Tag Archives: #riskon

The First Battlefield

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The data from China revealed
This bug, is in fact, the windshield
It splattered the hope
That ‘war’ was a trope
Instead ‘twas the first battlefield

China released its main grouping of March data last night and the picture was not pretty. Q1 GDP fell 9.8% Q/Q and was 6.8% below Q1 2019. Those are staggeringly large contractions of economic activity and likely portend what we will begin to see throughout the rest of the world over the next several weeks. The other key data points were Retail Sales (-15.8%), Fixed Asset Investment (-16.1%), both with record declines, and then surprisingly, Industrial Production, which fell just 1.1% in March from last year’s results, though has declined 8.4% thus far in 2020. The official spin of the data was that while February was abysmal, given the nation was essentially completely closed that month, things have started to pick up again and the future is bright. While Q2 seems likely to be better than Q1, bright may overstate the case a bit. After all, the Chinese economy remains highly dependent on its export industries, and the last I checked, most of its major western markets like the US and Europe remain closed for business. So even if Chinese factories are restarting and producing goods again, their client base is not yet in the market for consuming most things.

Excitement is starting to build
And President Trump’s clearly thrilled
That plans are afoot
To increase output
In states where Covid has been chilled

But as important as that data is, and despite the harbingers it brings regarding the rest of the world in Q1 and Q2, market focus is clearly on an even more important subject, the timing of the reopening of the US economy. Last evening, in his daily press conference, the President explained that there will be a three-step approach outlined for individual states to follow in order to try to return to more normal conditions. The idea is that when reported infections show a downward trend over a two-week period, that would be an appropriate time to allow certain businesses (e.g. restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and places of worship) to reopen amid strict social distancing guidelines. Assuming no relapse in the data, phase two would include the allowance of non-essential travel with bars and schools reopening, while phase three, also assuming a continued downward slope of the infection curve, would allow the bulk of the remaining economy to reopen, while observing ongoing social distancing.

At least, that is the gist of the idea. Each state will be able to decide for itself when it reaches appropriate milestones to expand allowable activities with the Federal government not imposing any specific restrictions. While the exact timing of these activities remains uncertain, there are likely some states that will be ready to start phase one before the end of April, while others will take much longer to get there.

Investors, though, see one thing only, that the worst is behind us and that if the US is going to reopen, then so, soon, will the rest of the world. After all, Europe was inundated with the virus earlier than the US. Thus, the prospect of restarting economic activity combined with the extraordinary stimulus measures undertaken by governments around the world has encouraged the investment community to race back into equity markets before they get too rich! At least that is what it seems like this morning.

Fear has taken a back seat to greed and stock markets around the world are higher. So, we saw Asian markets (Nikkei +3.1%, Hang Seng +1.6%, Shanghai +0.7%) all perform well despite the Chinese data. Europe has been even better, with the DAX +4.2%, CAC +4.0% and FTSE 100 + 3.4%, and US futures are closely following Europe with all three indices up well more than 2.0% at this point in the session. In other words, earnings collapses are now seen to be one-time impacts and will soon be reversed. At the same time, pent-up demand will restore much of the luster to so many beaten down stocks, especially in the retail and consumer space.

This seems a tad aggressive for two reasons. First, though undoubtedly reopening the economy will result in better outcomes, it is not clear that the future will resemble the past that closely. After all, are we going to see a much greater use of telecommuting, thus less need for daily transport? Will restaurant and bar business pick up in the same way as prior to the virus’s onset? Will shopping malls ever recover? All these questions are critical to valuations, and answers will not be known for many months. But second, the one thing of which we can be pretty certain, at least in the short run, is that share repurchase programs are going to be thin on the ground for quite a while, and given the more than $1 trillion of spending that we have been seeing in that space, it seems that a key pillar of equity market support will have gone missing. So, while today is clearly all about risk being acquired, it will be a bumpy ride at best.

Speaking of risk-on, a quick look at the FX market shows that the dollar, for the first time in a week is under pressure this morning, having fallen against all its G10 peers. NZD is the leading gainer today, up 0.75%, as kiwi appears to be the highest beta currency in the group and is responding to the US reopening story. Aussie is next on the list, +0.45%, with its beta second only to kiwi, and then the rest of the bloc is higher but in a more limited fashion.

EMG currencies, too, are showing life this morning with IDR in the lead, having rallied 1.1% alongside TRY up a similar amount. The rupiah seems to be the beneficiary of the announcement by the central bank there that they are going to begin direct purchases of government bonds, i.e. monetizing the debt, on Monday, which is apparently a positive statistic in the beginning of the process. Meanwhile, on this risk-on day, Turkey’s 8%+ yields remain extremely attractive for investors, drawing funds into the country. But essentially, the entire bloc is firmer today, even the Mexican peso, which has been one of the absolutely worst performing currencies around. It has rallied 0.25%, its first gain in more than a week.

Today’s narrative is clearly that whatever damage has been incurred by Covid-19, the worst is behind us. Investors are looking forward and anxious to take part in the next up cycle. Alas, the curmudgeon in me sees a scenario where it will take far longer to regain previous levels of activity than the market currently seems to be pricing, and so risk attitudes have room to reverse, yet again, in the not too distant future. But as long as the narrative is the future is bright, the dollar should soften while equity markets rally.

Good luck, good weekend and stay safe
Adf

 

Ere Prices Explode

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The pace of infection has slowed
In Europe, and thus has bestowed
A signal its clear
To shift to high gear
And buy stocks ere prices explode

In the markets’ collective mind, it appears that the peak of concern has been achieved. At least, that is what the price action for the past two days is indicating as risk is once again being aggressively absorbed by investors. Equity prices in the US soared yesterday, up more than 7.0% and that rally followed through overnight in Asia (Nikkei, Hang Seng and Shanghai all +2%) and Europe (DAX +3.2%, CAC +2.8) as the latest data indicate that the pace of infection growth may have reached an inflection point and started to turn lower. At least, that is certainly the market’s fervent hope. The question that comes to mind, though, is just how badly the global economy has been damaged by the health measures taken to slow the spread of the virus. After all, entire industries have been shuttered, millions upon millions have been thrown out of work, and arguably most importantly, individual attitudes about large crowds and mingling with strangers have been dramatically altered. Ask yourself this: how keen are you to go to watch a baseball game this summer with 50,000 other fans, none of whom you know?

