lagarde

  • ECB leaves rates on hold
  • Lagarde still eyeing summer rate cut
  • EURUSD consolidating after correction

The European Central Bank left interest rates on hold on Thursday and claimed inflation is progressing towards its target while giving no clear guidance on when interest rates will start falling.

We came into the new year with markets pricing in a March rate cut and that is now looking increasingly difficult. Even with a late pivot – which was always likely the strategy of the central bank – policymakers would have to signal that a rate cut is a live possibility over the next six weeks in appearances made between meetings. That’s not impossible but it’s arguably not particularly transparent. The data is unlikely to surprise to that degree.

President Christine Lagarde and some colleagues have previously indicated a rate cut in summer may be appropriate but investors are not convinced we’ll have to wait that long. Lagarde stuck with that today while suggesting demand was

Cautious optimism

ECB's Lagarde Teases Rate Hike, Bitcoin Price (BTC/USD) Defends From Deep Plunge

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 11.05.2022 17:06
Stock markets are pushing cautiously higher again on Wednesday as investors await a huge inflation report from the US ahead of the open on Wall Street. The report is expected to be the first that will indicate inflation has peaked and a sharp decline is underway. That doesn’t mean inflation is expected to return to target any time soon but it will come as a massive relief to investors, households and businesses alike after months of watching price pressures accelerate higher. The fear is that the data today doesn’t tell us what we want to hear. A slower deceleration or worse, none at all, would be an enormous blow and I expect equity markets would feel the full effects of it. The extent to which that would be the case would obviously depend on how bad the data is. On the flip side, considering the shock to equity markets recently, a low reading that marks the end of the ascent and falls in line with the view that price pressures will ease considerably in the months ahead could be very positive for stock markets. Investors will be hoping the inflation data can provide a tailwind for equity markets for the rest of the year and perhaps even allow for interest rate expectations to be pared back. There may be some scarring from the last six months which may stop investors from getting too excited initially but indices are at a steep discount now after recent moves and a low inflation reading could tempt some back in. Lagarde drops subtle rate hike hint After months of pushback, it seems the ECB is forming a consensus around raising interest rates in the coming months. Noises from policymakers in recent weeks have alluded to that and Christine Lagarde today ever so slightly deviated from her policy of ambiguity to hint at the possibility of a July hike. That would align with where markets stand on the lift-off and make the ECB the latest central bank to abandon its transitory argument and belatedly start tightening. Whether Europe will pay the price for their hesitation, as may be the case in the UK, US, New Zealand and many other countries, isn’t clear. It may well depend on how swiftly it agrees to raise rates and how entrenched inflation becomes. There’s no doubt they don’t quite have the problem the UK and US have, for example. Bitcoin stays above crucial support as Terra plunges Bitcoin survived a brief dip below USD 30,000 on Tuesday and is making small gains so far today, easing pressure on the critical support in the process. It could have been much worse for bitcoin if it got caught up in the Terra debacle, which is down more than 50% on the day despite being a stablecoin by definition. That it hasn’t sent shockwaves throughout the broader crypto space will come as a relief to bitcoin HODLers for now. But that could change and a break below USD 30,000 could make them very uncomfortable. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/ This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.
Bitcoin to US dollar - technical analysis by Petar Jacimovic on April 21st

We may say that Bitcoin's rally sustainability is questionable

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 16.03.2023 22:22
It’s been another wild session in financial markets and the ECB had the unenviable task today of making a decision on interest rates amid all of the uncertainty and turbulence. One thing that was clear from Lagarde’s press conference is that it isn’t just markets that expect the tightening cycle may have come to an abrupt end following the events of recent days. Despite hiking by 50 basis points today – as planned and supported by forecasts that were created prior to the recent turmoil – the President refused to commit to further hikes as it did after previous meetings. That is, of course, a very sensible thing to do in light of such immense uncertainty and the specific situation that is unfolding in the banking sector. And time will tell whether today’s hike has rubbed salt into the wound or represents the necessary continuity and reassurance. Read next: Australia: employment report stronger than expected. Reserve Bank of Australia expected to pause| FXMAG.COM Today was always a case of determining the least worst option and I have no doubt policymakers would have loved nothing more than to postpone for a week, but it didn’t have that luxury. Of all the major central banks, the ECB probably had the least flexibility to pause due to it being so late to the tightening party and therefore behind the curve. Whatever it did would be a risk in some way and now we’ll have to wait and see how lucky it will be. We’re not seeing too many jitters in the markets at this point but they can obviously materialize at any point. The euro was a little choppy over the course of the press conference, as were bond markets, but the real test will come from how European banks trade over the hours and days ahead. It’s going to be a nervy end to the week and a potentially nervier weekend. Is the rally sustainable? Whatever is driving the bitcoin rally right now, it doesn’t look particularly sustainable in light of what’s happening elsewhere in the markets. Time will tell how much support for cryptos there is in these turbulent times but one thing looks clear, it’s going to be a wild ride and there could be many more surprises around the corner that will test any gains made over the last week. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/ This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. A gamble from the ECB? - MarketPulseMarketPulse
Understanding the Bank of England's Approach to Interest Rates Amidst Heightened Expectations: A Balancing Act with Inflation and Market Pressures

Fed's Rate Hike Guessing Game: Managing Market Expectations. Inflation Concerns and Tightening Credit Conditions: Fed's Decision and Market Reaction

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 15.06.2023 08:52
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.  
ECB Decision Day: Lagarde Faces Challenges in Conveying Hawkish Tone

ECB Decision Day: Lagarde Faces Challenges in Conveying Hawkish Tone

ING Economics ING Economics 15.06.2023 13:15
EUR: No easy task for Lagarde today It’s European Central Bank decision day, and our call for a 25bp rate hike is fully in line with consensus and market expectations. In our ECB Cheat Sheet, we outline four different scenarios along with implications for EUR rates and EUR/USD: in our base case, today’s rate increase will be paired with an attempt to convey a hawkish tone and leave the door open for more tightening ahead. Markets are almost fully pricing in another hike in July, and the focus will primarily be on President Christine Lagarde’s press conference and whether she will offer hints that the Governing Council is leaning in favour of a July move. Staff projections will also be released but may not gather too much attention or drive much of the market reaction.   Given the market's strong conviction about another 25bp hike in July (or September at the latest), the bar for a hawkish surprise is probably set quite high today. The ECB may need to signal several more hikes to trigger a significant jump in the euro and that does not look very likely considering the recent signs of decelerating inflation and deteriorating growth outlook. In other words, there is still the interest for the ECB to sound hawkish today, but we suspect that might not be enough to send the euro higher, and we see some moderate downside risks for EUR/USD today. We could see EUR/USD drop back to the 1.0750 handle today, although developments on the US data side will continue to drive the large majority of trends in the pair moving ahead, with ECB policy playing second fiddle, in our view.
Gold Market Sentiment and Analyst Forecasts: Bond Yields and China's Impact

Navigating Central Banks and Inflation: Tightening, Yield Curves, and Market Expectations

ING Economics ING Economics 23.06.2023 11:39
Rates Spark: Whatever it takes, until it breaks The Bank of England showed that central banks will not be shy to tighten more if disinflationary dynamics don't materialize. A reaction function more geared to current data than to being forward looking biases yield curves flatter - until something breaks.   Deeper curve inversions highlight potential costs of tightening too far The initial market reaction to the Bank of England increasing key rates by a larger than anticipated 50bp increment to 5% was revealing. Yield curves twisted flatter, with outright drops in the 10y rate as the more aggressive approach by central banks is seen as coming with an increasing economic cost. Curves staked out new post-March lows although the move lower in long end rates later faded. What sticks is the sense that central banks will remain hawkish and won’t be shy to increase rates further should the lack of disinflationary dynamic warrant it. In any case markets think the BoE has shifted to a more aggressive reaction function, with an even greater focus on current inflation dynamics. After yesterday’s 50bp hike, another 50bp in August is seen as more likely than not. In total, a further 110bp of tightening is discounted in forwards, implying expectations that the BoE will take the terminal rate above 6% before year end. This is a view that our economist does not share, seeing only two more 25bp hikes eventually being realised.      The question remains how far central banks can credibly take the tightening, with record curve inversions pointing to stretched levels. Macro indicators such as, in the US, the Conference Board’s Leading Index are also signalling recession. Today’s release of the June PMI  flash estimates could also serve to highlight the growing discrepancy between the central banks' own optimistic macro outlooks and the softening data indicators, but they alone are unlikely to resolve the disconnect.    More front-loaded tightening seen after the BoE's hawkish surprise   Next week offers key inflation data Sticky core inflation could remain the key theme for next week. Even if there were some positive surprise, central banks have made it clear they want to see a trend for the better in inflation data. By definition that will take a couple of releases at least, but it won’t keep forward-looking markets from extrapolating any incoming data points. That difference can still keep a curve flattening bias in play.   In the US the key release to watch is the PCE inflation data at the end of the week. The headline rate is seen lower, but the consensus is looking for both the monthly and yearly core readings to remain unchanged, at 0.4% and 4.7%, respectively, after their upward surprise last month. Stickier core inflation could still validate the Fed’s hawkish case, but with a lower headline that might not be enough for markets to endorse the two more hikes implied by the FOMC's latest "dot plot". In the eurozone markets will be closely following first the individual country inflation data before we get the June CPI estimate for the block on Friday. The market eyes a decrease in the headline rate to 5.6% year on year, while our economists have pointed out that within core, services inflation continues to see some upside risk for the months ahead. Ahead of the these key releases central banks will have plenty of opportunity to lay out their current reaction function, with the ECB’s central banking forum in Sintra kicking off on Monday. The main event will be a policy panel attended by the ECB’s Lagarde, Fed’s Powell, BoE’s Bailey and BoJ’s Ueda.   Gilt yields higher, but Treasuries and Bunds still appear capped for now   Today's events and market views Through all the key central bank meetings of the last few weeks, it is notable that the trading ranges for longer-dated EUR and USD rates have held, resulting in the overall curve flattening move. The diffrence to the UK is that that, inflation-wise, things have been moving in the right direction, even if only slowly. Still, it does look as if there is a stronger will to test the upside and we would not exclude that 10Y UST yields hit 4% again before going lower.   For now, an eventful week will be capped off by the release of the June PMI flash estimates.  In the eurozone last month brought a pretty bleak report as the PMI indicated that services experienced slower growth and manufacturing experienced a sharper contraction. Consensus is looking for services growth to slow further, but the manufacturing slowdown to at least stabilise. Last month’s main upside was around fading inflation expectations. Central banks will want to rely on the actual inflation readings, where the UK has shown that in the current circumstances, one reading disappointing to the upside can make quite a difference. The next key inflation releases out of the US and eurozone are what markets can look forward to towards the end of next week.  
Navigating Australia's Disinflationary Path: RBA Rates, Labor Market, and Inflation Outlook

