usdjpy

The euro surges as the market prices in inflation pressure despite the ECB’s dovish message. Bullish candles have pushed the single currency above the triple top (1.1665) which sits on the 30-day moving average, paving the way for a reversal. Strong momentum is a sign of short-covering from those caught on the wrong side of the market. An overbought RSI could temporarily limit the range of the rally. However, renewed optimism may send the pair to the daily resistance at 1.1750. 1.1620 is the support in case of a pullback. USDJPY tests demand zone The Japanese yen recouped losses after the BOJ sees a weak yen as positive for Japan’s economy. And the US dollar has come under pressure near a four-year high. An overbought RSI on the daily chart points to an overextension. On the hourly level, the pair has found bids around 113.30 near a previous consolidation range. A bearish breakout would test the round number at 113.00, which lies on the 20-day moving average and is critical in safeguarding the uptrend. The bulls need to lift 114.30 before they may resume the rally. US 30 pulls backs for support The Dow Jones consolidates as investors digest earnings near the all-time high. A breakout above the August peak at 35600 and a bullish MA cross from the daily timeframe indicate an acceleration on the upside as the rally continues. Pullbacks could be an opportunity to buy low. An overbought RSI has triggered a minor sell-off below 35600, shaking out weaker hands in the process. A drop below 35450 would lead to the psychological level of 35000. 35830 is now a fresh resistance.

GBPUSD bounces higher The pound inched higher after the UK’s inflation soared to 4.2% in October. Sentiment remains pessimistic after a botched rebound from the demand zone at 1.3420. However, an oversold RSI has attracted some buying interest. Its bullish divergence suggests a slowdown in the sell-off, prompting momentum traders to take profit and look for the next breakout. The sterling may bounce back if the bulls succeed in keeping it above 1.3380. 1.3530 would be the first hurdle. Otherwise, a bearish breakout would send the pair to 1.3200. USDCAD reaches new high The Canadian dollar fell back after the annual inflation rate matched the consensus. Following the greenback’s rally from the demand zone at 1.2300, a bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that the current rebound is picking up steam. As a sign of strong commitment, buyers were eager to keep price action above 1.2480 when the RSI flirted with the oversold area. A break above 1.2600 may trigger an extended rally towards the daily resistance at 1.2760. 1.2540 is fresh support in case of a pullback. USOIL falls through key support WTI crude tumbled after OPEC warned of supply surplus. The rally has stalled after the bulls struggled to lift offers at 85.00. On the daily timeframe, the RSI’s double top in the overbought area indicates an overextension. A break below 79.00 has led to profit-taking and put the long side under pressure. 81.60 is now a fresh resistance from the latest sell-off. The buy-side will need to achieve new highs before they could bring in momentum interest. Failing that, 75.00 is a key floor to keep price action afloat.

GBPUSD hits resistance The pound pulled back after Britain’s retail sales registered a steeper drop to -1.3% in October. The pair has met stiff selling pressure in the supply zone around 1.3510, a support that has turned into resistance after a failed rebound. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound. However, a bearish MA cross on the daily chart suggests that sentiment is still pessimistic. 1.3380 is a key support to keep the sterling afloat. A bearish breakout may trigger an extended sell-off to last December’s lows around 1.3200. USDCAD breaks higher The Canadian dollar struggles after a contraction in September’s retail numbers. The US dollar bounced off the resistance-turned-support at 1.2580. This is a sign that the bulls are still in control. A bullish MA cross on the daily timeframe confirms the directional bias for the next few days. The daily resistance at 1.2770 would be the next target. Its break would lead to a test of the double top at 1.2900. In the meantime, the RSI’s overextension has temporarily held the bulls back. We can also expect buying interest during dips. GER 40 struggles for support The Dax 40 tumbles as lockdowns across Europe hurt sentiment. The RSI’s overbought situation on the daily chart has made buyers cautious in pursuing high valuations. On the hourly chart, a bearish RSI divergence suggests a deceleration in the upward momentum. Then a dip below 16200 confirms weakness in the rally, prompting leverage positions to liquidate. The psychological level of 16000 is a congestion area as it coincides with last August’s peak and the 20-day moving average. 16300 is now a fresh hurdle.

Gold tests strong resistance at 1786/89 with stops above 1792. A break higher however targets 1798/1800 then very strong resistance at 1805/07. USDJPY  shorts at strong resistance at 113.60/70 target 113.30/20. Below 113.10 risks a slide to 112.845 before a test of strong support at 112.45/35.CADJPY we have shorts at selling opportunity at 8975/90, with stops above 9000. A break higher targets 9035/45.    USDCAD broke 1.2735/15 targeting 1.2680 & strong support at1.2645/35...longs need stops below 1.2610. A break lower however targets 1.2575/65.   Video analysis:

