economic outlook

Summary:  Today we look at markets trying to remain steady yesterday after a strong US August ISM Services survey took US treasury yields sharply higher again, but that rise in yields aggravated the decline in the Japanese yen, which accelerated lower overnight and hardly registered stern warnings from Japan's Ministry of Finance. We also discuss factors driving gold below $1700/ounce again and the commodities complex weighed down in general by the strong US dollar and economic outlook. Equity market focus on sluggish volatility relative to prior cycles and the ongoing US-China disengagement. Today's pod features Peter Garnry on equities, Ole Hansen on commodities and John J. Hardy hosting and on FX. Listen to today’s podcast - slides are found via the link. Follow Saxo Market Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Podcast: Bank of Japan fiddling as yen burns | Saxo Group (home.saxo)

UPS reports its positive results. Negative news is pouring in from Asia. And also we met the new UK prime minister. In this article: The next UK prime minister Summary of Q3 Electric-vehicle market Asia’s economic outlook FedEx problems Rishi Sunak to become the next UK prime minister CNBC Now tweets about the new prime minister of UK BREAKING: Rishi Sunak set to be Britain's new prime minister as rival Penny Mordaunt drops out https://t.co/sNXCUoAvtq — CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) October 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s new prime minister, succeeding Liz Truss who resigned Thursday. Liz Truss was the shortest reigning prime minister in the UK, the current situation has surpassed her. After Liz Truss' resignation, there were voices that Boris Johnson would again take over the British government. But as we know, these were only false guesses. Current information that Sunak will take over this position. He will not become prime minister immediately because, according to the ritual, the outgoing prime minister, in this case Truss, must first resign in favor of King Charles. After that, the king will appoint another prime minister, Sunak, in the coming days. The question is whether the new prime minister will cope with the challenges that await him and restore stability to the British economy? UBS results UBS in its tweets shares the results for the third quarter. Particularly noteworthy is the tweet with the statement by CEO Ralph Hamers. Hear from our CEO Ralph Hamers on the progress we made over the third quarter as well as the trends we saw for client activity. pic.twitter.com/OjEAeb5WeV — UBS (@UBS) October 25, 2022 UBS Group AG, as an international investment bank and financial services company, enjoys popularity and high profits. Along with the end of a certain period, in this case of the third quarter, the company summed up its achievements. The situation on the markets is diversified, and the observation of new trends may prove very helpful for the functioning of the instance. In the author's post, you can find out about the situation of UBS, which can affect its prominence and positions in financial services. Toyota and electric-vehicle Reuters Business tweets about electric-vehicle. On @Breakingviews: Toyota is mulling its third electric-vehicle reboot in 13 months. Frequent rejigs can mean bigwigs are flailing for ideas. But its latest overhaul implies boss Akio Toyoda is addressing missteps with more speed, says @AntonyMCurrie https://t.co/ayxtHq1ZAC pic.twitter.com/OuHPhkGTLQ — Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) October 25, 2022 There is no doubt that electronic vehicles have become something desirable. Many car manufacturing companies try to modernize their products. One of them is Toyota, which is trying to match the giant in the production of electronic cars, Tesla. Some people may take away from trying to look for new ideas, and for some it means growing their business. Public debt in Asia has increased The IMF in its post addresses the topic of economic problems in Asia. Amid Asia’s dimming economic outlook and rising inflation, public debt has risen substantially in Asia over the past 15 years—particularly in the advanced economies and China. https://t.co/gDWrrRU0uD pic.twitter.com/YvJDzyAM7c — IMF (@IMFNews) October 25, 2022 Economies around the world struggle with the problems of rising inflation and its negative impact on the functioning of economies. China as Asia's largest economy is also struggling. Despite yesterday's positive results (Read more : Growth In China's Trade Balance. Significant Declines In Major Sectors Of Europe And Great Britain| FXMAG.COM), there is a bigger problem of public debt. Public debt is growing rapidly, which means that the governments of Asian countries are indebted to power. Despite positive reports, such a situation may have negative consequences for the economy. This may mean that a financial crisis is approaching, and as we know from history, dealing with this problem can be laborious and very expensive. Companies face problems Bloomberg Terminal tweets about the market loses of the FedEx shipping company. FedEx lost $11 billion in market value last month, wiping out two years of stock gains, after it pulled its forecast, feeding into fears of a global demand slowdown.https://t.co/OthLH3tipw — Bloomberg Terminal (@TheTerminal) October 24, 2022 The economic slowdown and rising inflation affect the situation of shipping companies. The prognosis is not very good. FedEx and UPS expect to see dramatic drops in US and global shipments. Which will have a negative impact on the financial result of these companies, and thus may cause a reduction in employment.

EUR: Can China come to the euro's rescue? EUR/USD has quietly slipped below support at 1.0700/1.0720 and may be gently making its way to the March lows at 1.0515/0530. As we mentioned last week, we think   EUR/USD is relatively cheap given the massive reversal in energy prices over the last year and that, in time, the 1.05/1.07 area will come to be seen as a summer base.   Helping that proposition would be some kind of recovery in China. The release of the China Beige Book has shown some recovery in the China manufacturing sector in May.   Official May Chinese PMI figures are released later this week. A bounceback here, helping to reverse the recent run-up in USD/CNH, could provide the euro with some support.   For today, the eurozone focus will be on the release of industrial and consumer confidence figures for May. Consensus expects some further deterioration here and if so this should keep EUR/USD on the soft side. We will also hear from a raft of ECB speakers today.   Expect more hawkish rhetoric especially in advance of the May eurozone CPI data on Thursday. Consensus expects core eurozone CPI to edge lower to 5.5% year-on-year in May. Another upside surprise here – feeding the sticky inflation narrative – warns that investors could return to pricing a 4.00% ECB deposit rate.   - Chris Turner

CEE: US dollar remains the region's nightmare The second print of first quarter GDP in the Czech Republic will be published today. Besides the GDP breakdown, we will also see the wage bill, which has been mentioned several times by the Czech National Bank as a potential reason for a rate hike in June.   Tomorrow, inflation for May and the details of first quarter GDP in Poland will be published. We expect headline inflation to fall from 14.7% to 13.0% YoY, below market expectations, mainly due to fuel and energy prices. On Thursday, we will see PMI numbers across the region, where we expect a slight deterioration in sentiment across the board.   Later, we will see state budget data in the Czech Republic, which posted its worst-ever result in April, raising questions about additional government bond issuance. The European Parliament is also scheduled to hold a session on Thursday, which is expected to cover the Hungarian EU presidency and is also likely to touch on the topic of EU money and the rule of law.   The FX market, as usual in recent weeks, will be dominated by the global story and the US dollar. So, even this week, CEE FX will not be in a bed of roses. We still see the Polish zloty as the most vulnerable, which despite some weakening in the past week remains near record highs. The market has built up a significant long position in PLN over the past two months.   Plus, we may hear more election noise. Moreover, the significant fall in inflation should push the interest rate differential lower. Thus, we see EUR/PLN around 4.540.   The Czech koruna remains the most sensitive currency in the region against the US dollar, which should be the main driver this week. On the other hand, the reversal in the rate differential has been indicating a reversal in EUR/CZK for a few days now.   Thus, at least a stable EUR/USD could allow the koruna to move toward 23.600. The Hungarian forint can expect a headline attack from the European Parliament this week, and given the current strong levels, we could easily see weaker levels again closer to 375 EUR/HUF.   However, we believe the market will use any spike to build long positions in HUF again.

Europe set for a mixed open, as debt ceiling deal heads towards a vote. By Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK) With both the US and UK markets closed yesterday, there was a rather tepid response to the weekend news that the White House and Republican leaders had agreed a deal to raise the debt ceiling, as European markets finished a quiet session slightly lower. The deal, which lays out a plan to suspend the debt ceiling beyond the date of the next US election until January 1st 2025, will now need to get agreement from lawmakers on both sides of the political divide to pass into law. That could well be the hardest part given that on the margins every vote is needed which means partisan interests on either side could well derail or delay a positive outcome. A vote on the deal could come as soon as tomorrow with a new deadline of 5th June cited by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. US markets, which had been rising into the weekend on the premise that a deal was in the making look set to open higher when they open later today, however markets in Europe appear to be less than enthused. That's probably due to concerns over how the economic recovery in China is doing, with recent economic data suggesting that confidence there is slowing, and economic activity is declining. Nonetheless while European stocks have struggled in recent weeks, they are still within touching distance of their recent record highs, although recent increases in yields and persistent inflation are starting to act as a drag. This is likely to be the next major concern for investors in the event we get a speedy resolution to the US debt ceiling headwind. We've already seen the US dollar gain ground over the last 3 weeks as markets start to price in another rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month, and more importantly start to price out the prospect of rate cuts this year. Last week's US and UK economic data both pointed to an inflationary outlook that is much stickier than was being priced a few weeks ago, with core prices showing little sign of slowing. In the UK core prices surged to a 33 year high of 6.8% while US core PCE edged up to 4.7% in April, meaning pushing back any possible thoughts that we might see rate cuts as soon as Q3. At this rate we'll be lucky to see rate cuts much before the middle of 2024, with the focus now set to shift to this week's US May jobs report on Friday, although we also have a host of other labour market and services data between now and then to chew over. The last few weeks have seen quite a shift, from the certainty that the Federal Reserve was almost done when it comes to rate hikes to the prospect that we may well see a few more unless inflation starts to exhibit signs of slowing markedly in the coming months. In the EU we are also seeing similar trends when it comes to sticky inflation with tomorrow's flash CPI numbers for May expected to show some signs of slowing on the headline number, but not so much on the core measure. On the data front today we have the latest US consumer confidence numbers for May which are expected to see a modest slowdown from 101.30 in April to 99, and the lowest levels since July last year. EUR/USD – has so far managed to hold above the 1.0700 level, with a break below arguing to a move back towards 1.0610. We need to see a rebound above 1.0820 to stabilise. GBP/USD – holding above the 1.2300 area for now with further support at the April lows at 1.2270. We need to recover back above 1.2380 to stabilise. EUR/GBP – currently struggling to move above the 0.8720 area, with main resistance at the 0.870 area. A move below current support at 0.8650 could see a move towards 0.8620. USD/JPY – having broken above the 139.60 area this now becomes support for a move towards 142.50 which is the 61.8% retracement of the down move from the recent highs at 151.95 and lows at 127.20. Further support remains back at the 137.00 area and 200-day SMA. FTSE100 is expected to open unchanged at 7,627 DAX is expected to open 17 points higher at 15,967 CAC40 is expected to open 30 points lower at 7,273

With the White House and Republican leaders agreeing a deal on the debt ceiling at the weekend markets are now obsessing about whether the deal will get the necessary votes to pass into law, as partisan interests line up to criticise the deal.   With the deadline for a deal now said to be next Monday, 5th June a vote will need to go forward by the end of the week, with ratings agencies already sharpening their pencils on downgrades for the US credit rating. European markets sank sharply yesterday along with bond yields, as markets started to fret about a recession, while oil prices sank 4% over demand concerns. US markets also struggled for gains although the Nasdaq 100 has continued to outperform as a small cohort of tech stocks contrive to keep US markets afloat. As we look towards today's European open and the end of the month, we look set for further declines after Asia markets slid on the back of another set of weak China PMIs for May. We'll also be getting another look at how things are looking with respect to economic conditions in Europe, as well as an insight into some key inflation numbers, although core prices will be missing from this snapshot. French Q1 GDP is expected to be confirmed at 0.2% while headline CPI inflation for May is expected to slow from 6.9% to 6.4%. Italian Q1 GDP is also expected to be confirmed at 0.5, and headline CPI for May is expected to slow from 8.7% to 7.5%. We finish up with the flash CPI inflation numbers from Germany, which is also expected to see a slowdown in headline from 7.6% to 6.7% in May. While this is expected to offer further encouragement that headline inflation in Europe is slowing, that isn't the problem that is causing investors sleepless nights. It's the level of core inflation and for that we'll have to wait until tomorrow and EU core CPI numbers for May, which aren't expected to show much sign of slowing.   We'll also get another insight into the US jobs markets and the number of vacancies in April, which is expected to fall from 9.59m in March to 9.4m. While a sizeable drop from the levels we were seeing at the end of last year of 11m, the number of vacancies is still over 2m above the levels 2 years ago, and over 3m above the levels they were pre-pandemic. The size of this number suggests that the labour market still has some way to go before we can expect to see a meaningful rise in the unemployment rate off its current low levels of 3.4%. EUR/USD – slipped to the 1.0673 area before rebounding with the 1.0610 area the next key support. We need to see a rebound above 1.0820 to stabilise.   GBP/USD – rebounded from the 1.2300 area with further support at the April lows at 1.2270. Pushed back to the 1.2450 area and the 50-day SMA, before slipping back. A move through 1.2460 is needed to open up the 1.2520 area.   EUR/GBP – slid to a 5-month low yesterday at 0.8628 just above the next support at 0.8620. A move below 0.8620 opens up the December 2022 lows at 0.8558. Main resistance remains at the 0.8720 area.   USD/JPY – ran into some selling pressure at 140.90 yesterday, slipping back to the 139.60 area which is a key support area. A break below 139.50 could see a return to the 137.00 area, thus delaying a potential move towards 142.50 which is the 61.8% retracement of the down move from the recent highs at 151.95 and lows at 127.20.   FTSE100 is expected to open 22 points lower at 7,500   DAX is expected to open 64 points lower at 15,845   CAC40 is expected to open 34 points lower at 7,175

France: consumption plunges while inflation moderates The second quarter got off to a poor start in France, with household consumption falling for the third consecutive month in April, and the outlook has been revised downwards. Against a backdrop of falling demand, inflationary pressures are moderating more quickly than expected.   Consumption continues to plummet In April, for the third consecutive month, consumer spending on goods fell. This time, the fall was 1% over the month, following a 0.8% fall in March. Household consumption of goods is now 4.3% lower than a year ago and 6.3% below its pre-pandemic level. The fall is due to lower energy consumption (-1.9% over one month) and a further fall in food consumption. Food consumption is now 11% below its pandemic level.   The magnitude of the fall shows the significant impact of the inflationary context and the fall in purchasing power, which has led households to significantly alter their consumption habits.   These figures were eagerly awaited, as they are the first real activity data available for the second quarter. And we can now say that the second quarter got off to a poor start. It is clear that the French economy is slowing sharply. It is unlikely that consumption will make a positive contribution to GDP growth in the second quarter, especially as the slowdown is beginning to have an impact on the labour market, as suggested by the employment climate data published by INSEE last week.   The prospect of a recovery later in the year seems to be fading. This has led us to revise our growth outlook slightly downwards. We are now expecting GDP growth of 0.6% in 2023 and 0.7% in 2024, with the risks still tilted to the downside. Although France escaped recession last winter, today's indicators are a reminder that a recession in the coming months cannot be ruled out.   Strong moderation in inflationary pressures Against this backdrop of falling demand, inflationary pressures are moderating. As expected, the pace of consumer price inflation eased in France in May. Inflation stood at 5.1%, down from 5.9% in April, while the harmonised index, which is important for the ECB, reached 6% in May, compared to 6.9% in April. The good news is that the fall in inflation is now visible in all consumer categories. Energy inflation fell sharply to 2% year-on-year in May.   Unlike in other European countries, it remains positive, however, as the rise in household energy bills did only take place at the start of 2023, rather than in 2022, as a result of the "tariff shield" introduced by the government last year. Food inflation remains very high but is starting to fall, to 14.1% in May from 15% in April.   At 4.1% year-on-year, compared with 4.6% in April, growth in the prices of manufactured goods is also moderating, as is that of services, which stood at 3% compared with 3.2% in April. These last two developments are very good news, as they signal that the inflation peak is behind us, but also that inflation is likely to fall rapidly over the coming months. Indeed, the signs of moderation in inflationary pressures are mounting.   For example, tensions in supply chains have disappeared and the growth in industrial producer prices, which gives an indication of changes in production costs for the manufacturing sector, slowed sharply to 5% year-on-year in April (compared with 9.5% in March). Over one month, producer prices fell sharply, by 4.1%, after +1.2% in the previous month. This indicates that growth in the prices of manufactured goods is set to slow markedly over the coming months.   Furthermore, business forecasts for selling prices fell sharply in May, particularly in the industrial and construction sectors, but also in services. Inflation in services should therefore continue to weaken over the coming months.   Finally, given the fall in agricultural commodity prices on international markets and the weakness of demand, food inflation should continue to fall gradually, and more rapidly once the impact of the price agreement between food producers and big retailers has been absorbed, i.e. during the summer. Ultimately, inflation is likely to fall over the coming months, helped by weak demand. We are expecting inflation to average 4.7% over the year (5.7% for harmonised inflation).

FXMAG.COM: Do you expect any radical moves of EUR/GBP price in the near future? What can cause such fluctuations?  As forex traders keenly observe the EUR/GBP currency pair, there is speculation surrounding the likelihood of substantial price movements in the near future. Examining the underlying factors that can trigger notable fluctuations is essential for making informed decisions in the market.   Macroeconomic indicators, including GDP growth, inflation rates, and employment figures, offer valuable insights into the potential for significant moves in the EUR/GBP price.   Based on the latest available data for Q1 of 2023, Eurozone GDP growth experienced a 1.3% increase, while the UK maintained a stable growth rate of 0.10%. Political developments exert a considerable impact on the EUR/GBP exchange rate. Notably, events such as the recent UK election or updates related to Brexit have proven to be catalysts for volatility.   Staying well-informed about key political developments is crucial, as they can significantly influence the price of this currency pair. Central bank policies play a pivotal role in shaping the EUR/GBP exchange rate.   The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) periodically announce monetary policy decisions that affect this currency pair. It is important to keep a close watch on interest rate adjustments, quantitative easing programs, and forward guidance statements.   As of the latest interest rate decision on February 2, 2023, the ECB maintained rates at 3%, while the BoE held rates at 4.5% with a slight increase of 0.25% on May 11, 2023. Global economic trends and market sentiment can also influence the EUR/GBP price.   Trade relations between the Eurozone and the UK, as well as global economic conditions, can cause significant fluctuations. Monitoring geopolitical events, risk appetite indicators, and market sentiment can provide valuable insights into potential radical moves in this currency pair.   Predicting significant shifts in the EUR/GBP price is a complex task. However, analysing key factors such as macroeconomic indicators, political developments, central bank policies, and global economic trends can enhance your understanding of potential fluctuations. As of the latest available data on May 23, 2023, at 12:51, the EUR/GBP exchange rate stands at 0.87057. Stay well-informed about the latest news and events to navigate the market effectively and make informed trading decisions.