Asia Morning Bites: Central Banks, Global Markets, and Key Economic Data

ING Economics ING Economics 26.06.2023 07:58
Asia Morning Bites Markets are still digesting the more hawkish central bank backdrop and events in Russia over the weekend. More central bank flavour will come this week from the Sintra ECB event, where Powell, Lagarde, Bailey and Ueda will be speaking. US PCE data rounds off the week.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets: Equities finished in the red on Friday. There was not much upside. Bourses opened down and then stayed down for most of the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.77%, and the NASDAQ fell 1.01%. Digesting the Fed’s recent comments about further rate hikes, and also the similar noises coming from the ECB and the Bank of England's surprise 50bp hike, together with anxiety about the unfurling events in Russia would all have weighed on sentiment. US equity futures are looking a bit brighter this morning. China was still on holiday at the end of last week. US Treasury yields dropped last Friday. The 2Y US Treasury yield fell 5bp to 4.741%. 10Y UST yields fell 6bp to 3.735%. EURUSD moved lower on Friday, falling to 1.0845 intraday before recovering to just above 1.09. The AUD was also weaker against the USD, falling to 0.668. Sterling was steadier, but Cable also lost ground to 1.2728, and the JPY was also weaker, rising to 143.521. Friday was a poor day for Asian FX, with declines across the board except where markets were closed for public holidays. The KRW, SGD, THB and MYR all lost 0.5% or more.   G-7 macro: US PMI data showed some signs of weakness on Friday. The Manufacturing PMI slid further into contraction territory, dropping to 46.3 from 48.4, while the service sector PMI softened to 54.1 from 54.9, though remains in expansion mode. Germany’s Ifo survey is about all we have to get excited about today. The ECB’s Central Bank forum in Sintra kicks off today.  The end of the week will be more interesting, with another dose of PCE data from the US.   Singapore:  Industrial production data will be released later this afternoon.  The market consensus points to another month of contraction (-7.1%YoY) as production tracks the struggles on the trade front.  We can expect this trend to continue in the near term given the outlook for global trade.    Philippines: President Marcos appointed former Monetary Board Member Remolona to take over as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor next week.  We are not expecting any major shifts in policy thinking from incumbent BSP Governor Medalla and we expect the BSP to match any moves by the Fed in the coming months.      What to look out for: Singapore industrial production and Powell's comments later in the week Singapore industrial production (26 June) Taiwan industrial production (26 June) Japan leading index (27 June) Hong Kong trade balance (27 June) US durable goods orders, new home sales and Conference Board consumer confidence (27 June) Australia CPI inflation (28 June) Philippines bank lending (28 June) US MBA mortgage applications and wholesale inventories (28 June) Fed’s Powell speaks (28 June) Japan retail sales (29 June) Australia retail sales (29 June) US initial jobless claims and pending home sales (29 June) Fed’s Powell and Bostic speak (29 June) South Korea industrial production (30 June) Japan labour market data (30 June) China PMI manufacturing (30 June) US personal spending and Univ of Michigan sentiment (30 June)
German Business Confidence Dips, ECB's Lagarde Hosts Central Banking Conference in Portugal, EUR/USD Drifts Higher

German Business Confidence Dips, ECB's Lagarde Hosts Central Banking Conference in Portugal, EUR/USD Drifts Higher

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 26.06.2023 15:53
German Business Confidence falls for second straight month ECB’s Lagarde hosts central banking conference in Portugal EUR/USD is drifting higher on Monday. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0917, up 0.20%.   German business confidence slips Germany once prided itself as being the locomotive of the eurozone, which blazed the way with a strong economy. The country is still by far the largest economy in the bloc, but hard times in the global economy haven’t spared Germany. The week started with disappointing news as the German Ifo Business Climate index dropped for a second straight month, falling from 91.7 to 88.5 in June. This missed the consensus of 90.7 and was the index’s weakest level this year. The Ifo release did not indicate reasons for the decline, but a weak global economy, exacerbated by China’s wobbly recovery, and the ECB’s aggressive tightening appear to be weighing on business sentiment. Last week’s German PMI data indicated slower activity in manufacturing and services. Manufacturing has been mired in a recession and fell from 43.5 to 41.0 points. Services is showing growth, but slipped from 54.7 to 54.1 points. The 50 line separates contraction from expansion. The ECB has been playing catch-up with inflation but has made progress as higher rates have dampened economic activity in the eurozone. The ECB has hinted strongly that it will raise rates in July and there is a strong possibility of another hike in September or October. ECB President Christine Lagarde will be in the spotlight as host of the ECB forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal this week. The markets will be monitoring her remarks and looking for insights into future rate policy, which could result in stronger movement from the euro. . EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is testing resistance at 1.0916. Next, there is resistance at 1.0988 1.0822 and 1.0780 are providing support
Unraveling the Resilience: US Growth, Corporate Debt, and Market Surprises in 2023

Central bankers face economic downturn and limited ability to tighten financing conditions at Sintra conference

ING Economics ING Economics 27.06.2023 10:47
Rates Spark: The battle to keep policy tight At Sintra, hawkish central bankers meet a deteriorating economic outlook, and face their diminished ability to tighten financing conditions. Inverted curves and lower real rates may be the counterproductive product of their single-minded focus.   Hawkish messaging is only credible if the economy holds up As the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Sintra conference get underway, central bankers will have their eyes firmly on two important checks on their recent hawkish charge. Firstly, a deterioration in economic outlooks, illustrated by the plunge in Germany’s Ifo index published yesterday, limits the credibility of any aggressive hawkish tone with markets fearing a recession. Secondly, it is not altogether certain that, in isolation, a more hawkish central bank results in materially tighter financial conditions.   The first concern can in theory be addressed by a single-minded focus on backward-looking inflation. This is the strategy adopted by most central banks, also justified by their poor track record in forecasting inflation. By and large, this strategy has been successful in delaying rate cut expectations, but the central banks’ sphere of influence typically doesn’t reach very far up the curve, so the economic outlook still matters. Dhingra and Tenreyro have an easier job communicating the Bank of England’s stance when they speak today, given the UK’s entrenched inflation problem. Things are more challenging for Lagarde given the deterioration of European economic data.   Long-end EUR real rates have declined since May, hardly a tightening of financial conditions    
Asia Morning Bites: Focus on Regional PMI Figures, China's Caixin Manufacturing Report, and Upcoming FOMC Minutes and US Non-Farm Payrolls"

Navigating the Monetary Policy Dilemma: Markets, Central Banks, and Financial Conditions - 27.06.2023

ING Economics ING Economics 27.06.2023 10:56
FX Daily: Hawkish Sintra kicks off The ECB Symposium in Sintra starts today, with an introductory speech by Lagarde plus remarks from other ECB members. A generally hawkish tone should come from all sides: the eurozone (despite a worsening growth outlook), the UK (despite the mortgage crisis) and the US. We’ll also monitor the speech by Norges Bank Governor today and Canada’s CPI numbers.   USD: Slightly weaker into Sintra The week has started on a rather quiet tone across most asset classes. The dollar is trading softer against the pro-cyclical currencies, a sign that the FX market has also fully overlooked the weekend crisis in Russia. As highlighted in yesterday’s FX Daily, investors are fully focused on the central bank story, and with the FOMC and post-FOMC hawkish messages having now been absorbed, we are transitioning to a period where data will tell investors whether there is any need to push tightening expectations beyond the one rate hike priced in for July. The notion of first and second-tier data releases is a bit more muffled in an environment where markets are spasmodically looking for evidence of disinflation and/or economic slowdown. We will see a gradual intensification in the US data release calendar in the coming days, which will culminate with ISM services and payroll data on 6 and 7 July; and then June CPI figures on 12 July. Zooming back into this week, the Conference Board consumer confidence data today will be the highlight of the day, although some focus will also be on May’s Durable goods orders and new home sales, and on June’s Richmond Fed Manufacturing index. Consensus expectations point to a relatively firm set of numbers, and we see no reasons to strongly disagree. Considering the low likelihood of a dovish turn by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at his Sintra speech tomorrow, an acceleration in the dollar decline does not seem very likely.
EUR/USD Edges Lower as German Consumer Confidence Falls

EUR/USD Edges Lower as German Consumer Confidence Falls

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 29.06.2023 08:32
German consumer sentiment falls ECB’s Lagarde will participate in a panel discussion on policy   EUR/USD has edged lower on Wednesday. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0939, up 0.20%.   German consumer confidence dips The German GfK Consumer Sentiment report found that consumer confidence is expected to fall in July to -25.4, down from a downwardly revised -24.4 in June. The report noted that the German consumer is reluctant to spend due to economic uncertainty, and high inflation has eroded the purchasing power of households. The consumer confidence release comes on the heels of the German Ifo Business Climate index, which fell from 91.7 to 88.5 in June. This missed expectations and marked the index’s lowest level this year. The weak confidence numbers highlight a persistent lack of confidence in the German economy.   The ECB, which continues to signal that more rate hikes are coming, finds itself between a rock and a hard place. The Bank’s number one priority is curbing inflation, which will require more rate hikes. However, tightening too quickly runs the risk of choking economic activity and tipping the German economy into a recession. How far will the ECB go in raising interest rates? Investors hope to get some clues from ECB President Lagarde later today when she participates in a panel on policy at the ECB bank forum in Sintra. Lagarde said on Tuesday that eurozone inflation remains too high and reiterated that ECB policy “needs to be decided meeting by meeting and has to remain data-dependent.”   In the US, Tuesday’s strong releases were further proof of a solid economy. Durable Goods Orders and New Home Sales were higher and beat expectations, and Conference Board Consumer Confidence jumped in June from 102.5 to 109.7, its highest level since January 2022. These strong releases will provide support for the hawkish Fed, which is expected to raise rates in July and again in September or October.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is putting pressure on support at 1.0916. Next, there is support at 1.0822 1.0988 and 1.1082 are the next resistance lines    
SEK Update: Encouraging Data Offers Relief Amid Growth Concerns