USDJPY breaks higher The US dollar inched higher after November’s core PCE jumped to 4.7%. A break above the supply area near 114.20 indicates that the bulls have gained the upper hand. As sellers rush to the exit, the pair may enjoy solid support above the former resistance at 114.05. An overbought RSI has temporarily limited the initial breakout range. After a short accumulation phase, the bulls may have an unobstructed path towards the psychological level of 115.00. That is a major hurdle right under the previous peak. USDCAD retreats to daily support The Canadian dollar bounces back as GDP growth gained traction in October. The US dollar is struggling for support after its tentative break above the August high at 1.2950. A retreat below 1.2900 has led traders to dump leveraged positions. The pair is testing the daily support at 1.2760 which lies along the 30-day moving average. And this makes it an area of interest for the bulls to attempt a rebound. 1.2920 is a fresh resistance ahead. A deeper correction may send the greenback to 1.2650 near December’s lows. US 100 completes V-shaped recovery The Nasdaq 100 continues to recover as improved economic data outweigh covid concerns. The index has met solid buying interest near 15600. This used to be a supply zone from last September. Since then it has recouped losses from the recent liquidation. The RSI’s overbought situation may cause a brief pullback while short-term traders take profit. 16170 is the closest support and 15850 is another layer of defense. On the upside, a break above 16460 could extend the rally to the all-time high at 16770 and beyond.

It's another video by Luke Suddards, don't hesitate to get to know about topics covered in this video, eg. EURUSD, EURGBP, USDJPY, UKOIL and AUDJPY.

GBPUSD falls into correction The sterling fell back after a slowdown in Britain’s wage growth in November. Sentiment favors the pound after it rallied above the daily resistance at 1.3700. However, an overbought RSI has cut back buyers’ appetite. A break below 1.3630 has prompted some traders to take profit, driving down the price. As the RSI dips into the oversold zone, 1.3570 is the next support. A bearish breakout would send the pair to 1.3480 which sits on the 30-day moving average. 1.3660 is the immediate resistance when a rebound takes shape. USDJPY struggles to bounce The yen softened after the Bank of Japan signaled no shift in its ultra-loose monetary policy. The US dollar bounced off the critical floor at 113.50 from the daily chart. A bullish RSI divergence revealed a deceleration in the downward impetus. The indicator’s oversold situation also attracted a number of bargain hunters. A break above 114.70 suggests a strong interest in keeping the correction in check. 115.50 from the latest sell-off is a major hurdle and its breach could extend the rally to the recent peak at 116.30. SPX 500 to test daily support The S&P 500 extended losses over rising rate worries. The fall below 4640 invalidates the latest rebound and indicates that sentiment is still downbeat. Below the psychological level of 4600, 4540 is a key support near last December’s lows on the daily chart. A bearish breakout would trigger a deeper correction towards 4400, the origin of the October rally. An oversold RSI may cause a limited rebound. Nonetheless, the bulls need to clear offers around 4675 and then 4745 to gain momentum.

AUDJPY longs work if you are still holding them hitting target & only resistance for today at 8280/8300. Therefore a break above 8320 is a buy signal targeting 8365/75. A buying opportunity again at 8220/10. Stop below 8190. A break below 8190 is a sell signal targeting 8160/55, perhaps as far as 8100/8090. EURJPY straight through minor resistance at 130.60/70 to the next target of 130.95/99 with a test of trend line resistance at 131.20/30 now likely. Shorts need stops above 131.45. A break higher is a buy signal - try to jump in and hold long in to the end of the week. A buying opportunity again at 130.10/129.90 with stop below 129.80. EURUSD longs at the buying opportunity at 1.1400/1.1380 target strong resistance at 1.1455/65. This held quite well on the last test. Further gains are likely eventually towards 1.1500/10 & 1.1560/70 A buying opportunity at 1.1400/1.1380 - stop below 1.1365. If this trade fails, I fear we will remain stuck in a sideways trend. GBPUSD shorts at the 200 day moving average at 1.3735/40 worked in severely overbought conditions to test support at 1.3670/60. Further losses today meet strong support at 1.3620/00 with a good chance of a low for the day. Longs need stops below 1.3585. Next target & support at 1.3535/25. 200 day moving average resistance again at 1.3735/40 Shorts need stops above 1.3755 this week. A break higher is the next buy signal targeting 1.3780 & 1.3805/15. Expect some resistance at the October high at 1.3830/35. Emini S&P got close to a test of the neck line at 4590/80 on Friday but bounced from 4606. If tested this week, longs need stops below 4570. A break lower is a significant sell signal. Minor resistance at 4670/80 & again at 4695/4705. Further gains can retest last week's high of 4735/40. Next target is 4750/60. Above 4765 can retest the all time high at 4800/08. Nasdaq perhaps building a minor negative trend in January perhaps. Holding quite important resistance at 15700/750 is negative for today initially targeting 15550/500. If we continue lower look for 15350/320 before a retest of last week's low at 15170/150. Further losses test the 200 day moving average at 15000/14950. First resistance at 15700/750 - shorts need stops above 15800. A break higher targets more minor resistance at 16000/16100. A break above here is a buy signal & we could even retest the all time high. Emini Dow Jones I am waiting for a clear pattern of trend to develop. For now, minor resistance at 35800/850 tested as I write over night but if we continue higher look for a test of minor resistance at 36000/36050. Further gains can target 36300/350. Holding minor resistance at 35800/850 can target 35750/700 before a retest of this week's low at 35540/520. A break lower this week targets support at the 100 day moving average at 35350/330. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.