Unacceptably high core price dynamics will lend a helping hand to ECB officials pushing for a hawkish line The most likely outcome to this week's inflation releases, still unacceptably high core price dynamics, will lend a helping hand to ECB officials pushing for a hawkish line.   Warnings that hikes may have to continue until September will stand a better chance of pushing longer term rates higher even if a subdued economic outlook, and growing doubts about the strength of China's post Covid recovery, should prevent European rates from rising as quickly as their US peers in the coming weeks. Wider USD-EUR rates differentials should only be a temporary development, however, and one resulting from a rise in global rates.   Market participants who, like us, expect lower rates into year-end, should also consider the possibility of US rates falling faster than their European peers, perhaps to sub-100bp levels for 10Y Treasury-Bund spreads.   This is all the more true since European markets have to contend with another dollop of political uncertainty in the form of early Spanish general elections on 23 July. The prime minister called for a vote after local elections defeat at the weekend and the opposition party PP is on the front foot, although it would likely rely on a coalition with another party due to the fragmented nature of the Spanish political landscape.   Spain’s still wide budget deficit (the European commission forecasts 4.1% of GDP this year and 3.3% next) mean a period of uncertainty is an unwelcome development and could lead to underperformance of Spanish government bonds vs peers such as Portugal and Italy.   Early elections mean Spanish bonds are at risk of underperformance vs Italy and Portugal   Today's events and market view Spain kicks off this week’s inflation releases. This will come on top of Eurozone monetary aggregate data and the European Commission’s confidence indicators for the month of May. One theme in European macro releases has been the softening of survey-based data, such as Germany’s Ifo (see above).   US releases feature house prices, the conference board’s consumer confidence, and the Dallas Fed manufacturing activity index.   Bond supply will take the form of Italian 5Y, 10Y fixed rate bonds, as well as 5Y floating rate bonds.    

A hawkish hold from the Bank of Canada next week We expect the BoC to leave the policy rate at 4.5% next week, but after stronger-than-expected consumer price inflation and GDP and with the labour data remaining robust we cannot rule out a surprise interest rate increase. The market is pricing a 25% chance of a hike on 7 June, and a hawkish hold should be anough to keep the Canadian dollar supported.   Canadian resilience means a rate hike can't be ruled out The Bank of Canada last raised rates on 25 January and have held it at 4.5% ever since. The statement from the last meeting in April commented that global growth had been stronger than expected and that in Canada itself, “demand is still exceeding supply and the labour market remains tight”. The bank warned that it was continuing to “assess whether monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive and remain prepared to raise the policy rate further” to ensure inflation returns to 2%.   Since then we have had additional warnings from Governor Tiff Macklem that the bank remains concerned about upside inflation risks with the latest CPI report showing a month-on-month increase in prices of 0.7% versus a consensus forecast of 0.4%, resulting in the annual rate of inflation rising to 4.4%. The economy added another 41,400 jobs in April, more than double the 20,000 expected with wages rising and unemployment remaining at just 5%. The resilience of the economy was then emphasised further by first quarter GDP growth coming in at 3.1% annualised, beating the 2.5% consensus growth forecast. Consumer spending was the main growth engine, rising 3.1%.     But we favour a hawkish hold – signalling action unless inflation softens again soon Nonetheless, the BoC accept that monetary policy operates with long and varied lags and continue to believe that “as more households renew their mortgages at higher rates and restrictive monetary policy works its way through the economy more broadly, consumption is expected to moderate this year”. This will help to dampen inflation pressures and with commodity price softening we still believe that inflation can get close to the 2% target by the early part of 2024.   With the US economic outlook also looking a little uncertain, we doubt that the BoC will want to restart hiking interest rates unless it is certain that inflation pressures will not moderate as it has long been forecasting. Consequently we favour a hawkish hold, signalling that if there isn’t clearer evidence of softening in price pressures it could raise rates again in July.     The loonie's resilience can continue The Canadian dollar has been the best G10 performing currency in the past month, largely thanks to its high beta to the US economic narrative and a repricing of Canada’s domestic rate and growth story. These factors have outshadowed crude’s subdued performance in May and some risk sentiment instability.   A hawkish tone by the Bank of Canada at the June meeting is clearly an important element to keep the bullish narrative for CAD alive. As shown below, the recent repricing in Fed rate expectations caused a rebound in short-term USD swap rates relative to most currencies (like the euro), while the USD-CAD 2-year swap rate differential has remained on a declining path also throughout the second half of May.     As long as the BoC does not push back against the pricing for a hike in the summer, we expect CAD to remain supported. Some lingering USD strength in June can put a floor around 1.33/1.34 in USD/CAD, but we expect a decisive move to 1.30 in the third quarter and below then level before the end of the year.  

The US may be adding jobs in huge numbers but the key ISM business surveys cast serious doubt on how long this can last. The manufacturing ISM index is already indicating recession and the service sector will soon join it unless order books turn around dramatically. ISM reports indicate a rapid softening in business activity Last week’s ISM manufacturing index dropped to 46.9, the seventh consecutive sub-50 reading with order books, aside from two months of pandemic stress, looking in their worst shape since the 2009. Today’s ISM services report for May, while not quite as grim, only adds to worries about the outlook for the economy. The headline balance fell to 50.3 from 51.9 (consensus 52.4). As with many of the manufacturing ISM components, the only time the service sector report has been weaker in the past 14 years was in April and May 2020 at the peak of Covid containment and the December 2022 blip caused by the huge winter storm that was so disruptive for the travel, entertainment and service sectors. The details are poor throughout with business activity having similar metrics to the headline. New orders fell 3.2 points to 52.9, but the backlog of orders plummeted to 40.9 from 49.7. The backlog of orders are not seasonally-adjusted so comparisons are tricky, but for what it is worth, this is the worst reading since 2009. This is something that we also saw in the manufacturing report, dropping from 43.1 to 37.5.   ISM reports are heading in the wrong directions    

ECB Preview: Don’t look back in anger A 25bp rate hike looks like a done deal for next week’s European Central Bank meeting. However, with growth disappointing, the economic outlook getting gloomier and inflation dropping, arguments for several more rate hikes are becoming weaker. That said, the ECB is likely to ignore this.   Macro developments since the May meeting have clearly had more to offer the doves than the hawks at the ECB. Headline inflation has continued to come down but remains far off 2%, survey-based inflation expectations have also started to slow, growth has disappointed and confidence indicators seem to have peaked. In previous times, such a backdrop would have been enough for the ECB to consider pausing rate hikes and wait for the effects of the rate hikes so far to fully unfold. However, the ECB is fully determined right now to err on the side of higher rates.   Minutes of May meeting point to ongoing tightening bias This tightening bias was also reflected in the minutes of the ECB’s May meeting. The surprisingly weak Bank Lending Survey ahead of the last meeting clearly scared some ECB members enough to slow the pace of rate hikes but not enough to start thinking about an end to, or at least a pause in, the hiking cycle. In fact, a large number of ECB members assessed the risks to price stability as being clearly tilted to the upside over the policy-relevant horizon.   High underlying inflation and stubbornly high core inflation were the main reasons behind the ECB’s view that the conditions were not in place to “declare victory” or to be complacent about the inflation outlook.     Staff projections won't bring substantial change Next week’s meeting will also bring a new round of ECB staff projections. While gas prices have dropped further since the last projections in May, oil prices are broadly back at where they were in March. Market interest rates have also hardly changed and only the slightly weaker euro could technically add some inflationary pressure. At the same time, however, it will be interesting to see how the ECB is dealing with the disappointing soft and hard macro data of late.   Remember that back in March, the ECB expected eurozone GDP growth to return to its potential quarterly growth rate of 0.4% quarter-on-quarter from the third quarter of 2022 onwards. This was a surprising forecast given the delayed adverse impact from monetary policy tightening and ongoing structural transitions. It was also remarkable as at the same time, inflation was forecast to return to 2% by the end of 2025. An economy growing at full speed which also gradually allows inflation to disappear is a very unlikely phenomenon.     For next week, we expect slight downward revisions to the ECB’s GDP growth forecasts for this year and next but hardly any revisions to the inflation forecasts. This would mean that the ECB sticks to the 2025 forecast of 2.1% for headline and 2.2% for core inflation.     Hiking will continue, and not only next week Despite the recent decreases, actual headline and core inflation and expectations for inflation only to return to target in two years from now are clear arguments for the ECB to not only continue hiking by 25bp next week but to also keep the door open for rate hikes beyond then.   However, the eurozone economy has turned out to be less resilient than anticipated a few weeks ago and confidence indicators, with all the caveats currently attached to them, point to a weakening of growth momentum again. As headline inflation is gradually retreating, the risk increases that any additional rate hike could quickly turn out to be a policy mistake; at least in a few months from now. Still, the ECB simply cannot afford to get it wrong again.     This is why they are putting more than usual emphasis on actual inflation developments. Even if this completely contradicts forward-looking monetary policy, the ECB is in no position to take a chance and is not giving any impression that it might look back in anger.  

SEK: Higher core CPI good news for SEK In the midst of a quasi-currency crisis in Sweden over recent weeks, we had indicated today’s CPI release as a potentially pivotal moment for the krona. This proved to be the case. Both core and headline inflation for May came in hotter than expected: YoY readings were 9.7% for CPI (exp. 9.5%), 6.7% for CPIF (in line with consensus), and 8.2% for CPIF excluding energy (exp. 7.8%). This last core gauge is the one that the Riksbank is mainly focussing on: it declined faster than expected in April, from 8.9% to 8.4%, but it clearly decelerated it slowdown in May, to 8.2%.   The implications for monetary policy, and for the krona, are non-negligible. A key reason behind the recent SEK weakness was effectively the lack of support by the Riksbank after a dovish turn at the April policy meeting. Since then, except for verbally protesting a weak krona, the Bank had failed to offer a convincingly supporting narrative to the domestic currency (i.e. via rebuilding some hawkish narrative).   These higher inflation numbers offer an opportunity for the two dissenters to scale back their dovish opposition at the 29 June meeting and to allow rebuilding of that hawkish messaging (hike and signal more to come) that can help a more sustained recovery for SEK.   We cannot unsee the significant domestic downside risks for SEK (SBB, troubled economic and real estate outlooks), but the Riksbank has an opportunity to give a lifeline to the krona and wait for more market stabilisation to do the heavy lifting and bring EUR/SEK closer to 11.00 later in the year.   We are slightly more constructive on the EUR/SEK near-term outlook after today, although we warn against excessive confidence in the Riksbank adopting what we see as the best policy for the currency. Risks of spikes to 11.60-11.70 remain elevated, but a hawkish Riksbank could now take the pair sustainably below 11.50 by the summer.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) refrained from raising interest rates at this week's monetary policy meeting. Yet the median forecast on the Fed's dot plot suggested that there could be two more rate hikes before the end of this year. That came as a slap on the face of those expecting a rate cut by the end of the year, even though, I think that the doves haven't said their last word just yet. The credit conditions in the US are tightening, inflation is falling. Yesterday's PPI data revealed a faster than expected contraction in producer prices in May, while both headline and core CPI figures continued to ease over the same month.    Why, on earth, has the Fed started playing a guessing game, instead of hiking the rates right away?   It is because the US policymakers know that the idea of a 25bp hike - or two 25bp hikes - is more powerful than a 25bp hike itself, as future rate hikes are more effective in managing market expectations. The market is keen to go back to pricing the end of rate hikes - and rate cuts - when they know that the Fed is coming toward the end of the tightening cycle. To avoid that end-of-tunnel enthusiasm from jeopardizing tightening efforts, the Fed keeps the tightening suspense alive, without however acting on the rates. If all goes well - if inflation continues easing, and tighter financial conditions begin weighing on US jobs market - the Fed will have the option to step back and simply... not hike.  But for now, 'nearly all policymakers' remain concerned with the moderate cooling in core inflation, and they don't see inflation going below 3% this year.       Mild reaction  The US 2-year yield continues pushing higher, while enthusiasm at the long end of the yield curve is lesser, as higher rates increase recession odds. The S&P500 hit a fresh high since last year but closed almost flat. The US dollar rebounded off its 100-DMA, and the EURUSD rallied above its own 100-DMA and holds ground above the 1.08 mark this morning, into the widely watched European Central Bank (ECB) decision.    A hawkish ECB hike?  The ECB is broadly expected to hike the interest rates by 25bp when it meets today, and ECB chief Lagarde will likely sound hawkish at the press conference following the decision and insist that despite the recent easing in inflationary pressures – and perhaps the deteriorating economic outlook, the ECB will continue its efforts to fight.  Note that 500-billion-euro TLTROS will mature on June 28th and will pull a good amount of liquidity out of the market. While there is still around 4 trillion euros of excess liquidity in the financial system, the draining liquidity could cause anxiety among investors, especially if some European banks fail to find enough financing in the market to replace their TLTRO funding – a scenario which could sap investors' confidence and appetite in the coming weeks.     In this respect, Italian banks are under a close watch as they are behind their European pears in repaying their TLTRO and the funding through TLTROs are more than the excess cash its lenders parked with the ECB. That means that Italian banks must find money somewhere else – but where? – to repay their TLTROs.   I am not particularly worried about the stability of the European financial system, but I can hardly imagine European stocks extend rally in the environment of draining liquidity and rising rates. The Stoxx 600 index spiked above its 50-DMA yesterday, as a stronger euro may have reinforced appetite, yet European stocks will likely return to the 435-450 area.       China cuts.  In China, we have a completely different ambiance when it comes to inflation and monetary policy. The Chinese inflation remains flat and under pressure near 26-month lows, growth is not picking up the anticipated post-Covid momentum, and the People's Bank of China (PBoC) cut its one-year MLF rate by 10bp today, as broadly expected, to give a shake to the depressed Chinese economy. The problem is, there is now a talk that China could be entering a liquidity trap, meaning a period where lower rates fail to boost appetite and don't translate into faster growth.  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has recently made a surprising shift in its approach towards financial stability, signaling a departure from its historically dovish stance. This decision, prompted by the challenges posed by inflation, has significant implications for both the performance of individual economies and the overall prosperity of the European Union.   In this article, we had the opportunity to discuss the ECB's decision with Petr Ševčík, an analyst from BITMarkets, who shared valuable insights into the repercussions of this move. BITMarkets, a platform that has been closely monitoring the rise of cryptocurrency trading in Europe, has observed increased trading activity in this sector since the beginning of the year. Cryptocurrencies, known for their volatility, have gained attention as a potential refuge in times of economic uncertainty and hardship. As inflationary pressures continue to burden traditional industries such as housing and banking, some investors are turning to alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.   The impact of the ECB's decision is already being felt across various sectors, with construction and materials stocks experiencing a 0.8% drop and bank stocks dwindling by 0.7%. These developments are a natural consequence of higher borrowing costs, leading to a slowdown in loan growth. However, amidst these challenges, there are signs of resilience in certain areas. Media stocks, for instance, enjoyed a 0.7% upside following the news, indicating that the markets may begin to respond more favorably to individual performance rather than being solely influenced by widespread conditions.    FXMAG.COM: Could you please comment on the ECB decision?   It's crystal clear that the reluctant ECB is that of the past. Historically known for adopting a very dovish approach towards financial stability of the bloc by avoiding sharp interest hikes, its decision to bump rates again highlights the struggles caused by inflation which are burdening the performance of individual economies and corporations and the livelihood of individuals; on a macro scale, this has been hindering the prosperity of the European Union for a daunting lengthy period. BITmarkets has witnessed the rise of crypto trading since the start of the year, and a notable portion of increased trading activity has stemmed from Europe. Cryptocurrency assets are volatile and always have been, but they have been regarded as refuge by some in times of economic uncertainty and hardship. What's apparent is that the housing industry and the banking sector are among the industries which are being damaged the most, with construction and materials stocks dropping 0.8% and bank stocks dwindling 0.7% following the news. From a wider perspective, this is only natural as borrowing costs increased which attributes the slowdown of growth in loans.  While the news was not taken very lightly as the continent's most popular indices shed their prices, I don't project much more dismay for Europe with regards to economic stability. Media stocks enjoyed a 0.7% upside and that speaks a thousand words. Inflation is cooling down and markets may begin to behave based on performance rather than being continuously-succumbed to widespread conditions. The European financial market has been a victim of calamitous market conditions for years, but the latest ECB move is one that can ultimately bring the EU out of its shell.

What about the forecast changes? Perhaps the most important change will be that, as the extreme risk scenarios have now disappeared, the central bank will hopefully also narrow the updated forecast ranges when it presents the main figures in the June Inflation Report. A narrowing of the forecast range downward would send a rather strong message regarding GDP growth in 2023. This would put the central bank in the ranks of those who do not think it likely that GDP growth of 1.5% will be achieved this year. However, as the economic outlook now depends largely on the performance of agriculture, it may still be justified to maintain a wider band.   ING's expectations regarding the NBH's forecasts   There is a lot of uncertainty around GDP growth next year, so perhaps there is no point in seriously revising expectations. As for inflation, the NBH is likely to raise its forecast, if only because of the change in the excise duty from 1 January 2024. In addition, an inflation rate clearly above 3% could also send an important message to markets, supporting the central bank's new stance that sustained tight monetary policy with a continuous real positive interest rate environment is needed to achieve the inflation target in a sustainable manner.   Our market views The Hungarian forint has come under pressure for the first time in a while, reaching its weakest level against the euro since the end of May. We see EUR/HUF in a 368-378 range for the rest of the year and see the current higher values as only temporary. The market will probably want to wait for the NBH meeting to see how it sees the situation. However, we believe the market will use weaker forint levels as an opportunity to build new positions and benefit from the highest FX carry within the region. Thus, we expect the forint to return more towards the lower end of our range around EUR/HUF 370 next week.   In the rates space, we see the market more or less fairly pricing in the rate cuts this year and the super short end is thus anchored. However, looking at the longer 1-3y horizon, we see room for the market to further price in some normalisation of NBH policy. Our long-term view thus remains unchanged and the 2s10s spread should steepen with the entire curve moving lower, and catching up with the market. In the short term, for next week, we see major scope for a move within the short end of the curve and a flattening in the 1s3s segment that may get the market's attention.   Hungarian Government Bonds (HGBs) have had a massive rally in recent weeks and are posting the highest overall returns in the CEE region this year. We continue to like HGBs, which benefit the most from the whole story in Hungary, further supported by government measures and funding fully under the control of the debt agency. In the coming days, we could see some profit-taking and upward yield pressure from core rates, however, we still see HGBs as expensive relative to CEE peers. On the other hand, it is hard to see a significant trigger for a sell-off and we expect the market to continue to like HGBs.

In the ever-evolving landscape of financial markets, decisions made by major central banks have a significant impact on shaping trends. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Matthew Weller, an analyst at StoneX, to gain insights into the current state of affairs.   Read more   The European Central Bank (ECB) recently made headlines with its "Hawkish Hike," raising its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5%. This move aims to combat the escalating inflation in the eurozone, marking the eighth consecutive rate hike since July 2022. The ECB's determination to bring inflation down from its current 6.1% to its target of 2% is evident. ECB President Christine Lagarde has hinted at the possibility of further rate hikes at the next meeting in July, emphasizing the need to tackle inflation head-on. Lagarde made it clear that the ECB has no plans to pause its rate hikes. While the ECB focuses on inflation control, other central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve, have taken a pause in their rate hikes to assess their impact on economic growth and employment. However, the Fed's projections indicate the potential for two more rate hikes this year. Similarly, central banks in Australia and Canada have resumed rate increases after a temporary pause, underscoring the global challenge of high inflation. The ECB's decision to raise rates comes at a time of economic uncertainty, influenced by factors such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and potential wage agreements that may further fuel inflationary pressures. The ECB acknowledges that short-term economic growth may remain subdued, but it expects improvements as inflation subsides and supply disruptions ease. While concerns persist regarding the potential negative impact of higher rates on the economy and the risk of a recession, the ECB remains committed to addressing inflation as a top priority   FXMAG.COM: Could you give as your point of view about how the gold prices would behave in next weeks? Is there a chance that there will be new ATH? Gold Consolidates Amid Hawkish Central Bank Actions   With major central banks continuing to tighten monetary policy and inflation still receding (if more gradually than before) gold prices are likely to remain on the back foot in the near term. As of writing, the yellow metal is trading in the mid-$1900s, where it has spent the last three weeks consolidating. Bulls will be looking for a break above the June high near $1990 to signal a potential retest of the record highs near $2075 as we move into July, whereas a confirmed break below $1930 could open the door for a retest of the 200-day EMA near $1900 next.