Sintra's Hawkish Message: Impact on Major Central Banks and FX Market

ING Economics ING Economics 29.06.2023 09:13
FX Daily: How “contagious” are Sintra's hawks? The ECB’s message in Sintra has been firmly hawkish and has helped the euro. Today, a panel with Lagarde, Powell, Bailey and the BoJ’s Ueda will tell us if other major central banks will follow such hawkish rhetoric. It should be the case for Powell (backed by strong data) and Bailey (too early to push back against hike bets), but is Ueda ready to talk up the yen?   USD: Room for rebound The dollar has traded on the soft side since the start of the week, but US data has come in on the strong side, which makes us reluctant to think the dollar has much further to fall in the second half of the week and ahead of today’s Sintra speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.   Yesterday, all US data releases beat consensus. Durable goods orders rose in May despite expectations for a drop and the S&P Case Shiller US house price index rose for a third month in a row in April as tight supply keeps prices supported despite weak buyer demand in response to surging mortgage rates. Home sales also rose more than expected and consumer confidence jumped to 109.7, the highest since January 2022 (despite being considerably below pre-pandemic levels). Today, the US data calendar is lighter: MBA mortgage applications and wholesale inventories.   While those are not the set of data points either the markets or the Fed primarily focus on, they surely point to some resilience in key parts of the US economy and would underpin a reiteration of a hawkish message by Powell today. That would probably take the shape of a further endorsement of dot plot rate hike projections (two more before the peak) with potentially an additional pushback against rate cuts.   Markets continue to price only another 28bp of tightening and a 73% implied probability of a July hike, so there is still ample room for a hawkish repricing in the USD curve. We’d be cautious when jumping on a dollar bear trend before the data gives a more solid basis to justify the market's dot plot gap.
Sintra Symposium Signals: ECB's Hawkish Stance Faces Challenges and Euro's Rally at Risk

Sintra Symposium Signals: ECB's Hawkish Stance Faces Challenges and Euro's Rally at Risk

ING Economics ING Economics 29.06.2023 09:14
EUR: Sintra's effect may not last too long President Christine Lagarde and other European Central Bank officials continued to signal more tightening ahead at the Sintra symposium yesterday. Markets received some more detailed inputs from other Governing Council members aside from Lagarde herself. For example, Belgian central bank chief Pierre Wunsch said the next three inflation readings will need to “give a clear signal that core is indeed going down” to convince the ECB to pause. Latvian hawk Martins Kazaks said earlier that the slowdown in the eurozone economy is not enough to bring inflation down and also explicitly pushed back against rate cut expectations before mid-2024.   A newswire report this morning suggested that some hawkish members are considering a faster reduction of the Bank’s bond portfolio, shifting to a phase of active bond sales of assets. The euro’s reaction to the news was limited: we’ll see whether this has any impact on peripheral spreads when European markets open.     On the dovish front, Fabio Panetta is set to move from the ECB Executive Board to the Governing Council as he replaces Ignazio Visco as Bank of Italy governor. Panetta has stood out as an even more dovish voice than Visco (Italian members have generally swung on the dovish side), although that hardly changes the balance at all within the GC at this particular point in time.   Today, we’ll see Italy release June CPI numbers, ahead of other member countries’ and eurozone-wide figures tomorrow. Lagarde is set to deliver another speech in Sintra, and markets will keep an eye on more side-line comments by other officials. The euro has been on the strong foot, but a sustainable rally above 1.10 may be premature considering markets are already fully pricing in two hikes by the ECB and the risks of an upside correction in the dollar are non-negligible.
Italian Inflation Continues to Decelerate in August, Reaffirming 6.4% Forecast for 2023

Lagarde Signals ECB Rate Hike in July, German Inflation Report and Eurozone CPI Awaited

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 29.06.2023 14:16
Lagarde signals ECB rate hike in July Germany releases inflation report later on Thursday Eurozone inflation report follows on Friday EUR/USD is unchanged on Thursday and is trading at 1.0912 in the European session,   German CPI  Germany releases the June inflation report later today. Inflation in the eurozone’s largest economy fell to 6.1% in May, down sharply from 7.2% in April. Much of the decline, however, was driven by lower energy prices. Inflation is expected to head higher, with a consensus of 6.3%. If CPI surprises to the downside, the euro could get a boost.   Lagarde signals rate hike in July Investors were hoping to gain some insights this week from ECB President Lagarde, who hosted the ECB Bank Forum in Sintra. There really wasn’t anything new in her remarks, which may have been disappointing to some. One could make the argument that Lagarde is being consistent in her message to the markets and used the Sintra meeting to reiterate the ECB’s intent to raise rates at the July 27th meeting, unless there is an unexpected drop in inflation, in particular the core rate. Lagarde stated on Wednesday that the central bank is not considering a pause in July as things currently stand. At the same time, Lagarde has some wiggle room, as she has said each rate decision will be data-dependent. The ECB has an entire month before the next meeting, and if core inflation slides or the eurozone economy takes a turn for the worse, the ECB could pause, arguing the conditions were appropriate for holding rates steady. Lagarde & Co. will get a look at eurozone inflation data on Friday. Headline inflation is expected to fall to 5.6% in June, down from 6.1% in May. Core CPI is projected to rise from 5.3% to 5.5%.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is putting pressure on resistance at 1.0916. This is followed by 1.0988 1.0822 and 1.0750 are providing support    
Central Banks' Rates Outlook: Fed Treads Cautiously, ECB Prepares for Hike

Central Banks' Rates Outlook: Fed Treads Cautiously, ECB Prepares for Hike

ING Economics ING Economics 28.07.2023 08:23
Rates Spark: Can Christine sound as calm as Jerome? The more Chair Powell spoke yesterday, the more he meandered into less hawkish territory. But he did not stray too far. Next up is the ECB's Lagarde, who is more prone to deviate. The 25bp hike is not the point. The tone is. We show that the US 10yr yield looks low relative to the strip, while in fact the 10yr Euribor rate looks if anything high versus its strip.   The Fed cements a mild rate cutting discount ahead, keep upward pressure on Treasury yields From a market rates perspective one of the key things to watch from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) outcome was how the Fed decision and subsequent commentary might affect the Fed funds strip. In particular, beyond the hiking and into the discounting completion of the rate cutting phase. This is important, as where the fed funds strip sits in 2025 has a material effect on longer-dated Treasury yields, as, say the 10yr yield, really should not trade much through the longer dates on the strip. In fact they should trade at a 30bp premium to it (above it). We went into the FOMC with the Jan 2025 implied rate at just under 4%. It’s still there post the meeting, but closer to 3.9% now (as it jumps around, typically on low volumes). Remember this was down in the 3% area when Silicon Valley Bank went down. The fact that its some 100bp higher now limits the extent to which the 10yr Treasury yield can fall. In fact it should rise, and we continue to target it to get to the 4% area in the coming weeks, versus a current level of around 3.9%. That is broadly flat to the implied funds rate in Jan 2025. That’s too low for the 10yr yield, as it implies no curve just as the Fed has completed it rate cutting cycle.     We are not agreeing with the market discount per se, but where it sits is important in terms of framing the here and now for the 10yr Treasury yield, and in that way helps to add context to the immediate few weeks ahead. Meanwhile, the Fed continues to gradually tighten through its bond roll-off programme. Most of the impact of this has been in lower volumes going back to the Fed on the reverse repo facility. Bank reserves have in fact held steady. This allows the Fed to keep the tightening pressure on. It also keeps bills rates under elevation pressure, and prevent the bills curve from moving to a state of material inversion. At least not just yet. And, all other key rates are up by 25bp too, including the reverse repo rate now at 5.3%. The ECB to match the Fed, but the 10yr Euribor rate trade with more of a cushion It's the European Central Bank's turn on Thursday, with a 25bp hike anticipated. Delivery will see the Refi rate get to 4.5% and the Deposit rate to 3.75%, with the latter still heavily influential with respect to where front end Euribor rates are actually pitched. The current 3mth Euribor rate is pitched at just over 3.7%, at or about the level of the deposit rate. And the Euribor strip has it extending up to 3.9%, and so just about discounting one more 25bp hike.   The biggest attention will be centered on the words coming from President Lagarde. Chair Powell post the FOMC outcome started off sticking to script, but slowly morphs to an acknowledgement that inflation has indeed fallen, the real rate had risen and was indeed in a restrictive state. As the conference went on he was almost on the verge of a nod towards an eventual rate cutting track down the line. Lagarde will need to be a bit more careful. Chair Powell tends not to stray too far from script, while Lagarde can deviate far more. If we look out along the Euribor strip, the 3mth rate is discounted to be below 3% by the middle of 2025, and it stays below, getting down to 2.7%. There is a gap between that and where the 10yr Euribor rate currently sits at around 3.6%. Here there is a difference relative to the US, there the 10yr Treasury yield is already flat to or below where the fed funds strip is pitched. Part of this is reflective of the tendency of the deposit rate to have an outsized influence, but it's not all that. Optically there is more value in 10yr Euribor on this simple measure.   Today's events and market views Ahead of the ECB meeting, we'll have some regional consumer confidence, produce price inflation and retail sales. But nothing that is likely to move the market in any material fashion. More influential will be the US data. US GDP data for the second quarter is expected to confirm that the US economy continued to growth at a pace of almost 2%, while the GDP price index is set to fall to about 3%. The latter is a good look, and a reminder of the recent CPI number at the same rate. The core PCE index should be more influential though. It too should fall, but to a still elevated 4%. We'll also get durable orders, which should see a calming in the ex-transportation reading. But still far from a recesionary-type number. The headline should remain elevated, in the area of 1.3% helped by airline orders. We'lll also get another helping of weekly jobless claims, expected to be still in the 230k area, and still well below average. And then there are inventories data which should not be very market moving. Home sales data is expected to be weak, but has had a tendency to surprise to the upside of late. And the the Kansas City Fed Index should be weak too, especially given its aimed at the manufacturing sector where weakness has been in the waters for quite some time now.
Market Reaction to Eurozone Inflation Report: Euro Steady as Data Leaves Impact Limited

Market Reaction to Eurozone Inflation Report: Euro Steady as Data Leaves Impact Limited

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 22.08.2023 09:12
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    
Asia Morning Bites: Key Comments from Bank of Japan and Upcoming Global Economic Data

EUR/USD Currency Pair Analysis: Dominant Trend, Rate Hikes, and Monetary Policy Outlook