"Every Tuesday our Global Macro Strategist Luke Suddards will be analysing the charts of key global asset classes such as FX, commodities and more. Catch him on Twitter - @lukesuddards Also, he produces The Weekly Close Out every Friday, which provides key insights into the main catalysts for all the major global macro assets throughout the week. The analysis takes a hybrid approach - combining fundamental and technical analysis with charts to enhance your trading experience. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox: https://cloud.go.pepperstone.com/week"

USDJPY hit the next target of 115.65/75 with a high for the day exactly here & a minor negative candle on the daily chart which increases the chances of a right shoulder forming here. Prices have headed lower as expected to the 114.60/55 target. EURJPY shorts at strong resistance at 129.50/60 worked with a high for the day here & a potential 60 pip profit on the side to minor support at 129.00/128.90 - a low for the day exactly here. CADJPY remains very volatile, making it difficult to hold a trade for a more than a few hours. Up one day, down the next day in the 7 day sideways trend. The key level today does appear to be 9040/30 as stated yesterday. Holding above here is positive, holding below is negative for the outlook. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. USDJPY reversed from the next target of 115.65/75 as we watch for a right shoulder to form. If you sold the bounce to first resistance at 115.60/70 you are doing well already as we hit targets of 114.85/80 & 114.60/55, perhaps as far as 114.35/30 today. First resistance at 115.15/20, with further resistance at 115.60/70 of course. EURJPY meets strong resistance again at 129.50/60. Shorts need stops above 129.70. A break higher is a buy signal targeting 129.90/95 then 130.25/35. Minor support again at 129.00/128.90. A break lower targets 128.65/60 before a retest of 128.30/20. CADJPY beat first resistance at 9030/40 to hit the next target of 9080/90 with a high for the day here again yesterday but the pair are difficult to read. Above here look for 9110/15. A break higher targets 9140/50. Minor support at 9040/30. Further losses can retest 8970/60. A break lower can target the 200 day moving average at 8915/10.   EURUSD beat strong resistance at 1.1205/10 & was expected to target strong resistance at 1.1255/65 - this target was hit & is holding as I write. However a break above 1.1280 today is a buy signal. USDCAD we wrote: should meet very strong support at 1.2665/55. Longs need stops below 1.2645. A low for the day exactly at 1.2665/55 yesterday & a potential 60 pip profit on the bounce to minor resistance at 1.2710/20 with a high for the day exactly here. These 2 levels marked the low & the high for the day. Update daily at 06:30 GMT Today's Analysis. EURUSD hit the next target & strong resistance at 1.1255/65 which is still holding today. Shorts need stops above 1.1275. A break above 1.1280 is a buy signal targeting 1.1300/10, perhaps as far as 1.1340/50. Shorts at strong resistance at 1.1255/65 target 1.1210/00. If we continue lower look for minor support at 1.1180/70. USDCAD held very strong support at 1.2665/55. Longs need stops below 1.2645. A break lower however targets 1.2615/05. Minor resistance at 1.2710/20 held the bounce yesterday but above here can target 1.2750/60, perhaps as far as 1.2780/90. To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of this information and opinions expressed may be subject to change without notice. Estimates and projections set forth herein are based on assumptions that may not be correct or otherwise realised. All reports and information are designed for information purposes only and neither the information contained herein nor any opinion expressed is deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to make an offer, to buy or sell any security or any option, futures or other related derivatives.

USDJPY to test major resistance The US dollar surged after consumer prices hit a 40-year high. Higher lows and then a close above the recent peak at 115.65 is an indication of strong bullish pressure. This breakout has propelled the greenback to January’s high at 116.35. Its breach could trigger a runaway rally and resume the uptrend in the medium term. An overbought RSI on the hourly chart may briefly restrain the bullish fever. 115.30 is the closest support and the bulls may see a pullback as an opportunity to stake in. XAGUSD seeks support Bullions fell back after US Treasury yields soared over hot US inflation data. The psychological level of 22.00 has proven to be a solid demand area. A break above 23.00 has forced sellers to cover, paving the way for an upward extension. 24.00 from a previous rectangle consolidation is the next resistance. A bullish breakout would bring silver back to this year’s high at 24.70. On the downside, the resistance-turned-support at 22.80 could see buying interest in case of a retracement. US 100 hits resistance The Nasdaq 100 struggles as record-high US inflation exacerbates rate hike concerns. The previous rebound has eased selling pressure but hit resistance under 15350. The subsequent pullback bounced off the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (14400), which suggests buyers’ strong interest in keeping the index afloat. Sentiment is still a tad cautious unless the bulls clear the said hurdle. Then the psychological level of 16000 could be within reach. 14500 is a key support in case of an extended consolidation.