Not much mis-pricing for central banks to push back against Rate cut expectations have all but disappeared from the dollar curve for 2023. Similarly, the euro curve doesn’t price a first cut before the first or even second quarter of next year. In our view, this counts as a communication success for central banks, and it reduces the mis-pricing (in their view) that they can push back against. The conclusion from this is that barring yet another central bank communication change, say Powell wanting more explicitly the curve to price two more hikes this year rather than one, any re-pricing higher in rates will be to be driven by the data. Similarly from the ECB, we do not get the feeling that the debate over a potential September hike is settled. Data to be released by the end of the summer, and another update to the Bank's forecast will be key, data-dependence in short.   Of course one might simply disagree that current market rates accurately reflect the data. One such example is the very inverted state of the US yield curve when one compares 10Y Treasury yields, below 4%, to policy rates, above 5%. Inversion can persist if the market’s conviction is high that rates will be cut aggressively in the future. In the case of the Fed, but it is also true of the ECB, upbeat central bank economic forecasts explain their hawkish tone, while dimmer predictions from investors justify lower longer-dated yields.   All this shouldn't prevent another sell off on long-dated bonds, for instance to 4% for 10Y Treasuries if the economic outlook improves, but it should all but ensure that another rise in yields will bring a more inverted curve until rates cuts are much closer in time.   Yields already reflect hawkish central banks, but also a dim economic outlook   Today's events and market view Economic data today consists mainly of the European construction output and US housing data, in the form of housing starts and building permits. The US session will also see the release of the Philadelphia non-manufacturing index. There will be front-end bond supply from Europe, namely a 2Y auction from Germany, and a new 5Y launch from the UK. In this relatively thin economic and supply calendar, central bank comments will be in focus. They include, among other, VP Luis De Guindos from the ECB and John Williams of the Fed. We argue above that with the recent flurry of central bank meetings, it is unlikely that market rates are too far away from where bankers would like to see them.

Economic outlook maintains pressure on oil prices Oil prices are trading broadly flat at the start of the week, in keeping with the general feeling in the markets in the absence of any notable catalysts. It has recovered quite well over the last week having fallen back towards the 2023 lows last Monday. It remains in the lower trading range between $70-$80 in Brent and showing little sign of breaking in either direction at this stage. The economic outlook has been a major factor behind its slide this year and some improvements on that side could turn things around for it. The problem is that no major central bank has yet ended its tightening cycle and a number of more rate hikes could still be on the cards. Even those that had previously declared a pause have restarted.   A choppy period but what’s going to change for gold? Gold has been very choppy over the last month and recent data and central bank decisions haven’t enabled it to break out of its tight range in either direction. It’s been trapped largely between $1,940 and $1,980 and showing few signs of changing that in the near future. Things can obviously change at any point and there’s plenty of Fed speak this week as well as central bank interest rate decisions. But we’ve just heard the latest thoughts and projections from the Fed so I’m not sure what we’ll learn of particular value. It’s all about the data at this stage.  

UK inflation has come in dramatically higher than expected yet again. As concerns over the rising threat of recession build, all eyes will be focused on the Bank of England's rate decision tomorrow – so what could be next for the central bank? ING's James Smith has a few answers.   UK inflation troubles weigh on the Bank of England UK inflation troubles weigh on the Bank of England Questions over the UK's persistent inflation problem and unfavourable comparisons with both the US and the eurozone are gaining momentum. As Bank of England officials find themselves in an increasingly difficult position, here's what could be next for UK interest rates    

Keeping up with the central banks.  There were three major surprises from three central banks yesterday.     BoE hikes 50bp, peak rate seen unchanged past 6%.  The Bank of England's (BoE) decision to step up the pace of rate hikes at the 13th meeting since the start of the tightening policy has been broadly unwelcomed from households, to bond and stock investors, and to FX traders.   The 2-year gilt yield stabilized above the 5% mark, yet didn't take a lift on doubt that the BoE could hike by another full percentage point without wreaking havoc across the British economy, especially in the property market. The 10-year yield fell on the morose economic outlook. At this point, it would be a miracle for Britain to avoid recession, and even a property crisis.   The FTSE 100 slumped below its 200-DMA, and tipped a toe below the 7500 mark. Trend and momentum indicators are negative, and the index is now approaching oversold conditions. It is worth noting that falling energy and commodity prices due to a softish Chinese reopening didn't play in favour of the British big caps this year. The rising rates step up the bearish pressure. The outlook remains neutral to negative until we see a rebound in global energy prices - which is not happening for now.   The pound fell as a reaction to the 50bp hike. You would've normally expected the opposite reaction, but the bears remained in charge of the market, pricing the fact that the dark clouds that are gathering over Britain will destroy more value than the higher rates could create.   In summary, it was a disastrous week for Britain. But at least one person didn't get discouraged by the data and the BoE hike, and it was Rishi Sunak who said that the British economy is 'going to be ok' and that he is '100% on it'.     He is not scared of being ridiculous.  Moving forward, the Gilt market will likely remain under pressure, the longer end of the yield curve will do better than the shorter end. The British property market will be put at a tougher test, and could crack under the pressure at any time, in which case the economic implications would go far beyond the most pessimistic forecast. And any government help package to help people go through higher mortgage costs would further fuel inflation and require more rate hikes. The outlook for pound weakens and the FTSE100's performance is much dependent on China, which is struggling with low inflation and sluggish growth on the flip side of the world. Long story short, there is not much optimism on the UK front.  Elsewhere, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) raised by 25bp as expected, Norges Bank surprised with a 50bp hike, said that there will be another rate hike in August, while Turkey hiked from 8.5% to 15% vs 20% expected, raising worries that Turkey's new central bank team could not shrug off the low-rate-obsessed goventment influence. The dollar-try spiked above the 25 level, the highest on record, but not the highest on horizon.       Consume less!  The US existing home sales came in better than expected, adding to the optimism that the US real estate market could be doing better after months of negative pressure. The surprising and unexpected progress in US home data is welcomed for the sake of the economic health, but a strong housing market, along with an unbeatable jobs market hint that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep hiking rates. Powell confirmed that there could be two more rate hikes in the US before a pause at his semiannual testimony before the Congress, while Janet Yellen said she sees lower recession risks, but that consumer spending should slow.   The US dollar rebounded on hawkish Fed expectations. 

EUR: Hawkish comments in Sintra expected Evidence of a deteriorating economic outlook in the eurozone appears to be mounting. Yesterday’s IFO survey in Germany came in on the weak side, with the Business Climate index falling more than expected from 91.5 to 88.5 and the expectations gauge from 88.3 to 83.6. The Current Assessment indicator matched expectations, but still declined in June from 94.8 to 93.5. When adding other forward-looking business surveys (PMIs, ZEW) the case for a negative re-rating of the eurozone growth outlook is clearly strengthening. The euro’s null reaction to yesterday’s IFO was likely due to the rather pronounced post-PMI drop on Friday: in a way, the IFO merely confirmed what PMIs had already flagged last week. Most importantly, the ECB has appeared primarily focused on inflation concerns as opposed to the growth discussion. Sintra was the stage for pivots in the monetary policy message in past editions, but this year, the message may be a reiteration of the hawkish tone we heard after the latest policy meeting: a hike in July is necessary, one in September is up for debate. President Christine Lagarde delivers her introductory speech this morning, and then we’ll hear from Panetta (a dove) and Schnabel (a hawk). Ultimately, EUR/USD may not be trading far from 1.0900 at the end of the Sintra summit. We’ll also be paying attention to Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache’s speech today in Sintra. NOK has faced huge volatility after the larger-than-expected 50bp hike by Norges Bank last Thursday, with the initial rally proving very short-lived and the krone plunging on Friday. EUR/NOK is now back below 11.70, but we may still hear some attempts to propel the currency higher from the governor.  

Rates Spark: Different causes, same effect The US and European economic trajectories are diverging. Yields have followed, albeit more modestly. In both cases the result is ever flatter curves, helped by seasonal factors.   Yield differentials widen, but all curves flatten It is hard to completely dismiss technical factors when finding an explanation for the continued flattening of yield curves heading into the summer market lull. Expectations of calmer market conditions in the summer don’t always come true but worse liquidity make investors wary of keeping positions that carry negatively, for fear of being unable to exit them should markets move against them. We think this is an important factor adding a tailwind to the curve flattening. We think steepeners have been a popular trade in recent months as investors foresee the end of central banks’ hiking cycles. The problem is, these are costly to hold. For instance, a euro swap 2s10s steepener costs over 6bp per quarter in carry. Its US dollar equivalent cost over 17bp.   Of course, it helps that curve flattening is the rational reaction to a world where the economic outlook is worsening, look for instance at Europe or at the disappointing recovery in China. Add to that central banks adding another layer of hawkish paint at the European Central Bank‘s (ECB) Sintra conference which continues today, and you have the perfect recipe for a flatter curve. This thesis get an important reality check over the coming days in the eurozone, in the form of the June inflation data. Italy is the only country to publish its own today, but markets may well be tempted to extrapolate its finding to other countries until they publish their own.   One country that seems impervious to the overall gloom is the US. Perhaps due to its lower reliance on global demand for growth, or perhaps due to the resilience of its domestic job market. The result is the same. Markets increasingly believe the Fed will hike at least once more in this cycle. If US curve developments are highly correlated to its foreign peers, albeit for slightly more upbeat reasons, its curve has shifted upwards relative to its European peers. Despite arguably encouraging progress relative to Europe on the inflation front, euro-dollar yield differentials have widened. This yield divergence coincides with the divergence in economic surprise indices, albeit to a less spectacular extent.   EU gloom and US glee both result in flatter curves, helped by carry   Today's events and market view Italy is the first Eurozone member state to release its June inflation today. It will be followed by Germany and Spain tomorrow, and France and the eurozone on Friday. ECB monthly monetary aggregate data, including M3 growth, and Italian industrial production complete the list. US data is relatively thin today, with only mortgage applications and inventories to look out for. This will leave plenty of time for investors to scrutinise central banker comments with an all-star line-up comprising Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan and Bank of England governors. TLTRO and eurozone financial system nerds will also look at the 3m LTRO allotment which settles tomorrow, a day after today's June TLTRO repayments. Yesterday, settling with the repayments, the central bank allotted €18bn at the weekly main refinancing operations facility, the most since 2017. Presumably, some lenders find its 4% interest rate the most attractive option, or maybe the only available, to finance the repayment of TLTRO funds. Italy accounts for today’s euro sovereign bond supply with 2Y debt, followed in the afternoon by the US Treasury selling 2Y FRN and 7Y T-notes.

AUD: Another skip by the RBA The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept rates unchanged overnight, as expected by the OIS market which was attaching a 20% implied probability of a hike before the meeting. Once again, policymakers have decided to attach greater importance to the monthly inflation reading (May’s CPI slowed from 6.8% to 5.6% year-on-year) than to jobs market figures (the latest print was very strong). Still, the statement clearly leaves the door open for more tightening if required and reiterates a strictly data-dependent approach to further monetary policy decisions. Today’s hold is explicitly referred to as needed to provide the Board with “more time to assess the state of the economy and the economic outlook and associated risks”. As noted by our economics team in a note released overnight, September could be a better occasion for the RBA to increase rates again, as it can assess the impact of large electricity tariff increases due in July, which should become visible in CPI figures by September. Markets are actively speculating on further RBA tightening and the initial drop in AUD/USD after the hold is already being reverted. With a September rate hike almost fully priced in, we expect the pair to be almost entirely driven by external factors (Fed, US data, Chinese sentiment): for now, the upside looks somewhat limited, although the room for a rally later in the year should emerge.  

French industrial production rebounds French industrial production rebounded in May more than expected, reaching its highest level since the start of the pandemic. Widespread rebound In May, French industrial production rebounded more than expected, increasing by 1.2% over the month, following a rise of 0.8% in April. Manufacturing output also rebounded, by 1.4% over the month (+0.6% in April). This rebound enabled manufacturing output to reach its highest level since the start of the pandemic, up by 2.9% year-on-year. March's weakness, due to strikes and production disruptions caused by protests over pension reform, has therefore been fully offset. Growth in May was seen across all the major product categories, although the energy-intensive industrial branches continued to suffer from the context of high energy costs. Production levels in steel, paper/board and basic chemicals remain between 13% and 24% lower than a year ago.   The outlook for industry remains difficult The rebound in industrial production is good news for the French economic outlook. In the short term, this should ensure that industrial production does not contribute negatively to GDP growth in the second quarter. Weak but positive growth seems most likely. Nevertheless, the outlook for industry over the next few quarters remains cloudy. According to survey results, business leaders' assessment of order books has remained very weak for several months, a sign of a major slowdown in global demand for industrial goods. At the same time, inventories of finished goods remain high. This means that production is likely to decline over the next few months as companies see no new orders coming in and have stocks to clear. The PMI indices for the manufacturing sector have been in contraction territory (below 50) since January.   Weak growth in 2023 and 2024 Ultimately, growth in the second quarter should be weak, but positive. Growth in the third quarter should have been better, supported by the strength of the tourism sector. However, the tense social context, with the recent protests and damage, means that there is a risk that this support will be slightly weaker than expected. Despite their significant microeconomic impact, events of this kind generally have an insignificant effect on economic growth. The fact that they took place at the beginning of the summer, at the height of the tourist season, may have a slightly greater negative effect (but probably no more than a 0.1 points reduction in growth).

Services are now also slowing We certainly don’t deny that the pick-up in wage growth, in combination with lower energy prices, is boosting consumers’ purchasing power, supporting consumption growth over the coming quarters. But at the same time, some increase in the savings ratio looks likely as the economic outlook has become more uncertain (in some member states unemployment has started to increase). All sectors are now signalling a deceleration in incoming orders, while inventories in industry and retail are at a very high level. Even services, which held up well despite the recessionary environment in manufacturing, are losing steam. The services confidence indicator fell in June below its long-term average. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the only way is down – we still expect a strong summer holiday season, supporting third-quarter growth. But after that things might become shakier again, as the US economy is expected to have fallen into recession by then. The bottom line is that we now only expect 0.4% growth in 2023. Subsequently, on the back of the low carry-over effect, we pencil in a 0.5% GDP expansion for 2024.   Downward trend in inflation continues The flash headline inflation estimate for June came out at 5.5%, while core inflation increased slightly to 5.4%. However, the increase in core inflation is entirely due to a base effect in Germany that will disappear in September. The growth pace of core prices, measured as the three-month-on-three-month annualised change in prices, now stands at 4.4%. That is still too high, but the trend is clearly downwards. The inventory overhang is leading to falling prices for goods. In the European Commission’s survey, selling price expectations softened again in all sectors, while the expected price trends in the consumers’ survey fell to the lowest level since 2016. It, therefore, doesn’t come as a surprise that we expect the downward trend in inflation to continue, with both headline and core inflation likely to be below 3% by the first quarter of 2024.   Selling) price expectations are coming down across the board

ADP shows 497,000 jobs created in June, biggest gains in over a year ISM Services Index makes 4-month high ISM Prices paid declined from 56.2 to 54.1, lowest since March 2020 US stocks extend losses after a hot ADP report and impressive ISM services report raised the odds the Fed might have to do deliver more rate hikes beyond the July FOMC meeting. The dollar pared losses as Fed rate hike odds rose on expectations the NFP report will deliver its 15th straight beat.   ADP The labor market is not loosening at all according to this ADP report.  The headline gain of 497,000 jobs was much higher than the forecast of 225,000 and well above the downwardly revised prior reading of 267,000 jobs.  Leisure and hospitality jobs surged 232,000 as summer job hiring supports the narrative that Americans will be vacationing a lot this summer.  The Fed’s rate hiking campaign is not yet crippling small and medium size businesses, but that should change going into the fall.  ADP Chief Economist Richardson noted, “Consumer-facing service industries had a strong June, aligning to push job creation higher than expected. But wage growth continues to ebb in these same industries, and hiring likely is cresting after a late-cycle surge”. The ADP report also includes coverage on wages, which showed year-over-year pay increase of 6.4%, which was down from 6.6% in May.    Jobless Claims Initial jobless claims for the week ending July 1st rose from 236,000 to 248,000, which was higher than the 245,000 consensus estimate.  Traders might not put a lot of weight with this weekly jobless claims report as it includes noise from the Juneteenth holiday and the summer auto closures.    Trade Data The May trade data showed the deficit narrowed from $74 billion to $69 billion as imports dropped 2.3% and exports weakened by 0.8%. The trade deficit won’t get a lot of attention but it does support the narrative that the economy is slowing down.    Fed Fed’s Logan noted that more rate hikes are necessary to combat inflation. Adding that a challenging and uncertain environment enabled a June pause. The data-dependent Fed will look at the labor market and that should support the case for much more tightening.   JOLTS The JOLTS report suggests the labor market is slowly weakening as job openings fell from 10.3 million to 9.824 million. The quits rate increased from 2.4% to 2.6%, which suggests people are confident they can get new work.   ISM Services Index The ISM Services report showed last month’s soft reading was not the beginning of a deteriorating trend. The ISM Services Index surged in June, rising to 53.9, significantly better than the prior reading of 50.3 and a 51.2 consensus estimate. Prices paid eased from 56.2 to 54.1. The employment component returned to expansionary territory at 53.1. This data suggest the economy still has a lot of strength. Treasury yields surged after the impressively strong ADP report and kept those gains post ISM services.     

As Germany holds the position of the largest economy in the European Union and is renowned as one of the world's leading manufacturing powerhouses, recent data concerning its manufacturing sector has raised concerns among investors. With Germany already experiencing a technical recession since the first quarter of 2023, there are growing uncertainties about the depth and duration of the downturn. To shed light on these matters, we engage in a conversation with Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge, CFA, to assess the latest data from German industry and its potential implications. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) indicators for both Germany and the entire Euro area are currently situated in the contraction territory, indicating the challenges faced by the manufacturing sector. High inflation and elevated credit costs have led to a decline in private consumption, further impacting manufacturing numbers. Until these factors normalize, a return to expanding private consumption may be hindered.   FXMAG.COM:  How do you assess the latest data from German industry? Do they hint that the recession in Germany will be deep and prolonged?    Santa Zvaigzne-Sproge, CFA:  As Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and is considered among the strongest manufacturing powerhouses in the world, the latest manufacturing data may cause some worry among investors.  Germany has been in a technical recession since the first quarter of 2023 and is expected to continue the contraction at least till the end of 2023. However, for the technical recession to be over in Germany by the end of 2023, we should start seeing some improvement in economic indicators such as the PMI soon. Meanwhile, both – Germany’s and the whole Euro area’s – manufacturing PMI indicators are deep in the contraction territory.    Private consumption in Germany has fallen mainly due to high inflation and more expensive credit, which has led to lower manufacturing numbers. Therefore, until neither of the factors has normalized, private consumption may not return to a more expanding territory.    Until now, the German economy’s contraction has been relatively mild with -0.3% GDP growth in the first quarter. However, comparing it to the initially expected +0.3% and the preliminary estimate of -0.1%, we may see that the actual data tend to turn out worse than expected. The GDP growth estimate for a full 2023 year in Germany now stands at -0.4%, however, it might be revisited as the second quarter GDP growth estimates start coming in.    On the bright side, German companies hired people at a faster pace in June than one month ago (which cannot be said about France, Italy, or Spain). Healthy employment is an important factor to support private consumption and at the same time an indicator that recession in Germany is kept at a relatively mild level.    To sum up, current German PMI data do not signal that a turnaround in the second quarter GDP growth data is likely. This may lead to slightly lowered expectations for full-year GDP growth in Germany. However, the length of a recession in Germany may be hard to assess based on the PMI data. It may be more dependent on future monetary and fiscal decisions by policymakers in the rest of the year’s time.   

