Tag Archives: #yuan

Turning To Fearing

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The deadline for Brexit is nearing
And hoping is turning to fearing
No deal’s yet in sight
But both sides delight
In claiming that they’re persevering

This morning, the two stories that have captured the FX market’s attention are Brexit and its impact on the pound and Chinese policy changes and their impact on the yuan.

Starting in the UK, the pound is under pressure this morning, down 0.55%, as comments from International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, have rattled traders. According to Fox, the odds that there is no Brexit deal have now risen to 60%, certainly enough to qualify as “uncomfortably high”, Governor Carney’s description last week in his comments following the BOE meeting. It appears that both sides remain committed to their positions and there has been very little movement from either London or Brussels of late. Meanwhile, in the UK, the politics of the situation has resulted in the new favorite pastime of guessing who will replace PM May when she finally loses a no-confidence vote. And while March 31 is the technical deadline, the reality is that if there is no agreement in place by October, it is likely to be too late. Remember that once an agreement is reached, it needs to be enacted into law by all the nations in the EU as well as the UK, with any one of them able to derail the process. Last year I posited that the odds of reaching a deal were extremely low. I believe this is exactly what is playing out now.

The consequences for the pound are unlikely to be pretty. I expect that we will see pressure continue to increase as it becomes clear that there is no deal forthcoming. So unlike the market action right after the initial Brexit vote in June 2016, where the pound fell more than 10% overnight, and shed another 10% in the ensuing four months, I expect that this will be steady downward pressure, although the net 20% decline cannot be ruled out. After all, there will be no announcement that talks have ended, merely a lack of progress to be seen. Consider that a further 20% decline from here will put the historic low level of 1.06, set back in 1985, on the radar. And while that may well be too pessimistic, it remains extremely difficult to make a bullish pound case at this time. Unless we see a negotiating breakthrough in the next month or so, hedgers need to be prepared for a much lower pound over time.

Turning to China, late Friday night the PBOC imposed a new restriction on FX trading by reinstituting a 20% reserve requirement against short yuan forward positions. The idea here is that Chinese banks will not be willing to allocate the funds necessary to maintain those positions, and therefore will not allow clients to sell CNY forward. In 2015, during the last CNY devaluation, when capital outflows really gathered pace, this was one of the tools that the PBOC employed to stem the yuan’s weakness. What this tells me is that despite the rhetoric from the government about the trade situation and their willingness to tough it out, there is growing concern that if USDCNY reaches 7.00, citizens will start to become much more aggressive in their efforts to reduce their exposure to the yuan, and flee to other, safer currencies. Ironically, given what has started this process, this includes the dollar as well as the yen and Swiss franc. As is typical of the Chinese, they announced this change late Friday night when markets were closed. And while the initial market reaction to the news in China’s morning was for the yuan to strengthen a bit, that strength has reversed and USDCNY is now higher by 0.25%. If 7.00 is truly the pain point, I fear we are going to see some fireworks before the end of the summer.

Beyond those two stories, the dollar is firmer overall, but there is less specificity than it simply being a strong dollar day. The euro is lower by 0.25% after German Factory Orders fell a much worse than expected -4.0%, taking the Y/Y level negative for the first time in two years. But given the breadth of the dollar’s strength this morning, I would argue the euro would have declined no matter the number. As the trade rhetoric continues apace, I expect the dollar to remain well bid against all comers.

Turning to the data this week, it is far less interesting than last week’s onslaught, but we do end the week with CPI.

Tuesday JOLT’s Job Openings 6.646M
  Consumer Credit $16.0B
Thursday Initial Claims 220K
  PPI 0.2% (3.4% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.8% Y/Y)
Friday CPI 0.2% (3.0% Y/Y)
  -ex food & energy 0.2% (2.3% Y/Y)

Beyond the inflation data, we have only two Fed Speakers, and given the continued strong run of data, it remains hard to believe that we will hear any new dovishness by anyone. I am hard-pressed to derive a scenario that leads to significant dollar weakness in the short run. Until the US data turns, I believe that the Fed will continue to tighten policy and that the dollar will benefit. And that seems likely to last through at least the end of the year.

Good luck
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Uncomfortably High

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Said Carney, exhaling a sigh
The odds are “uncomfortably high”
More pain will we feel
If there is no deal
When England waves Europe bye-bye

Yesterday the BOE, in a unanimous decision, raised its base rate by 25bps. This outcome was widely expected by the markets and resulted in a very short-term boost for the pound. However, after the meeting, Governor Carney described the odds of the UK leaving the EU next March with no transition deal in hand as “uncomfortably high.” That was enough to spook markets and the pound sold off pretty aggressively afterwards, closing the day lower by 0.9%. And this morning, it has continued that trend, falling a further 0.2% and is now trading back below 1.30 again.