USDJPY bounces off daily support The US dollar jumps as traders seek safe haven assets over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The pair struggled for bids after it turned away from the double top (116.20) and has been grinding down a falling trend line. However, the daily support at 114.40 has proved to be a solid demand area by keeping February’s rebound intact. Strong momentum above the trend line and 115.20 forced sellers out of the game and would attract more purchasing power. A close above 116.20 would extend the rally towards 117.00 XAUUSD seeks support Gold whipsawed as markets await the Western response to the invasion of Ukraine. The rally accelerated after it broke above last June’s high at 1912. Momentum trading pushed the price to September 2020’s highs (1975) before reversing its course. 1880 is a fresh support after intraday buyers took profit. As sentiment shifts to the bullish side, the current pullback combined with a depressed RSI could trigger a bargain-hunting behavior. Renewed buying frenzy may send the metal to the psychological level of 2000. US 500 lacks support The S&P 500 weakens as investors fear spillover from the conflict in Ukraine. A break below the daily support at 4280 further put the bulls on the defensive. Last May’s lows, near 4040, are the next target as liquidation continues. The index may have entered the bear market as the sell-off could speed up in the coming weeks. On the daily chart, the RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area may offer a temporary relief. 4350 is the first hurdle ahead and the bears may look to fade any rebound amid soured sentiment.

EURUSD shorts at strong resistance at 1.1130/50 hopefully worked on the collapse to 1.1070 & our ultimate target of 1.1030 on Friday. If we continue lower this week (as is likely) look for 1.1000. Expect support at 1.0960/50. A break lower is a sell signal. Resistance at 1.1140/60. Shorts need stops above 1.1185 today!! A break higher is a buy signal targeting very strong resistance at 1.1230/50. Shorts need stops above 1.1270. USDCAD held the 500 week moving average at 1.2420/00. Should be worth trying longs if we retest today, with stop below 1.2370. A high for the day exactly at first resistance at 1.2530/50. Shorts need stops above 1.2565. A break higher targets a sell opportunity at 1.2600/20. Shorts need stops above 1.2640. USDJPY outlook is more negative (although I repeat that we do not have a sell signal). Holding strong resistance at 122.50/70 targets 121.75/70 perhaps as far as the best support for today at 121.10/120.90. Longs need stops below 120.70. A break lower is a sell signal targeting 120.00/119.80. We should have strong resistance at 122.50/70. Shorts need stops above 122.90. A break higher can retest Wednesday's high at 123.15/20. Please email me if you need this report updated or Whatsapp: +66971910019 – To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk

USDJPY consolidates gains The US dollar gains on the prospect of more sanctions on Russia. On the daily chart, the RSI’s overbought condition led to profit-takings as the bulls became reluctant to outbid each other. Nonetheless, the direction remains upward, and a pause is necessary for the market to take a breather. The current pullback has found support over 121.30. A bounce above 123.20 may signal a bullish continuation and extend the price back to 125.00. On the downside, a breakout could cause a correction to 119.40 near the 30-day moving average. EURGBP struggles for support The euro fell as worries over Europe’s energy supply grew. The current pullback could be an opportunity for the bulls to stake in but they will need to push past 0.8400 to regain control. The 61.8% (0.8380) Fibonacci retracement level has failed to foster buyers’ interest. The RSI’s double dip into the oversold area may attract some bids. The demand zone between the daily support (0.8300) and 0.8320 is a critical floor to keep the rebound valid. That said, its breach could trigger a sell-off towards 0.8200. GER 40 takes a breather The Dax 40 goes sideways as the EU considers a new set of sanctions. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests an acceleration in the rebound as a sign of improved sentiment. The index is hovering above the lower end (14200) of the previous consolidation. This level coincides with the 20 and 30-day moving averages, making it an area of interest. A close above 14730 could extend the rally to the origin of the February liquidation at 15200. This is an important resistance before the uptrend could resume in the medium-term.

USDJPY is approaching a strong weekly resistance area in green so we will be looking for sell setupsM30: USDJPY is forming two channels in red and orange but the lower trendline is not valid yet, so we are waiting for a new swing low to form around it to consider it our trigger swing. Trigger => Waiting for that swing low to form and then sell after a momentum candle close below it (gray zone) Meanwhile, until the buy is activated, USDJPY would be overall bullish and can still trade higher inside the green resistance. Good luck! All Strategies Are Good; If Managed Properly! ~Rich