Consider the poor misanthrope
Whose previous role was to mope
‘bout Facebook and Twitter
While growing more bitter
With Covid, his views are in scope

It does not seem hard to make the case that the market has moved far ahead of the curve with respect to the eventual recovery of the economy. If anything, the economic data we have seen has indicated that the depth of the recession is going to be greater, not lesser than previously expected, while the length of that recession remains completely unknown. One thing we have seen from the nations who were the early sites of infection; China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, is that once they started to relax early restrictions, the pace of infection increased again. In fact, in Japan, PM Abe has declared a state of emergency in 6 prefectures for the next month, to impose restrictions on businesses and crowds. Similarly, Singapore has seen a revival in the infection rate and has imposed tighter restrictions to last through the rest of April.

The point is, a possible inflection point in the pace of growth in cases, while a potential positive, doesn’t seem worthy of a 10% rally in stock prices. The one thing of which we can all be sure is that the recession, when it is eventually measured, is going to be remarkably deep. It is almost certain to be much worse than the GFC as the amount of leverage in the real economy is so much greater and will cause much more damage to Main Street. Recall, the GFC was a financial crisis, and once the Fed supported the banks, things were able to get back to previous operating standards. It is not clear that outcome will be the case this time. So, does it really make sense to chase after risk assets right now? Bear markets historically last far longer than a month, and it is not uncommon for sharp rallies to occur within the longer term bear market. Alas, I see more pain in the future so be careful.

And with that in mind, let us turn our attention to the FX market, where the dollar is lower versus every other currency of note. In the G10 bloc, NOK is today’s leader, +2.2%, as hopes that an OPEC+ agreement will be reached this week have helped oil prices rise more than 3.0%, thus ensuring a benefit to this most petro-focused of currencies. But it’s not just NOK, AUD is higher by 1.5% after the RBA left rates on hold, as expected, and announced that they have purchased A$36 billion of bonds via QE thus far. The rest of the bloc has seen gains ranging from 0.6% (CHF) to 1.1% (SEK) as the overall attitude is simply add risk. The one exception is the yen, which has barely edged higher by 0.1%, ceding earlier gains in the wake of the state of emergency announcement.

Turning to the emerging markets, CZK and ZAR are the frontrunners, with the former up a robust 2.4% while the rand is higher by 2.1%. It seems that the Czech story is merely one of a broad-based positive view of the country’s fiscal house, which shows substantial reserves and the best combined ability to deal with the crisis and prevent capital flight of all EM currencies. Meanwhile, the rand has been a beneficiary of inflows into their government bond market, which are currently competing with the SARB who is also buying bonds. Perhaps the most encouraging sight is that of MXN, where the peso is higher by 1.5% this morning as it is finally receiving the benefit of the rebound in oil prices. In addition, key data to be released this morning includes the nation’s international reserves, a number which has grown in importance during the ongoing crisis. We have already seen some significant drawdowns in EMG reserve data as countries like Indonesia and Brazil seek to stem the weakness in their currencies. That has not yet been the case in Mexico, but given the peso’s phenomenal weakness, it has fallen 25% since March 1, many pundits are questioning when the central bank will be in the market.

Overall, though, it is a risk-on day and the dollar is suffering for it. Data this morning has already shown that the NFIB Small Business Optimism index is not so optimistic, falling 8 points to 96.4, back to levels seen just prior to the 2016 presidential election, which ushered in a significant increase in optimism. We also get the JOLT’s jobs data (exp 6.5M) but that is a February number, and obviously of little value as an economic indicator now.

It appears to me that the market is pricing in a lot of remarkably positive data and a happy ending much sooner than seems likely. Cash flow hedgers need to keep that in mind as they consider their next steps.

Good luck
Adf

Woe Betide Every Forecast

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The number of those who have passed
Is starting to slow down at last
The hope now worldwide
Is this won’t subside
But woe betide every forecast

Arguably, this morning’s most important news is the fact that the number of people succumbing to the effects of Covid-19 seems to be slowing down from the pace seen during the past several weeks. The highlights (which are not very high) showed Italy with its fewest number of deaths in more than two weeks, France with its lowest number in five days while Spain counted fewer deaths for the third day running. Stateside, New York City, which given its highest in the nation population density has been the US epicenter for the disease, saw the first decline in fatalities since the epidemic began to spread. And this is what counts as positive news these days. The world is truly a different place than it was in January.

However, as everything is relative, at least with respect to financial markets, the prospects for a slowing of the spread of the virus is certainly welcome news to investors. And they are showing it in style this morning with Asian equity markets having started things off on a positive note (Nikkei +4.25%, Hang Seng +2.2%, Australia +4.3) although mainland Chinese indices all fell about 0.6%. Europe picked up the positive vibe, and of course was the source of much positive news regarding infections, and equity markets there are up strongly across the board (DAX +4.5%, CAC +3.7%, FTSE 100 +2.1%). Finally, US equity futures are all strongly higher as I type, with all three major indices up nearly 4.0% at this hour.

The positive risk attitude is following through in the bond market, with 10-year Treasury yields now higher by 6.5bps while most European bond markets also softening with modestly higher yields. Interestingly, the commodity market has taken a different approach to the day’s news with WTI and Brent both falling a bit more than 3% while gold prices have bounced nearly 1% and are firmly above $1600/oz.

Finally, the dollar is on its back foot this morning, in a classic risk-on performance, falling against all its G10 counterparts except the yen, which is lower by 0.6%. AUD and NOK are the leading gainers, both higher by more than 1% with the former seeming to be a leveraged bet on a resumption of growth in Asia while the krone responded positively to a report that in the event of an international agreement to cut oil production, they would likely support such an action and cut output as well. While oil prices didn’t benefit from this news (it seems that there are still significant disagreements between the Saudis and Russians preventing a move on this front), the FX market saw it as a distinct positive. interestingly, the euro, which was the epicenter of today’s positive news, is virtually unchanged on the day.

EMG currencies are also broadly firmer this morning although there are a couple of exceptions. At the bottom of the list is TRY, which is lower by 0.6% after reporting a 13% rise in coronavirus cases and an increasing death toll. In what cannot be a huge surprise, given its recent horrific performance, the Mexican peso is slightly softer as well this morning, -0.2%, as not only the weakness in oil is hurting, but so, too, is the perception of a weak government response by the Mexican government with respect to the virus. But on the flipside, HUF is today’s top performer, higher by 1.0% after the central bank raised a key financing rate in an effort to halt the freefalling forint’s slide to further record lows. Since March 9, HUF had declined more than 16.5% before today’s modest rally! Beyond HUF, the rest of the space is holding its own nicely as the dollar remains under broad pressure.