By this time, you are all well aware that I believe there will be no deal, and that the market response, as that becomes increasingly clear, will be to drive the pound still lower. In the months after the Brexit vote, January 2017 to be precise, the pound touched a low of 1.1986, but had risen fairly steadily since then until it peaked well above 1.40 in April of this year. However, we have been falling back since that time, as the prospects for a deal seem to have receded. The thing is, there is no evidence that points to any willingness to compromise among the Tory faithful and so it appears increasingly likely that no deal will be agreed by next March. Carney put the odds at 20%, personally I see them as at least 50% and probably higher than that. In the meantime, the combination of ongoing tightening by the Fed and Brexit uncertainty impacting the UK economy points to the pound falling further. Do not be surprised if we test those lows below 1.20 seen eighteen months ago.

This morning also brought news about the continuing slowdown in Eurozone growth as PMI data was released slightly softer than expected. French, German and therefore, not surprisingly, Eurozone Services data was all softer than expected, and in each case has continued the trend in evidence all year long. It is very clear that Eurozone growth peaked in Q4 2017 and despite Signor Draghi’s confidence that steady growth will lead inflation to rise to the ECB target of just below 2.0%, the evidence is pointing in the opposite direction. While the ECB may well stop QE by the end of the year, it appears that there will be no ability to raise rates at all in 2019, and if the current growth trajectory continues, perhaps in 2020 as well. Yesterday saw the euro decline 0.7%, amid a broad-based dollar rally. So far this morning, after an early extension of that move, it has rebounded slightly and now sits +0.1% on the day. But in the end, the euro, too, will remain under pressure from the combination of tighter Fed policy and a decreasing probability of the ECB ever matching that activity. We remain in the 1.1500-1.1800 trading range, which has existed since April, but as we push toward the lower end of that range, be prepared for a breakout.

Finally, the other mover of note overnight was CNY, with the renminbi falling to new lows for the move and testing 6.90. The currency has declined more than 8% since the middle of June as it has become increasingly clear that the PBOC is willing to allow it to adjust along with most other emerging market currencies. While the movement has been steady, it has not been disorderly, and as yet, there is no evidence that capital outflows are ramping up quickly, so it is hard to make the case the PBOC will step in anytime soon. And that is really the key; increases in capital outflows will be the issue that triggers any intervention. But while many pundits point to 7.00 as the level where that is expected to occur, given the still restrictive capital controls that exist there, it may take a much bigger decline to drive the process. With the Chinese economy slowing as well (last night’s Caixin Services PMI fell to 52.8, below expectations and continuing the declining trend this year) a weaker yuan remains one of China’s most important and effective policy tools. There is no reason for this trend to end soon and accordingly, I believe 7.50 is reasonable as a target in the medium term.

Turning to this morning’s payroll report, here are the current expectations:

Nonfarm Payrolls 190K
Private Payrolls 189K
Manufacturing Payrolls 22K
Unemployment Rate 3.9%
Average Hourly Earnings (AHE) 0.3% (2.7% Y/Y)
Average Weekly Hours 34.5
Trade Balance -$46.5B
ISM Non-Manufacturing 58.6

Wednesday’s ADP number was much stronger than expected at 213K, and the whisper number is now 205K for this morning. As long as this data set continues to show a strong labor market, and there is every indication it will do so, the only question regarding the Fed is how quickly they will be raising rates. All of this points to continued dollar strength going forward as the divergence between the US economy and the rest of the world continues. While increasing angst over trade may have a modest impact, we will need to see an actual increase in tariffs, like the mooted 25% on $200 billion in Chinese imports, to really affect the economy and perhaps change the Fed’s thinking. Until then, it is still a green light for dollar buyers.

Good luck and good weekend
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No Tariffs For Now

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Herr Juncker and Trump had their meeting
And what they both claimed bears repeating
No tariffs for now
As both sides allow
The current regime with no cheating

Whew! That pretty much sums up the market reaction to yesterday afternoon’s hastily arranged press conference with President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Both were all smiles as they announced that there would be no tariffs imposed at this time while the US and EU begin more serious trade negotiations with an eye toward reducing trade friction in manufactured goods. In addition, Europe would be seeking to purchase more US soybeans and LNG in a good faith effort to reduce the current trade imbalance. And finally, they would be addressing the current US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe. It can be no surprise that the market reacted quite positively to this news, with equities in the US finishing higher and European markets all performing well this morning. It should also not be that surprising that the euro jumped immediately upon the news, rising 0.25%, although this morning it has given back those gains after both French and German Consumer Confidence data extended their trend declines amid disappointing outcomes.

While it is still anybody’s guess how this will ultimately play out, the news is certainly an encouraging sign that there can be movement in a positive direction on the trade front. The same appears to be true regarding NAFTA negotiations with both Canada and Mexico reconfirming that a trilateral deal is the goal, and apparently making headway toward achieving those aims.