USDJPY consolidates gains The US dollar rallies as the 10-year Treasury yield hits a three-year high. Price action has been treading water after it bounced off 121.30. The RSI shot back into the overbought area and could limit the upward momentum. Sentiment remains bullish but subdued volatility suggests a lack of volume. The recent peak at 125.00 is a major hurdle and its breach could resume the rally. On the downside, a break below 122.70 could lead to an extended consolidation. 121.30 is a critical floor to keep the short-term rally intact. EURCAD struggles to rebound The Canadian dollar strengthened after a drop in the jobless rate in March. The RSI’s double-dip in the oversold area has attracted some buying interest. A break above the demand-turned-supply zone around 1.3700 has improved the short-term mood. The origin of the previous sell-off at 1.3840 is a major resistance, as it sits on the 20-day moving average, making it a congestion area. A bullish close could pave the way for a meaningful rebound. Failing that, a retreat back below 1.3600 may resume the downtrend. GER 40 seeks support The Dax 40 struggles on concerns about the economic costs of war in Ukraine. A bullish MA cross on the daily chart suggests steadied sentiment in the medium-term after a V-shaped rebound. The bulls may see the pullback as an opportunity to accumulate. They will need to clear February’s sell-off point at 15500 before the uptrend could resume. On the intraday level, a drop below 14200 prompted buyers to exit, making 14430 a fresh resistance. A break below 14050 may cause a deeper correction towards 13600.