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 23.08.2023 13:09
  Yesterday, the EUR/USD currency pair rose to its moving average line but almost immediately rebounded and began a stronger decline. This decline eloquently demonstrated who currently dominates the market. Traders shouldn't be misled by the movement toward and potentially beyond the moving average – this line is close to the price (due to low volatility) and can touch it almost daily. However, as we can see, the first attempt to rise above the moving average failed. Importantly, this cannot be blamed on strong macroeconomic data for the dollar or the fundamental backdrop. Technically, nothing has changed. The pair updated its local minimum yesterday, meaning the downward trend remains.   Thus, expecting the European currency to fall is the most logical under the current circumstances. As we have repeatedly stated, there have been no reasons for the euro to grow for a long time. The ECB increasingly signals a potential pause in tightening, and some experts do not anticipate more than one rate hike in 2023. This means the ECB rate will remain much lower than the Federal Reserve. Demand for the dollar will increase since, at present, one can earn much more from bank deposits and treasury bonds in the US than from similar instruments in the European Union. Additionally, inflation in the EU is higher, while it has already dropped to 3.2% in the US. Besides, it should be noted that the Federal Reserve can also raise its rate again.   It has far better opportunities for tightening than the European Union. However, we mentioned several months ago that the ECB is constrained in its monetary moves as it needs to consider the interests of all 27 member countries, some of which are economically weak and cannot withstand overly strict monetary policies. Lagarde is unlikely to protect the euro from falling. At this time, the macroeconomic background is irrelevant. It might lift the euro, but we advocate continuing the pair's decline. On Friday, speeches from Christine Lagarde and Jerome Powell are scheduled. If we are mistaken in our assessment of rate changes in the US and EU, the chairpersons of both central banks can convey the true information to the market. However, the symposium in Jackson Hole is not where Lagarde and Powell will be candid and make sensational announcements. However, a few hints might suffice for the market. The Fed's position is now even less critical than the ECB. If the Fed's rate doesn't increase in September, it will in November. On the other hand, if the ECB pauses in September, it will find itself in a much less favorable position since its rate is significantly lower than the Fed. Hence, ultra-hawkish rhetoric is required from Lagarde for the European currency to start growing again. On the 24-hour TF (Time Frame), the price has settled below the Ichimoku cloud, but this isn't the case. We are looking at the Senkou Span B line at the 1.0862 level, and there needs to be a clear and confident consolidation below this level. Nonetheless, we also didn't witness a strong upward recoil after this level was tested, meaning the quote decline might continue at a moderate pace.     The average volatility of the EUR/USD currency pair over the last five trading days as of August 23 is 64 points and is characterized as "average." Consequently, we expect the pair to move between the levels of 1.0794 and 1.0922 on Wednesday. A reversal of the Heiken Ashi indicator upwards will indicate a new upward correction phase. Near Support Levels: S1 – 1.0803 S2 – 1.0742 S3 – 1.0681   Near Resistance Levels: R1 – 1.0864 R2 – 1.0925 R3 – 1.0986   Trading Recommendations: The EUR/USD pair currently maintains a downward trend. For now, staying in short positions with targets at 1.0803 and 1.0794 is advisable until the Heiken Ashi indicator turns upwards. Long positions can be considered if the price consolidates above the moving average, with targets at 1.0986 and 1.1047.   Illustration Explanations: Linear regression channels help determine the current trend. The current trend is strong if both are pointing in the same direction. Moving average line (settings 20.0, smoothed) determines the short-term trend and the direction in which trading should proceed. Murray levels are target levels for movements and corrections. Volatility levels (red lines) are the probable price channel in which the pair will operate over the next day, based on current volatility indicators. CCI Indicator – Its entry into the oversold area (below -250) or the overbought area (above +250) indicates an impending trend reversal in the opposite direction.  
Persistent Stagnation: German Economy Confirms Second Quarter Contraction

Analyzing Powell's Jackson Hole Speech and Lagarde's ECB Insights: Market Insights by Michael Hewson

Michael Hewson Michael Hewson 25.08.2023 09:07
All ears on Powell and Lagarde at Jackson Hole today   By Michael Hewson (Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK)     After an initially positive start to the day yesterday, only the FTSE100 managed to eke out any sort of gains, after a rebound in yields and the fading of the Nvidia sugar rush saw European markets slip into negative territory.   US markets, having started very much in a positive vein with the Nasdaq 100 leading the way higher, also turned tail as bond yields pushed higher, along with the US dollar, finishing the day sharply lower. As we look towards today's European open, the rise in yields and weak finish in the US, as well as weakness in Asia this morning, is set to see European markets open lower this morning. Much of the narrative for this month was supposed to be centred around what Fed chair Jay Powell would likely say at Jackson Hole today with respect to the prospect of another pause in the rate hiking cycle when the FOMC meets next month.   This week's poor economic data out of Germany and France has shifted the spotlight a touch when it comes to central bank policy towards the European Central Bank and Christine Lagarde's speech, at 8pm tonight, after Powell who is due to speak at 3:05pm.   While this year's Symposium is titled "Structural Shifts in the Global Economy" it won't be just Jay Powell whose words will be closely scrutinised for clues about rate pauses next month it will also be the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan where markets will be looking for important insights into the risks facing central banks in terms of the risks in over tightening monetary policy at a time when the challenges facing the global economy are numerous.   This week's PMIs have highlighted the challenges quite clearly to the point that it appears the ECB may well also look at a rate pause next month, alongside the Federal Reserve, although the reasons for an ECB pause are less about inflation falling back to target, than they are about a tanking economy.   The latest German PMIs suggest the prospect of another quarter of contraction in Q3, while the Bank of England has a similar problem, although the bar for a pause next month is slightly higher given how much higher UK CPI is relative to its peers.   Before we hear from ECB President Christine Lagarde, Powell will set the scene just after US markets open, and his tone is likely to be slightly less hawkish than he was a year ago.  When Powell spoke last year, he made it plain that there was more pain ahead for US households and that this wouldn't deter the central bank in acting to bring down inflation, even if it meant pushing unemployment up. While Powell is unlikely to be anywhere near as hawkish, as he was last year, he won't want to declare victory either. As we already know from recent comments from various Fed officials it is clear the Fed believes the fight against inflation is far from over, and in that context it's unlikely he will deliver any dovish surprises.   This belief of a slightly hawkish Powell is likely to have been behind yesterday's sharp declines in US markets, which were driven by rising yields as investors continued to price in higher rates for longer. Not even a set of blow-out earnings from Nvidia was enough to keep markets in the black, with the shares opening at a new record high above $500, before sliding back to finish on the lows of the day, closing unchanged. The inability to hold onto any of the early gains suggests that the recent enthusiasm for this $1trn chipmaker may be due a pause. While investors will be focussing on Powell, the focus today returns to the German economy and in the wake of this week's poor PMIs we'll be getting the latest snapshot of the business sentiment in Europe's largest, but also sickest economy, as well as the final reading of Q2 GDP.   The most recent German IFO business climate survey showed sentiment falling to its lowest level since October last year in July at 87.3 and is expected to slow further to 86.8. Expectations also slipped back to 83.5 suggesting the economy could remain in recession in Q3.   Any thoughts that we might see an improvement in August are likely to have been dealt a blow by the sharp rise in oil prices seen in the last few weeks, as well as this week's PMIs. With recent economic data out of China also suggesting a struggling economy, German exporters are likely to continue to find life difficult.        EUR/USD – sinking below the 200-day SMA at 1.0800 with support just below that at trend line support from the March lows at 1.0750. Still feelsrange bound with resistance at the 1.1030 area.   GBP/USD – slipped below the 1.2600 area which could well open up a move towards 1.2400 and the 200-day SMA.  We still have resistance at the 1.2800 area and 50-day SMA.       EUR/GBP – the rebound off this week's 11-month low at 0.8490 looks set to retest the 0.8600 area. We also have resistance at the 0.8620/30 area.   USD/JPY – rebounded off the 144.50 area with resistance at the highs this week at the 146.50 area, with resistance also at 147.50.   FTSE100 is expected to open 5 points lower at 7,328   DAX is expected to open 39 points lower at 15,582   CAC40 is expected to open 16 points lower at 7,198    
FX Daily: Lagarde and Powell Address Jackson Hole – Hawkish Expectations and Eurozone Concerns

FX Daily: Lagarde and Powell Address Jackson Hole – Hawkish Expectations and Eurozone Concerns

ING Economics ING Economics 25.08.2023 09:27
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.
Lagarde's Dilemma: Balancing Eurozone's Slowdown and Inflation Pressure

Lagarde's Dilemma: Balancing Eurozone's Slowdown and Inflation Pressure

ING Economics ING Economics 25.08.2023 09:29
EUR: Lagarde can give the euro some relief ECB President Christine Lagarde probably faces a harder task than her US counterpart today. The latest PMIs confirmed the eurozone economy is heading towards a period of sluggish growth, which now makes any hawkish statement a harder sell. At the same time, Lagarde and her ECB colleagues are probably aware that the window for one last hike to curb the still non-negligible service inflation is closing fast. In other words, if the ECB pauses in September, it may well not get a chance to hike any more given the deteriorating economic outlook. As in the case of the Fed, we have already heard from a couple of ECB speakers. Ultra-hawkish member Joachim Nagel unsurprisingly said it’s too early to think about a pause and restated the bank’s data-dependent approach. A slightly more moderate Governing Council member, Boris Vujcic, also echoed such reasoning. Our perception is that Lagarde is unhappy with the market's recent scale-down of rate expectations in the eurozone (a September hike is only 40% priced in), and she may prefer to keep overlooking some evidence of worsening growth and stick with a pure data-dependent approach. Ultimately, if inflation surprises on the upside, the chances of a hike in September would rise quite significantly in our view, especially given the deteriorating growth outlook, which means that could be the ECB’s last chance to raise rates. The EUR-USD two-year swap rate differential has widened (in favour of the dollar) to the 140-145bp levels, which were last seen in February/March. We think there is room for some re-tightening after Lagarde’s speech today, and for EUR/USD to enjoy a relief rally after the break below 1.0800 saw more bearish momentum building overnight.  
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 28.08.2023 09:15
Here, get more stimulus!  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech was boring, wasn't it? Powell repeated that inflation risks remain to the upside despite recent easing and pointed at resilient US growth and tight US jobs market, and reiterated the Fed's will to keep the interest rates at restrictive levels for longer. The US 2-year pushed above 5%, as Powell's comments kept the idea of another 25bp hike on the table before the year end, but the rate hike will probably be skipped in September meeting and could be announced in the November meeting instead, according to activity on Fed funds futures. The US 10-year yield is steady between the 4.20/4.30%. The S&P500 gained a meagre 0.8% last week, yet managed to close the week above the 4400 mark and above its ascending trend base building since last October, while Nasdaq 100 gained 2.3% over the week, although Nvidia's stunning results failed to keep the share price above the $500 mark, even though that level was hit after the results were announced last week. And the disappointing jump in Nvidia despite beating its $11bn sales forecast and despite boosting its sales forecast for this quarter to $16bn, was a sign that the AI rally is now close to exhaustion.   What's up this week?  This week will be busy with some important economic data from the US. We will watch JOLTS job openings tomorrow, Australian and German CPIs and US ADP and GDP reports on Wednesday, to see if the US economy continues to be strong, and the jobs market continues to be tight. On Thursday, Chinese PMI numbers, the Eurozone's CPI estimate and the US core PCE will hit the wire, and on Friday, we will watch the US jobs report and ISM numbers. Note that the US dollar index pushed to the highest levels since May after Powell's Jackson Hole speech. The EURUSD is now trading a touch below its 200-DMA, even though the European Central Bank (ECB) chief Lagarde repeated that the ECB will push the rates as high as needed. Yet, the worsening business climate, and expectations in Germany somehow prevent the euro bulls from getting back to the market lightheartedly, while the yen shorts are comforted by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor's relaxed view on price growth – which remains slower than the BoJ's goal, but the possibility of a direct FX intervention to limit the USDJPY's upside potential keeps the yen shorts reasonably on the sidelines, despite the temptation to sell the heck out of the yen with the BoJ's incredible policy divergence versus the rest of the developed nations.   Here, get more stimulus!  The week started upbeat in China and in Hong Kong, after the government announced measures to boost appetite for Chinese equities. Beijing halved the stamp duty on stock trades, while Hong Kong said it plans a task force to boost liquidity. The CSI 300 rallied more than 2% and HSI jumped more than 1.5%. But gains remain vulnerable as data released yesterday showed that Chinese company profits fell 6.7% last month from a year earlier. That's lower than 8.3% printed in June, but note that for the first seven months of 2023, profits declined 15.5%, and that is highly disquieting given the slowing economic growth and rising deflation risks, along with the default risks for some of the country's biggest companies. Evergrande, for example, posted a $4.5 billion loss in the H1.  Therefore, energy traders remain little impressed with China stimulus measures. The barrel of US crude trades around the $80pb level, yet the failure to break below a major Fibonacci support last week – major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on the latest rally, keeps oil bulls timidly in charge of the market despite the weak China sentiment. Oil trading volumes show an unusual fall since July when compared to volumes traded in the past two years. That's partly due to weakening demand fears and falling gasoline inventories, but also due to tightening oil markets as a result of lower OPEC supply. We know that the demand will advance toward fresh records despite weak Chinese demand. We also know that OPEC will keep supply limited to push prices higher. Consequently, we are in a structurally positive price setting, although any excessive rally in oil prices would further fuel inflation expectations, rate hike expectations and keep the topside limited in the medium run.    
Declining Bank Lending and Negative Money Growth Raise Concerns for Eurozone Economy