However, the same optimism is nowhere to be found regarding trade relations between China and the US, with no indication that the situation has shown any positive movement. In the meantime, China continues to respond to signs of weakening growth on the mainland, this time by further reducing capital requirements for banks’ lending to SME’s. While the PBOC has not specifically cut rates, generally seen as a broad monetary policy step, these targeted capital requirement and reserve ratio cuts can be very powerful tools for the targeted recipients, allowing them to expand their loan books and driving profits in the banking sector. But no matter how the easing of monetary policy is implemented, it is still easing of monetary policy and will have an impact on both Chinese equity markets and the renminbi’s exchange rate. While the currency weakened, as would be expected, falling 0.5% overnight, the Shanghai composite fell as well, which is somewhat surprising. Although, in fairness, the Shanghai exchange has rallied nearly 8% over the past two weeks, so this could simply be a case of “selling the news.” In the end, especially if the trade situation between the US and China remains fraught, I expect that USDCNY has further to run, and 7.00 remains on the radar.

The other big story this morning is the anticipation of the ECB meeting results, not so much in terms of policy changes, as none are expected, but in terms of the follow-on press conference where Signor Draghi will be asked about the timing of interest rate increases and the meaning of the term “through the summer” which was inserted into the last statement. Analysts have been debating if that means rates could be raised in August or September of next year, or if it implies a longer wait before a rate move. The futures market doesn’t have a full 10bp rate hike priced in until January 2020, significantly past the summer. The other question of note is how the ECB will handle reinvestment of their current portfolio, and whether they will seek to smooth the reinvestment program or simply wait until debt matures before purchasing more. The reason this matters is that their portfolio has a very uneven distribution of maturities, which could lead to more volatility in European Government bond markets if they choose the latter path.

In the end, given that Eurozone data continues to disappoint on a regular basis, it seems that whatever path they choose for rate hikes and reinvestment, it will seek to maintain as much support as possible for now. Other than the Germans, there does not appear to be a strong constituency to aggressively tighten monetary policy, and there are nations, like Italy and Greece, which would much prefer to see policy remain ultra accommodative for the foreseeable future. While the euro has been range trading for the past two months between 1.15 and 1.18, I continue to look for a break lower eventually.

Away from those stories, things have been less interesting. Most of the G10 is trading in a fairly narrow range, with Aussie the laggard, -0.4%, on the back of weaker metals prices. EMG currencies have similarly been fairly quiet with limited movement overall.

Yesterday’s US data showed that the housing market is starting to suffer a bit more consistently as New Home Sales fell to 631K, well below expectations and the lowest level since last October. Adding this to the miss in Existing Home Sales on Monday shows that the combination of still rising house prices and rising mortgage rates is starting to have a more substantial impact on the sector. This morning we see Durable Goods data (exp 3.0%, 0.5% -ex Transport) and the weekly Initial Claims data (215K), which continues to show the strength of the job market. However, regarding US data, all eyes remain on tomorrow’s first look at Q2 GDP, where the range of expectations is broad, from 3.8% to 5.2%, and traders will be trying to parse how the data will impact the Fed’s activities.

In the meantime, US equity futures are mixed this morning with the NASDAQ pointing lower after some weaker than expected earnings guidance from a FANG member, while Dow futures are pointing higher on the back of relief over the trade situation. As to the dollar, I expect that it will see modest weakness overall as positions continue to be adjusted ahead of tomorrow’s key GDP release.

Good luck
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Tired

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Speculation’s rife
Kuroda is tired of
JGB support

For the fifth consecutive session, the Japanese yen is rising amid growing speculation that the BOJ, when it meets next Monday and Tuesday, is going to adjust monetary policy tighter. During that run, which also included President Trump’s harangues on currency manipulation around the world, the yen has strengthened nearly 2%. My point is that the dollar has suffered somewhat overall during that period, so this movement is not entirely due to the BOJ story. But, as the meeting approaches, that is becoming the hottest topic in the market.

A quick look at the Japanese economy shows that inflation remains quiescent, with the latest core reading just 0.2%, a far cry from the 2.0% target the BOJ has been aiming for during the past five years. In addition, last night’s PMI data, (printing at 51.6, well below expectations of 53.2) has to give Kuroda and company pause as well. In other words, while Japan is not cratering, it doesn’t seem like there is any danger of overheating there either. However, with the Fed actively tightening, the BOE widely expected to raise rates in early August and the ECB highlighting its plans to end QE this year with interest rate increases to follow next year, the BOJ is clearly feeling somewhat left out of the mix. Apparently groupthink is a strong emotion for central bankers.