Macro 2022-04-13 08:25 6 minutes to read Summary:  Markets are waking up about where they left off yesterday, as a US equity market rally in the wake of slightly softer than expected core US inflation in March was reversed back to its starting point. Overnight, the New Zealand central bank hiked more than expected, but guided less hawkish, so NZD fell. The Bank of Canada is expected to beat the Fed to the punch today by hiking by 50 basis points for the first time since 2000.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) - US equities tried to shift back to a positive stance yesterday in the wake of a slightly softer core CPI reading for March, but the rally was erased by the close, as attention is set to shift to earnings season which kicks off today in earnest. The Nasdaq 100 index has yet to break down through the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at 13,831, a break of which could usher in a full test of the 12,942.5 low. The less yield-sensitive S&P 500 index is farther above its respective 61.8% retracement level (4,299) but posted a weak session to new local lows yesterday, even as sentiment has recovered again overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) were little changed.  Energy and mining stocks outperformed.  China’s Ministry of Transport has issued a notice to local governments to urge the latter to keep highways in operation in areas affected by lockdowns.  China is also piloting in eight cities to reduce the number of days required for quarantine from 14 days to 10 days.  China reported better than expected March export data (+14.7% YoY in USD terms) while imports declined (-0.1% YoY in USD terms). Trade surplus increased to USD47.4 billion (vs consensus $21.7bln, Feb $30.6bln). Stoxx 50 (EU50.I) – the Stoxx 50 index snapped back from new local lows yesterday –emphasizing the importance of the 3,800 area support – and is fairly sideways overnight in the futures, a somewhat better performance than the major US averages, where a rally attempt yesterday was fully wiped out.  A weak euro certainly helps exporters, but energy/power prices continue to weigh on Europe’s economic outlook. EURUSD and EUR pairs  – the euro continues to trade heavily and EURUDS has nearly touched the lows for the cycle around near 1.0800. It was rather disappointing for bulls that the pair failed to get more support from a consolidation lower in US yields yesterday in the wake of the slightly cooler than expected core inflation reading (more below). The ongoing unease as Russia looks set to widen its offensive in eastern Ukraine and concerns that the ECB will remain dovish tomorrow perhaps weighing. The next major level lower is the 1.0636 level posted during the pandemic outbreak panic. USDCAD is at pivotal levels in the 1.2650 area, ... ...about the half-way point of the recent  price range and near the 200-day moving average ahead of today’s Bank of Canada meeting, which is expected to bring a 50-basis point rate hike (to take the policy rate to 1.00%), which would be the first rate hike of more than 25 bps since 2000. But with the Fed seen likely matching the Bank of Canada’s pace of tightening by year-end, the BoC may need to guide hawkish, or CAD may need to find more support from rising oil prices and improving risk sentiment broadly if it is to stage a rally against the US dollar. The technical situation certainly looks pivotal. Gold (XAUUSD) The advance in gold prices was a bit more impressive yesterday as the move higher above the key 1,966 area stuck, though the real challenge remains a bid to retake the psychologically important 2,000 level. The dip in treasury yields yesterday and weak risk sentiment in equities provided some of the boost. Crude oil (OILUKJUN22 & OILUSMAY22)  A solid comeback for oil prices yesterday, as WTI crude joined Brent in trading back above 100/bbl ahead of weekly US crude oil and product inventories from the DoE today. China moving to ease some of the Shanghai covid lockdowns may have boosted sentiment on the demand side. And longer-term supply concerns are in clear evidence as long-dated crude for December of 2023, trades within two dollars of the highest daily close for the cycle back in early March. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) and European Sovereign Debt. Treasury traders took the slightest easing of the pace of core March US inflation as a signal for consolidation yesterday, as yields dropped all along the curve, and more so at the front end as the market perhaps figures that as long as the pace of inflation rises moderates, it can stop the constant upward adjustments to the perceived path of Fed policy tightening this year. A US 10-year treasury auction saw tepid demand yesterday. Today sees a 30-year T-bond auction. EU yields also eased lower yesterday from new cycle- and multi-year highs. What is going on? New Zealand’s RBNZ surprises with 50-basis point hike, but guides less hawkish.  The market was looking for a 25-basis point move to take the Official Cash Rate to 1.25%, but instead got 50 basis points and a 1.50% policy rate. The argument in the statement was that the bank saw it prudent to bring hiking forward to reduce the risks of rising inflation expectations. At the same time, the statement frets the slowing pace of global economic activity. After an initial spike higher on the impact of the larger than expected hike, the NZD traded lower in the wake of the decision as the 2-year NZ rate dropped some 15 basis points. AUDNZD also retains an upward bias given the demand in resource-rich Australian assets. Australia’s business data also continues to hold up for now, while New Zealand is facing deteriorating business sentiment and chronic labor shortage. UK Mar. CPI out this morning – hotter than expected.  UK March CPI hit +1.1% MoM and +7.0% YoY on the headline (vs. +0.8% /+6.7% expected) and +5.7% YoY (vs. +5.3% expected) for the core CPI reading Crowdstrike (CRWD) rose 3.2% on a Goldman Sach upgrade to buy. Crowdstrikeis the world’s biggest cybersecurity company. The analyst community also likes Crowdstrike  with 93% of analysts rating the stock as a buy. Goldman Sachs expects Crowdstrike’s shares to rise to $285 in a year. USDJPY refuses to drop below 125.  USDJPY dropped below 125 following the US CPI release overnight, focusing on the less-than-expected core print and the fall in US treasury yields. This morning, the pair is trading close to the near-20 year high of 125.86. The move was however reversed suggesting sustained weakness in the yen, which will continue until we see stronger action from the Japanese authorities and not just verbal intervention. The prospect of stagflation remains for Germany.  This is the main takeaway from the ZEW index released yesterday. The economic sentiment index decreased to minus 41.0 in April versus prior minus 39.3 while the current conditions index dropped to minus 30.8 versus prior minus 21.4. The ZEW experts are therefore pessimistic about the current economic situation, and they expect that it will continue to deteriorate. The only glimpse of hope is the decline in inflation expectations.  U.S. Inflation is still uncomfortably high.  March CPI hit 8.5 % year-over-year. This is the hottest annual pace since 1981. The pace of Core CPI rises moderated a bit at +0.3% month-on-month and + 6.5% year-on-year. This is still the hottest pace since 1982. On a year-on-year basis, the sharpest increases are : fuel oil (70 %), gas (48 %), used cars (35 %), hotels (29 %), airfare (24 %) and utility gas (22 %). You can find the full list here (scroll to pdf page 9). It is clear that the U.S. Federal Reserve is behind the curve. Expect a 50-basis point interest rate hike at the May FOMC meeting. What are we watching next? Ukraine war developments as new Russian offensive operations are underway in eastern Ukraine and US President Biden promised a new round of $750 million in military aid and said Russian leader Putin is guilty of genocide. Earnings Watch. The Q1 earnings season kicks off in earnest today week with US mega-bank JP Morgan Chase reporting today, but the more Main Street-oriented banks reporting in coming days, including the largest of these, Wells Fargo, tomorrow, will be interesting for a check-up on credit demand. The UK’s largest grocer Tesco is also worth watching for a sense of the impact of inflation on margins and customer behaviour as a cost-of-living crisis has hit a large portion of the UK population. Today: Tesco, JPMorgan Chase & Co, BlackRock, Fastenal Thursday: China Northern Rare Earth Group, Fast Retailing, Ericsson, UnitedHealth, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, US Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, Coinbase, State Street Friday: Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 1230 – US Mar. PPI 1400 – Canada Bank of Canada Rate Decision 1430 – US DoE Weekly Crude Oil and Product Inventories 1500 – Canada Bank of Canada’s Macklem press conference 1700 – US 30-year T-bond auction 2301 – UK Mar. RICS House Price Balance 0130 – Australia Mar. Employment Change / Unemployment Rate   Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app:    