Euro Slides Below 1.08 Mark for First Time Since June, Fed's Harker Suggests Peak in Interest Rates

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 28.08.2023 09:24
Euro falls below 1.08 for first time since June Fed’s Harker says interest rates may have peaked The euro has extended its losses for a second straight day. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0785, down 0.23% and falling below the 1.08 line for the first time since June. Later today, Germany’s Business Climate is expected to ease for a fourth straight month. It has been a nasty slide for the euro, which has been unable to find its footing and has plunged a staggering 500 points over the past six weeks. EUR/USD is down 0.80% this week, in large part due to soft eurozone manufacturing and services PMI readings on Wednesday. The eurozone economy has been damaged by the war in Ukraine and Germany, known as the locomotive of Europe, is in trouble as well. The deterioration of China’s economy is more bad news for the eurozone’s export sector. The ECB’s rate-tightening cycle, aimed at curbing high inflation, has also dampened economic activity. Lagarde & Co. have a tricky task in charting out a rate path. If rates remain too low, inflation will remain well above the 2% target. However, too much tightening raises the risk of tipping the weak eurozone economy into a recession. Lagarde has a difficult decision to make and the markets are uncertain as well – ECB rate odds for the September meeting are around 50-50 between a hike or a pause. Harker says Fed could be done Investors are anxiously awaiting Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole later today. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Harker made headlines on Thursday when he said that the Fed may have reached the end of its current rate-tightening cycle. Harker said that he didn’t see a need to raise rates further “absent any alarming new data between now and mid-September”.   At the same time, Harker stressed that he expected rates to remain at high levels for “a while” and ruled out rate cuts anytime soon. This was a pointed message to the markets not to assume that rate cuts are just around the corner.  I expect Fed Chair Powell to be even more cautious in today’s speech, perhaps with a reminder that inflation remains above target and that the door is still open to further tightening.   EUR/USD Technical There is resistance at 1.0893 and 1.0940 EUR/USD has support at 1.0825 and 1.0778    
Eurozone PMI Shows Limited Improvement Amid Lingering Contraction Concerns in September

Rates Retreat: Impact of Weaker Data on US Yields and Market Dynamics

ING Economics ING Economics 30.08.2023 09:45
Rates Spark: Losing buoyancy Weaker data is eroding the US narrative that has helped push yields higher over the past week. A lower landing zone for the Fed also means a lower floor to long-end rates. There is still more data and volatility in store this week, with the US jobs data looming large. EUR markets will look to the inflation data key input for the upcoming ECB meeting.   The Fed discount is eroding and so is the floor for the 10Y yield Recent data is eroding the narrative of US resilience that had supported the rise of 10Y yields to above 4.3% over the past weeks. Poor job openings data and dipping consumer confidence yesterday saw the 10y falling through 4.2% and then briefly further towards 4.1% overnight. Interestingly the move was largely in real rates, and it reversed all of the gains that they had managed after dipping on the weaker PMIs last week.   We had suspected that an elevated Fed discount would draw a floor under longer rates. But just as data had shifted this floor higher, data is now hacking away at that discount. The curve bull-steepened with 2Y SOFR swap rates dropping more than 12bp while the 10Y still dropped close to 10bp. Data this week holds more candidates to push yields around, especially with US jobs data out on Friday. The consensus is already looking for further cooling with the payroll increase decelerating to 170K, but the unemployment rate is seen steady at 3.5%. Keep in mind that the Federal Reserve itself – in comments and its June projections – has pointed to an unemployment rate of 4% and above as being necessary to cool inflation towards the target rate. The indications it got yesterday are going in the right direction.   A pause in September is widely seen as the base case, with markets firming their view as the discounted probability of a pause moves towards 90%. One final hike is still possible this year, but the discounted chances for that to happen have slipped from close to 70% to a coin toss. Our economist believes the Fed has already reached its peak.   Assessing the Fed's landing zone remains crucial to overall rates   Aiding the ECB decision process, first August CPI indicators from Spain and Germany European Central Bank President Lagarde did not provide any further guidance in Jackson Hole with regard to the upcoming meeting in September. From recent comments, it is clear that the hawks on the governing council would still like to see higher rates. Austria’s Holzmann had been quite explicit, saying he saw the case for a hike if there were negative surprises until then. Latvia’s Martins Kazaks also wants to err on the side of raising rates, while Bundesbank’s Joachim Nagel also says it is too early to consider a pause. In later comments, he seemed to soften his tone, suggesting to wait for the data. Following the dip in the wake of the PMIs, the market has slowly priced the probability of a hike back into the forwards, but still just below 50%. But further out, markets are back to seeing a 75% chance that a 25bp rate hike comes before the end of the year to take the ECB’s depo rate to 4%. We would focus more on the upcoming meeting, however. We also think a September hike at this stage could be more of a coin toss, but more importantly, we sense that the hawks will see it as a last chance to hike one final time. If there is no hike in September, rates will probably not rise any further. One key input to arrive at a final assessment is the inflation data this week, starting today with the preliminary readings from Spain and Germany.   Today's events and market view It appears that the tide has turned again for rates now that data is eroding the resilience narrative. The latest auction metrics, such as the strong 7Y UST sale last night, also suggest that levels had been pushed sufficiently high to attract demand again. But the key remains in the data, with the US jobs report looming large on Friday. Today, we will get the ADP payrolls estimate, with a consensus for a weaker 195K after 324K last month. The value of the ADP as a predictor for the official data is questionable, however, as was also evidenced early this month – a large upside surprise in the ADP was followed by a disappointing official payrolls figure. But today’s data and anecdotal evidence from the release can still offer insight into the health of the labour market where more signs of cooling have come to light. In other US data today, we will get the pending home sales and the second reading of second-quarter GDP growth. The main highlight for the EUR markets will be Spanish and German regional CPI data. The consensus is for Spanish headline inflation to tick higher from 2.1% to 2.4% year-on-year. For Germany, the headline is seen falling somewhat from 6.5% to 6.3% year-on-year, but the state of NRW numbers already came in slightly hotter this morning. Yesterday, supply had initially helped push yields higher before the US data turned the market. Today, we will see Germany tapping a 4Y green OBL for €1.5bn. Italy’s bond sales today include a new 10Y benchmark and will amount to up to €10bn in total.    
Euro's Rally Stalls as Focus Turns to Inflation and Data Disappointments

Euro's Rally Stalls as Focus Turns to Inflation and Data Disappointments

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 30.08.2023 13:27
Germany to release CPI on Wednesday, Eurozone on Thursday US consumer confidence and jobs data disappoint   The euro’s mini-rally has run out of steam. EUR/USD climbed 0.80% over the past two days but is trading in negative territory on Wednesday. In the European session, the euro is trading at 1.0867, down 0.11%. The markets will be keeping a close eye on European inflation releases today and Thursday. Germany releases the July CPI report later today, with a consensus estimate of 6.0%, compared to 6.2% in July. The once-formidable German juggernaut is in trouble and inflation remains high. The eurozone releases July CPI on Thursday, which is expected to drop from 5.3% to 5.1%. The ECB meets next on September 14th and ECB President Lagarde may have signalled that another rate hike is coming. Lagarde attended the Jackson Hole summit last week and said that interest rates would remain high “as long as necessary” in order to bring inflation back to the ECB’s 2% target. Lagarde’s hawkish remarks were more hawkish than her comments at the July meeting, where she said that ECB policy makers had an “open mind” about the September decision.   There’s no arguing that eurozone inflation remains too high, but the argument against raising rates even higher is that the eurozone economy is not in great shape, and nine straight rate hikes from the ECB have cooled economic growth. Further hikes could tip the economy into a recession, which means that the ECB has its work cut out in deciding whether to raise rates again or take a pause in September. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold rates at next week’s meeting, and disappointing data on Tuesday may have cemented a pause. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell sharply to 106.1 in July, compared to 116.0 in August, marking a two-year low. As well, JOLTS Job Openings slowed to 8.82 million in July, down from 9.16 million in June and well off the estimate of 9.46 million. This was the sixth decline in the past seven months, a sign that the resilient US labour market is showing cracks.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is putting strong pressure on resistance at 1.0896. The next resistance line is 1.0996 1.0831 and 1.0731 are providing support    
Euro-dollar Support Tested Amidst Rate Concerns and Labor Strikes

German Inflation Holds Steady at 6.1% Amid Economic Weakness, ECB's Dilemma Looms