At any rate, whether justified or not, the story that is getting play is that they are going to tweak their operations, perhaps allowing (encouraging?) the long end of the JGB yield curve to see higher yields, although they will likely keep control of the 10-year space and below. But all the market needed to hear was that QE was going to be reduced and the reaction was immediate. JGB yields in the 10-year space jumped from 0.03% to 0.09%, at which point the BOJ stopped the movement by stepping in with an unlimited bid for bonds. Remember, they already own 42% of all outstanding JGB’s, and liquidity in that market is so thin that there have already been six days this year where there were absolutely zero trades in the 10-year JGB. The FX market was not going to be left out and seeing the prospect for less QE immediately added to the yen’s recent gains. It remains to be seen whether Kuroda-san will be able to actually implement any policy changes given the combination of slackening growth and still low inflation, especially with the prospects of a trade war having an even more deleterious impact on the economy. However, the market loves this story and is going to continue to run with it, at least until the BOJ announcement next Tuesday. So I would look for the yen to continue to trade slowly higher during that period.

The other big story overnight was the PBOC injection of CNY502 billion of liquidity into the market as part of their ongoing policy adjustments. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Chinese economy is having trouble dealing with the simultaneous deleveraging demanded by President Xi for the past two years and the increased trade issues that have arisen quite rapidly of late. Of course, the PBOC is no wallflower when it comes to taking action, and so having already cut reserve requirements three times this year; they decided that direct injection of funds into the market was a better method of achieving their goals. In addition the government created tax incentives for R&D, encouraged more state infrastructure spending and told banks to offer more credit to small firms. The market impact of these measures was immediate with the Shanghai Stock Exchange rallying 1.6% while the renminbi fell as much as 0.6% early, before retracing somewhat and now standing just 0.2% lower on the day.

When considering the CNY, the opposing forces are that a weaker yuan will certainly help support short-term growth due to the still significant reliance on exports by the Chinese economy. However, there is a feared tipping point at which a weak yuan may encourage significant capital outflows, thus destabilizing the Chinese economy and Chinese markets. We saw this play out three years ago, shortly after the PBOC surprised markets with its mini (2%) devaluation of the yuan. The ensuing global market sell-off was significant enough to prevent then Fed Chair Yellen to hold off on raising rates, despite having signaled that the Fed was ready to do so. However, it is not clear to me that Chairman Powell sees the world the same way as Yellen, and my take is that he would not be dissuaded from continuing the Fed’s current trajectory despite some increased global volatility. Of course, the Chinese instituted strict capital controls in the wake of the 2015 situation, so it is also not clear that the contagion can even occur this time. In the end, though, this is simply further evidence of the diverging monetary policies between the US and China, and continues to underpin my views of USDCNY moving to 7.00 and beyond before the year ends.

Away from those two stories, the dollar is modestly softer this morning despite mixed to weaker Eurozone PMI data (Germany strong, France weak, Eurozone weak), and US Treasury yields that gained nearly 10bps yesterday after the BOJ story broke. Yesterday saw weaker than expected Existing Home Sales (5.38M), which is the third consecutive monthly decline. While there is no important data today, we do see the critical first look at Q2 GDP on Friday, and of course, the ECB meets Thursday, so there is ample opportunity for more opinion changing information to come to market. But right now, the dollar remains largely trapped between the positive monetary policy story and the negative political story, and so I don’t anticipate it will be breaking out in either direction in the short run. However, as long as US monetary policy continues on its current trajectory, I believe the dollar has further to run. We have not yet evolved to a point where other issues are more important, although that time may well come in the future.

Good luck
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I’m Not Thrilled

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Said President Trump, “I’m not thrilled”
With how Chairman Powell’s fulfilled
Both job and price mandates
By raising Fed Fund rates
‘Cause soon the Dow Jones could get killed

“I’m not thrilled. I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up. I am not happy about it. But at the same time I’m letting them do what they feel is best.” So said President Trump in an interview on CNBC yesterday afternoon. It should be no surprise that the FX market response was immediate, with the dollar reversing earlier gains.

While this is not the first time that a US president has tried to persuade the Federal Reserve to cut rates (they never want higher rates, I assure you!), it is the first time since George H.W. Bush pushed then Chairman Greenspan to reduce rates more quickly in 1992 (he didn’t). This is a situation fraught with serious consequences as the independence of a nation’s central bank is seen as one of the keys to a developed economy’s success. For instance, recall just several weeks ago when Turkey’s President Erdogan essentially took over making monetary policy there, and how the market has behaved since, with TRY already significantly weaker.

As long as the Fed remains on course to continue raising rates, and despite the Trump comments, Fed Funds futures showed no change in the probability for two more rate hikes this year, I see little reason to change my stance on the dollar’s future strength. However, the bigger problem is if the Fed, independently, decides that slowing the pace of rate hikes is justified by the data, it could still appear to be politically motivated, and so reduce whatever credibility the Fed still maintains. This will remain a background story, at the very least, for a while. So far, there is no indication that Chairman Powell is going to change his stance, which means that policy divergence remains the lay of the land.