Before we look ahead to this week’s modest data calendar, I think it is worth a look at Friday’s surprising NFP report. By now, you are all aware that nonfarm payrolls fell by 701K, a much larger number than expected. Those expectations were developed because the survey week was the one that included March 12, just the second week of the month, and a time that was assumed to be at least a week before the major policy changes in the US with closure of businesses and the implementation of social distancing. But apparently that was not the case. What is remarkable is that the Initial Claims numbers from the concurrent and following week gave no indication of the decline.

I think the important information from this datapoint is that Q1 growth is going to be much worse than expected, as the number indicates that things were shutting down much sooner than expected. I had created a simple GDP model which assumed a 50% decrease in economic activity for the last two weeks of the quarter and a 25% decrease for the week prior to that. and that simple model indicated that GDP in Q1 would show a -9.6% annualized decline. Obviously, the error bars around that result are huge, but it didn’t seem a crazy outcome. However, if this started a week earlier than I modeled, the model produces a result of -13.4% GDP growth in Q1. And as we review the Initial Claims numbers from the past two weeks, where nearly 10 million new applications for unemployment were filed, it is pretty clear that the data over the next month or two are going to be unprecedentedly awful. Meanwhile, none of this is going to help with the earnings process, where we are seeing announcements of 90% reductions in revenues from airlines, while entire hotel chains and restaurant chains have closed their doors completely. While markets, in general, are discounting instruments, always looking ahead some 6-9 months, it will be very difficult to look through the current fog to see the other side of this abyss. In other words, be careful.

As to this week, inflation data is the cornerstone, but given the economic transformation in March, it is not clear how useful the information will be. And anyway, the Fed has made it abundantly clear it doesn’t care about inflation anyway.

Tuesday JOLTS Job Openings 6.5M
Wednesday FOMC Minutes  
Thursday Initial Claims 5000K
  PPI -0.4% (0.5% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.0% (1.2% Y/Y)
  Michigan Sentiment 75.0
Friday CPI -0.3% (1.6% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.1% (2.3% Y/Y)

Source: Bloomberg

Overall, Initial Claims continues to be the most timely data, and the range of forecasts is between 2500K and 7000K, still a remarkably wide range and continuing to show that nobody really has any idea. But it will likely be awful, that is almost certain. Overall, it feels too soon, to me, to start discounting a return to normality, and I fear that we have not seen the worst in the data, nor the markets. Ultimately, the dollar is likely to remain THE haven of choice so keep that in mind when hedging.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

Prices So Low

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Since distancing, social, has spread
Demand for petroleum’s bled
Its price has declined
As less is refined
Is OPEC now near its deathbed?

Well, last night the Chinese explained
They’d not let reserves there be drained
With prices so low
Their stockpile they’ll grow
Thus, Pesos and Rubles have gained

One cannot be surprised by the fact that the sharp decline in the price of oil has prompted some nations to take the opportunity to top up their strategic reserves of the stuff. Last night, the story came out that China was going to do just that. In addition to the mooted plans to purchase upwards of 100 million barrels, there is also discussion that they are going to increase the size of their storage facilities. This serves a twofold purpose; first to allow them more storage, but second it is a clear short-term economic stimulus for the country as well, something they are desperately seeking given the quickly slowing growth trajectories of their major export markets.

The market response to the story has been exactly as would be expected, with oil prices surging (both WTI and Brent are higher by a bit more than 10% as I type) and petrocurrencies NOK, RUB and MXN, all rallying nicely as well. At least, that’s how they started the session. Approaching 7:00am in NY, NOK is by far the leading gainer in the G10 space, jumping 1.6% without the benefit of central bank intervention, as any rebound in oil, no matter how short-lived, is a positive for the country and by extension its currency.

The emerging market petros, though, are having a bit of a tougher time of it. Earlier, both the ruble and Mexican peso were firmer by well more than 1% compared with yesterday’s closing levels, but in the past hour, we have seen both give up the bulk of those gains. It just goes to show how difficult it is going to be for some currencies to rebound in the short run. This is because, a 10% rally in oil still leaves it at $22/bbl or so, far below the cost of production and not nearly enough to stem either nation’s fiscal woes. By the way, this is still far below the cost of shale oil production as well. In fact, the only country that really has a production cost below the current market price is Saudi Arabia. But in FX terms that doesn’t really matter as the riyal is fixed to the dollar.

Away from that story, though, financial and economic stories are thin on the ground, with most simply a rehash or update of ongoing themes. For instance, we already know that virtually every developed country is adding fiscal support to their economies, but there have been no new reports of additional stimulus. We already know that virtually every developed country’s central bank has added monetary support to their economies, but, if anything, the overnight stories were complaints that it wasn’t coming fast enough. To wit, the RBNZ is being chastised for not expanding its QE purchases quickly enough as market participants anticipate a significant increase in debt issuance by the government. That said, however, kiwi is a top performer today, rising 0.65% on the back of the Chinese oil story and the knock-on effects of renewed Chinese growth.

Otherwise, the news is almost entirely about the virus and its impacts on healthcare systems around the world, as well as the evolving story about the Chinese having underreported their caseload and by extension, distorting the medical community’s understanding of key features of the pathogen, namely its level of contagion and lethality. But that is all in the political realm, not the market realm.

Yesterday’s equity market decline has stopped for now with European indices modestly higher at this point, generally less than 1%, although US futures are looking a bit perkier, with all of them up by more than that 1% marker. Bond markets are under a bit of pressure, as investors are tentatively reaching out to acquire some risk, with yields in most government bond markets edging higher by a few bps this morning. Treasuries, which had seen a 4bp rise earlier in the session, though, have now rallied back to unchanged on the day.

And if one wants to look at the dollar more broadly, away from the NOK and NZD, the pound is firmer (+0.5% and it has really been holding up remarkably well lately), and CAD and AUD are both firmer by about 0.3% on the back of the oil/China positive story. On the downside, the euro cannot find a bid, falling 0.4% this morning, as the focus turns back to the rampant spread of Covid-19 in both Italy and Spain, as well as how much the German economy will suffer throughout the crisis.

In the EMG space, TRY (+0.5%) has been the top performer after confirmed FX intervention in the markets, but otherwise, despite what seems to be a modestly better tone to markets this morning, no other currency in the space is more than 0.1% firmer. On the downside, ZAR is the loser du jour, falling more than 1% and reaching a new historic low as interest rates in the country decline thus reducing its attractiveness as an investment destination.