UK economy set to contract in May, US PPI to slow further   We saw another day of strong gains for European markets yesterday, with the FTSE100 undergoing its best one-day gain since early June, after US CPI came in below forecasts.   US markets also saw strong gains with the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100 breaking above their highs of this year, and pushing up to their highest levels since April 2022, with the Nasdaq 100 leading the gains.   Asia markets followed suit with strong gains across the board despite the latest set of China trade data for June showing that economic activity slowed further. Exports fell by -12.4% from a year ago, missing expectations by a large margin, while imports also declined more than expected, by -6.8%, further reinforcing concerns about deflation, but on the more positive side increasing expectations of stronger stimulus by Chinese authorities in the weeks ahead.        Yesterday's US CPI numbers for June were never likely to change the calculus behind another 25bps rate hike when the Fed meets in two weeks' time, but they have altered the story when it comes to what might come next, and it is this that markets are reacting to, with the US dollar and yields falling back sharply.   The nature of yesterday's numbers suggest that whatever other Fed officials would have us believe in the context of their current hawkishness, further rate hikes beyond this month will be a big ask, and probably won't happen, hence the weakness seen in both the US dollar, and US yields seen so far this week.   That said we can still expect Fed officials to continue to adopt a hawkish tone on the basis that theywon't want markets to prematurely start pricing in rate cuts and will want to keep the option of further hikes very much on the table.     Nonetheless the shift seen in the last few days does help to explain why the US dollar has slipped so much against the Japanese yen, although some are suggesting it is because we might see a policy shift from the Bank of Japan when it meets at the end of this month. Whichever way you come at it from, the net effect is likely to be the same, in that US and Japanese rates are likely to converge, rather than diverge. Today's PPI numbers for June are expected to reinforce the disinflation trends being seen rippling out through the global economy. On the headline numbers PPI is expected to see another sharp slowdown from 1.1% in May to 0.4% in June, while core PPI is forecast to slow down more modestly from 2.8% to 2.6%. Whichever way you look at it, further weakness here is likely to trickle down into the CPI numbers in the coming months, and reinforce the disinflationary narrative, but more importantly signal that US rate hikes are done bar the move in two weeks' time.     Yesterday's US inflation numbers could prove to be good news for UK homeowners, if yesterday's move in UK yields is any guide, in that they might reduce the pressure on the Bank of England to be more aggressive in terms of their own rate hiking policy.   If this month's expected July hike from the Federal Reserve is in fact the last one, then the Bank of England may only need to do another 50bps in August before similarly signalling a pause, which means that UK current terminal rate pricing is too high. This would be an enormous relief for mortgage holders worried that the base rate might rise as high as 6.5%.  The problem for the UK is the energy price cap is keeping inflation levels way too high, and now it has outlived its usefulness it really ought to be scrapped. It was useful in containing the upside, however by way of its design its not reflecting the sharp declines in gas prices in the last 12 months.      Consequently, it is contriving to exert upward pressure on wages as consumers struggle with the higher cost of living due to energy prices not coming down quickly enough. This failure is likely to be reflected in today's UK economic data for May, which is expected to see manufacturing and industrial production to sharp 0.4% declines in economic activity for both. The monthly GDP numbers for May are also forecast to show a -0.3% contraction due to the multiple bank holidays during the month, as well as widespread public sector strike action, with index of services seeing a sharp slowdown from 0.3% in April to -0.2%. The weak performance in May is likely to act as a sizeable drag on Q2 GDP, although we should see some of that recovered in June.             EUR/USD – broke higher through the highs of this year and could well retest the highs of March 2022 at 1.1185. This becomes next resistance, with a break targeting the 1.1485 area, with support now at 1.1020.     GBP/USD – has encountered resistance at the 1.3000 area. We need to see a break above 1.3020 to target a move towards 1.3300, and the March 2022 highs. Support now comes in at the 1.2850 area.       EUR/GBP – failed again at the 0.8500 area, with the rebound currently holding below the 0.8570/80 area. A break above here targets the 50-day SMA which is now at 0.8610.     USD/JPY – slid down to the 138.15 area where we have cloud support. If this gives way, we could see further losses towards 137.20. We now have resistance back at the 140.20 area.     FTSE100 is expected to open 4 points higher at 7,420     DAX is expected to open 20 points higher at 16,043     CAC40 is expected to open 23 points higher at 7,356    

The fever is breaking.  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   US inflation eased to 3%. It's still not the 2% targeted by the Federal Reserve (Fed), but it's approaching. Core inflation on the other hand eased more than expected to 4.8%. That's still more than twice the Fed's 2% policy target, but again, the US inflation numbers are clearly on the right path, the services inflation including shelter costs is easing, and all this is good news for breaking the Fed hawks back amid mounting tension over the past few weeks.   There hasn't been much change in the expectation of another 25bp hike at the Fed's next policy meeting, which is now given a more than 90% chance, but the expectation for a September hike fell, the US 2-year dropped to 4.70% after the CPI data, while the 10-year yield fell to 3.85%.   One big question is: if inflation is easing at a – let's say - pleasing speed, why would the Fed bother raising the interest rates more? Wouldn't it be better to just wait and see where inflation is headed?   Well yes, but the Fed officials certainly continue thinking that 4.8% is still too hot, and that the risk of a U-turn in inflation expectations, and inflation is still to be carefully managed. Because the favourable base effect due to energy prices will gently start fading away in the coming months and the result on inflation will be less appetizing. Then the rising energy prices today could fuel price dynamics again in the coming months, and if China manages to fuel growth thanks to ample monetary and fiscal stimulus, the impact on global inflation could be felt. And if you listen to Richmond Fed's Thomas Barkin, that's exactly what comes out: 'if you back off too soon, inflation comes back stronger'. But the possibility of two more rate hikes following the most aggressive hiking cycle from the Fed starts looking a bit stretched with the actual data. Due to release today, the US producer price inflation is expected to have fallen to the lowest levels since the pandemic, we could even see some deflation.   And a potential Chinese boost to inflation looks much less threatening today compared to a couple of months ago. Chinese exports plunged 12.4% in June, worse than a 7.5% drop printed in May and worse than the market forecasts of a 9.5% decline. The June decline in Chinese exports marked the steepest fall in sales since February 2020. Deteriorating foreign demand on the back of high inflation and rising interest rates continued taking a toll on Chinese trade numbers. In the meantime, imports fell 6.8%, the fourth straight month of decrease due to persistently weak domestic demand.   China will likely recover at some point, but we will unlikely see the Chinese growth put a severe pressure on commodity markets. That's one good news for inflation watchers. The other one is that the US student loan repayments will resume from October, and that should act as a restrictive fiscal action, and help the Fed tame inflation. Therefore, even though there could be an uptick in inflation figures in the coming months, we will unlikely see inflation spike back above 4-5% again. But we will also unlikely to see it fall to 2% easily.  

Germany needs an ‘Agenda 2030’. A stagnating economy, cyclical headwinds and structural challenges bring to mind the early 2000s and call for a new reform agenda   As Mark Twain is reported to have said, “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Such is the case with the current economic situation in Germany, which looks eerily familiar to that of 20 years ago. Back then, the country was going through the five stages of grief, or, in an economic context, the five stages of change: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. From being called ‘The sick man of the euro’ by The Economist in 1999 and early 2000s (which created an outcry of denial and anger) to endless discussions and TV debates (which revelled in melancholia and self-pity) to an eventual plan for structural reform in 2003 known as the 'Agenda 2010', introduced by then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. It took several years before international media outlets were actually applauding the new German Wirtschaftswunder in the 2010s. It's hard to say which stage Germany is in currently. International competitiveness had already deteriorated before the pandemic but this deterioration has clearly gained further momentum in recent years. Supply chain frictions, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis have exposed the structural weaknesses of Germany’s economic business model, and come on top of already weak digitalisation, crumbling infrastructure and demographic change. These structural challenges are not new but will continue to shape the country’s economic outlook, which is already looking troubled in the near term. Order books have thinned out since the war in Ukraine started, industrial production is still some 5% below pre-pandemic levels and exports are stuttering. The weaker-than- hoped-for rebound after the reopening in China together with a looming slowdown or even recession in the US, and the delayed impact of higher interest rates on real estate, construction and also the broader economy paint a picture of a stagnating economy. A third straight quarter of contraction can no longer be excluded for the second quarter. Even worse, the second half of the year hardly looks any better. Confidence indicators have worsened and hard data are going nowhere. We continue to expect the German economy to remain at a de facto standstill and to slightly shrink this year before staging a meagre growth rebound in 2024.   Headline inflation to come down after the summer What gives us some hope is the fact that headline inflation should come down more significantly after the summer. Currently, inflation numbers are still blurred by one-off stimulus measures last year. Come September, headline inflation should start to come down quickly and core inflation should follow suit. While this gives consumers some relief, it will take until year-end at least before real wage growth turns positive again. At the same time, an increase in business insolvencies and a tentative worsening in the labour market could easily dent future wage demands and bring back job security as a first priority for employees and unions. In any case, don’t forget that dropping headline inflation is not the same as actual falling prices. The loss of purchasing power in the last few years has become structural.

Austria's competitiveness will suffer Increased costs are having a negative impact on competitiveness, not only in services but also in the manufacturing sector. Most Austrian exports are machines and vehicles, followed by processed goods and chemical products. While the competitive outlook for vehicles has improved recently, the results of DG ECFIN's industry survey in both the energy-intensive chemical products sector and the machinery sector point to a loss of competitiveness, both in relation to countries within and outside the EU. Until the green transformation has comprehensively arrived in Austrian industry, no growth miracles are to be expected for Austrian industry or foreign trade. Consequently, the overall economic outlook is far from rosy. We expect economic growth in Austria to be significantly below potential both this year and next. Accordingly, the government debt ratio, which stood at 78.4% at the end of 2022, is likely to decline only slowly. After all, despite the frequent calls for a return to budget discipline, there has been no talk so far of either tax increases or significant spending cuts. Overall, the outlook for the Austrian economy is clearly clouded and persistently high inflation will be an additional burden this year and next.   The Austrian economy in a nutshell (% YoY)

A significant growth slowdown in the pipeline While we continue to expect continued economic growth for the rest of the year, we expect a significant slowdown after the strong start. Export dynamics, the major growth driver in the first months of the year, are likely to be affected by a deteriorating global economic environment and a significant rise in financing costs. While we expect a further decline in inflation, this downward trend will be tempered by upward pressure from rising wages.   The Portuguese economy in a nutshell (% YoY)

Spanish elections cast a shadow over the economic outlook Spanish elections show a divided political landscape with no clear winner, raising the possibility of new elections. Ongoing political uncertainty is casting a shadow over the economic outlook, hampering fiscal and other necessary economic reforms.   Last night the Spanish elections ended in a thriller. The margin between the left and right blocs proved much smaller than expected, revealing a fragmented political landscape with no clear winner. The centre-right People's Party emerged as the largest party in the polls but failed to achieve an absolute majority. Even with their preferred far-right coalition partner Vox, they did not get enough seats to form a right-wing government. As a result, Alberto Feijóo, the leader of the People's Party, might try to form a minority government, although the chances seem slim. While the course of events in the coming weeks remains highly uncertain, it is not out of the question that  Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez will retain his position in La Moncloa. A plausible scenario could be that Sánchez once again forms a left-wing government, together with the far-left Sumar. However, this would mean that he would have to count on the support of regional parties that have already declared their intention to demand significant concessions in exchange for their support. In the coming days, all political leaders should meet with King Felipe VI, who will ultimately decide which party or coalition has the best chance of forming a viable government. The current election result indicates a strong likelihood that neither Feijóo nor Sánchez will be able to establish a government, leaving weeks of political uncertainty ahead, leading to new early elections in the country.   Impact on Spain's economy and EU presidency Ongoing political uncertainty and the prospect of new elections may introduce an element of instability to the Spanish economy. This situation could hamper the country's long-term growth prospects through delays in implementing essential economic reforms. Moreover, it risks hampering efforts to improve Spain's public finances through necessary fiscal measures. One advantage is that the process of government formation in Spain has a time limit. If no prime ministerial candidate gains the support of a majority in parliament within 60 days, new elections are triggered. This scenario could also be detrimental to the European Union as Spain currently holds the EU presidency. Several important reforms are on the agenda in the coming months. For instance, reforms to the Stability and Growth Pact must be approved before the end of the year. Otherwise, the old system will come back into force, forcing countries to adopt stricter austerity measures. In addition, one of the spearheads of the Spanish presidency was finalising the Mercosur deal. This also risks being delayed if the political impasse persists for long. While a caretaker Spanish government will surely still manage the EU presidency, the prospect of new elections could jeopardise its effectiveness. While ongoing political uncertainty and the possibility of another snap election could cast a shadow over the economic outlook, we should not overestimate the short-term impact either. Political uncertainties aside, the Spanish economy is expected to slow down in the coming months on the back of a slowdown of the world economy and the interest rate hikes of the European Central Bank. The ongoing recovery of the tourism sector is the main growth driver this year. However, its positive impact will fade later this year and next. For this year, we assume average GDP growth of 1.9% for 2023, implying a slowdown in the second half of this year.

Asia Morning Bites Australian inflation this morning is an appetizer ahead of tonight's FOMC main course.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:  US stocks crept higher on Monday, though without much conviction. The S&P rose 0.28%, while the NASDAQ rose a further 0.61%. That leaves the NASDAQ up 35.14% ytd… Chinese stocks responded well to the supportive comments coming out of the Politburo yesterday. The Hang Seng index rose 4.1% and the CSI 300 rose 2.89%. However, we remain cautious about the economic outlook as the recent comments continue to lack detail despite the various “pledges” and “vows” to boost spending.  Ahead of today’s FOMC, which we in Asia will wake up to tomorrow morning, Treasuries were relatively quiet. 2Y yields rose 1.5bp to 4.874%, while 10Y UST yields rose just 1.2bp to 3.884%. EURUSD has drifted back down to 1.1051 on expectations of a hawkish Fed tonight. But the AUD gained ground yesterday, rising to 0.6788.  The GBP and JPY also strengthened against the USD ahead of Friday’s Bank of Japan meeting (see our latest note on this). The positive sentiment in China has enabled the CNY to strengthen to 7.1363 and the yuan was Asia’s best performing currency yesterday. Most other Asian currencies also gained against the USD. G-7 macro:  House prices in the US gained further ground in May, with both the FHFA and S&P CoreLogic measures of house prices rising more than expected.  There were also gains in the Conference Board’s consumer confidence indices. None of which plays into the “one and done” view that the market currently holds for the FOMC. Elsewhere, Germany’s Ifo survey presented more bad news, falling more than expected, though the UK’s CBI business survey was a little brighter. Today is quiet ahead of the Fed (02:00 SGT/HKT) with just US home sales and mortgage applications.   Australia:  CPI inflation for June should show further declines in inflation, with the headline rate declining to around 5.4% YoY from 5.6% currently. That would be a 3 percentage point decline from the December 2022 peak. Inflation should decline again next month. Thereafter, we will need to see month-on-month changes in inflation slow considerably to stop inflation from stabilizing at high levels or even backing higher again, as all the helpful base effects will have been used up until we get nearer to the end of the year. Singapore: Singapore reports industrial production figures for June.  We expect another month of contraction, extending the slump to 9 months of decline, tracking the downturn in non-oil domestic exports.  Industrial production should slip by 6%YoY and we can expect the slide to continue for as long as global demand stays subdued. 

The collapse in domestic demand strengthens disinflation Headline inflation eased to 20.1% YoY in June, mainly driven by the 0.4% MoM decline in food prices. Within this, the fall in processed food prices was the main driver, hence the sharp 2ppt deceleration in core inflation to 20.8% YoY. In our view, the rapid deterioration in firms' pricing power is evident, and will only accelerate going forward as competition among retail outlets for households' overall shrinking disposable income intensifies. Based on our high-frequency data collection, we expect disinflation to strengthen further going forward, driven mainly by food deflation. In this context, we expect average inflation to fall to single digits in the fourth quarter, while average inflation for the year as a whole is likely to be below, but close to 18%.    Inflation and policy rate   Rate cuts to continue in 100bp steps if market stability prevails At the July meeting, monetary policy normalisation continued as the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) lowered the effective interest rate by a further 100bp to 15%. The central bank emphasised cautiousness, graduality and predictability, so we expect same-sized cuts into the September merger of base and effective rates. After September, however, the NBH has several options to alter the interest rate complex. The central bank can either continue the easing cycle unabated in 100bp increments, setting the policy rate at 10% at the end of 2023. However, reducing the pace of cuts to 50bp seems to be another viable option, leaving the key rate at 11.5%. In our view, the NBH will cut both repo and deposit rates by 100bp in October, leaving room for market rates to adjust lower, but will only cut the base rate by 100bp in November and December. We, therefore, expect the policy rate to end the year at 11%.   Real rates (%)   VAT receipts hit hard by fall in domestic demand The Hungarian budget posted a deficit of HUF 132.7bn in June, bringing the year-to-date cash flow-based shortfall to 85% of the full-year target. The decline in domestic demand is weighing heavily on tax revenues. In this respect, VAT receipts in the first half of 2023 were only 2.2% higher than a year ago compared to the 24% average inflation during this period. Despite some ongoing adjustments (e.g. public investment cuts), we still see a slippage of 0.5-1% of GDP in this year's budget. A recent interview with the Finance Minister revealed that a revision could come as early as September, which in our view could lead to additional adjustments plus a minor increase in the 2023 EDP deficit target. From a cash-flow perspective, the fate of the EU funds remains a key issue, with the clock ticking (90 days) at the European Commission's table, as the government officially submitted the self-review on horizontal enabler (judiciary) reforms on 18 July.   Budget performance (year-to-date, HUFbn)   We still believe in a HUF turnaround Although we heard what we thought we would from the National Bank of Hungary – a cautious cut with a commitment to remain patient – market players were ignorant of the hawkish message. The NBH’s assurance that the cutting cycle will not be accelerated did not result in a turnaround in EUR/HUF as we expected. However, our market view remains unchanged. In case of further forint weakening, we expect the central bank to hit the wire and repeat some hawkish statements, trying to push against HUF underperformance versus Central and Eastern European peers. Moreover, we see some improvement in conditions at the global level, too. Last but not least, despite the whole EU fund issue being overly politicised, we still believe in a positive outcome before the year-end. Our ultimate argument would be that European politicians don’t want to bother with Hungarian issues when European Parliament elections are approaching (June 2024). On a local level, we think FX carry should continue to be the main positive driver for the HUF, supported by an improving current account, a record decline in gas prices, and despite cuts by a cautious central bank, overall pushing EUR/HUF closer to 370.   CEE FX performance vs EUR (30 December 2022 = 100%)   We continue to see further curve steepening In the rates space, we found the IRS curve a bit steeper again after the last NBH meeting and a steeper and lower curve remains our main view for the coming months. 2s10s spread has moved roughly 100bp since May, the first rate cut, and we still see room for further normalisation of the IRS curve, which remains by far the most inverted in the CEE universe. Market expectations for this year are more or less fair given that the September rate merge is a broad market consensus, however, NBH's next steps are unclear to the market, and we see the market underestimating further normalisation in the next year or two, opening the door for more curve steepening. On the other hand, the fall in core rates will slow the normalisation of the curve compared to previous months.   Hungarian sovereign yield curve   Hungarian government bonds (HGBs) eased in July and the rest of the region caught up with the swift rally. We therefore see current valuations of HGBs as more justifiable, which could attract new buyers. Despite the fiscal slippage risk, year-to-date issuance has reached 60% by our calculations, which we see as more than sufficient. Moreover, recent government measures supporting HGBs and the fastest disinflation in the region should be enough to sustain demand.