In the meantime, the other big FX story comes from China. We discussed yuan weakness yesterday and in the overnight session, the PBOC fixed the onshore currency at its weakest point in more than a year, which in fairness is simply following the dollar’s overall strength, but then when USDCNY made new highs for the year above 6.83, a large Chinese state-owned bank was seen aggressively selling dollars. This tacit intervention helped to steady the market and worked to support the Shanghai Stock Exchange as well, which ultimately rose 2.0% on the day. It is, however, difficult to follow all the twists and turns in the US-China relationship these days, as literally minutes ago, President Trump raised the ante yet again, by saying that he is “ready to go” with regard to imposing tariffs on $500 billion of Chinese goods. That represents all Chinese exports to the US and is considerably larger than ever mentioned before.

Tariffs and protectionism have a very poor history when it comes to enhancing any country’s economic situation, but it is very possible that this continuous ratcheting of pressure may actually be effective at achieving policy changes in this situation as China has plenty of domestically created economic problems already. Recall, President Xi has been on the warpath about excess leverage and the PBOC had been tightening policy in order to squeeze that out of the system. However, growth in China has suffered accordingly, and the recent data indicates that it may be slowing even more. With that in mind, a full-scale trade war with the US would likely be disastrous for China. The last thing they can afford is to see reduced production numbers, as well as loss of access to critical component and technology imports. It is not impossible that Xi blinks first, or that the two presidents recognize that a face-saving deal is in both their interests. It may take a little while, but I have a sense that could well be the outcome. However, until then, look for USDCNY to continue to rally sharply, with a move to 7.00 and beyond very viable. This morning, despite the intervention overnight, it has subsequently weakened 0.4% and shows no signs of stopping.

Finally, one last story has returned from the past to haunt markets, Italy. There appeared to be a push by Five-Star leader, Luigi di Maio, to have the Finmin, Giovanni Tria, removed from office. You may recall that back in May, things got very dicey in Italy before the current government was finally formed as President Mattarella rejected the first proposed cabinet because of the Euroskeptic proposed for the FinMin post. Tria was the compromise selection designed to calm markets down, and it worked. So, if he were forced out, and it has been denied by the Finance Ministry that is the situation, it could lead us right back into a euro area crisis. This is especially true since the populist coalition of the League and Five-Start has gained further strength in the interim. While Italian bond markets suffered on the news, it was not sufficient to impact the euro much. However, we need to keep an eye on this story as it could well resurface in a more malevolent manner.

And that is really today’s situation. Overall the dollar is mildly weaker, but given its performance all week, that has more to do with profit taking on a Friday than other news. Clearly the Trump comments undermined the dollar to some extent, but until policies are seen changing, I think that will only be a temporary situation. With no data due this morning, and no speakers on the agenda, it has all the feelings of a quiet day upcoming. It is, after all, a Friday in July, so the summer doldrums seem appropriate.

Good luck and good weekend
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Weaker Yuan Now Abided

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Apparently China’s decided
Their strong money stance was misguided
So look for, ahead
More easing instead
And weaker yuan now abided

Arguably, the biggest story in the FX markets overnight was the sharp decline in the Chinese yuan. For the first time in more than a year, the PBOC set the fixing rate for the dollar above 6.70, which seemed to signal a willingness to allow the currency to fall much further. As I type, the offshore version is trading near 6.80, having fallen 0.8% on the session. As I have discussed over the past months, even absent the trade situation, there are ample reasons to see the renminbi decline further. However, it now seems likely that the ongoing trade dispute with the US is starting to have a bigger impact on the Chinese economy (remember we already saw weak data last week) and that a simple response is to allow the currency to fall.

The trade dispute with the US has come at a bad time for China. They have been tightening liquidity standards for the past two years in an effort to reduce leverage in their economy and the housing bubbles that resulted. But now, the slower growth precipitated by that policy combined with restrictions on their exports is forcing that policy to be reconsidered. So far the PBOC has not actually cut rates, but they have reduced bank reserve requirements by one full percent and encouraged significantly more lending to SME’s. However, in the end, given their still mercantilist economy, a weaker currency is likely to be the best policy available for their conflicting goals of less leverage and strong growth. I’m beginning to think that 7.00 is a conservative estimate for USDCNY at year-end. What is abundantly clear is that there will be further weakness in the near term.