This morning’s data brings Initial Claims (exp 3.7M) which has everybody atwitter given just how uncertain this outcome is. The range of estimates is from 800K to 6.5M which is another way of saying nobody has a clue. The one thing of which we can be certain is that it will be a large number. Interestingly, yesterday’s ADP number showed many fewer job losses than expected, which implies that tomorrow’s payroll data will also not give an accurate picture of the current situation. The survey week came before the real shutdowns began, so we will need to wait until the April data, not released until May 8, to get a better picture. And what’s interesting about that is, if the current timeline of a resumption of more normal activity by the end of April comes to pass, that data, while showing the depths of the problem, will no longer be that informative either. The lesson from this is that it may still be quite some time before data serves as a market driver like in the past, especially the NFP report.

Summing up, despite a modestly better attitude toward risk this morning, the dollar continues to be the place to be. Ultimately, until global dollar liquidity demand ebbs, I expect that we are going to see the greenback maintain its strength.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

 

Hawks Acquiesce

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In Germany and the US
The crisis made hawks acquiesce
To spending more dough
Despite and although
Things ultimately will be a mess

There is only one story of note this morning, at least from the market’s collective perspective, and that is the news that the Senate has agreed the details of a stimulus package in the US. The price tag is currently pegged at $2.0 trillion, although it would not surprise me if when this bill gets to the House, they add a bit more lard. Fiscal hawks have been set aside and ignored as the immediate concerns over the virtual halt in the US (and global) economy has taken precedence over everything else. The package offers support for small and medium sized businesses, direct cash payments to individuals and increased allocations to states in order to help them cope with Covid-19. But overall, what it does is demonstrate that the US is not going to sit by and watch as the economy slides into a deep recession.

And that seems to be the signal that markets were awaiting. We have already seen Germany discard decades of fiscal prudence in their effort to address the collapse in business activity there. In fact, their social demands are even greater than in the US, with no groups of more than 2 people allowed to congregate together. While it cannot be a surprise that the IFO indicator was revised lower this morning, with the Expectations Index falling to within a whisker of its financial crisis lows of 79.2. The real question is if the measures invoked to stop the spread of the virus continue for another month, just how low can this reading go? The one thing that is clear is that we are going to continue to see some unprecedented damage to economic statistics as the next several months evolve.

But none of that matters today, at least in the world of finance. The promise of more money being spent has led to some spectacular rallies in equity markets in the past twenty-four hours. By now you are all aware of yesterday’s late day melt-up in the US, where the Dow closed higher by 11.4%, outpacing even the NASDAQ (+8.1%). And overnight, the Nikkei rocketed 8% higher as a follow-through on the US news and despite the news that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are now going to be the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The rest of Asia rose as well (Hang Seng +3.8%, Shanghai +2.7%, Australia +5.5%) and Europe started out on fire. But a funny thing happened in the past hour, it seems that more sober heads took over.

European equity indices, which had exploded higher at the opening (DAX +4.4%, CAC +4.9%) have given back most of those early gains and are now mixed with the DAX lower by 0.4% although the CAC clinging to +0.9% gain. US futures, which were similarly much higher earlier, between 2% and 3%, have now erased all those gains and are now marginally lower on the session. In fact, I suspect that this is going to continue to be the situation in equity markets as each piece of new news will need to be absorbed into the pricing matrix. And for now, there is just as much bad news as good, thus driving significant volatility in this asset class going forward.

Bond markets are seeing similar style moves, alternating between risk-on and risk-off, although with much of the leverage having already been wiped out of these markets, and central banks around the world directly supporting them through massive QE purchases, the magnitude of the moves are much smaller. Early this morning, we saw Treasuries under pressure, with yields higher by as much as 4bps, but now they have actually rallied, and the 10-year yield is lower by 1bp. There is similar price action in European government bond markets although the recent rally has not quite reversed all the early losses. Of course, the ECB’s €750 billion program is dwarfed by the Fed’s QE Infinity, so perhaps that should not be a great surprise.

And finally, turning to the FX markets, the dollar remains under pressure, as we have seen all week, as fears over the availability of dollars has diminished somewhat in the wake of the Fed’s actions. This has led to NOK once again being the leader in the clubhouse, rallying a further 2.1% this morning which takes its movement this week to 7.5%! It seems that the first batch of weekly FX flow statistics from the Norgesbank confirm that they did, indeed, intervene earlier this week, which given the price action, can be the only explanation. (I am, however, proud of them for not publicly blaring it, rather simply doing the job and allowing markets to respond.) And given the oil price collapse and the damage that will do to the Norwegian economy, it makes sense that they would want to manage the situation. But most currencies are firmer so far this week, with AUD (+3.8%) and SEK (+2.75%) recouping at least a part of what had been devastating recent losses. As to today’s session, aside from NOK, the pound is the next best performer, rallying 0.9% on the strength of a new liquidity program by the BOE as well as what appears to be hope that recent government pronouncements regarding social distancing and shelter in place rules, seems to demonstrate Boris is finally going to come into line with the rest of the world’s governments on the proper containment strategy.

EMG currencies are also performing well this morning as the broad-based dollar decline lifts most of them. KRW is the best performer today, +1.6%, which is in line with last night’s euphoria over the US stimulus bill. MXN had been sharply higher early but has since given up some of its gains and is now higher by only 1% as I type. The market is not pleased with AMLO’s attitude toward the virus, nor it seems are the Mexican people based on the erosion in his approval ratings. Meanwhile, the other major LATAM economy, Brazil, is poised to see its currency weaken even further as President Bolsonaro also ignores the current protocols of self-quarantine or shelter-in-place and encourages his nation to ignore the virus and go about their lives. I have a feeling that President Bolsonaro is going to be a one-term president. BRL hasn’t opened yet but has fallen more than 2% this week already. I expect more will come.

On the data front, yesterday’s PMI data while awful, was actually not nearly as bad as the data seen in Europe or Asia. This morning brings Durable Goods (exp -1.0%, -0.4% ex transport) although these are February numbers, so will not really tell us much about the current state of the economy. Rather, all eyes are turning to tomorrow’s Initial Claims data, to see just how high that number will climb. There are numerous stories of state employment websites crashing from the overflow in volumes.

In the end, while the stimulus bill is good news, the proof remains in the pudding, as it were, and we need to see if all of that spending will help stabilize, then lift the US economy back to its prior trajectory. If this virtual lockdown lasts past Easter, the economic damage will become much more difficult to reverse and will make the hoped for V-shaped recovery that much harder to achieve. For now, though, we can only watch and wait. The one thing that remains clear is that in the end, the US dollar remains the haven of all havens, no matter the fiscal situation in the US. It will always be preferred to the alternative.