Craig Erlam Craig Erlam 11.09.2023 11:33
German inflation dips to 6.1% The data calendar is light on Friday and EUR/USD is trading at 1.0707 in Europe, up 0.09%. There are no tier-1 events out of the eurozone or the US, which means we can expect subdued movement from the euro for the remainder of the day. The euro is poised to record a losing week for an eighth straight time. The euro has plunged about 500 points during that time, as the US dollar thrives over concerns that the Fed may have to keep hiking in response to the resilient labour market. The currency continues to struggle at 3-month lows and there aren’t any encouraging signs that the downturn is about to change. The economic outlook in the eurozone remains weak. Recent eurozone numbers have been soft and Germany hasn’t resembled the locomotive which could always be trusted to lift the eurozone economy. German PMIs pointed to contraction in the services and manufacturing sectors in August, and today’s inflation report was a reminder that the largest economy in Europe is grappling with high inflation and weak growth. German CPI remained unchanged in August for a third straight month. On a yearly basis, CPI was confirmed at 6.1% y/y, down a notch from 6.2%, while core CPI remained unchanged at 5.5% y/y. Food and energy prices rose but there was a bit of good news as services inflation ticked lower to 5.1%, down from 5.2% in July. The ECB meets next week and it remains unclear what Lagarde & Co. will decide. Inflation, which is at 5.3%, remains much higher than the ECB target of 2%. The ECB wants to lower inflation but further rate increases could tip the weak economy into a recession. The markets have priced in a pause at the September meeting at around 70%, which means that a rate hike still remains on the table despite weak economic conditions.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is testing resistance at 1.0716. Above, there is resistance at 1.0831 There is support at 1.0658 and 1.0593        
Euro Plummets After 25bp Rate Hike, Lagarde's Reassurance Falls on Deaf Ears: Market Analysis

Euro Plummets After 25bp Rate Hike, Lagarde's Reassurance Falls on Deaf Ears: Market Analysis

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 15.09.2023 08:25
Euro tanks after 25bp hike, Lagarde goes unheard By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Investors didn't buy the rumour of a European Central Bank (ECB) rate hike but heavily sold the ECB's intention to stop hiking the rates in the close future. The ECB raised the rates by 25bp yesterday and said that it 'now considers that the key ECB rates reached levels that, maintained for sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to the timely return of inflation to the target'. And that was it for the euro bears. ECB Chief Christine Lagarde tried to convince investors that the ECB rates are not necessarily at their peak and that the future decisions will depend on the incoming data. But in vain. The EURUSD sank below 1.07 after the decision and the EZ yields melted as many were rubbing their eyes to understand why a 25bp hike didn't even spark a minor rebound given that the decision was not warranted, on the contrary, the expectations were mixed into the meeting!   In fact, many euro bears also jumped on a trade yesterday as Lagarde announced that the ECB significantly pulled its economic projections to the downside. BUT, in the meantime, the ECB revised its inflation expectations higher as well. Therefore, it's naïve to think that the ECB can't continue hiking rates with such a sour economic outlook. They can. They can, because they have a single mandate – price stability. As such, the market certainly remains too enthusiastically, and unrealistically dovish about the ECB. When I hear 'data dependency', I immediately look at energy prices and you know what I see there: further inflation pressures and a real possibility for further rate hikes.   Oil extends gains The barrel of US crude traded past $91 yesterday, and Brent is getting ready to test the $95pb level. The better-than-expected industrial production, retail sales data from China this morning and news that the People's Bank of China (PBoC) cut the required reserves for banks for the second time this year to boost market liquidity are giving a further support to the oil bulls looking for reasons to ignore the overbought market conditions.   But the rising oil prices are not benign, and the hawkish ECB is not necessarily positive for the euro, and here is why: the data released in the US yesterday showed that both retail sales and PPI got a decent boost because of higher gasoline prices in August. But it also showed that spending more on gasoline didn't get Americans to spend less elsewhere. And that's inflationary. Consequently, the latest developments will, at some point, awaken the Federal Reserve (Fed) hawks, and increase the risk of a further selloff for the EURUSD. There is no chance that Jerome Powell will announce the end of the rate hikes next week. He will only say that the trajectory of core inflation is soothing, but rising energy prices is a risk that they must manage. The dollar index could soon take out a major Fibonacci resistance, the 38.2% retracement on last year's meltdown (near 105.40), and step into the medium-term bullish consolidation zone. Hence the EURUSD could well be forced below a critical Fibonacci retracement, its own 38.2% level, near 1.0615.   PS: US government drama and shutdown risk could eventually soften US outlook and temporarily prevent the Fed hawks from forcefully coming back.   ARM gains 25%   In the equity markets, ARM went public yesterday, and nailed its first day on Nasdaq. The share price rose 25% and closed above $63. It wasn't as impressive as Rivian, for example which had jumped more than 50% during its first hours of trading, But hopefully, ARM will have a more stable cruise. Arm currently estimates that '70% of the world's population uses Arm-based products', in their PCs, cars, smartphones and so. And growth is the only possible direction for the chip designer with AI's sudden arrival to our lives. 
Global Markets Shaken as Yields Soar: Dollar Surges, Stocks Slump, and Gold Holds Ground Amid Debt Concerns and Rate Hike Expectations

Global Markets Shaken as Yields Soar: Dollar Surges, Stocks Slump, and Gold Holds Ground Amid Debt Concerns and Rate Hike Expectations

Saxo Bank Saxo Bank 26.09.2023 15:25
Asian stocks fell with US futures as yields on 10-year Treasuries reach a 16-year high above 4.54% while China Evergrande Group missed a debt payment adding to fears about the sectors massive debt pile. Broad dollar strength continues with the greenback trading at its highest level since December as another Fed member said another rate hike this year will be needed. Crude oil trades softer amid macroeconomic concerns and a stretched speculative long while gold holds support despite multiple headwinds. The Saxo Quick Take is a short, distilled opinion on financial markets with references to key news and events. Equities: S&P 500 futures are under pressure this morning with the US 10-year yield hitting 4.55% extending its relentless move higher. If the US 10-year yield moves to 4.75% we will most likely begin seeing widening cracks in equities as the prevailing narrative of falling inflation collapses. Yesterday’s session saw no meaningful rotation between defensive and cyclical sectors. Today’s key events are US consumer confidence figures and Costco earnings tonight after the market close. FX: Higher Treasury yields, particularly in the long end, pushed the dollar higher to extend its gains. USDCHF rose to near 4-month highs of 0.9136 with immediate target at 0.9162 which is 0.382 retracement level. EURUSD broke below 1.06 support despite better-than-expected German Ifo. USDJPY attempted a move towards 149 with verbal intervention remaining lacklustre. AUD slipped on China woes while NZD and CAD were relative gainers, and the outperformer was SEK with the Riksbank starting its FX hedging today. Commodities: Crude trades lower for a second day with macroeconomic concerns, a stronger dollar and a stretched speculative long and easing refinery margin weighing on prices. Gold prices continue to defy gravity, holding above $1900 support with demand for stagflation protection offsetting the current yield and dollar surge. LME copper is trading at the widest contango (oversupply) since at least 1994 as inventories expand and China demand concerns persist. Wheat continues to face downward pressure from huge Russian harvest despite weather related downgrades in Australia. Fixed Income. The Federal Reserve’s higher-for-longer message reverberates through higher long-term US Treasury yields. Unless there is a sign that the job market is weakening significantly or that the economy is slowing down quickly, long-term yields will continue to soar. With 10-year yields breaking above 4.5% and selling pressure continuing to mount through an increase in coupon supply, quantitative tightening, and waning foreign investors demand, it’s likely to see yields continue to rise until something breaks. This week, our attention turns to US PCE numbers and Europe CPI data while the US Treasury will sell 2-, 5- and 7-year notes. It will be interesting to see if investors buy the belly of the yield curve as a sign that they are preparing for a bull rather than a bear-steepening. Overall, we continue to favour short-term maturities and quality. Volatility: VIX Index still sits at around the 17 level, but the downward pressure in equity futures this morning could push the VIX much higher. This could be a cycle where the market tests the 20 level. Macro: Fed’s Goolsbee (voter) kept the door open for more rate hikes while emphasizing higher-for-longer. Moody’s warned of a protracted government shutdown saying that it could weigh on consumer confidence and markets. Meanwhile, after PMIs, Germany’s Ifo also showed a slight improvement in business outlook to 85.7 vs. 85.2 expected, while the previous was revised higher to 85.8. There were several ECB speakers once again. Lagarde largely repeated what was said at the ECB Press Conference, noting policy rates have reached levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to the timely return of inflation to target. Schnabel said there is not yet an all-clear for the inflation problem. In the news: Interest rates will stay high 'as long as necessary,' the European Central Bank's leader says (Quartz), Teetering China Property Giants Undercut Xi’s Revival Push (Bloomberg), Russia dodges G7 price cap sanctions on most of its oil exports (FT), Global trade falls at fastest pace since pandemic (FT), Dimon Warns World Not Ready for 7% Fed Rate: Times of India via Bloomberg Technical analysis: S&P500 downtrend support at 4,328 & 4,200. Nasdaq 100 support at 14,687 &14,254. DAX downtrend support at 14,933. EURUSD below strong support, resuming downtrend to 1.05. GBPUSD downtrend strong support at 1.2175. Gold rangebound 1,900-1,950. Crude oil correction: WTI expect to 87.58. Brent to 80.62. US 10-year T-yields 4.55, uptrend but expect minor correction Macro events: US New Home Sales (Aug) exp 699k vs 714k prior (1400 GMT), US Consumer Confidence (Sep) exp 105.5 vs 106.1 prior. Speeches from Fed’s Bowman (voter) as well as ECB’s Lane, Simkus and Muller. Earnings events: Costco reports FY23 Q4 earnings (aft-mkt) today with estimated revenue growth of 8% y/y and EPS growth of 14% y/y. H&M reports FY23 Q3 earnings (bef-mkt) with estimated revenue growth of 7% y/y and EPS growth of 47% y/y. Micron Technology reports FY23 Q4 earnings (aft-mkt) with estimated revenue growth of -41% y/y and EPS of $-1.18 vs $1.37 a year ago. Accenture reports FY23 Q4 earnings (bef-mkt) with estimated revenue growth of 4% y/y and EPS unchanged from a year ago. Nike reports FY24 Q1 earnings (aft-mkt) with estimated revenue growth of 3% y/y and EPS growth of –20% y/y.
BRL: Positive Outlook Amid Fiscal Focus and Successful ESG Offering

