CME FedWatch Tool

As markets factor in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve until the end of 2023, gold prices remain under pressure. In its latest gold price forecast, ABN AMRO's Senior Economist Sustainability Research, Georgette Boele, has lowered her long-term gold forecast. She projects prices to reach $2,000 by the end of this year and 2024 instead of the $2,200 previous forecast for 2024.   According to her, investors are not eager to buy gold at current levels, likely because prices are close to historical highs. She added that market expectations shifted after the Federal Reserve's statement about continuing its aggressive policy, even though the tightening cycle is nearing completion, marking the most aggressive tightening cycle in the last 40 years.   According to the CME FedWatch Tool, there is an 80% probability of a rate hike in July.   Boele stated that the Dutch bank expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 175 basis points only next year, as the economy slipped into a recession in the first quarter. Consequently, the bank anticipates a global bullish impulse for gold only in the following year, which could push prices towards.  

The press release of the recently concluded China’s Politburo meeting consisted of a more expansionary tone such as the implementation of “counter-cyclical” measures. A dovish tilt is now being priced in by interest rates futures after yesterday’s FOMC meeting. Based on the CME FedWatch tool, the odds have increased to bring forward the expected first Fed Funds rate cut to March 2024 from May/June 2024. This latest set of dovish expectations on the future path of the Fed’s monetary policy has negated the prior steep depreciation of the yuan against the US dollar. Short-term positive animal spirits have been revived in China equities, and its proxies (the Hang Seng Indices) ex-post Politburo & FOMC.   The market’s reaction so far has been positive in terms of risk-on behaviour toward China equities and their proxies (Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng TECH Index & Hang Seng China Enterprises Index) ex-post press release on the outcome of the July’s Politburo meeting that concluded on Monday, 24 July after the close of the Asian session as well as yesterday’s ex-post US central bank, Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting on its interest rate policy. The Politburo is a top decision-making body led by President Xi that set key economic policy agenda for China, and Monday’s meeting set the agenda for the coming months to implement expansionary policies to address the current weak internal demand environment. It vowed to implement a counter-cyclical policy to boost consumption, more support for the property market, and ease local government debt. The share prices of China ADR listed in the US stock exchanges have a remarkable intraday performance on Monday, 24 July US session. China’s Big Tech such as Alibaba (BABA), and Baidu (BIDU) ended the US session with gains of around 5%. A basket of China stocks listed as exchange-traded funds in the US soared as well, the KranShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), and Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (PGJ) rallied by +4.5% and +4% respectively, notched their best single day return since May 2023. Even though the press release lacks the details of the implementation of upcoming fiscal stimulus measures (again), and refrains from enacting major stimulus measures that increase the risk of debt overhang in the property sector, it is the choice of words, and tonality used that sparked the risk-on behaviour. Firstly, President Xi’s key phrase on China’s housing market, houses are for living, not for speculation” has been omitted for the first since mid-2019” which suggests that more leeway to negate the ongoing weakness in houses prices such as easing home buying restrictions in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Secondly, the term “counter-cyclical” measures are being emphasized which suggests that boosting domestic demand takes priority over infrastructure spending. Given the heightened risk of a deflationary spiral taking shape in China and a “liquidity trap” situation where more accommodative monetary policy may lead to lesser marginal economic growth, the key solution to break the adverse deflationary spiral and its liquidity trap aftereffects is to shore up consumer confidence via expanding domestic demand actively.     Outperformance of China ADR exchange-traded funds supported by a stronger yuan     Fig 1: Relative momentum of China ADRs ETFs vs. MSCI All Country World ETF of 26 Jul 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) Overall, short-term sentiment seems to have turned bullish for China equities where China ADR ETFs have outperformed major US benchmark US stock indices on a month-to-date horizon as of yesterday, 26 July 2023; the KranShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), and Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (PGJ) gained by +12% and +13.14% respectively over S&P 500 (+2.61%), and MSCI All Country World Index ETF (+2.97%). Also, yesterday’s Fed Chair Powell ex-post FOMC press conference indicated that the Fed will be data-dependent in deciding whether to pause or hike the Fed Funds rate at its next FOMC meeting on 20 September. This implies that the Fed is likely not in a mode of raising interest rates at every other meeting after yesterday’s expected 25 basis points hike to bring the Fed Funds rate to a 22-year high at 5.25% to 5.50%. Markets seem to be pricing in a more dovish tilt on the expected start of the first Fed Funds rate cut. Based on the CME FedWatch tool derived from the 30-day Fed Funds futures pricing data, the odds have increased for the first expected cut to occur on the 20 March 2024 FOMC meeting with a combined probability of 56.07%. Previously, before yesterday’s FOMC, higher odds for the expected first-rate cut were clustered between the 1 May and 19 June 2024 FOMC meetings. The current dovish tilt on the expected future trajectory of the Fed Funds rate has negated further upside yield premium of the US’s 2-year Treasury note over China’s 2-year sovereign bond. Since Monday, 24 Jul, the yield premium has narrowed by 11 bps to 2.75% from 2.86% as of today at this time of the writing which in turn supported the yuan from a further deprecation against the US dollar. USD/CNH (offshore yuan) remained below its 20-day moving average     Fig 2: USD/CNH medium-term trend as of 27 Jul 2023 (Source: TradingView, click to enlarge chart) The yuan has started to strengthen against the US dollar in the short-term horizon since last Thursday, 20 July which in turn created a positive feedback loop back that reinforces the bullish sentiment towards China equities. The USD/CNH (offshore yuan) has failed to break above its 20-day moving average, acting as a key intermediate resistance at 7.2160 with a bearish momentum reading seen on its daily RSI oscillator. Hence, further potential weakness in the USD/CNH is likely to be able to kickstart short-term uptrend phases for China equities and its proxies.