Good luck and stay safe
Adf

 

Truly a Beast

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The PMI data released
Showed just how fast growth has decreased
Tis services that
Have fallen so flat
This virus is truly a beast

But yesterday two bits of news
May help prevent any more blues
The Fed started things
By spreading their wings
And buying all debt that accrues

As well, in a break from the past
The Germans decided at last
To open the taps
As well as, perhaps
Support debt Italians amassed

And finally, where it began
The virus, that is, in Wuhan
Two months from their dawn
Restrictions are gone
Defining the lockdown’s lifespan

Markets have a much better tone this morning as traders and investors react to two very important responses to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The first thing that is getting a positive, albeit delayed, response is the Fed’s enactment of a series of new programs including support for CP, mortgage-backed securities, primary dealers and money market funds as well as embarking on QE Infinity, buying $75 billion of Treasuries and $50 billion of mortgage-backed securities every day this week, and then on into the future. Previous concerns about the size of the Fed’s balance sheet relative to the US economy have been completely dismissed, and you can bet that we will soon see a Fed balance sheet with $10 trillion in assets, nearly 50% as large as the economy. But the announcement, while at first not getting quite the positive impact desired, seems to be filtering through into analysis and is definitely seen in a more positive light this morning than yesterday at this time.

The second piece of news was that not only is Germany going to embark on a €750 billion spending program to help the economy, but, more importantly, they are willing to support Italy via European wide programs like the European Stability Mechanism, and even jointly issued coronaviru bonds, to prevent a further catastrophe there. In truth, that seems to be a bigger deal than the Fed, as the long-term implications are much greater and point to a real chance that the European experiment of integration could eventually work. If they move down the path to jointly issue and support debt available to all members, that is a massive change, and likely a long term positive for the single currency. We have to see if they will actually go forward, but it is the most promising structural comment in Europe in years, perhaps even since the euro was formed.

However, we cannot forget that the current reality remains harsh, and were reminded of such by this morning’s Flash PMI data, which, unsurprisingly, fell to record lows throughout Europe and the UK. Services were hit much harder than Manufacturing with readings of 29.0 in France, 34.5 in Germany, 31.4 in the Eurozone and 35.7 in the UK. Japan also released their data, which was equally dismal at 32.7 for Services PMI there. And they added to the story by releasing Department Store Sales, which fell a healthy 12.2%. Of course, everyone knows that the data is going to be awful for the time being, and since we saw China’s PMI data last month, this was expected. Granted, analysts had penciled in slightly higher numbers, but let’s face it, everybody was simply guessing. Let’s put it this way, we are going to see horrific data for at least the next month, so it will have to be extraordinarily bad to really garner a negative market reaction. This is already built into the price structure. While the US has historically looked far more closely at ISM data, to be released next week, than PMI data, we do see the US numbers later this morning, with forecasts at 42.0 for Services and 43.5 for Manufacturing.

So the data is not the driver today, which has seen a more classic risk-on framework, rather I think it is not only the absorption of the Fed and German actions, but also, perhaps, the news from Wuhan that the restrictions on travel, imposed on January 23, are being lifted, nearly two months to the day after imposition. Arguably, that defines the maximum lockdown period, although yesterday President Trump hinted that the US period will be much shorter, with 14 or 15 days mooted. If that is the case, and I would place the start date as this week, we are looking at heading back to our offices come April 6. If the Fed is successful in preventing financial institution collapse, and Congress finally passes a stimulus bill to address the massive income dislocation that is ongoing, (which they will almost certainly do in the next two days), there is every chance that while Q2 GDP will be hit hard, the panic inducing numbers of -30% GDP growth (Morgan Stanley’s forecast) or -50% GDP growth (St Louis Fed President Bullard’s forecast), will be referred to as the height of the panic. We shall see.

But taking a look at markets this morning, we see the dollar under pressure across the board, with the Norwegian krone today’s champion, rallying 5.4% as a follow on to yesterday’s reversal and ultimate 1.2% gain. But the pound has bounced 2.0% this morning along with SEK and AUD is higher by 1.7%. It is entirely possible that what we are seeing is a relief in the funding markets as the Fed’s actions have made USD available more widely around the world and reduced some of that pressure.

EMG markets are seeing similar strength in their currencies, led by MXN (+2.6%) and HUF (+2.3%), but every currency in both blocs is higher vs. the greenback today. Equity markets are all green as well, with major rallies in Asia (Nikkei +7.1%, Hang Seng +4.5%, Shanghai +2.7%) and Europe (DAX +6.25%, CAC +5.25%, FTSE 100 +4.0%) with US equity futures limit up in all three indices. Bonds, meanwhile, have sold off slightly, with yields higher in both the US and Germany by 2bps. I think given the overall backdrop, bonds are unlikely to sell off sharply anytime soon, especially given the central bank promises to buy unlimited quantities of them.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention gold, which is up 2.5% today and 6.2% since Friday’s close as investors realize that all the money printing and fiscal stimulus is likely to lead to a much different view on inflation, namely that it is going to rise in the future.

Volatility remains the watchword as 5% daily moves in the equity market, even when they are up moves, remain extremely taxing on all trading activities. Market liquidity remains suspect in most markets, with bid-ask spreads still far wider than we’ve come to expect. Forward FX spreads of 5-10 pips for dates under 1 year are not uncommon in the majors, let alone in things like MXN or BRL. Keep that in mind as you prepare for your balance sheet rolling programs later this week.

Good luck and stay safe
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Has Panic Subsided?

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This morning a look at the screen
Shows everything coming up green
Has panic subsided?
Or is it misguided
To think that a bottom’s been seen?

It certainly feels less frightening in markets this morning as assets of all nature, equity, commodity and fixed income, are rallying nicely and the panic buying of dollars seems to have ended for the time being. Of course, this is an interesting outcome if one reads the news, given that virus stories have not only continued apace, but the statistics and government responses are getting more draconian. Arguably, the biggest story is that the entire state of California, with its population of 40 million, has been put on lockdown, with stay-at-home restrictions imposed by the Governor. By itself, California is, famously, the fifth largest economy in the world, just ahead of the UK, so the idea that economic activity there is going to come screeching to a halt cannot be seen as a positive. At least not in the short term. In addition, virus related deaths in Italy have now surpassed those from China, and further personal restrictions are being contemplated by PM Conte in order to get a handle on the situation. Thus, the fact remains that Italy is in dire straits from an economic perspective, again at least in the short term. Yet the FTSE MIB (the main Italian stock market index) is higher by 3.8% as I type this morning.

This all begs the question, why are markets reversing course from what has been several hellacious weeks of price declines? Let’s consider a few possible reasons:

It could be that the combination of expanded central bank and government activity around the world has finally achieved a point where investors believe that apocalyptic scenarios overstate the case.

While this is possible, it seems a bit far-fetched to believe that in the course of 36 hours, investors have suddenly decided to accept all the actions, and there have been many, have done the job.

