Tag Archives: #quietmarkets

Not Much Mystique

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In looking ahead to this week
Eleven Fed members will speak
And Core PCE
On Thursday, we’ll see
But otherwise, not much mystique
 
And one other thing we will hear
Is maybe a shutdown is near
But history shows,
And everyone knows,
Investors, this problem, don’t fear

 

After a dull session on Friday across all markets, the weekend delivered exactly zero new information that might alter investor perspectives.  Hence, we are in the same place we left things before the weekend.  Of more concern for traders, although not for hedgers or investors, is that there are few potential catalysts on the horizon for at least the first part of the week.  Thursday’s Core PCE data is clearly the biggest data release, but there will be ample time to discuss that as we get closer.

In the meantime, based on everything we have seen of late; the entire narrative will remain focused on NVIDIA as well as AI in general in the stock market.  For bond junkies, there will be more questions about the sustainability of the current spending plans in the US and whether the market will absorb all the issuance that is coming.  Planned this week are auctions for $398 billion of T-bills, 2-year, 5-year, and 7-year notes.  That’s a lot of issuance, and there is no sign that it is going to slow down at any point in the near future.  Last week, the 20-year bond auction had its worst outcome in its history, with a 3.3bp tail, an indication that investors are getting full or at the very least concerned in some manner and need higher yields to be persuaded to continue investing. 

The issue here stems from the fact that interest payments are utilizing an increasing part of the Federal budget and as old debt matures and is rolled over at current yields, those payments will continue to grow.  While theoretically, the Treasury can simply continue to issue more debt in order to pay off whatever comes due, that means the stockpile of debt continues to grow, and with it, the interest needed to be paid each year.  Alternatively, the Fed can change their QT back to QE, purchase Treasury securities and cap rates or drive them lower.  However, if Powell goes down that road, the results are very likely to be a serious uptick in inflation and a serious decline in the dollar.  The point is the current pace of issuance is not sustainable in the long run.  Although, to be fair, people have been saying the same thing about Japan for the past twenty years, so it could still go on for a while.

I continue to believe that a bear-steepening outcome is the most likely, with bond yields rising above current the Fed funds target and the excessive supply of new bonds is one of the things driving that view.  However, that seems more like a late summer or autumnal issue, not something for right now.

But away from the bond discussion, there is little else to note.  A quick recap of the overnight session shows that Asian equity markets were on the sleepy side with Japan up a bit, 0.4% or so, while Chinese shares resumed their longer-term trend declines with the Hang Seng (-0.5%) and CSI 300 (-1.0%) both ceding ground, as there were no new stimulus programs announced.  It is seeming increasingly as though absent stimulus; Chinese shares are a sale.  In Europe, the action is mixed with both gainers and losers but nothing moving very far at all, 0.3% being the largest change on the day.  It is the same story in the US, with futures at this hour (7:30) basically unchanged from Friday’s closing levels.

In the bond market, Treasury yields (-1bp) are edging lower this morning, although we are seeing the opposite tendency in Europe with most sovereigns gaining 1bp in yields.  The outlier here is the UK, where 10-year Gilts have seen yields climb 6bps after a better-than-expected CBI Retail Sales print added to the Flash PMI data from last week and is pointing to a somewhat better economic outlook.  A quick look east shows that JGB yields slipped 3bps overnight as investors, looking ahead to tonight’s CPI data are expecting a soft print and less incentive for the BOJ to tighten policy.

Oil prices (-0.6%) continue to slide slowly as production continues apace but there are questions about demand given the weakness seen in Europe, the UK and China.  A stronger US economy is not enough, by itself, to drive oil prices higher.  In the metals markets, copper is the big loser, down -1.4%, as concerns over Chinese economic resurgence continue to dog the red metal.  It appears the relationship between copper and the CSI 300 is tightening up a bit.

Finally, the dollar is under modest pressure this morning as US yields continue to soften slightly after Friday’s decline.  But to indicate just how modest things are, the biggest mover today is the euro (+0.3%).  Literally every other major currency, whether G10 or EMG has had less movement than that.  In other words, there is no story here.  We need to see some monetary policy changes before this is going to heat up again.

On the data front, as indicated above, it is a pretty quiet week as follows:

TodayNew Home Sales680K
 Dallas Fed Manufacturing-8.0
TuesdayDurable Goods-4.5%
 -ex transport0.2%
 Case Shiller Home Prices6.0%
 Consumer Confidence115
WednesdayQ4 GDP3.3%
ThursdayInitial Claims210K
 Continuing Claims1874K
 Personal Income0.4%
 Personal Spending0.2%
 PCE0.3% (2.4% Y/Y)
 Core PCE0.4% (2.8% Y/Y)
 Chicago PMI48.0
FridayISM Manufacturing49.5
 ISM Prices Paid53.0
 Michigan Sentiment79.6
Source: tradingeconomics.com

Looking at everything, although there seems to be a lot of stuff, most of it is just not really that important.  I have to remark on the Case Shiller data as recall, a big piece of the disinflation theory is the decline in housing prices.  A 6.0% Y/Y print does not feel like it is declining to me, but then I am just an FX poet.  Obviously, all eyes will be on the PCE data Thursday morning.  In addition to this, we hear from eleven different Fed speakers including Waller and Williams, two of the more important voices, although Chairman Powell remains mum.

Nothing we have seen over the past weeks has changed my longer-term views and quite frankly, the first part of the week is shaping up as a sleeper.  Quiet markets are a boon to hedgers as executing is greatly eased, and banks will compete hard for your business.  In the end, the dollar continues to follow the yield story, so, if yields in the US slide from current levels, the dollar will likely follow.  The opposite is also true.