Eurozone Q2 GDP returned to growth with a 0.3% advance reading (prior revised higher to 0.0%). Eurozone core inflation held steady at 5.3% Stocks have a flat session as traders await NFP Friday US stocks are wavering ahead of a key Fed survey that should show loan growth is weakening and that the economy should steadily weaken.  The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) will tell us how top lending officers feel about the credit outlook. The US dollar isn’t making any major moves as Wall Street grows more confident that a soft landing is very much obtainable.  Many traders won’t do much positioning until Friday’s NFP report, which should show the labor market remains tight.  The key for the payroll report might be what is happening with wages, as it seems fears of an acceleration of inflation have been downsized.  This week also includes the ISM reports which should show manufacturing activity is picking up and the service sector is cooling.  Weakening growth prospects is not the takeaway from this earnings season, but that could change if Apple and Amazon’s results tell a different story.      The euro remains heavy as concerns grow for Germany’s outlook.  German economy minister warned of five tough years and that bleak outlook could weigh on the euro.  EUR/USD might start to form a narrow trading range but that could change once we get beyond the NFP report.  It seems everyone is in wait-and-see mode and right now the US jobs report will steal the spotlight. The 1.0950 to 1.1050 could emerge as the key trading range until this week’s fireworks. US Data Both the ISM Chicago PMI and Dallas Manufacturing survey showed activity improved for a second consecutive month.  The Chicago PMI was softer-than-expected but has yet to benefit from increasing aircraft orders.  The Dallas Fed did not provide an inspiring outlook as activity remains sluggish, while prices paid and received rose.  The manufacturing part of the economy is still in contraction territory and the recovery will likely be unbalanced.   

Inflation’s here to stay, say European consumers Inflation is a major concern for consumers, and policymakers should worry that they think it's a long-term problem. Our latest ING Consumer Research survey indicates that people in eight European countries not only expect inflation to stay high for at least three more years but also expect those same goods to keep getting more expensive.   Food and energy prices top list of perceived inflationary pressures Households across Europe are worried that the so-called 'cost of living crisis' is here to stay. That's despite inflation rates in most European countries recently coming down, not least on the back of base effects and subsiding food and energy price pressures. Economists expect prices to fall further, but the consumers we've been speaking to in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and also Turkey beg to differ. Most expect prices to stay well above what they consider 'stable' for at least three more years. And they also assume their inflationary pain points will stay the same.   These perceptions are concerning as far as they relate to future spending. We'll dive into the figures shortly, but our survey suggests three-quarters of people whose saving habits were impacted by inflation say they're saving less because they can't afford to or they're saving more to be prepared for future price increases. So, this should have a negative impact on discretionary spending. Only one in eight say they're saving less to spend their money now.  In a survey for ING Consumer Research, consumers were asked to compare the percentage of their net income they now spend on various groups of goods to what percentage they had been spending 5 years ago. Unsurprisingly, food and energy top the list; these items have also been leading official inflation statistics. This picture is roughly the same across participating countries, with Belgium and the Netherlands consistently producing some of the lowest numbers. In most eurozone countries, spending on savings and retirement provision suffered, whereas the non-eurozone countries had considerably larger fractions reporting increases rather than decreases.   Compared to 5 years ago, I now spend on:    

Consumers expect more of the same We asked consumers to make an assumption about the percentage of income they'd be spending five years down the line compared with today. And this column chart looks remarkably similar across the countries we surveyed. Most consumers do not appear to believe in any sort of base effect. Instead, they expect to spend more of their income on those categories that have already seen the largest increases.   5 years ahead compared to now, I assume I will spend this much on...     Many can't afford to save anymore More than 80% of consumers reported changes in their savings behaviour, with the vast majority being related to rising prices. Being forced to reduce the amount that goes into savings was by far the most-selected answer in all countries. Depending on the circumstances, it might also make sense from an economic point of view to save less and spend the money on goods before they become even more expensive. But this is not a popular choice among consumers, who instead prefer to save more in order to be better prepared for rising prices. More than 20% in Turkey reported this. So, while spending on basic needs is likely to simply go up or down with prices and stay more or less constant in real terms, discretionary spending is going to be hit. If prices do come down faster than consumers expect, we might see a bit of a spending spree from those who were able to build up savings in preparation for higher prices that never came. But that's unlikely to affect the overall picture.     Which of the following statements best describes the influence that inflation has had on your saving habits?     Inflation is believed to stay high for longer, especially in Turkey Turkish consumers have a different kind of experience with inflation than the rest of Europe. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that only 10% do not have an opinion as to when inflation numbers will come down to a level of price stability; at least 18% selected “I don’t know” in all other countries. Some Turkish consumers are sceptical; others are fatalistic. The number of 35% for “5 years or more from now or never again” is the survey’s largest, and so are the 10% who already consider current inflation levels to mean price stability, as they are at least a bit removed from 2022’s record levels.   When do you think official headline inflation in your country will come back down to a level that you would consider price stability?   Consumers' assessment of their financial situation shows little signs of improvement If you don’t believe that the most pressing economic issue will subside anytime soon, you most likely won’t expect things to get better, and European consumers don’t either. Ratings of their own current financial situation on a scale from 1 to 10 compute to an average of 5.4, ranging from 4.6 in Turkey to 6.2 in the Netherlands. Looking back on their situation five years ago, consumers give an average score of 5.9, with every country seeing a drop of at least 0.1. And the outlook is bleak: Consumers’ expectations for their situation in 5 years average out at 5.2, with no country expecting an upswing.   How would you rate the following?   Consumers were also asked to rate the financial situation of their own peer group and that of their country’s general population over the same time span. Their peers' finances rank a bit lower than their own, with lower percentages for the extreme ends of the scale and a higher one for “I don’t know”. But the nationwide picture looks alarming: Consumers rate their fellow countrymen’s finances five years ago at just a bit lower than their own. But the current situation and the future look much worse to them, with a drop twice as big as the one they experienced themselves. What’s striking about this finding is that consumers’ individual perceptions and expectations about inflation don’t appear to tally with what they expect for their economies as a whole. Inflationary pressures, not least in food and energy, have been dominating global news headlines since the war in Ukraine started. That sustained media focus on people’s troubles may well explain the discrepancy.

India: RBI holds repo rate steady Not one of the 42 economists forecasting this Reserve Bank of India (RBI) meeting expected any change in the repurchase rate, and the RBI didn't disappoint. Things could get more interesting next month as food-price inflation surges.   Viewing the world through tomato-tinted glasses Although next week's inflation data for the July period will likely show Indian inflation surging above 8%YoY, the Reserve Bank of India left the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%.  There are some good reasons for that. Firstly, the coming inflation surge owes very considerably to tomato prices. Sure, other prices have also risen, but back-to-back monthly 100%+ increases in the price of tomatoes in June and July are doing all the damage on the upside.  The cause of these tomato-price surges? This year's Monsoon started late, with a drier than usual June but wetter than normal July. However, the average rainfall over this entire period has been close to normal. What seems to have undone things is the erratic nature of the rainfall, with some areas experiencing much more rain than normal, while for other areas, it has been much drier. Either extreme will mess up the growing season and lead to shortages and food price rises, which is what seems to have happened   Monsoon anomalies   What goes up... The good news here is that such seasonal shortages tend to be just that - seasonal. This will pass - unless there are further seasonal anomalies, which of course are becoming more common these days thanks to climate change.  Assuming that normality is resumed over the coming months, then we can expect prices to slowly subside and return to something a bit more normal over the coming months. So what is a big contributor to inflation currently, can turn into a similar-sized drag over the coming months.  We expect Indian inflation to peak in August at over 8.5%YoY before drifting back down through the end of the year. And while this is unlikely to require any offsetting rate action from the RBI, it may make it harder for them to begin easing rates as soon as we had previously thought. That now looks more likely to be a story for 2024.     

US inflation boosts case for no further rate hikes A second consecutive benign set of inflation prints adds to optimism that the Fed rate hike cycle is at an end and a soft landing is achievable for the US economy. We continue to have our concerns about the economic outlook, centred on the abrupt hard stop in credit growth, but the Fed will soon be in a position to be able to cut rates if a recession materialises.   US inflation pressures continue to ease The US consumer price inflation report showed that prices rose 0.2% month-on-month at both the headline and core (ex food and energy) level as was expected. To two decimal places it was even better at 0.17% and 0.16% respectively, which meant that the annual rate of headline inflation came in at 3.2% rather than 3.3% (versus 3% in June). Core inflation slowed to 4.7% from 4.8% as expected. A decent drop in used car prices helped (-1.3% MoM), but a second consecutive large decline in air fares (-8.1%) is a bit of a surprise. With medical care (-0.2%), recreation (0.1%), education (0%) and other goods and services (0.1%) all very subdued the Federal Reserve has got to be pretty happy with this. That so-called 'supercore' services (services ex energy ex housing) looks like it comes in at around 0.2% MoM, although the year-on-year rate ticks higher a little due to base effects.   Supercore services on the right path (YoY%)   Housing costs rose more than we thought though, with owners’ equivalent rent (the largest CPI component with a 25% weighting) rising 0.5% MoM/7.7% YoY but all in this report supports the nice golidlocks scenario of a slowdown in inflation allowing the Fed to stop hiking and eventually cut rates next year, which catches the slowing economy in time to prevent a recession. Obviously a lot can go wrong and we think it probably will given the worries about the abrupt slowdown in credit growth, but for now this data is encouraging   Housing components of CPI set to slow in line with rents   Headline may tick higher on energy but core will slow much further Unfortunately we are likely to see headline annual inflation rise further in YoY terms in August, albeit modestly. This will largely reflect higher energy costs, but we suspect it will resume its downward path again by October. Core inflation won't have this problem as the 0.6% MoM prints for August and September last year will drop out of the annual comparison to be replaced by 0.2% readings we predict, allowing annual core inflation to slow to below 4% by September. This is going to be increasingly driven by the all-important housing components, which are set to slow sharply based on observed rents while used car prices are set to fall further based on auction prices. Consequently we are increasingly confident of a sub 3.5% YoY core CPI print by year-end. We had been hoping that headline inflation could be around 2.5%, but the rise in oil and gasoline prices over the last couple of months makes this look less achievable.   Higher energy costs can be viewed like a tax – no need for the Fed to hike further In fact there has been some talk that the rise in energy costs will make the Fed more inclined to hike rates since it will push up inflation with rising costs potentially passed onto other components such as logistics and airline fares. We are not that concerned though since it can have a disinflationary effect elsewhere because higher energy prices can be viewed similarly to a tax. You can't avoid filling up your car with gasoline and you can't not heat your home etc so it effectively means you have less money at the end of the day to spend on other goods and services. It hurts economic activity and effectively intensifies disinflation in other components over time. As such the Fed will be watching and waiting to see what happens rather than any knee-jerk hike action.   NFIB survey points to weakening corporate pricing power and lower core CPI     Moreover, business surveys continue to point to weakening pricing power, such as the ISM services index being consistent with 1% headline CPI and the National Federation of Independent Business survey pointing to core inflation heading to 3% by year-end. Such an inflation backdrop should allow the Fed to respond to any recession threat with interest rate cuts next year.

UK economy expected to stall in Q2. By Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK)   European markets enjoyed their second successive day of gains yesterday, boosted by the announcement by China to end its ban on overseas travel groups to other countries has also helped boost travel, leisure, and the luxury sector. The gains were also helped by a lower-than-expected rise in US CPI of 3.2%, with core prices slipping back to 4.7%, which increased expectations that we could well have seen the last of the Fed rate hiking cycle, which in turn helped to push the S&P500 to its highest levels this week and on course to post its biggest daily gain since July.     Unfortunately, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly had other ideas, commenting that the central bank has more work to do when it comes to further rate hikes, which pulled US yields off their lows of the day, pulling stock markets back to break even.   This failure to hang onto the gains of the day speaks to how nervous investors are when it comes to the outlook for inflation at a time, even though Daly isn't a voting member on the FOMC this year, and she's hardly likely to say anything else. Certainty hasn't been helped this week by data out of China which shows the economy there is in deflation, despite recent upward pressure on energy prices.     It also means that we can expect to see a lower open for markets in Europe with the main focus today being on the latest UK Q2 GDP numbers, as well as US PPI for July. Having eked out 0.1% growth in Q1 of this year, today's UK Q2 GDP numbers ought to show an improvement on the previous two quarters for the UK economy, yet for some reason most forecasts are for zero growth. That seems unduly pessimistic to me, although the public sector strike action is likely to have been a drag on economic activity.     Contrary to a lot of expectations economic activity has managed to hold up reasonably well, despite soaring inflation which has weighed on demand, and especially on the more discretionary areas of the UK economy. PMIs have held up well throughout the quarter even as they have weakened into the summer. Retail sales have been positive every month during Q2, rising by 0.5%, 0.1% and 0.7% respectively. Consumer spending has also been helped by lower fuel pump prices, and with unemployment levels still at relatively low levels and wage growth currently above 7%, today's Q2 GDP numbers could be as good as it gets for a while.     Despite the resilience shown by the consumer, expectations for today's Q2 are for a 0% growth which seems rather stingy when we saw 0.1% in Q1. This comes across as surprising given that Q2 has felt better from an economic point of view than the start of the year, with lower petrol prices helping to put more money in people's pockets despite higher bills in April. This raises the prospect of an upside surprise, however that might come with subsequent revisions.       Nonetheless, even as we look back at Q2, the outlook for Q3 is likely to become more challenging even with the benefit of a lower energy price cap, helping to offset interest rates now at their highest levels for over 15 years. With more and more fixed rate mortgages set to get refinanced in the coming months the second half of the year for the UK economy could well be a lot more challenging than the first half.     Yesterday US CPI came in slightly softer than expected even as July CPI edged up to 3.2% from 3% in June. Today's PPI numbers might show a similar story due to higher energy prices, but even here we've seen sharp falls in the last 12 months. A year ago, US PPI was at 11.3%, falling to 0.1% in June, with the move lower being very much one way. We could see a modest rebound to 0.7% in July. Core prices have been stickier, but they are still expected to soften further to 2.3% from 2.4%. 12 months ago, core PPI was at 8.2% and peaked in March last year at 9.6%.       EUR/USD – squeezed above the 1.1050 area yesterday, before failing again, and sliding back below the 1.1000 area. Despite the failure to break higher we are still finding support just above the 50-day SMA. Below 1.0900 targets the 1.0830 area.     GBP/USD – popped above the 1.2800 area yesterday and then slipped back. We need to see a sustained move back above the 1.2800 area to ensure this rally has legs. We have support at the 1.2620 area. Below 1.2600 targets 1.2400. Resistance at the 1.2830 area as well as 1.3000.         EUR/GBP – pushed up to the 100-day SMA with resistance now at the 0.8670/80 area. Support comes in at the 0.8580 area with a break below targeting the 0.8530 area. Above the 100-day SMA targets the 0.8720 area.     USD/JPY – closing in on the June highs at the 145.00 area. This is the key barrier for a move back towards 147.50, on a break above the 145.20 level. Support now comes in at the 143.80 area.     FTSE100 is expected to open 42 points lower at 7,576     DAX is expected to open 70 points lower at 15,926     CAC40 is expected to open 30 points lower at 7,403

FX Daily: Dollar benefits from a lack of alternatives The US remains on an encouraging disinflation track, but the dollar is not turning lower. This is, in our view, due to a lack of attractive alternatives given warning growth signals in other parts of the world (such as the eurozone and China). Evidence of a US economic slowdown is needed to bring USD substantially lower.   USD: Disinflation not enough for the bears July’s US inflation numbers released yesterday were largely in line with expectations, reassuring markets that there are no setbacks in the disinflationary process for now. Core inflation inched lower from 4.8% to 4.7%, while the headline rate suffered a rebound (from 3.0% to 3.2%) due to a reduced base effect compared to previous months, which was still smaller than the consensus of 3.3%. With the exception of resilience in housing prices, price pressures clearly abated across all components. All in all, the US report offered reasons for the Fed and for risk assets to cheer, as the chance of another rate hike declined further. Equities rallied and the US yield curve re-steepened: the dollar should have dropped across the board in this scenario. However, the post-CPI picture in FX was actually more mixed. This was a testament to how currencies are not uniquely driven by US news at the moment. The Japanese yen drop was not a surprise, given abating bond and FX volatility, equity outperformance and carry-trade revamp, but FX markets seemed lightly impacted by CPI figures and the subsequent risk-on environment, as many high-beta currencies failed to hang on to gains. From a dollar point of view, we think the recent price action denotes a reluctance to rotate away from the greenback given the emergence of concerning stories in other parts of the world. This is not to say that the activity outlook in the US is particularly bright – jobless claims touched a one-month high yesterday, and the outlook remains very vulnerable to deteriorated credit dynamics – but if economic slowdown alarms are flashing yellow in Washington, they are flashing amber in Frankfurt and Beijing. Chinese real estate developer Garden reported a record net loss of up to $7.6bn during the first half of the year yesterday, at a time when China’s officials are trying to calm investors’ nerves about another potential property crisis. Back to the US, PPI and the University of Michigan inflation expectation figures out today will clarify how far the disinflation story has gone in July, but we still sense a substantial dollar decline is not on the cards for the moment, or at least until compelling evidence of slowing US activity makes the prospect of Fed cuts less remote. DXY may consolidate above 102.00 over the next few days.