Meanwhile, Carney’s plan to raise rates
In August is in dire straits
The data keeps showing
That UK growth’s slowing
My bet now is he hesitates

This morning’s UK Retail Sales data was the last big data point of the week, and completed a picture of an economy that is not expanding quite so rapidly as had been previously thought. While things aren’t as dire as the Q1 data implied, Retail Sales fell -0.5% in Jun with the -ex fuel number -0.6%. Both were significantly lower than forecast and added to the softer inflation and wage growth data seen earlier this week. As such, none of this data really supports the idea that the BOE needs to raise rates next month, despite a clearly articulated desire by Governor Carney to do so. The problem he faces, along with many other central bankers, is that policy rates remain at emergency settings deep into a recovery, and the concern now is that they won’t have any policy tools available when the next downturn comes. In other words, they are out of ammo and need to reload, which means they need higher policy rates. But if the data don’t warrant that stance, they run the risk of causing a recession in order to be able to fight one. It is an unenviable position, but one that they brought upon themselves with their gigantic monetary policy experiment. When the softening data trend is added to the ongoing Brexit uncertainty, I have a hard time seeing a rationale for the BOE to move next month. The market continues to price a >70% probability, but I think that will ebb over the next few weeks.

One thing that is not surprising is that the pound has fallen below 1.30, down a further 0.6% this morning (and 2.0% on the week) and is now trading at its lowest level since last September. While it no longer appears that PM May is going to be ousted, it does seem as though the odds of the UK leaving the EU with no deal in place are growing shorter. I continue to look for the pound to fall further.

Away from those two stories, yesterday brought the second day of Chairman Powell’s Congressional testimony, this time to the House Financial Services Committee. The comment getting the most press has been “[the rate setting committee] believes that, for now, the best way forward is to keep gradually raising” rates. The idea is that the highlighted words are a strong indication that the Fed remains policy dependent, and so will carefully evaluate the situation at each meeting. That said, expectations remain that they will raise rates in September and December, and that data would need to be significantly worse, or the trade dispute clearly become a bigger problem, to change that view.

In the end, those Fed expectations should continue to support the dollar. In fact, the dollar has rallied pretty sharply across the board this morning, with the Dollar Index up 0.5%. That breadth of strength is indicative of the fact that the market continues to expect divergent monetary policies between the US and the rest of the world for now. We will need to see much weaker US data to change that view, and the dollar’s trajectory.

This morning brings the last data of the week, with Initial Claims (exp 220K), Philly Fed (21.5) and Leading Indicators (0.4%). We also hear from Fed Governor Randall Quarles, although given that we just got two days of Powell, it is hard to believe that he will be saying something different. While yesterday’s Housing data was disappointing, it was not enough to change any views on the US economy, especially given that Housing Starts is a known volatile series, and so easily dismissed. It is hard to view the current market and economic situation without concluding that the dollar’s rally has further to go. Hedgers keep that in mind, especially as you begin to look at your 2019 exposures.

Good luck
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Both Sides Will Lose

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The trade story’s back in the news
With stock markets singing the blues
Two hundred bill more
Confirms the Trade War
Will happen, and both sides will lose

The Trump administration’s announcement last evening that they are targeting another $200 billion of Chinese imports for tariffs, this time 10% across the board, has interrupted the markets recent sense of calm. In fact, the immediate response was for equity markets around the world to fall sharply and the dollar to regain its footing. Investors had come to believe that the initial salvo of tariffs on $34 billion by each nation would be the extent of things, and that negotiations would soon begin. However, assuming things with this administration is a fraught activity as unpredictability has been Trump’s hallmark since his election.

It is interesting to consider the market ramifications of this growing trade war between the US and China. For instance, since March 22, the day the first tariffs were announced, the Shanghai Index is down more than 15% while the S&P 500 is higher by a bit more than 3.0%. While economists have ridiculed Trump’s statement that “trade wars are easy to win”, it certainly seems that the US has so far come out ahead, at least on this measure. At the same time, the Chinese renminbi has fallen ~5.6% over the same period, which could mean that investors are more confident that the US will come out ahead…or it could mean that the PBOC has simply forced guided the currency lower in an effort to offset the impact of the tariffs.

However, the one thing that I take away from this process is that neither side is going to back down anytime soon. As Trump is leading the charge, he is unlikely to back off without having won some major concessions from the Chinese. At the same time, Chinese President Xi, who has spent the past five years consolidating his power, cannot afford to look weak to the home crowd. So my advice is to prepare for higher prices on lots of things that you buy, because this is likely to drag on for a long time.

As an aside, while the politics may favor Xi, I think given the nature of the imbalance, where the Chinese not only have far more items that can be taxed, but that they remain a largely mercantilist economy depending on exports for growth, it means that China’s economic situation is likely to deteriorate far more than that of the US. However, it is not clear to me that I would call that ‘winning’!