The USD/JPY reaching 126 yen this morning means that the Japanese currency appears to be at its weakest against the US in nearly 20 years. The reason? The Bank of Japan's commitment to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy may contrast with the actions of the world's other major central banks, which appear to be normalizing monetary policy. Yen falls, bank doesn't intend to react Shunichi Suzuki, Japan's finance minister, declined to comment Tuesday on specific rates in currency markets. He said the government is keeping a close eye on the yen's trading and that excessive volatility in the exchange rate could have a negative impact on the economy and financial stability. The Bank of Japan has repeatedly intervened to keep bond yields near zero. Recently, however, Shunichi Suzuki has cooled hopes for any government intervention in the currency markets, saying the central bank does not deal with exchange rates. Since the beginning of the year, the yen appears to be the weakest among the world's major currencies and may be losing more than 8 percent to the USD. Since the beginning of April alone, JPY depreciation against the USD may have reached 3.5 percent. Learn more on Conotoxia.com Inflation 8.5 percent - rates are going up In the United States, after the inflation reading, which rose to 8.5 percent in March, the US dollar appears relatively strong, and the exchange rate of the main currency pair remains in the region of 1.08. The market may expect the Fed to decide on two consecutive interest rate hikes of 50 basis points in response to the rise in prices. Such a move is priced today with over 80 percent probability, and the next decision will come as early as May 4. Related article: ECB To Shock Markets In The Following Week!? US Dollar Rate Under Pressure As Well! Oil: demand in China falls, demand in USA rises Increased volatility may arise on the oil market. The futures contract for WTI crude oil rose to around $100 per barrel today, falling from the session high at $102. Data from China's customs office showed that crude imports into the world's largest crude consumer fell for the second month in a row. That's likely because further restrictions due to coronavirus have reduced demand. Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, saw its biggest monthly drop in machinery orders in February in nearly two years. Fears persist that supplies could become even tighter because of the war in eastern Europe. OPEC has already warned that it will not be able to replace potential supply losses from Russia. At the same time, there could be strong demand for fuel in the U.S., where gasoline and distillate stocks fell by more than 5 million barrels last week. Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Forex service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 80.77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Macro 2022-04-19 08:34 6 minutes to read Summary:  Markets are trying to maintain an even keel as bond yields and oil prices continue to press higher. Europe returns from its long holiday weekend today as the war in Ukraine is heating up in the east and the hawkish Fed voter Bullard says he would not rule out a 75-basis-point hike at the May 4 FOMC meeting. Gold failed a bid to take the 2,000 dollar per ounce threshold yesterday.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  - US equities have been weak over the past week with negative reactions to earnings from US financials with JPMorgan Chase’s unexpected increase in credit provisions indicating credit conditions will worsen. This week major earnings releases in the US will dominate the reaction function and set the direction for the S&P 500 futures which are trading around the 4,400 level this morning with yesterday’s low at 4,355 being the key level to watch on the downside. Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun   Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I)  Hang Seng Index retreated more than 2% after investors found the 25 bp reserve requirement ratio cut by the People’s Bank of China last Friday disappointing as they had been expecting a more typical 50 bp reduction and a 10 bp cut in the policy Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate as well.  E-commerce names declined on report that the Chinse authority had asked e-commerce companies to a meeting and called on the latter to improve on practices on pricing and delivery of necessities to consumers during lockdowns. Alibaba and Meituan fell 3% to 5%. China Merchant Bank fell 11% following the abrupt departure of the Chinese bank’s president. CSI300 saw a modest decline with coal miners, agricultural chemicals and fertilizer producers, and energy sector seeing demand. Stoxx 50 (EU50.I)  – Stoxx 50 futures are stuck in the mud ahead of a critical week with US Q1 earnings releases and Russia’s new offensive in Donbass marking the beginning of the next and more critical phase of the war in Ukraine. Stoxx 50 futures are trading around the 3,750 level this morning and is boxed into a tight trading range from 3,710 to 3,800. EURUSD  – the euro traded and closed below the prior cycle low of 1.0800 after an initial sell-off through that level in the wake of last week’s ECB meeting failed to stick. Yield spreads at the short end of the curve, relative to the US, have generally trended sideways for nearly a month, although longer yields have risen more aggressively in the US since late March. USD liquidity concerns as risk sentiment is poor and the market fears more aggressive Fed quantitative tightening may be the key driver here. Watching the next chart level at 1.0636, the low from early 2020. USDJPY and JPY crosses.  