A recap of the major actions shows:
• ECB creates €750 billion PEPP as additional QE measures
• Fed extends USD swap lines to 9 additional central banks to allow USD liquidity to reach all G10 nations and several more developed EMG nations like South Korea
• Fed creates money market fund liquidity backstop to insure that CP issuance by US corporates is able to continue and companies are able to fund operations
• BOJ added ¥5.3 trillion in liquidity to markets while snapping up ¥201 billion of new ETF’s
• RBA cut rates by 0.25%, added new liquidity to markets and started a QE program to control the 3-year AGB at a rate of 0.25%

There is no question that this is an impressive list of actions put into place in very short order which demonstrates just how seriously governments are taking the Covid-19 outbreak. And this doesn’t include any of the fiscal stimulus packages which either have been enacted or are on the cusp of being so. In fact, a total of 31 central banks around the world have cut rates, added liquidity or started QE programs in the past week in order to stem the tide. (I have to add that the Danish central bank actually raised its base rate by 0.15%, to -0.60%, yesterday morning in a truly shocking move. Apparently there was growing concern that with the ongoing problems in Italy, investors were flocking to DKK from EUR and driving that cross, which the central bank uses as its monetary benchmark, strongly in favor of the krona. In this instance, strongly represents a 3.5 basis point move, which has since been reversed.) And perhaps the market is telling us, they’ve done enough. But I doubt it.

Remember, the problem is not financial at its heart, it is a medical issue and efforts to contain the virus remain only partially effective thus far. The medical news, however, continues to get worse, at least in Europe and the US, as the caseload continues to increase rapidly, as well as the death toll, and governments are imposing stricter and stricter regulations on the population. So along with California’s action, New York has mandated that no more than 25% of a company’s workforce is allowed to work at the office (at SMBC we are below 15%), while New Jersey has closed all personal service businesses, like hair salons, exercise facilities and tattoo parlors. And these are just the most recent ones that I have seen because of where I live and work. I know there are countless measures throughout the US and Europe. And all of those measures inflict significant pain on the economy.

Yesterday’s Initial Claims number jumped to 281K, significantly higher than model forecasts, but just a fraction of what we are likely to see going forward as small service businesses like restaurants and hair salons and so many others are forced to close for now and cannot afford to continue paying their staff. Hence I’ve seen estimates that we could see those numbers jump as high as 2 million! So while it is not an economic or financial condition at its heart, it is certainly having that impact.

A second thought, one which I think has more substance to it is that during the past three weeks we have seen a substantial amount of position liquidation by highly leveraged fund managers who were forced to sell assets (or cover shorts) at ANY price due to margin calls. The only way to get market movements of 5%-10% or more is to have market participants be price insensitive. In other words, sales (short covers) were mandated, not by choice. However, once those positions are closed, and the evidence is that most have been so, markets revert to price discovery in the normal fashion, with buyers and sellers putting their money to work based on views of the asset. So while there is still significant trepidation by investors, my gut tells me that we have seen the worst of the financial market activity and volatility. It will still be quite a while before things truly settle down, and there is every chance that as the economic data comes over the next weeks and months and shows just how badly things were impacted, we will see sharp market downdrafts. So I am not calling a bottom per se, but think that going forward it will be less dramatic than we have seen during the first three weeks of March.

A quick recap of this morning’s markets shows equity markets around the world higher, with many substantially so (CAC +5.1%, DAX +4.2%, Hang Seng +5.0%); government bond markets also rallying nicely with yields almost everywhere falling (Treasuries -14bps, Gilts -14bps, Bunds -9bps); commodity prices rallying virtually across the board (WTI +2.4%,Copper +1.7%, Gold +2.3%); and finally, the dollar selling off virtually universally, with some of the worst recent performers regaining the most. So KRW (+3.0%), AUD (+2.6%) and GBP (+2.3%) are all unwinding some of the excess movement we saw in the past weeks. If I am correct and the worst has passed, I expect the dollar will cede more of its recent gains. However, given my timeline of May, I expect it will be another month before we see that in any material way. So, if you are a payables hedger, these are likely to be some of the best opportunities you are going to see for quite a while. Don’t miss out!

Good luck, good weekend and please all stay safe and socially distant
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All Stay at Home

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While yesterday was, for most, scary
It seems the moves were temporary
This morning we’ve seen
Our screens filled with green
On hopes of response monetary

Meanwhile, as the virus expands
And spreads across multiple lands
The word out of Rome
Is, ‘all stay at home’
And please don’t go round shaking hands!

What a difference a day makes! After what was a total obliteration of risk on Monday, this morning we have seen equity markets around the world rebound sharply as well as haven assets lose some of their luster. While net, risk assets are still lower than before the oil war broke out, there is a palpable sense of relief in trading rooms around the world.

But is anything really different? Arguably, the big difference this morning is that we have begun to hear from governments around the world about how they are planning to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic epidemic, and more importantly, that they actually do have a response. The most dramatic response is arguably from Italy, where the government has locked down the entire nation. Schools and businesses are closed and travel within as well as in and out of the country is banned save for a dire emergency. Given how badly hit Italy has been hit by Covid, nearly 500 deaths from more than 9,000 cases, and the fact that the case load is increasing, this should be no surprise. At the same time, given the demographics in Italy, only Germany and Japan have older populations, and given the fact that the virus is particularly fatal for elderly people, things are likely to continue to get worse before they get better. I have seen two different descriptions of how dire the situation is there, with both calling the health infrastructure completely overwhelmed. Look for Germany to impose more restrictions later this week as well, given the growing spread of the virus there.

But from a market perspective, what is truly turning things around is the discussion of combined monetary and fiscal response that is making the rounds. Last night President Trump explained the administration was considering payroll tax cuts as well as direct subsidies to hourly workers via increased support for paid sick leave. In addition, the market is certain the Fed will cut at least 50bps next week, and still essentially pricing in 75bps. So, the twin barrels of monetary and fiscal policy should go a long way to helping regain confidence. Of course, neither of these things will solve the problems in the oil patch as shale drillers find themselves under extraordinary financial pressure with oil prices still around $34/bbl. While that is a 10% rebound from yesterday, most of the shale drillers need oil to be near $45-$50/bbl to make a living. But there is very little the government can do about that right now.

And we are hearing about pending support from other governments as well, with the UK, France and Japan all preparing or announcing new measures. However, as long as the virus remains as contagious as it is, all these measures are merely stop-gaps. Lockdowns have serious longer-term consequences and there will be significant lost output that is permanently gone. Recession this year seems a highly likely event in many, if not most, G10 countries, so be prepared.