Good luck

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No Reprieve

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Said Boris to Angela, Hon
When this year is over and done
There’ll be no reprieve
The UK will leave
The EU and start a great run

Will somebody please explain to me why every nation seems to believe that if they do not have a trade deal signed with another nation that they must impose tariffs.  After all, the WTO agreement merely defines the maximum tariffs allowable to signatories.  There is no requirement that tariffs are imposed.  And yet, to listen to the discussion about trade one would think that tariffs are mandatory if trade deals are not in place.

Consider the situation of the major aircraft manufacturer in Europe, a huge employer and key industrial company throughout the EU.  As it happens, they source their wings from the UK, which, while the UK was a member of the EU, meant there were no tariff questions.  Of course, Brexit interrupted that idea and now their wing source is subject to a tariff.  BUT WHY?  The EU could easily create legislation or a regulation that exempts airplane wings from being taxed upon importation.  After all, there’s only one buyer of wings.  This would prevent any further disruption to the manufacturer’s supply chain and seem to be a winning strategy, insuring that the airplanes manufactured remain cost competitive.  But apparently, that is not the direction that the EU is going to take.  Rather, in a classic example of cutting off one’s nose to spite their face, the EU is going to complain because the UK is not willing to cut a deal to the EU’s liking while imposing a tariff on this critical part for one of their key industrial companies.  And this is just one of thousands of situations that work both ways between the UK and the EU.  I never understand why the discussion is framed in terms of tariffs are required, rather than the reality that they are voluntarily imposed by the importing country for political reasons.

This was brought to mind when reading about the meeting between British PM Johnson and German Chancellor Merkel, where ostensibly Boris explained that he would like a deal but the EU will need to compromise on key areas like fishing rights and the influence, or lack thereof, of EU courts in UK laws, or the UK is prepared to walk with no deal.  Negotiations continue but the clock is well and truly ticking as the deadline for an extension to be agreed has long passed.

It cannot be surprising that this relatively negative news has resulted in the pound giving up some of its recent gains, although at this point of the session it is only lower by 0.2% compared to yesterday’s closing levels, a modest rebound from its earlier session lows.  The euro, on the other hand is essentially unchanged at this hour as traders look over the landscape and determine that there is very little to drive excitement for the day.

dol·drums

/ˈdōldrəmz,ˈdäldrəmz/

noun

  1. a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or depression.

In the late 1700’s, sailors would get stuck crossing the Atlantic at the equator during the summer as the climactic conditions were of high heat and almost no wind.  This time became known as the summer doldrums, a word that came into use as a combination of dull and tantrums, or, essentially, unpredictable periods of dullness.

Well, the doldrums have arrived.  And, as the summer progresses, it certainly appears that, despite the ongoing Covid-19 emergency, the FX market is heading into a period of even greater quiet.  This is somewhat ironic as one of the favored analyst calls for the second half of the year is increasing volatility across markets.  And while that may well come to pass in Q4, right now it seems extremely unlikely.

Let’s analyze this idea for a moment.  First off, there is one market that is very unlikely to see increased volatility, Treasury notes and bonds.  For the past month, the range on 10-year yields has been 10 basis points, hardly a situation of increased volatility.  And given the Fed’s ever-increasing presence in the market, there is no reason to believe that range will widen anytime soon.  Daily movement is pretty much capped at 3 basis points these days.

Equity markets have shown a bit more life, but then they have always been more volatile than bonds historically.  Even so, in the past month, the S&P has seen a range of about 7% from top to bottom and historic volatility while higher than this time last year, at 25% is well below (and trending lower) levels seen earlier this year.  After the dislocations seen in March and April, it will take some time before volatility levels decline to their old lows, but the trend is clear.

Meanwhile, FX markets have quickly moved on from the excitement of March and April and are already back in the lowest quartile of volatility levels.  Again, looking at the past month, the range in EURUSD has been just over 2 big figures, and currently we are smack in the middle.  Implied volatility, while still above the historic lows seen just before the Covid crisis broke out, are trending back lower and have fallen in a straight line for the past month.  And this pattern has played out even in the most volatile emerging market currencies, like MXN, which while still robustly in the mid-teens, have been trending lower steadily for the past three months.

In other words, market participants are setting aside their fears of another major dislocation in the belief that the combination of fiscal and monetary stimulus so far implemented, as well as the promise of more if deemed ‘necessary’ will be sufficient to anesthetize the market.  And perhaps they are correct, that is exactly what will happen, and market activity will revert to pre-Covid norms.  But risk management is all about being prepared for the unlikely event, which is why hedging remains of critical importance to all asset managers, whether those assets are financial or real.  Do not let the lack of current activity lull you into the belief that you can reduce your hedging activities.

If you haven’t already figured this out, the reason I waxed so long on this issue is that the market is doing exactly nothing at this point.  Overnight movement was mixed and inconclusive in equities, although I continue to scratch my head over Hong Kong’s robust performance, while bond markets remain with one or two basis points of yesterday’s levels.  And the dollar is also having a mixed session with both gainers and losers, none of which have even reached 0.5%.  In fact, the only true trend that I see these days is in gold, which as breeched the $1800/oz level this morning and has been steadily climbing higher since the middle of 2018 with a three-week interruption during March of this year.  I know that the prognosis is for deflation in our future, but I would be wary of relying on those forecasts.  Certainly, my personal experience shows that prices have only gone higher since the crisis began, at least for everything except gasoline, and of course, working from home, I have basically stopped using that.

Not only has there been no market movement, there is essentially no data today either, anywhere in the world.  The point is that market activity today will rely on flows and headlines, with fundamentals shunted to the sidelines.  While that is always unpredictable, it also means that another very quiet day is the most likely outcome.

Good luck and stay safe

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