France’s solid labour market is starting to cool France's unemployment rate rose slightly in the second quarter. The low point seems to have been passed, and the trend over the next few quarters is likely to be upwards.   Unemployment rate still historically low, but no longer falling France's unemployment rate stood at 7.2% in the second quarter, up slightly from the first quarter's low point of 7.1%. Despite the additional 20,000 unemployed, the unemployment rate remains historically low, down 1 point on its pre-health crisis level (8.2%). Furthermore, the employment rate remained at its highest level since the start of the series (1975) and stable over the quarter at 68.6% (of the population aged between 15 and 64). There was a significant rise in the employment rate for the oldest age groups (55-64), up 0.7 points over the quarter.   A renewed fall in the unemployment rate in the coming months seems unlikely From all the data published by INSEE, it's clear the French labour market remains very solid. Nevertheless, despite stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the second quarter, the trend is for the labour market to cool, and the unemployment rate appears to have bottomed out. A renewed fall in the unemployment rate in the coming months seems unlikely. Signs of a deterioration in the economic outlook remain strong, and growth is likely to be weaker in the coming quarters. Indicators are also pointing to a further cooling in the labour market in the future; companies' hiring intentions are falling, especially in the services sector. Industrial companies are beginning to report more problems of demand than of supply, and the proportion of companies seeing the lack of labour as a factor limiting production is decreasing. Nevertheless, this proportion remains at a historically high level. We believe that the worsening economic outlook should slow the pace of hiring by companies, which would hinder job creation and lead to a gradual rise in the unemployment rate over the coming quarters. After years of strong job creation, job destruction is likely to be seen in 2024 and 2025, leading to a slight rise in the unemployment rate. We expect it to be 7.3% at the end of this year, 7.4% in 2024 and 7.5% in 2025.

France’s solid labour market is starting to cool France's unemployment rate rose slightly in the second quarter. The low point seems to have been passed, and the trend over the next few quarters is likely to be upwards.   Unemployment rate still historically low, but no longer falling France's unemployment rate stood at 7.2% in the second quarter, up slightly from the first quarter's low point of 7.1%. Despite the additional 20,000 unemployed, the unemployment rate remains historically low, down 1 point on its pre-health crisis level (8.2%). Furthermore, the employment rate remained at its highest level since the start of the series (1975) and stable over the quarter at 68.6% (of the population aged between 15 and 64). There was a significant rise in the employment rate for the oldest age groups (55-64), up 0.7 points over the quarter.   A renewed fall in the unemployment rate in the coming months seems unlikely From all the data published by INSEE, it's clear the French labour market remains very solid. Nevertheless, despite stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the second quarter, the trend is for the labour market to cool, and the unemployment rate appears to have bottomed out. A renewed fall in the unemployment rate in the coming months seems unlikely. Signs of a deterioration in the economic outlook remain strong, and growth is likely to be weaker in the coming quarters. Indicators are also pointing to a further cooling in the labour market in the future; companies' hiring intentions are falling, especially in the services sector. Industrial companies are beginning to report more problems of demand than of supply, and the proportion of companies seeing the lack of labour as a factor limiting production is decreasing. Nevertheless, this proportion remains at a historically high level. We believe that the worsening economic outlook should slow the pace of hiring by companies, which would hinder job creation and lead to a gradual rise in the unemployment rate over the coming quarters. After years of strong job creation, job destruction is likely to be seen in 2024 and 2025, leading to a slight rise in the unemployment rate. We expect it to be 7.3% at the end of this year, 7.4% in 2024 and 7.5% in 2025.

Polish GDP continues to shrink in 2Q23 In 2Q23, Polish GDP fell by 0.5% YoY (ING: -0.3%), following a 0.3% YoY decline in 1Q23. We see room for a downward revision to our GDP growth forecast for 2023 at 1%. The weak economy and inflation approaching single-digits will be arguments for the MPC to start interest rate cuts after the summer. Seasonally adjusted GDP showed a 3.7% QoQ decline in economic activity, following a 3.8% QoQ increase in the previous quarter. Detailed data on GDP composition in 2Q23 will be released on 31 August, but our estimate is that the decline in household consumption worsened markedly in 2Q23 and was close to -3% in annual terms. We expect investment to have continued to grow, driven by the public sector and large companies, among others. Balance of payments data suggest that, in 2Q23, foreign trade had a positive contribution to annual GDP and should more than offset the negative impact of inventory changes. The global environment (weak Chinese economy and dismal German industry performance) suggests that the recovery will be slow later this year and we will not see a markedly better economic performance before 4Q23. In the context of today's data, we see room for a downward revision of our GDP growth forecast for 2023, from the current 1%. We will provide a final estimate after the analysis of GDP composition in 2Q23. The weak economy and inflation approaching single-digit levels will be arguments for the MPC to start a cycle of interest rate cuts after the summer. The 2Q23 GDP reading turned out to be worse than forecast in the July NBP projection (-0.1% YoY), and the outlook for 2H23 is also subject to rising downside risks. We expect the MPC to cut interest rates by 25bp in September.    

Strong consumer keeps US on track for 3% GDP growth Retail sales provided another upside data surprise and indicates a 3% annualised GDP growth rate is possible for the third quarter. However, higher consumer borrowing costs, reduced credit availability, the exhausting of pandemic-era savings and the restart of student loan repayments pose major challenges for fourth quarter activity.   Retail sales lifted by Prime Day and eating out We have another US data upside surprise from the household sector with retail sales rising 0.7% month-on-month in July versus the 0.4% consensus. June's growth was also revised up 0.1 percentage point to 0.3% MoM. Importantly, the control groups which excludes volatile autos, gasoline, food service and building materials, rose 1% MoM versus 0.5% consensus, but here there was a 0.1pp downward revision to June's growth to 0.5% MoM. This category, historically, has a better correlation with broader consumer spending. Remember retail sales is only around 45% of consumer spending in total, with consumer services taking a greater share. Amazon Prime Day appears to have been the main driver with non-store sales up 1.9% MoM, but there was also strength in restaurants and bars (+1.4%) while sporting goods rose 1.5%, clothing was up 1% and grocery up 0.8%. Electronics (-1.3% MoM) and vehicles (-0.3%) and furniture (-1.8%) were the weak spots. All in it points to the US being on track to report 3% annualised GDP growth in the third quarter, which will keep the Fed's language hawkish even if they don't carry through with further rate hikes, as we expect.   Official retail sales growth versus weekly chain store sales growth (YoY%)   The challenges for spending are mounting Interestingly, there has been a bit of a breakdown in the relationship between official retail sales growth of the control group and the weekly Redbook chain store sales numbers, as can be seen in the chart above. Maybe this is the Prime day effect playing out and we see a reconvergence again in August. The Retail sales report is a good story for now, but we are expecting weakness to materialise in the fourth quarter. Higher market interest rates will add to upward pressure on what are already record high credit card borrowing rates and rising auto, mortgage and personal loan rates. With households also continuing to run down pandemic-related excess savings, as measured by Fed numbers on cash, checking and time savings deposits, this will act as a brake on growth.   US consumer borrowing costs (%)   Higher borrowing costs and reduced credit availability will hurt However, it is important to remember that reduced access to credit is just as important as the cost of credit in taking heat out of the economy. The latest Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) underscores how the tightening of lending conditions will increasingly act as a headwind for activity and contribute to inflation sustainably returning to target. Banks are increasingly unwilling to make consumer loans and as the chart below shows, this has historically pointed to an outright contraction in consumer credit outstanding.   Fed's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey points to negative consumer credit growth (YoY%)   Fed to keep rates on hold Add in the squeeze on household finances from the restart of student loan repayments for millions of households and it means further weakness in retail sales and broader consumer spending remains has to remain our base case. The concern is that it will also heighten the chances of recession, which we believe will discourage the Fed from any further interest rate increases. Instead, we expect interest rate cuts from March 2024 onwards as monetary policy is relaxed to a more neutral footing.  

Poland's industrial production and producer prices fall sharply in July July industrial production fell by 2.7% year-on-year, well below the consensus forecast of 0.6%. There were yearly declines in all four major commodity groups, double-digit drops in mining and quarrying of 10.2%, and in manufacturing by 2.4%. Producer price deflation was deeper than expected, with July PPI falling 1.7% YoY against a consensus of -1.2%.   Poland's industry saw a surprisingly weak start to the third quarter, although this coincided with dismal industrial PMI readings in Poland (43.5pts in July) and Germany (below 40pts in July). Year-on-year declines in industrial production in July were recorded in 24 of 34 industrial production divisions, the deepest in coal and lignite mining (by 27.7%), chemical products (9.6%), wood products (15.5%), paper (11.5%), metals (10.4%), and other non-metallic products (8.8%). The 10 divisions that saw an increase in production were led by machinery and equipment repair (up 20.7%), motor vehicles (15.0%), other transport equipment (8.1%) and machinery and equipment (4.9%). Production’s positive growth was driven by pro-export sectors. The deep fall in PPI producer prices was largely due to the statistical base effect and clearly lower energy prices than a year ago, but also reflected weakness in demand. A similar picture emerged from Germany's July PPI reading. On a monthly basis, Polish manufacturing prices have been falling since November, and we expect PPI deflation to continue at least until the end of the year, which should facilitate further CPI disinflation. Available leading indicators (PMIs, new orders data) do not suggest a rapid recovery in manufacturing, although the most acute phase of inventory reduction by Polish companies seems to have passed. This week the preliminary August PMIs for the eurozone and Germany will be published; our forecasts do not assume a significant improvement compared to July. The economy of Poland’s largest trading partner is balancing between stagnation and recession. We expect that industrial production in Poland will remain low in the third quarter and experience a more visible rebound in the fourth quarter.   Poland's industrial production, YoY changes, in %

06:00BST Tuesday 22nd August 2023 UK public sector borrowing set to slow in July   By Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK)     We saw a lacklustre start to the week yesterday, European markets just about managing to eke out a small gain, although the FTSE100 finished the day slightly below the flat line, closing lower for the 7th day in a row.    The retreat from the intraday highs appeared to be driven by a rise in yields with both UK and German yields seeing strong gains towards their highs of last week. The move higher in yields also saw US 10-year and 30-year yields hit their highest levels since 2007, but unlike in Europe the rise in yields didn't act as a brake on US markets, which managed solid gains led by the Nasdaq 100. US chipmaker Nvidia was a notable outperformer looking to revisit its record highs of earlier this month ahead of its Q2 earnings which are due to be released tomorrow. As we look ahead to today's European open the strong finish in the US looks set to translate into a similarly positive start here in a couple of hours' time, however it's difficult to escape the feeling that stock markets are starting to look increasingly vulnerable.     Economic uncertainty in China, stagnation or weak growth in Europe and the UK, the only positives appear to be coming from the US where the economy is looking reasonably resilient, hence the rise in yields there. It's slightly harder to explain why yields in the UK and Europe are rising aside from the fact that rates are likely to stay higher for longer.     On the economic data front the only data of note is the latest July public sector borrowing numbers for the UK, which are expected to see a fall to £3.9bn from £17.1bn in May. With total debt now at levels of 100% of GDP the rise in rates is extraordinarily painful given how much of its existing debt is linked to inflation and the retail price index. Having to pay out over £100bn a year in interest is money that might have been better spent elsewhere. It's just a pity that the government didn't take greater advantage of the low-rate environment we saw less than 2 years ago, as had been suggested from a number of quarters at the time. We also have the latest CBO industrial orders for August which are expected to slip back to -12 from -9 in July.     In the US we have July existing home sales which are expected to decline for the second month in a row, by -0.2%. We also have comments from the following Federal Reserve policymakers. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee who leans towards the dovish side will be speaking at an event on youth unemployment alongside the more hawkish Fed governor Michelle Bowman.     We also have Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin whose most recent comments suggest he sees the prospect of a soft landing for the US economy, although he is not a voting member this year.     EUR/USD – finding support just above the 1.0830 area. Still feels range bound with resistance at the 1.1030 area. Below 1.0830 targets the 200-day SMA.     GBP/USD – continues to look supported while above the twin support areas at 1.2610/20. We need to see a move through the 1.2800 area, to signal potential towards 1.3000. A break below 1.2600 targets 1.2400.       EUR/GBP – continues to find support for now at the 0.8520/30 area. A move below 0.8500 could see 0.8480. Above the 100-day SMA at 0.8580 targets the 0.8720 area.     USD/JPY – looks to be retesting the August highs on the way towards the 147.50 area. Below the 144.80 area, targets a move back to the 143.10 area.     FTSE100 is expected to open 6 points higher at 7,264     DAX is expected to open 48 points higher at 15,651     CAC40 is expected to open 30 points higher at 7,228  

The Japanese yen faced considerable losses on Monday as USD/JPY surged to 146.23 during the North American session, marking a 0.57% increase for the day. The US dollar's strength has propelled it dangerously close to pushing the yen below the critical 146 line, a scenario witnessed last week when the robust US dollar drove the struggling yen to a nine-month low. Once synonymous with deflation, the Japanese economy has undergone a significant transformation in the era of high global inflation. With Japan's inflation hovering slightly above 3%, a level that many major central banks would eagerly welcome, the landscape has shifted. Notably, inflation remains relatively high by Japanese standards, as both headline and core inflation have consistently outpaced the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) 2% target. Japan's inflation data is closely scrutinized as the prospect of elevated inflation sparks speculations that the BoJ might need to tighten its lenient policy stance. Although the central bank has maintained that the high inflation is transitory, it's worth remembering that other central banks have made similar claims only to backtrack later. The Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) come to mind as examples. In the previous week, July's Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained steady at 3.3% year-on-year, while Core CPI experienced a slight dip to 3.1% year-on-year from the previous 3.3%. Looking ahead, Tuesday brings the release of BoJ Core CPI, the central bank's favored inflation metric, which is projected to decrease to 2.7% for July, down from June's 3.0%.   USD/JPY pushes above 146 line Bank of Japan’s Core CPI is expected to ease to 2.7% The Japanese yen has posted significant losses on Monday. USD/JPY is trading at 146.23 in the North American session, up 0.57% on the day. The US dollar has looked sharp and is within a whisker of pushing the yen below the 146 line, as was the case last week when the strong US dollar pushed the ailing yen to a nine-month low. The Japanese economy was once synonymous with deflation, but that has changed in the era of high global inflation. Japan’s inflation is slightly above 3%, a level that other major central banks would take in a heartbeat. Still, inflation is relatively high by Japanese standards and both headline and core inflation have persistently been above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. Japan’s inflation reports are carefully monitored as higher inflation has raised speculation that the BoJ will have to tighten its loose policy. The central bank has insisted that high inflation is transient, but the BoJ wouldn’t be the first bank to make that claim and then backtrack with its tail between its legs. Remember the Fed and the ECB? Last week, July’s CPI remained unchanged at 3.3% y/y. Core CPI dropped to 3.1% y/y, down from 3.3%. On Tuesday, Japan releases BoJ Core CPI, the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge, which is expected to dip to 2.7% in July, down from 3.0% in June. China’s economic troubles have sent the Chinese yuan sharply lower, with the Chinese currency falling about 5% this year against the US dollar. A weak yuan makes Chinese exports more attractive, but this is at the expense of other exporters including Japan. As a result, there is pressure in Japan to lower the value of the yen in order to compete with Chinese exports.   USD/JPY Technical USD/JPY pushed above resistance at 145.54 earlier today. The next resistance line is 146.41 There is support at 144.51 and 143.64    

The euro started the week on a stable note, with little response to the eurozone inflation report released on Friday. In the North American session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0886, reflecting a minor increase of 0.13%. Given the sparse data calendar for Monday, it is expected that the euro will maintain its calm trajectory for the rest of the day. Eurozone Inflation Trends: Headline Falls, Core Remains Unchanged The past week concluded with a eurozone inflation report that brought about a mixed reaction. The euro displayed minimal volatility in response to the data. The headline inflation rate for June was confirmed at 5.3% year-on-year (y/y), down from 5.5% in the previous month. This decline marked the lowest level observed since January 2022, primarily driven by a drop in energy prices.     Markets show little reaction to Friday’s eurozone inflation report Headline inflation falls but core rate unchanged The euro is steady at the start of the week. In the North American session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0886, up 0.13%. With a very light data calendar on Monday, I expect the euro to remain calm for the remainder of the day.   Eurozone headline inflation falls, core inflation unchanged The week ended with a mixed inflation report out of the eurozone and the euro showed little reaction. Inflation was confirmed at 5.3% y/y in June, down from 5.5% in June. This marked the lowest level since January 2022 and was driven by a decline in energy prices. Core CPI remained unchanged at 5.5% in July, confirming the initial reading. The news was less encouraging from services inflation, which rose from 5.4% to 5.6% with strong wage growth driving the upswing. The labour market remains tight and inflation is still high, which suggests that wage pressure will continue to increase. Inflation has been moving in the right direction but core inflation and services inflation remain sticky and are raising doubts, within the ECB and outside, if the central bank’s aggressive tightening cycle can bring inflation back to the 2% target. The deposit rate stands at 3.75%, its highest level since 2000. The ECB’s primary goal is to curb inflation but policy makers cannot ignore that additional rate hikes could tip the weak eurozone economy into a recession. The ECB meets next on September 14th and there aren’t many key releases ahead of the meeting. ECB President Lagarde has said that all options are open and investors will be listening to any comments coming out of the ECB, looking for clues as to whether the ECB will raise rates next month or take a pause.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD tested resistance at 1.0893 earlier. Above, there is resistance at 1.0940 There is support at 1.0825 and 1.0778    

GBP: Volatile pricing ahead of PMIs Bank of England rate expectations have been quite volatile since the upside surprise in wages and CPI last week. The miss in retail sales on Friday saw peak Bank rate expectations as measured in the Sonia rate drop more than 10bp. Markets are currently looking at 5.95-6.0%, but today’s PMI release in the UK may well move pricing again. Consensus is expecting some slowdown in both manufacturing (already in contraction territory) and services (to 51.0). The Bank of England will also look at the details of the survey searching for evidence that price pressures are abating. EUR/GBP can make another attempt at breaking 0.8500 today, although the sustainability of sub-0.8500 levels is questionable unless markets price in more rate hikes in the UK or price out tightening in the eurozone.

SEK: Enjoying a breather The Swedish krona is emerging as an outperformer this week without any clear domestic driver justifying its strength against peers. EUR/SEK had risen above 11.90 and eyed 12.00, reaching new highs last week, and we suspect this week’s correction is primarily technically driven. News on the troubled landlord SBB continues to worry investors, although at these levels, SEK is pricing in quite a good deal of domestic risks. Incidentally, the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation, which might leave slightly wider manoeuvring room for the Riksbank to deal with high inflation. Keep a close eye on today’s Nvidia quarterly results. SEK is generally the most correlated G10 currency with US tech stocks. A disappointment on that side could trigger another EUR/SEK rally, even though some EUR softness is now helping put a cap on the pair. For the moment, a break above 12.00 is not our baseline scenario, and we see instead greater chances of a gradual – although bumpy – decline in the pair into year-end.  

New inflation methodology offers hope for BoE 1.28 could be major resistance point for GBPUSD A break of 1.26 could be bearish signal   Recent UK economic data has been a mixed bag, with wages rising at a much-accelerated rate but inflation decelerating as expected. While the Bank of England will be relieved at the latter, the former will remain a concern as wage growth even near those levels is not consistent with inflation returning sustainably to target over the medium term. The ONS released new figures overnight that appeared to suggest core inflation is not rising as fast as the CPI data suggests. The reportedly more sophisticated methodology concluded that core prices rose 6.8% last month, down from 7% the previous month and 7.3% the month before. The official reading for July was slightly higher at 6.9% but down from only 7.1% in May. So not only is the new methodology showing core inflation lower last month but the pace of decline is much faster. That will give the BoE hope that price pressures are easing and they’re expected to do so much more over the rest of the year.     GBPUSD Daily     It’s not clear whether this will prove to be a resumption of the uptrend or merely a bearish consolidation. It is currently nearing 1.28, the area around which it has previously run into resistance this month and around the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level. Another rebound off here could be viewed as another bearish signal, which may suggest we’re currently seeing a bearish consolidation, while a move above could be more promising for the pound. If the pair does rebound lower then the area just above 1.26 will be key, given this is where it has recently seen strong support. It is also where the 55/89-day simple moving average band has continued to support the price in recent months.