At any rate, the one thing that seems almost certain is that the dollar is going to be a major beneficiary of this process. Not only are other currencies going to suffer as their nations’ exports are reduced and growth impaired, but the ensuing inflationary impact of tariffs on the US is going to encourage the Fed to be more aggressive. Given the dollar’s positive response to the tightening of Fed policy already, as well as the growing divergence between the US economy and the rest of the world, the brewing trade war has simply increased my dollar bullishness.

Pivoting to the overnight markets, the dollar has rallied for a second straight day, showing strength against all its G10 counterparts and most EMG currencies. There continues to be a dearth of data on which to base trading outcomes and it seems most likely that the dollar’s recent strength, while receiving a catalyst from the trade situation, is a continuation of its rebound from last week’s decline. In the end, the dollar is still largely range bound and has been so since its rally ended in mid May. I continue to believe we will need new data of note to encourage a breakout, with the next real opportunity tomorrow’s CPI print. A surprisingly high print will get tongues wagging over the Fed picking up the pace, and likely support the dollar. However, I don’t believe the opposite is true. A weaker than expected print will simply confirm that the Fed will stay on its current trajectory, which may not help the dollar much, but should not undermine it.

The other potential driver is going to be the general risk tone in markets. It is very clear that the dollar has regained its status as a safe haven, and with every escalation in the trade war, risk aversion will lead to further dollar strength. This is especially true given that the other potential havens, JPY and CHF, continue to offer negative interest rates and so are far less attractive to investors looking for a short-term home for their assets. To me, all the evidence still points to the dollar’s next leg being a move up potentially testing the levels seen back in the beginning of 2017 over time.

On the data front, this morning brings PPI (exp 0.2% for both headline and core) but all eyes will be on tomorrow’s CPI, not today’s number. We also hear from NY Fed President Williams late this afternoon. Given both the timing, some four weeks since the last FOMC meeting, and his elevated role, it is possible that he could create some volatility by adding new information to the mix. However, my read is that the data trajectory has remained quite steady, and although he will almost certainly mention the trade situation and its potential to upend the economy, I doubt there will be new information forthcoming. So in the end, I like the dollar to continue to grind higher as the day progresses.

Good luck
Adf

A New Complication

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Last Friday it seemed immigration
Had ceased as a cause of vexation
In Europe, but then
On Monday again
It suffered a new complication

The euro first rose, then declined
But now there’s a new deal designed
To finally forestall
For once and for all
The chance Merkel might have resigned

Remarkably, the immigration debate in Germany continues to dominate the news. Last night, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer agreed to a new deal regarding the immigration situation and withdrew his threatened resignation. This led to a major sigh of relief in the markets as the fear of Frau Merkel’s coalition falling apart has once again receded. While Merkel clearly remains in a weakened state, if this deal can be signed by all the parties involved (a big if), the market may be able to move on to its next concerns. It should be no surprise that the euro has rebounded on the news, after all it has tracked the announcements extremely closely, but the rebound this morning, just 0.1%, has been somewhat lackluster after yesterday’s rout. Perhaps that has as much to do with the release of Eurozone Retail Sales data, which disappointed by printing at 0.0% in May, less than expected and yet another indication that growth in the Eurozone is on a slowing trajectory.

As an aside, if I were Mario Draghi, I might be starting to get a little more nervous given that the Eurozone economy is almost certainly trending toward slower growth and the ECB has very little ammunition available to counter that trend. Rates remain negative and QE is set to run its course by the end of the year. It is not clear what else the ECB can do to combat a more severe slowdown in the economy there.

But away from the daily immigration saga in Germany, the dollar has had a mostly softer session. This is primarily due to the fact that it had a particularly strong rally yesterday and we are seeing short-term profit taking.

China remains a key theme of the market as well, with the renminbi having fallen for twelve of the past thirteen sessions with a total decline of nearly 5.0%. While it has rebounded somewhat this morning (+0.35%), that is small beer relative to its recent movement. Last night, PBOC Governor Yi Gang was on the tape explaining that the bank would “keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level.” That was sufficient for traders to stop their recent selling spree and begin to take profits. While there are some pundits who believe that the Chinese will allow the renminbi to decline more sharply, I believe there is still too much fear that a sharper decline will lead to more severe capital outflows and potential economic destabilization at home. As such, I expect to see the CNY decline managed in a steady and unthreatening manner going forward. But I remain pretty sure that it will continue to decline.

Other than those two stories, here’s what’s happening today. SEK has been the biggest winner in the G10, rising 1.25% after the Riksbank, although leaving rates on hold at -0.5%, virtually promised they would begin raising them by the end of the year. That is a faster pace than expected and so the currency reaction should be no surprise. However, keep in mind that Sweden is highly dependent on trade, and as trade rhetoric increases, they could well be collateral damage in that conflict. Aussie is the next biggest winner, having risen 0.7% after the RBA also left rates on hold, as expected, but the statement was seen as having a mildly hawkish tinge to it. But remember, AUD had fallen more than 4.5% in the past month, so on a day when the dollar is under pressure, it can be no surprise that the rebound is relatively large.