The EUR/USD pair has been caught in turbulence amid conflicting fundamental signals, causing the price to move sideways. Market participants still need to unravel this tangle of contradictions to determine the price's direction. Currently, traders are driven by emotions, experiencing a rollercoaster-like ride. The verdict of the Federal Reserve and the US GDP The results of the Federal Reserve's July meeting were not in favor of the greenback. Bulls returned to the 1.1150 resistance level (the Tenkan-sen line on the 1D chart) and tested it. However, when it comes to the overall outcome, it would be more accurate to say otherwise: the market interpreted the results of the July meeting against the US currency, while the Fed's verdict can be viewed from different angles. The US central bank avoided specifics, especially regarding the future prospects of tightening monetary policy. According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, everything will depend on what new economic data shows: the September meeting may end with either a rate hike or keeping rates unchanged. Such rhetoric disappointed dollar bulls, as recent inflation reports came out in the "red," reflecting a slowdown in inflation in the US. It is logical to assume that if July's inflation follows the trajectory of June's, the September rate hike will be in question. These conclusions put significant pressure on the greenback – the US dollar index hit a weekly low, declining towards the 100 level. However, the situation changed drastically. Dollar bulls once again saw a "light at the end of the tunnel" thanks to the latest US GDP report. The data significantly surpassed forecasts.   According to preliminary calculations, US GDP increased by 2.4% in the second quarter, with a growth forecast of 1.8%. It is worth mentioning that the first quarter's result was recently revised upwards: the initial estimate showed a 1.3% growth in the US economy, while the final data showed a different result of 2.0%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis report (US Department of Commerce agency) indicates that this growth was driven by increased consumer spending, government and local government spending, growth in non-residential fixed investment, private investment in equipment, and federal government spending. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, increased by 1.6% in the second quarter, while government spending increased by 2.6%. EUR/USD sellers are back in action In addition to the GDP report, dollar bulls were also pleasantly surprised by another indicator.   Durable Goods Orders in the US increased 4.7% in June, compared to forecasts of 1.3%. This reading followed the 2.0% increase recorded in May. Orders for durable goods excluding transportation also rose by 0.6% last month. This component of the report also showed a positive outcome, as most experts expected a more modest growth of 0.1%.   As a result, hawkish expectations regarding the Fed's future actions have increased in the market. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25 basis points rate hike in September is nearly 30%, whereas after the announcement of the July meeting's outcome, this probability fluctuated in the range of 19-20%. Such an information background contributed to the "revival" of the greenback.   The US dollar index fully recovered all lost positions, rising to the middle of the 101 level. Consequently, the EUR/USD pair plummeted and hit two-week price lows.       The European Central Bank also played its role in this. Following the July meeting, the ECB raised interest rates by 25 basis points but did not announce further steps in this direction.   Similar to the Fed, the ECB indicated that one additional rate hike from the central bank would now depend on key economic data, primarily inflation. According to ECB President Christine Lagarde, the central bank has "turned off the autopilot" – decisions on interest rates will be made from meeting to meeting and will be based on "inflation forecasts, economic and financial data, and the underlying inflation dynamics."   It is worth noting that after the previous meeting, Lagarde had directly announced the rate hike at the July meeting. Conclusions The latest US reports, as well as the outcomes of the ECB's July meeting, "redrew" the fundamental picture for the EUR/USD pair. There is one more important piece of the puzzle remaining: the core PCE index, which will be published at the start of the US session on Friday, July 28th. However, for another upward reversal, this indicator must deviate significantly from the forecasted value (naturally, in a downward direction), with experts predicting a declining trend to 4.2% (following the May increase to 4.6%).   From a technical perspective, you can consider short positions on the pair after sellers overcome the support level of 1.0950 (Tenkan-sen line on the weekly chart). In such a case, the next bearish target for EUR/USD would be at 1.0850 – the upper band of the Kumo cloud on the 1D chart.  

New Zealand Services PMI declines US manufacturing data climbs, consumer sentiment falls The New Zealand dollar has started the week in positive territory. NZD/USD is trading at 0.5918 in the North American session, up 0.34%. New Zealand’s Services PMI declines New Zealand’s Services PMI eased to 47.1 in August, down from 47.8 in July. The reading marked a third straight decline in activity and was the lowest level since January 2022. This comes on the heels of Friday’s Manufacturing PMI, which fell to 46.1 in August, down from 46.6 a month earlier. This was the sixth consecutive month of contraction (the 50.0 line separates contraction from expansion). The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has been forecasting a recession and the weak PMIs support this view. New Zealand’s economy has cooled down due to the central bank’s steep tightening and global demand has weakened, most notably with China experiencing a slowdown and deflation. The RBNZ paused at the August meeting and interest rates may have peaked. If economic data remains weak, I would expect the RBNZ to prolong the pause at next month’s meeting. The US ended last week with mixed releases. The Empire State Manufacturing Index surprised and jumped to 1.9 in September, up from -19 in August and above the market consensus of -10. The UoM consumer sentiment index slowed to 67.7 in September, down from 69.5 in August and shy of the market consensus of 69.1 points. Inflation Expectations fell to 3.1% in August, down from 3.5% in July and the lowest level since March 2021. This is another sign that inflation is weakening and supports a pause at the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. The markets have priced in a pause at 99%, according to the CME FedWatch tool, up from 92% one week ago.   NZD/USD Technical NZD/USD is testing resistance at 0.5908. The next resistance line is 0.5936 There is support at 0.5871 and 0.5843