And with that as a start, let’s take a look around the markets. As I mentioned, equities rebounded in Asia (Nikkei +0.85%, Hang Seng +1.4%, Shanghai +1.8%) and are much higher in Europe (DAX +3.6%, CAC +4.4%, FTSE 100 +4.2%). Of course, that was after significantly larger declines yesterday. US futures are sharply higher as I type, with all three indices more than 4% higher at this time. Meanwhile, bond markets are seeing the opposite price action with 10-year Treasury yields rebounding to 0.71% after touching a low of 0.31% yesterday. Bunds have also rebounded 12bps to -0.74%, and more importantly, both Italian and Greek bonds have rallied (yields falling) sharply. Make no mistake, the bonds of those two nations are not considered havens in any language.

In the FX market, yesterday saw, by far, the most volatile trading we have experienced since the financial crisis in 2008-09. And this morning, along with other markets, much of that is reversing. So we are looking at the yen falling 2.4% this morning, by far the worst performer in the G10, but also seeing weakness in the euro (-0.85%), pound Sterling (-0.7%) and Swiss franc (-0.85%). On the plus side, NOK is higher by 1.05% and CAD has regained a much less impressive 0.35%.

Emerging markets have also seen significant reversals with MXN, yesterday’s worst performer, rebounding 1.8%, ZAR +1.65% and KRW +0.95%. On the downside, RUB is today’s loser extraordinaire, falling 3.5% after Saudi Aramco said they would increase production to a more than expected 12.3 million bbls/day. But the CE4 currencies, which rallied with the euro yesterday, are all softer this morning by roughly 0.8%.

The one thing that seems clear is that volatility remains the base case for now, and although market implied volatilities have fallen today, they remain far higher than we had seen just a week ago. I think there will also be far more market liquidity to be involved in this market as well.

On the data front, the NFIB Small Business Optimism report has already been released at 104.5, rising from last month and far better than expected. Now this survey covers February which means that there had to be at least some virus impact. With that in mind, the result is even more impressive. The thing is that right now, data is just not a market driver, so the FX markets have largely ignored this along with every other release.

Looking ahead to today’s session, the reversal of yesterday’s moves is clearly in place and unless we suddenly get new information that the virus is more widespread, or that there is pushback on support packages and they won’t be forthcoming, I expect this morning’s moves to continue a bit further.

Longer term, we remain dependent on the spread of Covid-19 and government responses as the key driver. After all, the oil news seems pretty fully priced in for now.

Good luck
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A Fig Leaf?

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This morning, the market’s motif
Is central banks’ promised relief
The all-clear has sounded
And stocks have rebounded
But is this more than a fig leaf?

In case you were curious what central bank relief looked or sounded like, I have included the statements from each of the four major central banks addressing Covid-19, starting with the Fed’s statement Friday afternoon that was able to turn the equity market around (all are my emphases). Since then, we have heard from the other three major banks, as per below, and we have also been informed that G7 FinMins would be having a conference call this week to discuss a coordinated response.

“The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook. We will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy.”

“Global financial and capital markets have been unstable recently with growing uncertainties about the outlook for economic activity due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Bank of Japan will closely monitor future developments and will strive to provide ample liquidity and ensure stability in financial markets through appropriate market operations and asset purchases.”

The Bank of England is working with the UK Treasury as well as international partners to ensure all necessary steps are taken to protect financial and monetary stability amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The bank continues to monitor developments and is assessing its potential impacts on the global and UK economies and financial systems.

The European Central Bank is vigilant and mobilized when it comes to the fallout from the outbreak of the coronavirus. Any response needs to be calm and proportionate. ECB policy is already very accommodative.

And this has essentially been this morning’s market story, a major relief rally. Friday night, late, China released its PMI data and it was dreadful, with Manufacturing PMI at 35.7 while the Non-manufacturing figure was even worse, at 29.6! This should dispel was any doubts that growth in China has nearly ground to a halt. However, despite the promised support by central banks around the world, and you can be sure pretty much all of them, not just the big four, will be jumping in, if quarantines remain in place as the infection continues to spread, supply lines will remain broken and growth will be feeble. The OECD just released a report regarding the coronavirus with updated GDP forecasts and it is not pretty. Naturally, China is the hardest hit, with Q1 GDP now forecast to turn negative, and 2020 GDP growth to fall to 4.9% before rebounding next year. Meanwhile, global GDP growth is now forecast to fall to 2.4%, its slowest pace since the financial crisis in 2009. And the working assumption is that the virus is contained before the end of Q1. If we continue to see the virus spread, these numbers will be revised still lower.

So, with this as our backdrop, let’s turn our attention to actual market activity. Despite all the promises of support, equity investors remain uncertain as to how to proceed at this time. Support may be helpful, but if companies earnings plummet because of the disruption, then current market valuations are likely still a bit rich. Looking at Asian markets, China was the best performer, with Shanghai rising more than 3.1% as promises of support by the PBOC encouraged investors there. But we also saw the Nikkei (+0.95%) and the Hang Seng (+0.6%) rise although Australia’s ASX 200 (-0.8%) didn’t share in the enthusiasm. Europe has been far less positive with the DAX (-0.45%) and CAC (-0.25%) in the red along with Italy’s FTSE MIB (-2.25%) which is really feeling the brunt of the problems on the continent. The lone equity bright spot is the UK, where the FTSE 100 is higher by 0.5%, largely due to the fact that the pound is today’s worst performing currency, having fallen 0.5% vs. the dollar, and more than 1% vs. the euro.

The British pound story is entirely Brexit related as trade negotiations started today with concerns raised that the red lines both sides have defined may end the chance of any agreement as early as next month. Given the international nature of the FTSE 100 members, a weaker pound is usually a benefit for the stock market. But clearly, if the trade talks collapse, the impact on UK companies would be significant.

But other than the pound, the FX market is the only one that has responded in the manner the central banks were hoping, as the dollar has fallen sharply vs. pretty much every other currency. In the G10 space, SEK (+0.7%) and EUR (+0.65%) are leading the way although even AUD and NZD have managed to gain 0.3% this morning.

In the EMG space, KRW was the BIG winner, rallying 1.7% overnight, but almost every APAC currency jumped on the concerted central bank message. The two exceptions here this morning are INR and MXN, both currently lower by 0.7%, with both suffering from the same disease, new Covid-19 infections where there hadn’t been any before.

Meanwhile, bond markets continue to price in much slower growth as 10-year Treasury yields have tumbled to 1.05%, another new historic low, while German bunds fall to -0.66%, near its historic lows. There is discernment in the market though, as Italian yields have risen 7.5bps as concerns over the safety of those bonds, given Italy’s dubious distinction of being the European country worst hit by the virus, has called into question its financing capabilities.