ECB Maintains Status Quo: Lagarde's Rhetoric and Euro Dynamics Unveiled

InstaForex Analysis InstaForex Analysis 27.10.2023 15:21
"Now is not the time to talk about future prospects". That was the tone of the European Central Bank's October meeting, the results of which were revealed on Thursday. Overall, the central bank made the expected decision to maintain interest rates as they were. The likelihood of this scenario being realized was 100%, so the market paid little attention to the formal outcomes of the meeting. The EUR/USD pair remained in a standstill, awaiting ECB President Christine Lagarde's press conference. Lagarde slightly stirred the pair with her rhetoric, and the dynamics initially favored the euro. The bulls pushed toward the boundaries of the 1.6-figure but hesitated to attack that target due to weak fundamental arguments. It's worth noting that in the lead-up to the October meeting, most experts were confident that the ECB would keep not only monetary policy unchanged but also the main formulations of the accompanying statement unchanged. According to their forecasts, Lagarde was also expected to reiterate the main theses outlined after the previous meeting - that the ECB was unlikely to raise rates in the foreseeable future but would commit to keeping them at the current level for a long time. In addition, some experts considered the possibility that the Bank would reduce interest rates in the first half of 2024, given the drop in overall and core inflation in the eurozone and the weak 0.1% growth in the European economy in the second quarter.   However, the ECB did not present any hawkish or dovish surprises. Admittedly, Lagarde did tweak the tone of her rhetoric, offering some support for the euro, but these remarks failed to impress the market. In general, the ECB head merely dispelled rumors that the central bank is ready to discuss the timing and conditions of monetary policy easing. According to her, the issue of lowering interest rates was not discussed at the recent meeting as "it would be premature." She also said that the ECB had not discussed the possibility of changing the terms of the PEPP asset purchase program, which had been rumored in October. Lagarde emphasized that the central bank would reinvest all the cash it receives from maturing bonds it holds under the program, at least until the end of 2024. Regarding the fate of interest rates, on one hand, the ECB head reiterated that "rates are at levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to the timely return of inflation to our target." But on the other hand, she listed inflationary risks. Among these are the recent sharp rise in energy prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the possible increase in food prices, and active wage growth in eurozone countries. Lagarde emphasized that internal price pressures remain strong, and "the risks to economic growth remain tilted to the downside." Such rhetoric does not indicate that the ECB is ready to return to raising rates in the near future. But at the same time, Lagarde effectively refuted rumors that the central bank is considering easing the terms of its APP in the near term. Her statement that "now is not the time for forward guidance" can be interpreted in different ways, either in the context of potential future policy tightening or easing. However, if we compile the main theses voiced by Lagarde, we can conclude that the ECB has primarily distanced itself from the scenario of lowering interest rates in the near future. Thus, the ECB, while not providing substantial support to the euro, also did not exert significant pressure on the single currency. The ECB's meeting did not meet the doves' expectations (as there were no hawkish expectations). We can assume that the market will shift its focus to American events starting on Friday. The main focus will be on the PCE index. The U.S. economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate in the third quarter, the highest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a mere 2.1% growth in the U.S. economy in the second quarter. If the primary personal consumption expenditure index reaches the forecast level (not to mention the "red zone"), the dollar could come under significant pressure as risk appetite may increase in the market. Signs of slowing inflation amid strong GDP growth are likely to contribute to a decline in Treasury yields, and consequently, the greenback
Tesla's Disappointing Q4 Results Lead to Share Price Decline: Challenges in EV Market and Revenue Miss

Eurozone, German Service PMI Ease in December, Euro Snaps Four-Day Rally

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 18.12.2023 14:07
Eurozone, German Service PMI ease in December Euro snaps four-day rally The euro has snapped a four-day winning streak on Friday. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0949, down 0.38%. The euro has enjoyed a strong week, with gains of 1.77%. Soft Eurozone, German services PMIs weigh on euro Eurozone Services PMI eased in December, indicating that the economy continues to struggle. The PMI fell from 48.7 to 48.1 and missed the consensus estimate of 49.0. This marked a fifth straight month of contraction in the services sector, with 50 separating contraction from expansion. Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, also reported a decline, with the PMI falling to 48.4, down from 49.6 in November and short of the consensus estimate of 49.8. Euro soars after ECB pause The European Central Bank held the benchmark rate at 4.0% for a second straight time on Thursday. This move was expected, but the central bank pushed back against market expectations for interest rate cuts next year, sending the euro soaring 1.09% against the US dollar after the announcement. ECB President Christine Lagarde reaffirmed that the Bank would continue its “higher for longer” stance, saying that the Bank was not about to let down its guard and lower rates. Lagarde sounded hawkish even though the ECB lowered its inflation forecast at the meeting. Inflation has fallen to 2.4% in the eurozone, within striking distance of the 2% target. Lagarde acknowledged that inflation was easing but said that domestic inflation was “not budging”, largely due to wage growth.   There is a deep disconnect between the markets and the ECB with regard to rate policy. ECB President Lagarde poured cold water on expectations for rate cuts, arguing that inflation had not been beaten. The markets are marching to a very different tune and have priced in at least in around six rate cuts in 2024 and are confident that Lagarde will have to change her stance, with inflation falling and the eurozone economy likely in recession. . EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is testing support at 1.0957. Below, there is support at 1.0905 1.1044 and 1.1096 are the next resistance lines    
EUR/SEK Pair Stability Amid Mixed Swedish Economic Data

German Business Confidence Weakens, Euro Gains Despite Headwinds

Akash Girimath Akash Girimath 18.12.2023 14:16
German business confidence weaker than expected The euro has started the week in positive territory on Monday. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0914, up 0.18%. It was a week of sharp swings for the euro, which posted strong gains during the week but reversed directions on Friday and declined 0.88%. Still, the euro posted a winning week, rising 1.2% against the US dollar. German business confidence dips Germany’s Ifo Business Climate was softer than expected, dropping to 86.4 in December. This was down from a revised 87.2 in November and missed the market consensus of 87.8. Business conditions and business expectations also eased in December and were shy of the forecast, as companies remain pessimistic about the German economy. The lack of confidence mirrors the prolonged weakness in the German economy. December PMIs indicated contraction in both the services and manufacturing sectors. Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, also reported a decline, with the PMI falling to 48.4, down from 49.6 in November and short of the consensus estimate of 49.8. The servicaes industry has contracted for five straight months while manufacturing has been mired in contraction since June 2022. ECB stays hawkish The European Central Bank held the benchmark rate at 4.0% for a second straight time on Thursday. This move was expected but the central bank pushed back against market expectations for interest rate cuts next year, sending the euro soaring over 1% against the US dollar after the announcement. There is a deep disconnect between the markets and the ECB with regard to rate policy. The ECB remains hawkish and Reuters reported on Friday that ECB governors are unlikely to cut rates before June. The markets are marching to a very different tune and have priced in at least in around six rate cuts in 2024, with the initial cut expected around March. Lagarde has insisted that the central bank’s decisions will be data-dependent rather than time-dependent and she may have to join the rate-cut bandwagon if inflation continues to fall at a brisk pace. . EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD is putting pressure on resistance at 1.0929. Above, there is resistance at 1.0970 1.0855 and 1.0814 are providing support        
Taming Inflation: March Rate Cut Unlikely Despite Rough 5-Year Auction

Spanish CPI Dips to 3.1%, Eurozone Awaits Inflation Data Next Week

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 02.01.2024 13:14
Spanish CPI lower than expected at 3.1% Chicago PMI expected to decelerate to 51.0 The euro is calm in Friday trade. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.1053, down 0.08%. Spanish CPI dips to 3.1% Spain released the December inflation report today, with CPI dipping to 3.1% y/y, down from 3.2% in November. This was better than expected as the consensus estimate stood at 3.4%. The reading was the lowest rate since August, with the drop attributed to lower prices for fuel, food and electricity. Monthly, CPI rose from -0.3% to 0.0%, but this was lower than the consensus estimate of 0.3%. Core CPI dropped to 3.8% y/y, down from 4.5% in November. Germany, France and the eurozone will follow with their inflation releases next week. If the data shows that inflation eased in December, it will put pressure on the European Central Bank to cut rates in the first half of 2024. The ECB has not followed the Federal Reserve and continues to push back against rate-cut expectations. The markets have priced in 150 basis points from the ECB next year, with an initial cut expected in April. ECB President Lagarde has poured cold water over rate-cut fever, saying that the ECB should “absolutely not lower its guard”. Lagarde may have to shift her hawkish stance or risk tipping the weak eurozone economy into a recession. If next week’s inflation report indicates that inflation is falling, we can expect the voices in the ECB calling for looser policy to get.   The US releases Chicago PMI, an important business barometer, later today. The PMI shocked in November with a reading of 55.8, which marked the first expansion after fourteen straight months of contraction. The upward spike may have been a one-time blip due to the end of the United Auto Workers strike as activity rose in the auto manufacturing industry. The consensus estimate for December stands at 51.0, which would point to weak expansion.   EUR/USD Technical EUR/USD continues to put pressure on resistance at 1.1086. Above, there is resistance at 1.1171 1.1116 and 1.1031 are providing support  
The EIA Reports Tight Crude Oil Market: Prices Firm on Positive Inventory Data and Middle East Tensions

EUR: Lagarde's Potential Hawkish Shift in Davos Amidst Market Skepticism

ING Economics ING Economics 16.01.2024 12:20
EUR: Lagarde may sound more hawkish in Davos The data inputs for EUR/USD will mostly come from Germany this week, with 2023 GDP figures today and the ZEW survey tomorrow along with final CPI numbers. We have often discussed how European Central Bank rate cut expectations appear way too aggressive (150bp by year-end), although the dovish members of the bank have failed to deliver a coordinated pushback. Despite ECB hawks' protests against dovish expectations having had little impact on the market, the WEF event in Davos this week – which sees many ECB speakers including President Christine Lagarde – should not be overlooked. Lagarde has a greater potential to influence markets given a clearly divided Governing Council, and we suspect that she will opt for a more hawkish tone compared to last week’s comments. There may be some help for the euro coming from Davos, although we should be wary. Fed expectations have been resistant to data and the same could hold true for the ECB as well. The minutes from the December policy meeting are also released this week. We still think it is premature for EUR/USD to trade sustainably above 1.10. Elsewhere, Sweden published inflation figures today. CPIF declined to 2.3% from 3.6% (consensus 2.2%), although the core measure excluding energy remained high, slowing from 5.4% to 5.3% versus a consensus of 5.2%. Despite this, it remains unlikely that the Riksbank will tighten policy again. If anything, this modestly raises the chances that another round of FX sales will be started after the current reserve hedging programme ends in early February (in our view).
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Netflix Surges: A Boost to Market Confidence Amid Global Economic Uncertainty