In the EMG space, MXN is today’s big winner, rallying 1.3% as the new story is that there are now more areas between the US and Mexico where President Trump and President-elect Obrador will be able to find common ground. Certainly both presidents are of the populist stripe, and so perhaps this is true. But my gut tells me that once AMLO and his Congress are sworn in (it doesn’t happen until December 1!) the market will recognize that the investment environment in Mexico is set to deteriorate, and so the currency will follow.

On the data front, yesterday’s ISM data was quite strong at 60.2, well above expectations and a further indication that the economic divergence theme remains alive and well. This morning we await only Factory Orders (exp -0.1%) and Vehicle Sales (17.0M), with the latter likely to be more interesting to market players than the former. Of course, tomorrow is July 4th, and so trading desks are on skeleton staff already. That means that liquidity is probably a bit sparse, and that interest in taking positions is extremely limited. Look for a lackluster session with the dollar probably edging a bit lower, but things to wind up early as everybody makes their escape.

Good luck
Adf

Not So Benign

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The worries in China have spread
From stocks to renminbi instead
Its recent decline
Seems not so benign
And could drive more market bloodshed

Well, if President Xi’s goal is to make China the most talked about nation in financial markets, he is clearly on the right track. Of course, he may not like the tone of the conversation!

Once again, Chinese markets are dominating the global discussion with continued declines overnight in equity markets there (Shanghai -1.1%, Shenzhen -1.3%) alongside the recent weakness in the renminbi. This morning, CNY has fallen a further 0.4%, with the dollar now trading above 6.60 for the first time since last December. It is becoming abundantly clear that the PBOC is quite willing to allow further weakness in what appears to be a reaction to the ongoing trade dispute with the US. In the past two weeks, USDCNY has risen every day with the total movement clocking in at more than 3%, and quite frankly, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it to stop. Last night the PBOC was seen intervening heavily in the market in an effort to moderate the decline, but it seems highly unlikely that the government there wants to stop it completely. As I mentioned yesterday, their key concern is that a more rapid decline in the yuan will result in significant capital outflows, or at the very least a sharp drop in capital inflows, and that has the potential to destabilize markets in China, and eventually, elsewhere in the world. And for a country that has been trying to burnish its image as a responsible global financial citizen, causing global market destabilization is clearly not the desired outcome. At any rate, given the ongoing standoff regarding the US-China trade situation, it seems highly unlikely that CNY will stop falling soon. Look for a gradual decline with a year-end target of 7.00 still quite viable in my mind.

Away from China, however, FX market activity has been less exciting. While the dollar continues its broad trend higher, the pace remains muted. For example, this morning, amongst the G10 currencies only NZD has moved more than 0.2%, with kiwi falling 0.6% as the market prepares for the RBNZ meeting this afternoon. Expectations are for no change in policy, but the suspicion is that the bank is becoming more dovish due to escalating trade rhetoric between the US and China.

Important economic data from the G10 is more notable by its absence than by what it is telling us about the economy. Last night brought us UK Home Price data, showing the slowest rate of price increases in five years, with prices in London actually falling by 1.9%. Combining this with testimony by Jonathan Haskel, who will take his seat on the MPC come September 1st, which showed him to be somewhat more dovish than Ian McCafferty, the member he is replacing, has clearly weighed on the pound. Otherwise, we saw a bit of mixed confidence data from Italy, soft confidence data from France and weak Irish Retail sales. None of this was very inspiring as evidenced by the euro’s 0.2% decline.

Meanwhile, the emerging market space remains under pressure as concerns over trade weigh heavily on the sector. It is important to remember that virtually every EMG country is dependent on its export sector for economic growth, and as the global free-trade framework that has existed for the past 70 years starts to come undone, these economies are going to suffer. The only potential exception right now is for the oil producers as President Trump’s recent call for a complete boycott of Iranian crude products has helped drive oil prices up by nearly 4% this week. So RUB, MXN and MYR have been able to outperform their EMG peers, although this morning all three are down vs. the dollar. In fact, the dollar has demonstrated strength throughout the market today, just as it has been doing for the past several months.

As to this morning, we see Durable Goods data (exp -1.0%, +0.5% ex transport) and we hear from two Fed speakers, Randy Quarles and Eric Rosengren. However, it seems unlikely that any of this will have a major market impact. Rather, I expect that the broad equity weakness that has been evident of late will continue (currently futures are pointing to a -0.5% opening in the US) and the risk-off tone that has engendered will help the dollar to remain underpinned. And of course, there is the ever present risk of some new commentary from President Trump that has the chance to upset markets. So volatility remains a good bet, as does modest continued dollar strength. This story is not even close to ending.

Good luck
Adf