NZD/USD posts strong gains on Tuesday New Zealand retail sales are expected to decline by 2.6%   The New Zealand dollar has posted strong gains on Tuesday. In the European session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.5959, up 0.55%. On the data calendar, New Zealand retail sales are expected to decline by 2.6% q/q in the second quarter, compared to -1.4% in Q1. The New Zealand dollar has gone on a dreadful slide since mid-July, falling as much as 500 basis points during that spell. The current downswing has been driven by weak global demand and jitters over China’s economy, which is showing alarming signs of deterioration. Chinese releases have been pointing downward recently. Exports and imports have fallen, manufacturing activity is weak and the world’s second-largest economy is experiencing deflation. Last week, Evergrande, a huge Chinese property developer, filed for bankruptcy in the United States, raising fears of contagion to other parts of the economy. It wasn’t long ago that the Chinese ‘miracle’ was being touted as an economic powerhouse on the global stage, but now the world’s second-largest economy is in deep trouble and is dragging down global growth. An interesting silver lining is that deflation in China could help lower inflation worldwide, which would be good news for the Fed, ECB and other central banks that are battling to push inflation lower. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has responded in recent days to the economic slowdown with some cuts to lending rates, but surprisingly, has not trimmed the five-year loan prime rate, which has a major impact on mortgages. The PBOC’s lukewarm move to the economic crisis could mean China’s economy will continue to sputter, and that is bad news for the New Zealand dollar, as China is by far New Zealand’s largest trading partner. If Chinese releases continue to head lower, we can expect the New Zealand dollar to continue losing ground.   NZD/USD Technical NZD/USD has pushed above resistance at 0.5941 and is putting pressure on resistance at 0.5978. There is support at 0.5885 and close by at 0.5848  

Eurozone PMI paints worrisome growth picture Another weak PMI for the eurozone confirms a sluggish economy with recession as a downside risk. Inflation pressures for services remain stubborn as wage pressures continue to be a concern. The latter adds to our expectations that the ECB's hiking cycle is not over yet.   There is very little to like about today’s PMI. In recent months, the PMI has painted a worsening picture of eurozone activity, and August data are no different. The composite PMI dropped from 48.6 to 47 with the services PMI also dropping below 50. Inflationary concerns are not over though. The manufacturing sector has been in contraction for some time, with new orders falling and backlogs of work easing. This is helping inflationary pressures subside quickly. Services activity held up for a while but is now also showing contraction, according to the survey. While goods inflation is easing on the back of lower costs and weak demand, services inflation remains elevated for now due to increased wage cost pressures – despite weakening demand. The economic picture that we're seeing is quite worrisome. Growth in the bloc was decent at 0.3% quarter-on-quarter between April and June, but strong Irish growth masked a lot of underlying weakness. While we expect tourism to have contributed positively to third-quarter growth, business surveys like the August PMI show a picture of deteriorating activity. This makes a recession a realistic downside risk to the outlook. The main concern that the European Central Bank will have with this reading is the inflationary effect of wage pressures. The economy is cooling off significantly, but hawks on the ECB board will be tempted to push for one more hike as wage pressures are translating into elevated inflation pressures for services. The fact that the selling price inflation indicator from the PMI inched up this month clearly leaves the door open to another ECB rate hike.

The Bank of Korea’s hawkish pause continued on the back of inflation concerns The Bank of Korea unanimously decided to leave its policy rate at 3.5%, extending its no-change action for five consecutive meetings. Meanwhile, the BoK maintained its forecasts for 2023 GDP and CPI while raising that of core CPI in its latest economic outlook.     The Bank of Korea won't chase the Fed, but market rates will The higher-for-longer US narrative is a concern for the BoK considering how it has led to volatile FX movements and a sharp rise in market interest rates impacting Korea’s macro economy. However, we don’t think the BoK will chase the Fed like it did last year.   Inflation will likely reaccelerate in the coming months, but we do not believe headline CPI inflation will return to the 3% range as expected by the BoK. And even if it does, it is likely only to be a temporary move that will not reverse the downward inflation trend. So while inflation may keep the BoK hawkish for the time being, it will not be enough to result in additional hikes, especially when considering the rapidly worsening growth outlook.   Inflation and growth outlook We think that there are several upside risks for inflation. Base effects will continue to push up the headline inflation rate over the remainder of the year; Global commodity prices have risen significantly along with the recent KRW depreciation; Severe weather conditions will likely push up fresh food prices, overlapping with the Chuseok holiday; Public service prices face planned hikes in 3Q23.     But we also see significant downside risks. The government has decided to extend its fuel tax cut program until the end of October to stabilize pump prices; Rental prices will continue to fall for more than a few quarters; and China’s disinflation will eventually lower domestic prices over time. On the growth front, soft survey data releases from the US and EU and ongoing market jitters surrounding China’s real estate market will increase downward pressure on Korea’s exports. Also, the recent pick-up in market rates will eventually put more downward pressure on household consumption and business investment. Consequently, we expect growth to remain quite subdued for the rest of the year, and that is why we believe that the BoK’s 1.4% growth view is quite optimistic. In our view, the BoK almost fully realizes the upside risk to the inflation outlook, while the downside risk to growth appears to be a relatively modest reflection.     BoK policy outlook By the end of this year, we think household debt and financial market conditions will become more important factors for monetary policy than inflation. Despite the tight monetary conditions, the impact on the real economy has been diminished as household debt has increased thanks to eased real estate policies. Also, the BoK's lending facility program was revised at the end of last month to provide timely liquidity to the financial market in case of an emergency, indicating the BoK's willingness to take macro-policy as tight as possible until prices stabilize at around 2%. Thus if household debt growth accelerates by the end of this year, the BoK’s first rate cut is likely to be postponed to next year, not the end of this year. 

German stagnation in the second quarter confirmed The second estimate of second-quarter GDP growth confirms the stagnation of Europe's largest economy and will do very little to end the 'sick man of Europe' debate.   Finally, a quarter without any statistical revision. The just-released second estimate of German GDP growth in the second quarter confirmed the economy's stagnation. The second estimate doesn't show the German economy in a better state and does little to shut down the current debate about Germany once again being the "sick man of Europe". According to the just-released data, the German economy stagnated in the second quarter, after two quarters of contraction. On the year, GDP growth was down by 0.6% or 0.2% if corrected for working days. The question remains whether technically speaking a stagnation after two quarters of contraction is actually the end of a technical recession or a prolongation. What is new in today’s data are the GDP components. While private consumption stagnated and public consumption increased marginally (+0.1% quarter-on-quarter), net exports were a drag on growth. The positive growth contribution from inventories reflects the ongoing inventory build-up, which doesn't bode well for the coming quarters.   Stagnation remains our base case Both the short-term and the longer-term outlook for Germany looks anything but rosy. Recently released sentiment indicators do not bode well for economic activity in the coming months. Weak purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books, the ongoing weakness of the Chinese economy as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the US economy, all argue in favour of weak economic activity. On top of these cyclical factors, the ongoing war in Ukraine, demographic changes, the current energy transition as well as the lack of new investment in digitalisation, infrastructure and education will structurally weigh on the German economy in the coming years. However, all is not bleak. The drop in headline inflation and the actual fall in energy and food prices, combined with higher wages, should support private consumption in the second half of the year. We continue to see the German economy being stuck in the twilight zone between stagnation and recession.

FX Daily: Lagarde faces a harder test than Powell The world’s two most prominent central bankers are both speaking at Jackson Hole today. The dollar has strengthened into the risk event and we think a hawkish tone by Powell is now largely priced in. Lagarde has to deal with a worsening economic outlook in the eurozone, but we suspect she will stick to data dependency and a hawkish tone. EUR/USD can rebound.   USD: Powell hawkishness looks largely in the price Some Fed speakers laid the groundwork for today’s keynote speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium. This bulk of Fedspeak comes after a rather quiet summer in central bank communication. A couple of standouts from yesterday’s remarks: Patrick Harker (2023 voter) leaned on the dovish side and said that the Fed has “probably done enough” on policy tightening. Susan Collins (non-voter) also suggested the Fed may have to hold for some time but refrained from signalling where the peak is. We also heard from former Saint Louis Fed President James Bullard, who stuck to his usual hawkish rhetoric. Bullard’s successor is still to be named, but the St. Louis seat is not going to be voted for until 2025, so the impact shouldn’t be imminent. So, what’s on the agenda for Powell today? Arguably, the backdrop has not changed dramatically since the FOMC rate announcement a month ago. The disinflation process has progressed in line with expectations, while key activity indicators have continued to prove resilient. Surely, the rather substantial revision in payrolls suggests a less rosy picture for employment than originally indicated, but we doubt that could be enough to trigger a change in the overall policy communication. Powell will once again have to deal with his own Committee’s projections that see rates being raised one last time this year: he will probably reiterate the Fed is open to such a possibility and retains a data-dependent approach. Markets will hardly be surprised by that, or by any restatement that rate cuts are still a long way out. The recent rise in US rates is surely complementing the monetary-policy-induced tightening of financial conditions, but given the stabilisation in the bond market following the July-August big sell-offs, we don’t think Powell will be overly concerned about prompting fresh UST weakness. The recent firmness in the dollar probably factors in some of the markets’ expectations for a hawkish tone by Powell, so we don’t expect another USD rally today. Christine Lagarde’s speech may have a greater impact on the euro (as discussed below) and cause a DXY correction.

Governor Thedeen say krona is fundamentally undervalued Markets fulling pricing in September Riksbank quarter-point rate hike Sweden’s government expects economy shrink by -0.8% in 2023 (previously eyed -0.4%) Sweden’s krona has been punished as the economy appears to be headed for a tough recession. Core inflation is coming down too slowly and that will keep the Riksbank hiking even as expectations grow for a lengthy recession.  The krona has not been getting any relief as many Swedes have started to embrace holding euros given the krona’s record plunge this year. Riksbank Governor Thedeen Riksbank governor Thedeen said that “the krona is too weak and it is fundamentally undervalued.” He added that “it should strengthen and we think that it will, but we know that it is almost impossible to predict currency moves over the short and medium term.” It is tough to call for a reversal after watching the krona fall to a fresh all-time low against the euro.  The current market expectations for the September meeting is to see the Riksbank raise rates by 25bps to 4.00%.  A freefalling krona is complicating the inflation fight, but that could see some relief as the outlook for the eurozone deteriorates. Expectations for the Sweden’s GDP are not seeing a strong consensus emerge.  Given the currency and inflation situation, it seems that the economy could be entering a recession that last more than a handful of quarters. The Swedish government is expecting a 0.8% decline in 2023 and a 1.0% growth for 2024.  It seems hard to believe that households will be a better position anytime soon, so a recession extending beyond 2024 seems likely.   The EUR/SEK weekly chart     EUR/SEK (weekly chart) as of Thursday (8/24/2023) shows the uptrend to record high territory is showing overbought conditions have arrived.  If the krona is able to firm up here, a mass exodus of EUR/SEK bullish bets could see price action tumble towards the 11.7118 region. If the plunge deeper into record low territory continues, EUR/SEK could make an attempt at the 12.000 which is just below the 141.% Fibonnaci expansion level of the 2020 high to 2021 low move. Last week, the krona was the most volatile G10 currency, so we should not be surprised if that volatility extends further given the chaos in the bond markets.    

In a world where economic indicators and market movements can shift with the blink of an eye, staying updated on the latest offerings and promotions within the financial sector is crucial. Today, we delve into one such noteworthy development that has emerged on the horizon, enticing individuals to explore a blend of banking and insurance services. As markets ebb and flow, being vigilant about trends and opportunities can lead to financial benefits. Let's explore this exciting promotion that brings together the worlds of banking and insurance to offer a unique proposition for consumers.     By Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK) US non-farm payrolls (Aug) – 01/09 – the July jobs report saw another modest slowdown in jobs growth, as well as providing downward revisions to previous months. 187k jobs were added, just slightly above March's revised 165k, although the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, from 3.6%. While the official BLS numbers have been showing signs of slowing the ADP report has looked much more resilient, adding 324k in July on top of the 455k in June. This resilience is also coming against a backdrop of sticky wages, which in the private sector are over double headline CPI, while on the BLS measure average hourly earnings remained steady at 4.4%. This week's August payrolls are set to see paint another picture of a resilient but slowing jobs market with expectations of 160k jobs added, with unemployment remaining steady at 3.5%. It's also worth keeping an eye on vacancy rates and the job opening numbers which fell to just below 9.6m in June. These have consistently remained well above the pre-Covid levels of 7.5m and have remained so since the start of 2021. This perhaps explain why the US central bank is keen not to rule out further rate hikes, lest inflation starts to become more embedded.                          US Core PCE Deflator (Jul) – 31/08 – while the odds continue to favour a Fed pause when the central bank meets in September, markets are still concerned that we might still see another rate hike later in the year. The stickiness of core inflation does appear to be causing some concern that we might see US rates go higher with a notable movement in longer term rates, which are now causing the US yield curve to steepen further. The June Core PCE Deflator numbers did see a sharp fall from 4.6% in May to 4.1% in June, while the deflator fell to 3% from 3.8%. This week's July inflation numbers could prompt further concern about sticky inflation if we get sizeable ticks higher in the monthly as well as annual headline numbers. When we got the CPI numbers earlier in August, we saw evidence that prices might struggle to move much lower, after headline CPI edged higher to 3.2%. We can expect to see a similar move in this week's numbers with a move to 3.3% in the deflator and to 4.3% in the core deflator.       US Q2 GDP – 30/08 – the second iteration of US Q2 GDP is expected to underline the resilience of the US economy in the second quarter with a modest improvement to 2.5% from 2.4%, despite a slowdown in personal consumption from 4.2% in Q1 to 1.6%. More importantly the core PCE price index saw quarterly prices slow from 4.9% in Q1 to 3.8%. The resilience in the Q2 numbers was driven by a rebuilding of inventory levels which declined in Q1. Private domestic investment also rose 5.7%, while an increase in defence spending saw a rise of 2.5%.             UK Mortgage Approvals/ Consumer Credit (Jul) – 30/08 – while we have started to see evidence of a pickup in mortgage approvals after June approvals rose to 54.7k, this resilience may well be down to a rush to lock in fixed rates before they go even higher. Net consumer credit was also resilient in June, jumping to £1.7bn and a 5 year high, raising concerns that consumers were going further into debt to fund lifestyles more suited to a low interest rate environment. While unemployment remains close to historically low levels this shouldn't be too much of a concern, however if it starts to edge higher, we could start to see slowdown in both, as previous interest rate increases start to bite in earnest.            EU flash CPI (Aug) – 31/08 – due to increasing concerns over deflationary pressures, recent thinking on further ECB rate hikes has been shifting to a possible pause when the central bank next meets in September. Since the start of the year the ECB has doubled rates to 4%, however anxiety is growing given the performance of the German economy which is on the cusp of three consecutive negative quarters. On the PPI measure the economy is in deflation, while manufacturing activity has fallen off a cliff. Despite this headline CPI is still at 5.3%, while core prices are higher at 5.5%, just below their record highs of 5.7%. This week's August CPI may well not be the best guide for further weakness in price trends given that Europe tends to vacation during August, however concerns are increasing that the ECB is going too fast and a pause might be a useful exercise.     Best Buy Q2 24 – 29/08 – we generally hear a lot about the strength of otherwise of the US consumer through the prism of Target or Walmart, electronics retailer Best Buy also offers a useful insight into the US consumer's psyche, and since its May Q1 numbers the shares have performed reasonably well. In May the retailer posted Q1 earnings of $1.15c a share, modestly beating forecasts even as revenues fell slightly short at $9.47bn. Despite the revenue miss the retailer reiterated its full year forecast of revenues of $43.8bn and $45.2bn. For Q2 revenues are expected to come in at $9.52bn, with same store sales expected to see a decline of -6.35%, as consumers rein in spending on bigger ticket items like domestic appliances and consumer electronics. The company has been cutting headcount, laying off hundreds in April as it looks to maintain and improve its margins. Profits are expected to come in at $1.08c a share.        HP Q3 23 – 29/08 – when HP reported its Q2 numbers the shares saw some modest selling, however the declines didn't last long, with the shares briefly pushing up to 11-month highs in July. When the company reported in Q1, they projected revenues of $13.03bn, well below the levels of the same period in 2022. Yesterday's numbers saw a 22% decline to $12.91bn with a drop in PC sales accounting for the bulk of the drop, declining 29% to $8.18bn. Profits, on the other hand did beat forecasts, at $0.80c a share, while adjusted operating margins also came in ahead of target. HP went on to narrow its full year EPS profit forecast by 10c either side, to between $3.30c and $3.50c a share. For Q3 revenues are expected to fall to $13.36bn, with PC revenue expected to slip back to $8.79bn. Profits are expected to fall 20% to $0.84c a share.         Salesforce Q2 24 – 30/08 – Salesforce shares have been on a slow road to recovery after hitting their lowest levels since March 2020, back in December last year, with the shares coming close to retracing 60% of the decline from the record highs of 2021. When the company reported back in June, the shares initially slipped back after full year guidance was left unchanged. When the company reported in Q4, the outlook for Q1 revenues was estimated at $8.16bn to $8.18bn, which was comfortably achieved with $8.25bn, while profits also beat, coming in at $1.69c a share. For Q2 the company raised its revenue outlook to $8.51bn to $8.53bn, however they decided to keep full year revenue guidance unchanged at a minimum of $34.5bn. This was a decent increase from 2023's $31.35bn, but was greeted rather underwhelmingly, however got an additional lift in July when the company said it was raising prices. Profits are expected to come in at $1.90c a share. Since June, market consensus on full year revenues has shifted higher to $34.66bn. Under normal circumstances this should prompt a similar upgrade from senior management.   Broadcom Q3 23 – 31/08 – just prior to publishing its Q2 numbers Broadcom shares hit record highs after announcing a multibillion-dollar deal with Apple for 5G radio frequency components for the iPhone. The shares have continued to make progress since that announcement on expectations that it will be able to benefit on the move towards AI. Q2 revenues rose almost 8% to $8.73bn, while profits came in at $10.32c a share, both of which were in line with expectations. For Q3 the company expects to see revenues of $8.85bn, while market consensus on profits is expected to match the numbers for Q2, helping to lift the shares higher on the day. It still has to complete the deal with VMWare which is currently facing regulatory scrutiny, and which has now been approved by the UK's CMA.

Investors becoming wary about the economic outlook Supply cuts remain supportive Head and shoulders neckline provides support Oil prices recovered a little toward the back end of the week after coming under some pressure this month. Supply cuts from OPEC+ continue to support the market but uncertainty over the global economic outlook – sluggish recovery in China, possible recession in the US and Europe – are weighing a little.  Recent economic data has not been encouraging and central banks are maintaining their hawkish positioning which could compound that pressure further going into the end of the year. But with supply cuts continuing to be extended, particularly the voluntary monthly reductions from Saudi Arabia and Russia, the market is being supported, perhaps in a new higher trading range above $80 in Brent.     A major area of support Brent crude ran into support over the last couple of days in a very interesting area, around $82.50, a break of which could have sent a very bearish signal.   This area coincides with support from earlier this month as well as the 200/233-day simple moving average band which it only broke back above a month ago for the first time since August last year. A rebound off here could be viewed as confirmation of the initial breakout. A move below would not only have sent a bearish signal, it would also have triggered the break of the neckline of a suspected head and shoulder pattern which could have been quite significant.     

