Erdogan at the helm.

Elsewhere in the EMG bloc we have seen both RUB and ZAR continue their recent hot streaks with the former clearly rising on the back of rising oil prices while the latter is responding to a report from Moody’s that they are unlikely to cut South Africa to a junk rating, thus averting the prospect of wholesale debt liquidation by foreign investors.

As mentioned before, this morning brings us CPI (exp 0.3%, 2.8% Y/Y for headline, 0.2%, 2.4% Y/Y for core). Certainly, anything on the high side is likely to have a strong impact on markets, unwinding yesterday’s mild dollar weakness as well as equity market strength. This morning we hear from Fed governor Randy Quarles, but he is likely to focus on regulation not policy. Meanwhile, yesterday we heard from Lael Brainerd and she was quite clear that the Fed was on the correct path and that two more rate hikes this year were appropriate, as well as at least two more next year with the possibility of more than that. So Brainerd, who had been one of the most dovish members for a long time, has turned hawkish.

All in all, traders will be focused on two things at 8:30, CPI and Draghi, with both of them important enough to move markets if they surprise. However, the big picture remains one where the Fed is the central bank with the highest probability of tightening faster than anticipated, while the ECB, given the slowing data from Europe, seems like the one most likely to falter. All that adds up to continued dollar strength over time.

Good luck
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