Adding to all this enjoyment is a very busy data week culminating in the payroll report on Friday.

Today ISM Manufacturing 50.5
  ISM Prices Paid 50.5
  Construction Spending 0.6%
Wednesday ADP Employment 170K
  ISM Non-Manufacturing 55.0
  Fed’s Beige Book  
Thursday Initial Claims 216K
  Nonfarm Productivity 1.4%
  Unit Labor Costs 1.4%
  Factory Orders -0.2%
Friday Trade Balance -$47.0B
  Nonfarm Payrolls 175K
  Private Payrolls 160K
  Manufacturing Payrolls -4K
  Unemployment Rate 3.6%
  Average Hourly Earnings 0.3% (3.0% Y/Y)
  Average Weekly Hours 34.3
  Participation Rate 63.4%
  Consumer Credit $17.0B

Source: Bloomberg

At this point, Covid-19 stories are going to be the primary driver of market activity as investors across all markets try to figure out how to react. Havens remain in demand, although the dollar has clearly suffered. Arguably the dollar’s weakness is predicated on the fact that, of all the nations around, the US is the one with the ability to cut rates the furthest. In fact, futures markets are now pricing in 100bps of rate cuts this year, with between 25bps and 50bps for the March meeting in two weeks’ time. Nobody else has that much room, and so the dollar is definitely feeling the pressure. Of course, I continue to believe that if things get much worse, the dollar will rally regardless of the Fed funds rate, as Treasury bonds remain the single safest and most liquid asset available anywhere in the world. For today however, unless there is additional new information, the dollar is likely to remain under pressure, and in truth, that seems likely all week.

Good luck
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Fears Melt

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As Covid fears melt
Like the snowpack during spring
The yen, too, recedes

Remember when there was a universal idea that if the world’s second largest economy, and its fastest growing one at that, essentially shut down due to complications from an exogenous force (Covid-19), it would force investors to show concern over their risk allocations and seek out haven assets? Me neither! Remarkably, equity investors have become so convinced that central banks collectively have their “backs” that there is virtually no interest in limiting positions. This is certainly true across all equity markets, where after a mere twenty-four hours of modest concern over the fact that Q1 iPhone sales would be negatively impacted by Covid-19, the all clear signal was given. This time that signal took the form of the Chinese government announcing that they would be supporting the domestic airline industry, either encouraging takeovers of smaller airlines in financial trouble by their larger brethren, or via direct capital injections into companies. My sense is we will see both of those actions in order to be certain that no airlines go under.

Headlines like the following: “Chinese Companies Say They Can’t Afford to Pay Workers Now” from a Bloomberg story are seen as irrelevant and have no impact on risk assessment. Apparently the idea that the Chinese private sector, which accounts for two-thirds of GDP growth and 90% of new jobs, has basically been shuttered is not relevant in the calculations made by equity investors. Let me just say that the idea of risk has certainly evolved lately.

But this is the story. Equity investors are convinced that central banks will never allow stock markets to decline again and will do everything in their power to prevent any such decline. And while that may be true with regard to central bank efforts, there is a potential flaw in the theory. Central bank power, just like virtually everything else, is subject to the law of diminishing returns, and we are already seeing that situation in Europe and Japan. So even though central bankers may try to stop all declines, do not be surprised when a situation arises where they cannot do so.

Interestingly, bond market investors have a somewhat different view of the landscape as we continue to see interest in Treasuries and bunds with yields in both instruments continuing to grind slowly lower. However, for now, the equity markets are in the spotlight and driving the narrative.

So, with this in mind, it is easier to understand that Asian markets mostly rallied last night (Nikkei +0.9%, Hang Seng +0.5) although Shanghai edged lower by -0.15%. European markets are rocking this morning with the DAX (+0.55%), CAC (+0.7%) and FTSE100 (+0.8%) leading the way higher despite news that Adidas and Puma have seen sales collapse to virtually zero in China. US futures are also pointing higher, on the order of 0.3% as we would not want to be left out of the action here.

Treasury yields continue to sink, however, with the 10-year down to 1.56% while German bunds have fallen to -0.42%. So there is clearly some demand for haven assets, perhaps just not as much as we would expect. And finally, in the FX market, havens have lost their appeal. Most notably, the yen has tumbled 0.5% this morning, trading well back through 110 and touching its weakest point since last May. Clearly, there is no fear in FX traders’ collective minds. Funnily enough, gold prices continue to rally, having closed above $1600/oz yesterday for the first time since March 2013, and are higher by a further 0.5% this morning.

With this as a backdrop, it is very difficult to paint a coherent picture of the markets today, at least the FX markets. In the G10 space, we have already discussed the yen’s decline, marking it as the worst performing major currency today. On the flip side, NOK is the big winner, +0.5% as oil prices rebound on the news that Chinese airlines are not all going to disappear. CAD is the second best performer, also on the back of the oil news, although it has only managed a 0.25% gain. And other than those three currencies, nothing else has moved more than 10 basis points from last night’s closing levels. On the data front overseas, UK CPI was released a tick higher than expected at 1.8%, although the pound has seen exactly zero movement on the back of the data. If nothing else, new BOE Governor Andrew Bailey must be happy that the road to 2% inflation is not quite as steep as previously expected.

In the EMG space, movement has been even more muted with the biggest gainers ZAR (+0.3%) and RUB (+0.25%) on the back stronger commodity and oil prices while the biggest decliners have been HUF (-0.3%) and TRY (-0.25%) with the former seeing profit taking after a nearly 2% rally in the wake of central bank discussions of tighter policy to fight inflation there, while the lira is responding to a rate cut of 50 bps as the central bank seeks to unwind the drastic tightening it implemented in mid-2018 amid major inflationary pressures. And while I wish there were some more interesting stories, the reality is the big narrative of central banks preventing risk sell-offs remains the only theme in the market.

Looking at this morning’s data we see Housing Starts (exp 1428K), Building Permits (1450K) and PPI (1.6%, 1.3% ex food & energy). Then at 2:00 we get a look at the FOMC Minutes from January’s meeting. Fed watchers are focusing on any discussion regarding the balance sheet and repo as it remains clear there is not going to be any interest rate change anytime soon.

So that’s what we have for today. Arguably, the dollar is ever so slightly on its back foot, but the movement has been infinitesimal. While I continue to believe that ultimately the Fed will ease policy further, for now, the dollar remains the brightest bulb in the box, and so should continue to attract buyers.

Good luck
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