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Ipek Ozkardeskaya 25.01.2024 15:01
Netflix beats By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Netflix jumped 8% in the afterhours trading as its revenue and new subscriptions topped estimates. More than 13 mio people decided that Netflix was worth paying for, and the number of total paid subscribers rose past 260 mio. The password sharing ban has been a boon for the company. The only thing they regret is not having thought about it before.   Strong Netflix results will likely give a positive spin to the major US indices which were slow to move yesterday after the Richmond manufacturing index came in much lower than expected.  In the sovereign space, a mixed 2-year bond auction in the US hinted at declining optimism from the Federal Reserve's (Fed) dovish camp, but a jump from foreign buyers pulled the US 2-year yield lower. The 10-year yield remains steady above the 4.10% and will hopefully cross back above the 2-year yield after having stayed inverted for more than a year-and-a-half as the US soft-landing scenario is given more weight despite the slow manufacturing numbers as US consumer spending remains strong and helps keeping the US economy afloat. The US will release its latest GDP update tomorrow and is expected to print a decent 2% growth for the last quarter.   Robust US economic growth, strong earnings and prospects of lower Fed rates remain supportive of equity valuations, although the ATH levels and near-overbought market conditions in the S&P500 call for – at least – a minor correction in the short run. Today, Tesla will be reporting its latest Q4 results after the bell, and the results will unlikely be as enchanting as Netflix'. But overall, investors don't want to miss the US stocks' rally to fresh highs. And if the trend is your friend, well, the trend is clearly positive.  In China, though, sentiment is the exact opposite. Chinese stocks saw a little bump yesterday on the announcement of a $278bn rescue package to lift the Chinese stocks up. But skepticism reigned as 1. the rescue package was found to be a bit meagre compared with around $6 trillion of market value wiped off the value of Chinese and Hong Kong stocks in past 3 years. 2. The rescue package doesn't solve the underlying fundamental problems, namely slowing economic growth, a serious property crisis and slowing population. And 3. No one can guarantee a consistent action plan from the Xi government in the medium to long run. The ruthless government crackdown and extreme Covid measures are responsible for a severe confidence loss. And the market reaction to Chinese measures prove that you can't buy confidence.   In the FX, the US dollar index is testing the 200-DMA to the upside. Parallelly, the EURUSD is testing its 200-DMA support to the downside. Today's PMI data and tomorrow's European Central Bank (ECB) decision will likely help provide fresh direction to the pair. Fading inflation, sputtering European economies and ECB Chief Lagarde's latest words in Davos hint that the ECB is preparing for a summer rate cut. More clarity on the ECB's rate cut plans could provide a green light for a sustainable move below the 200-DMA. Elsewhere, the Bank of Canada (BoC) meets today and is expected to maintain rates unchanged. The Loonie remains under the pressure of limited appetite for oil.  Speaking of oil, US crude's inability to clear the $75pb offers is intriguing despite news that would normally be positive for oil prices – like the geopolitical tensions in regions where oil is pumped and transported, and the US API data showing a 6.7-mio barrel slump in weekly oil inventories. The next decisive move in oil prices should be a positive breakout. 
Taming Inflation: March Rate Cut Unlikely Despite Rough 5-Year Auction

Taming Inflation: March Rate Cut Unlikely Despite Rough 5-Year Auction

ING Economics ING Economics 25.01.2024 15:55
Rates Spark: Tame inflation still not enough to trigger a March rate cut US 5yr auction was rough, but Thursday's core PCE should be tame – what then? Likely yields lower, but only temporarily. The ECB takes centre stage with Lagarde anticipated to push back against early rate cut pricing. That may just mean staying away from speculating on timing entirely. What could be a bear flattening impetus if Lagarde disappoints markets.   US 5yr auction was rough, but Thursday's core PCE should be tame – what then? The US 5yr auction tailed, badly. By 2bp (so, it was done at 2bp above subsequent market levels, with a slight lag). The indirect bid (includes central banks) was decent, if not spectacular. The 5yr area is rich to the curve, by some 20bp to an interpolated line between the 2yr and 10yr yields, mostly reflecting a notable inversion along the 2/5yr segment. Still, this is a bit of a disappointment following yesterday's decent 2yr auction. It's also a bit of a reminder of the refunding announcement due on Monday, which is likely to be heavy, with only some morphing of issuance away from longer dates there to take some of the heat away. And we have 7's tomorrow. Should really do better than 5's did, as at least it's higher yielding. Market reaction to the 5yr has been to nudge yields higher. They have been on the turn anyway, post the brief break back below 4% for the 10yr Wednesday morning, and some reasonable ISM data. The 10yr yield moved back up above 4.15%. We still think it gets to the 4.25% area as the March rate cut expectation continues to unwind itself. But Thursday is a day that brings the biggest excuse for yields to test the downside. Our view is if core PCE comes in as expected, it deserves to be met with some downside to yields, as it validates a good reading (2% inflation). But it needs to be better than expected to negate our underlying tactically bearish view. If not, we re-drift higher subsequently, even if that has to wait till next week.   ECB pushback against front-end pricing anticipated The European Central Bank is the key event for European rates markets this week. No one sees a change of policies this time around, so the focus will be entirely on the communication surrounding the eventual turn of the interest rate cycle.   With regards to the expectations of first rate cuts, pricing has moderated a little from the end of last week with the implied probability of a first cut by April now around 70% compared to around 80%. In our view that still looks elevated and is something that most analysts also expect that the ECB will push back against in the press conference. At the same time market pricing for total easing this year hasn't changed that much with still slightly more than 130bp being discounted. Last week the ECB had diminished the impact of its pushback against early pricing by starting to bring up the topic of potential rate cuts in summer. Of course, all these comments came with the large caveats attached pointing to the general data dependency, which the markets seem to conveniently overlook. The outcome of wage negotiations especially still ranks high on things to monitor for ECB officials to make sure inflation will return to target. Just yesterday the eurozone PMIs also showed that price pressures in the services sector were firm and on the rise again.   President Lagarde could reiterate that aggressive pricing of early cuts can have the counter-effect of making them less likely as financial conditions are effectively eased. Keep in mind, the ECB’s December forecasts were based on market rates with a cut-off of 23 November. At that point the December 2024 ECB OIS forward was trading with an implied rate of 3.2% versus 2.6% currently. One effective way to push back against early market pricing would be for the ECB to not even delve into any speculation on when first rate cuts will happen. Markets would not get the confirmation they are looking for and probably pare some of their early pricing further, posing the risk of a bear flattening impact on the curve as a whole. However, we cannot guarantee that in the wake of the ECB meeting officials will stick to this script once they are allowed to talk freely again.   Markets are still seeing good chances for earlier ECB cuts   Thursday's events and market view There will be data to watch such as the German Ifo, but it is clearly the ECB meeting that takes centre stage for EUR rates on Thursday, posing upside risks especially to front-end rates. But shortly before President Lagarde starts the press conference, the US will also release the first reading of its fourth quarter GDP data, including a quarterly core PCE rate likely at the Fed’s 2% again. That may confirm the markets' benign inflation outlook, but at the same time the macro back drop is looking more upbeat as indicated also by the US PMIs yesterday. Other data coming out at the same time are the durable goods orders as well as the initial jobless claims. The latter had surprised by dipping below 200k last week. Thursday’s primary markets will have Italy selling shorter dated bonds as well as inflation linked bonds. The US Treasury will sell new 7Y notes.
EUR: Lagarde Balances Data Dependency Amidst Rate Cut Speculations

EUR: Lagarde Balances Data Dependency Amidst Rate Cut Speculations

ING Economics ING Economics 25.01.2024 16:04
EUR: Lagarde will try to hold the data dependency line As Francesco Pesole discusses in our ECB Cheat Sheet, President Christine Lagarde will try to avoid being drawn into any pre-commitment over a summer rate cut. In theory then, if she can avoid this and leave markets with a sense that the European Central Bank is truly data-dependent, short-term euro interest rates could nudge a little higher and support FX pairs like EUR/USD and EUR/CHF. For reference, the market still prices 17bp of ECB rate cuts for the 17 April meeting, whereas our team only sees the easing cycle starting in June once the ECB has a better understanding of the spring wage round. We would say that the ECB event risk (statement 14:15CET, press conference 14:45CET) proves a mild upside risk to EUR/USD - but the carpet could be pulled from under the euro should President Lagarde somehow convey the message that the policy rate will be getting cut in the summer after all. 1.0850-1.0950 looks the EUR/USD range, with outside risk to 1.0980/90 should the ECB pushback against easing expectations prove surprisingly effective. Elsewhere Norges Bank announces rates today. The policy rate was hiked to 4.50% in December - so it would seem far too soon for Norges Bank to embrace any idea of easing. However, the Norwegian krone has been suffering a little this year as the backup in market interest rates has hit the risk environment. In all, we suspect EUR/NOK needs to trade a little longer in this 11.35-45 range.
Tepid ECB Holds Rates, Lagarde Eyes Summer Cut, EURUSD Consolidation

Tepid ECB Holds Rates, Lagarde Eyes Summer Cut, EURUSD Consolidation

Kenny Fisher Kenny Fisher 26.01.2024 14:45
ECB leaves rates on hold Lagarde still eyeing summer rate cut EURUSD consolidating after correction The European Central Bank left interest rates on hold on Thursday and claimed inflation is progressing towards its target while giving no clear guidance on when interest rates will start falling. We came into the new year with markets pricing in a March rate cut and that is now looking increasingly difficult. Even with a late pivot – which was always likely the strategy of the central bank – policymakers would have to signal that a rate cut is a live possibility over the next six weeks in appearances made between meetings. That’s not impossible but it’s arguably not particularly transparent. The data is unlikely to surprise to that degree. President Christine Lagarde and some colleagues have previously indicated a rate cut in summer may be appropriate but investors are not convinced we’ll have to wait that long. Lagarde stuck with that today while suggesting demand was weaker, as is the economy, and inflation is falling. Perhaps this is her way of leaving the door slightly ajar for March or maybe the usual lack of clear guidance has left everyone desperately looking for something that isn’t there. I get the feeling Lagarde and her colleagues wanted to give absolutely nothing away today, instead opting for an array of vague, uninformative statements that buy them six more weeks before they may have to say or do something. A bullish correction or sideways continuation?   The euro has drifted lower after the announcement and press conference but it hasn’t broken out of the range it’s traded in over the last week or so. EURUSD Daily Source – OANDA The correction we’ve seen since the turn of the year appears to be running on fumes but there’s still a question of whether this is just that, and will turn higher and look to break the highs, or just a continuation of the longer term sideways trend. There are some important support levels between 1.07 and 1.0850 which could tell us which is the case.  

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