US Now that we heard from Fed Chair Powell at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium, the focus shifts back to the data. This week is filled with data that will outline how quickly the economy is weakening. Consumer data will show personal income growth is not keeping up with spending, while confidence holds steady. The Fed’s favorite inflation reading is also expected to show subdued growth is holding steady on a monthly basis. Friday’s NFP report will show private sector hiring is cooling.    Over the weekend, the spotlight will be on US-China relations.  US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will meet with Chinese officials, striving to lower tensions between the world’s two largest economies.  The week will also be filled with Fed speak.  On Monday and Tuesday, Barr speaks about banking services. On Thursday, we hear from both Bostic and Collins, while Friday contains appearances by Bostic, a couple of hours before the NFP report, and Mester on inflation later in the morning.   Eurozone Next week is data-heavy but there are a few releases that stand out. The most notable is the HICP flash estimate for the eurozone on Thursday which is expected to drop slightly at the headline and core levels. There will be individual country releases in the days running up to this which may signal whether Thursday’s data will likely beat or fall short of expectations. ECB accounts are also released on Thursday which will be of interest considering markets now view the rate decision at the next meeting as a coin toss between 25 basis points and no change.    UK  The week starts with a bank holiday and it doesn’t get much more exciting from there. There are a few tier-three data releases and Huw Pill from the Bank of England will make appearances on Thursday and Friday. Russia A selection of economic data is on offer next week including unemployment on Wednesday, GDP on Thursday, and the manufacturing PMI on Friday.  South Africa No major events next week with PPI on Thursday the only notable release. It follows CPI data this past week which fell to 4.8%, well within the SARB 3-6% target range, following a much lower 0.9% monthly reading in July.  Turkey The CBRT surprised markets last week by hiking rates far more aggressively than expected, taking the repo rate to 25%, up from 17.5%. The move may cost people at the central bank their jobs if history is anything to go by, with President Erdogan openly no fan of higher rates. That said, he did employ these people shortly after his election victory so perhaps with that behind him, he may be more open to it while remaining vocally against. This week offers very little, with GDP on Thursday the only release of note. Switzerland Inflation data on Friday is expected to show prices rising 1.5% on an annual basis, slightly lower than in July and well below the SNB 2% target. The central bank hasn’t appeared satisfied though and markets are fully pricing in a hike in September, with 32% chance of it being 50 basis points. The manufacturing PMI will also be released on Friday, with retail sales on Thursday, and the KoF economic barometer and economic expectations on Wednesday. China Only three key economic releases to monitor for the coming week. First up, the NBS manufacturing and services PMIs for August will be out on Thursday. Another contractionary print of 49.5 is expected for the manufacturing sector, almost unchanged from July’s reading of 49.5. If it turns out as expected, it will be the fifth consecutive month of negative growth for manufacturing activities as China grapples with a weak external environment and domestic financial contagion risk that has been triggered by debt-laden property developers. Secondly, the NBS services PMI for August is forecasted to remain surprisingly resilient at 51, almost unchanged from 51.5 in July. The services sector is still in an expansionary mode albeit at a slower pace that is likely being supported by domestic tourism. Thirdly, the private sector-focused Caixin manufacturing PMI for August which consists of small and medium enterprises will be released on Friday, 1 September. Consensus is still expecting a contractionary reading of 49.5, almost unchanged from July’s print of 49.2. If it turns out as expected, it will be the second consecutive month of negative growth. A slew of key earnings releases to take note of starting this Saturday, 26 August will be China Merchants Bank, and Bank of Communications followed by; BYD (Monday, 28 August), Ping An Insurance, NIO, Country Garden (Tuesday, 29 August), Agricultural Bank of China (Wednesday, 30 August), ICBC, Bank of China, China Minsheng Bank (Thursday, 31 August). Also, market participants will be on the lookout for fiscal stimulus measures to defuse the $23 trillion debt bomb owed by local governments, financial affiliates, and property developers. On Friday, 25 August, China policymakers unveiled a further easing of its home mortgage policies that scrap a rule that disqualifies first-time homebuyers who had a mortgage that is fully repaid from being considered a first-time buyer in major cities in an attempt to boost up residential property transactions.  India Two key data to focus on. Q2 GDP on Thursday where the consensus is expecting a further economic growth expansion to 7% y/y in Q2, a further acceleration from 6.1% y/y recorded in Q1. Lastly, the manufacturing PMI for August will be released on Friday where it is being forecasted to come in at 57, almost unchanged from the July reading of 57.7 which will indicate a 26th straight month of growth expansion for manufacturing activities. Australia Retail sales for July will be out on Monday, with a recovery to 0.3% m/m from -0.8% m/m in June. On Wednesday, the important monthly CPI indicator for July will be out and the consensus forecast is another month of cooling to 5.2% from 5.4% in June. If it turns out as expected, RBA may have more reasons to justify its current pause at 4.1% for two consecutive meetings. Its next monetary policy meeting will be on 5 September, and as of 24 August, the ASX 30-day interbank cash rate futures have priced in a 12% chance of a rate cut to 3.85% (25 bps cut).  New Zealand A quiet week with the only focus on the ANZ business confidence indicator for August on Thursday followed by ANZ consumer confidence for August on Friday. Japan The action comes mid-week. Consumer confidence for August is released on Wednesday and is expected to be almost the same at 37.2 versus July’s 37.1. On Thursday, we will have retail sales and industrial production for July. Growth in retail sales is expected to slip slightly to 5.4% y/y from 5.9% in June. Meanwhile, industrial production is expected to contract to -1.4% m/m from 2.4% m/m in June, and -0.7% y/y is forecasted from 0% y/y recorded in June. Singapore The sole key data to monitor will be the producer prices index for July out on Tuesday with another month of negative growth forecasted at -9% y/y, a slower pace of contraction from -14.3% recorded in June. It would be the 7th consecutive month of decline.

Australia retail sales rebounds with 0.5% gain Fed’s Powell keeps door open to further hikes The Australian dollar started the week with gains but then retreated. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6408, up 0.09%. Last week, the Australian dollar showed significant swings of around 1%. Australia’s retail sales surprise on the upside Australian retail sales rebounded in July with a respectable gain of 0.5% m/m.  This followed a dismal -0.8% reading in June and beat the consensus estimate of 0.3%. The welcome uptick was driven by the Women’s World Cup which was held in Australia and was a massive boost for Australia’s travel and retail sectors. Much of the tournament took place in August, which means that the August retail sales report should also receive a shot to the arm. The August report showed that consumers still have an appetite for spending, but there are unmistakable signs that the economy is cooling. Inflation has been falling, wage growth in the second quarter was weaker than expected and unemployment rose to 3.7%. This all points to the Reserve Bank of Australia holding rates at the September 5th meeting, and the future markets have priced a hold at around 90%. The slowdown in China, which is Australia’s largest trading partner, could throw a monkey wrench into the central bank’s efforts to guide the economy to a soft landing. There is a always the concern that aggressive tightening, with the aim of curbing inflation, will choke economic growth and tip the economy into a recession. The Australian dollar is sensitive to Chinese releases and the recent batch of soft Chinese data has weighed on the struggling Australian dollar.   Federal Chair Jerome Powell delivered the keynote speech on Friday, but anyone looking for dramatic headlines walked away disappointed. Powell reiterated that the battle to lower inflation to the 2% target “still has a long way to go”. Powell was somewhat hawkish with regard to interest rates, saying that the Fed would “proceed carefully” with regard to raising rates or putting rates on hold and waiting for additional data. This was a deliberate omission of any mention of rate cuts, a signal that the Fed isn’t even thinking about lowering rates. The future markets responded by raising the odds of a rate hike in September to 21%, up from 14% a week ago.     AUD/USD Technical AUD/USD is testing resistance at 0.6424. Above, there is resistance at 0.6470 There is support at 0.6360 and 0.6317    

Australia retail sales rebounds with 0.5% gain Fed’s Powell keeps door open to further hikes The Australian dollar started the week with gains but then retreated. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6408, up 0.09%. Last week, the Australian dollar showed significant swings of around 1%. Australia’s retail sales surprise on the upside Australian retail sales rebounded in July with a respectable gain of 0.5% m/m.  This followed a dismal -0.8% reading in June and beat the consensus estimate of 0.3%. The welcome uptick was driven by the Women’s World Cup which was held in Australia and was a massive boost for Australia’s travel and retail sectors. Much of the tournament took place in August, which means that the August retail sales report should also receive a shot to the arm. The August report showed that consumers still have an appetite for spending, but there are unmistakable signs that the economy is cooling. Inflation has been falling, wage growth in the second quarter was weaker than expected and unemployment rose to 3.7%. This all points to the Reserve Bank of Australia holding rates at the September 5th meeting, and the future markets have priced a hold at around 90%. The slowdown in China, which is Australia’s largest trading partner, could throw a monkey wrench into the central bank’s efforts to guide the economy to a soft landing. There is a always the concern that aggressive tightening, with the aim of curbing inflation, will choke economic growth and tip the economy into a recession. The Australian dollar is sensitive to Chinese releases and the recent batch of soft Chinese data has weighed on the struggling Australian dollar.   Federal Chair Jerome Powell delivered the keynote speech on Friday, but anyone looking for dramatic headlines walked away disappointed. Powell reiterated that the battle to lower inflation to the 2% target “still has a long way to go”. Powell was somewhat hawkish with regard to interest rates, saying that the Fed would “proceed carefully” with regard to raising rates or putting rates on hold and waiting for additional data. This was a deliberate omission of any mention of rate cuts, a signal that the Fed isn’t even thinking about lowering rates. The future markets responded by raising the odds of a rate hike in September to 21%, up from 14% a week ago.     AUD/USD Technical AUD/USD is testing resistance at 0.6424. Above, there is resistance at 0.6470 There is support at 0.6360 and 0.6317    

While the European currency and the British pound are trying to gain upside momentum to continue their bullish corrections initiated at the end of last week, Fed officials have shifted their focus from interest rates to inflation, particularly its target level. Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin stated that the US central bank could lose credibility if it were to consider changing its 2% inflation target before achieving that goal. "It's not like 2% is some magical unicorn of a number that we could never hit," he said at an event hosted by the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce in Danville, Virginia. Barkin, who doesn't vote on monetary policy decisions this year, did not express his opinion on when he believes rate cuts might start. According to him, criteria that might allow for a reduction in rates include monitoring when inflation cools month to month and how consumer demand, which remains at a fairly high level, stabilizes. A recent monthly survey of 68 economists conducted August 11-16 showed that no one expects the US central bank to cut rates until the second quarter of next year. This is three months later than the July estimate. Barkin also noted that the greater-than-expected easing in inflation in June could signal that the US economy is heading for a "soft landing," returning to price stability without a dmamging recession. At present, the regulator's preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index — added 3% in June from a year earlier, marking the smallest increase in over two years. This is well below last year's figure of 7% when Fed representatives began the most aggressive policy tightening campaign in a generation. Some leading economists have repeatedly noted that central banks should not keep monetary policy so tight. Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, believes that regulators should stop tightening policy, especially after inflation drops to 3%. Harvard University Professor Jason Furman, who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2017, even called for the Federal Reserve to consider raising the inflation target. Notably, last month, the Fed raised the key interest rate to a target range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years. Now, especially after the Jackson Hole symposium, the debate has shifted from how high rates need to go to how long they should remain elevated  

EUR: Spain and Germany release inflation figures The first round of inflation figures out of the eurozone will see the release of Spanish and German CPI this morning. In Spain, headline inflation should rebound marginally from low levels (2.3%), but all eyes will be on core inflation, which remains elevated. The consensus is for a slowdown from 6.2% to 6.0%. German’s figures will likely have the largest market impact: consensus is also centred for a deceleration from 6.2% to 6.0%. It is a crucial juncture for the euro. Markets approach the key risk event pricing in just slightly below 50% implied probability of another rate hike in September and 15bp in total. The EUR curve appears to largely agree with our view that if the ECB skips the September meeting, it will find it increasingly hard to raise rates again at all given the deterioration in the eurozone economic outlook. We expect markets to be very sensitive to even the smallest deviations from consensus, especially in Germany’s figures and the eurozone-wide numbers released tomorrow. We admit it’s a very close call, but our economists expect this week’s inflation reports to signal that core inflation remains too high for comfort and lead the ECB to one last rate hike in September. In our base case scenario, we see EUR/USD rally into the 1.0900-1.0950 area into the US payrolls on Friday.

The Japanese yen continues to lose ground on Tuesday. In the North American session, USD/JPY is trading at 147.26, up 0.50%. The yen broke above the 147 level for the first time since November 2022.   Tokyo says battle with inflation has reached turning point Just a few days after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s speech at the Jackson Hole summit, the Japanese government released a potentially significant white paper. To say that the two events were contradictory might be a stretch, but they appeared to present a very different stance towards inflation. At Jackson Hole, Ueda stuck to the BoJ’s well-worn script that underlying inflation remains lower than the BoJ’s target of 2%. As a result, the BoJ has insisted it will stick with the current ultra-easy policy until there is evidence that inflation remains sustainably above target. The white paper sounded a different tone, noting that “Japan has seen price and wage rises broaden since the spring of 2022. Such changes suggest the economy is reaching a turning point in its 25-year battle with deflation” and “a window of opportunity may be opening to exit deflation.” Could this be a turning point that leads to a tightening in policy? The government hasn’t acknowledged that deflation is over, despite the fact that core inflation has remained above the 2% target for 16 successive months. Wages are also on the rise after companies significantly bumped up employee wages earlier in the year. The white paper spoke of the need to “eradicate the sticky deflationary mindset besetting households and companies”, but I wonder if the BoJ also suffers from the same mindset, even with inflation remaining above target month after month. Investors should remain on guard for a shift in central bank policy, especially if the yen continues to head towards the key 150 level.     USD/JPY Technical There is resistance at 147.19 and 147.95 146.30 and 145.10 are providing support        

China PMIs remain downbeat A further slowdown in the service sector recovery coupled with a slight moderation in manufacturing contraction does not amount to any meaningful improvement to the overall economic backdrop.   Mixed news - but no real improvement in total The latest official PMI data were not uniformly bad. The manufacturing index actually rose slightly, to 49.7, and this is the third consecutive increase since the May trough of 48.8. But it remains below the 50-level that is associated with expansion, and so merely represents a moderation in the rate of decline. That may be of some comfort to those of a sunny disposition.  The non-manufacturing series, which had reflected the bulk of the post-re-opening recovery, fell further in August. The index of 51.0 was a little lower than the forecast figures (51.2) but it is at least still slightly above contraction territory.   China official PMIs (50 = threshold for expansion / contraction)   Brighter signs in manufacturing Looking at the components underlying both series and starting with the manufacturing series: the latest data show an improvement in production to a point which actually points to expansion. That has to be tempered by the forward-looking elements of orders. Here, the data is mixed. Total orders have improved to hit the 50 threshold signalling that contraction has ended. This must be mainly domestic orders, as the export orders series remains bombed out. But that at least provides some encouragement about the near-term outlook.    Manufacturing PMI components   Outlook for service sector remains negative The forward-looking elements of the service sector PMI index remain in contraction territory, unlike their manufacturing counterparts, and that suggests that the headline index has probably not yet troughed and will fall further. A glimmer of hope may be in the export series, which, while clearly continuing to signal contraction, did fractionally rise this month.  Overall, though, both series seem to be converging on a point close to 50 consistent with an economy that is neither expanding nor contracting. Things could be worse. But markets are not likely to take too much comfort from this set of data.      Non-manufacturing PMI sub-components

High 2024 borrowing needs in Poland no longer fundable locally Poland’s government unveiled the 2024 draft budget bill with a cash-basis deficit of PLN164.8bn and record-high net borrowing needs. Next year’s deficit is boosted by a strong rise in spending, while revenues should grow slower due to disinflation. Given the high borrowing needs the Polish budget should become more reliant on foreign financing in 2024.   The budget draft The 2024 draft budget bill approved by the government envisages the central deficit (cash-basis) at PLN164.8bn (vs. PLN92bn targeted this year). The reasons behind the strong rise in the deficit are spending, which grew by 22.5% year-on-year, while total revenues are projected to rise by 10.5% YoY amid further disinflation. What is even more striking is a strong increase in borrowing needs. Net borrowing needs for 2024 are projected at PLN225.4bn (c.6% of GDP). This is up by 55% vs. an already high PLN143bn planned for this year and close to zero in 2020-21. Combined with maturing debt it means that gross borrowing needs are expected to exceed PLN400bn next year.     In 2023 net savings in banking sector covers substantial part of borrowing needs In 2023 the financing of (central budget) borrowing needs is based mainly on local sources, ie, the net savings in the banking sector. It grew fast as high interest rates trimmed demand for new loans, while deposits continued expanding. As a result, the net savings in the domestic banks are expected to cover around two-thirds of the state budget net borrowing needs this year, which are estimated at PLN143bn. Also, the government turned more open to external financing and tapped the Eurobonds markets more eagerly than in the previous year, so overall funding of the budget is very safe.   A strong rise of net borrowing needs requires more external funding on hard currency bonds and POLGBs Net borrowing needs and its financing in 2023 and 2024 (PLNbn)   In 2024 net savings of local banks to grow much slower, while borrowing needs rise and budget requires more external funding than in past years We estimate that in 2024 the net savings in local banking sector may reach an equivalent of about 30% of total borrowing needs, estimated at PLN225.4bn. That is why the Ministry of Finance changed the funding plan, which requires much more external savings. In 2024 the authorities plan to expand Eurobonds issuance by nearly PLN37.8bn vs. PLN13.3bn in 2023 (net). Also, foreign investors’ engagement in Polish government bonds (issued domestically in PLN) may also need to increase as the domestic banking sector may not have sufficient capacity to absorb supply of PLN160.7bn in new PLN-denominated government securities (compared with some PLN62.9bn this year). In detail, the net supply of PLN-denominated government securities is the following: (1) the government intends to sell over PLN54.5bn T-bills in 2024; they will be issued for the first time in a long time (are usually purchased by domestic banks), (2) the supply of POLGBs should reach PLN99.2bn vs. PLN48.2bn in 2023, and (3) the supply of retail bonds is expected at PLN7bn vs. PLN14.9bn in 2023. On the top of that the borrowing needs assumes raising PLN28.6bn from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. This source of funds is currently locked due to Warsaw’s conflict with Brussels over the rule of law in Poland.   Summary We expect the Ministry of Finance to keep sizable offers of POLGBs in the second half of the year to take advantage of favourable market conditions. Also, the high cash buffer of MinFin (over PLN130bn at the end of July) will be held and used as a safety buffer to prevent problems with funding. Yet, given that net savings in domestic banks may prove insufficient to cover high government funding in 2024, MinFin is likely to rely on foreign investors, who refrained from increasing holdings of POLGBs in past years.