The JPY continues to run away to the downside, with USDJPY hitting 128.00 for the first time since 2002, as long US treasury yields notched a new cycle peak yesterday and will soon threaten the 3.00% level if they continue to rise, underlining the policy divergence with the Bank of Japan, that continues to stick with its yield-curve-control policy that caps 10-year JGB yields at 0.25%. Both the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Finance have stepped up their verbal interventions against JPY volatility as recently as overnight, but until a policy shift is spotted, or real intervention is mobilized, the market is content to continue driving the JPY lower. The next major chart point is the early 2002 high near at 135.00. AUDJPY has also surged to fresh record highs of 94.50+ as the AUD was slightly firmer following the hawkish tilt in RBA minutes. Suzuki is heading for a bilateral meeting with the US and comments would be on watch. For you: Forex Rates: British Pound (GBP) Strengthening? Weak (EUR) Euro? GBP, NZD And AUD Supported By Monetary Policy? Gold (XAUUSD) attempted but failed to reach $2000, more a psychological than technical resistance level during Monday’s low liquidity session. Leveraged funds (futures) and asset managers (ETFs) both bought gold in the week to April 12, a sign the technical and fundamental outlook have – for now - aligned in support of the yellow metal. The World Bank cut its forecast for global economic growth while Fed’s Bullard talked up the prospect for a 75 basis point rate hikes given the need to raise rates to around 3.5% this year. While higher interest rates may weigh, worries about inflation, growth, and increased market volatility together with the geo-political uncertainties have maintain the upper hand. Support at $1965. Crude oil (OILUKJUN22 & OILUSMAY22) has extended its pre-Easter rally after Libya shuts its largest oil field amid protest, thereby draining an already undersupplied market further. Chinese fuel demand, currently estimated to be down 2 million barrels per day is likely to recover swiftly once lockdowns are lifted after China vowed to repair the economic damage. More than 500,000 barrels per day is currently offline in Libya and together with the EU attempts to phase out Russian oil imports, the market is expected to remain tight despite the announced release from strategic reserves held by the US and IEA members. Brent finding some resistance around $113.75 with a break potentially signaling a fresh push towards $120 per barrel. Copper (COPPERUSJUL22) reached its second highest ever close on Monday, as global mining disruptions continued to weigh on a market where exchange-monitored inventories are already at alarmingly low levels. Around 20% of Peru’s exports are out of action following local community protests. In addition, a Chinese government pledge to support the economy once lockdowns are lifted, and the increased urgency to reduced dependency on fossil fuels via electrification are likely to underpin the price further. Resistance at $4.86, a local high, and support at $4.65, the 50-day moving average. US Treasuries (IEF, TLT) and European Sovereign Debt. Despite the fresh hawkish talk from St. Louis Fed president Bullard, who is a voter at FOMC meetings this year, the short end of the US yield curve remains relatively steady, while long yields have continued to test higher as the US yield curve steepens. The next major obvious test for the long end is the 2018 high for the 10-year Treasury benchmark at 3.25% What is going on? World Bank downgrades global growth estimates. The World Bank cut its 2022 outlook to 3.2% from 4.1%, dragged down by Europe and Central Asia amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said there is “exceptional uncertainty” in global markets and further downgrades cannot be ruled out. Get ready for more hawkish Fed talk this week. We had James Bullard on the wires yesterday, and he planted the seeds of a 75-basis points rate hike given that the Fed needs to get to neutral rate very soon. The base case for the May meeting is still a 50-basis points rate hike, and a final word on that should be watched from Fed Chair Powell on Thursday as he speaks at the IMF conference. Still, brace for more volatility in yields and further gains in the US dollar as Fed continues to raise the bar of its hawkishness. The Bloomberg Grains Subindex (AIGG:xlon) has returned to challenge to the March record high with the near month corn contract (CORNJUL22) exceeding $8 per bushel for the first time in almost a decade while wheat (WHEATJUL22) has also resumed its recent strong rally. Catalysts being the war in Ukraine, potentially reducing this year's corn crop by 40%, as well as drought and heat damage to crops in the US Midwest. In addition, the recent strong surge in US natural gas prices has further lifted the cost of fertilizer, thereby potentially seeing US farmers switch more acreage to less nutrient intensive soybeans from wheat and corn. What are we watching next? JPY intervention?  The verbal intervention from the Bank of Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Finance have failed to impress the market. At some point the Japan’s MoF may feel it is necessary to mobilize an actual intervention in the market, something it has a long history of doing, though in the past, ironically in the direction of avoiding further JPY strength, not weakness. These interventions may not achieve more than temporary success if the underlying policy and market dynamic don’t shift (I.e., the Bank of Japan sticking to its current policy while inflationary pressures and yields elsewhere continue higher). But the risk of tremendous two-way, intraday volatility should be appreciated. War in Ukraine developments as Ukrainian president Zelenskiy said that Russia is initiating an effort to take the Donbas region in Easter Ukraine. An isolated force of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol continues to hold out against Russian efforts to take the city. Earnings Watch.  The Q1 earnings season started last week with EPS beating in all cases but Schwab indicated that earnings momentum is intact among US financials. JPMorgan Chase’s earnings release showed higher than expected credit provisions which may be early signs that the credit cycle is moving into its next phase. This week the key focus is on Johnson & Johnson (today), Netflix (today), Lockheed Martin (today), Halliburton (today), ASML (Wed), Sandvik (Wed), Tesla (Wed), Procter & Gamble (Wed), CATL (Thu), Nidec (Thu), ABB (Thu), NextEra Energy (Thu), Snap (Thu). Tuesday: Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Halliburton,  Wednesday: China Mobile, China Telecom, ASML, Heineken, ASM International, Sandvik, Tesla, Procter & Gamble, Abbott Laboratories, Anthem, CSX, Lam Research, Kinder Morgan, Baker Hughes Thursday: Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Nidec, Investor AB, ABB, Danaher, NextEra Energy, Philip Morris, Union Pacific, AT&T, Blackstone, Intuitive Surgical, Freeport-McMoRan, Snap, Dow, Nucor Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – Switzerland SNB Weekly Sight Deposits 1215 – Canada Mar. Housing Starts 1230 – US Mar. Housing Starts and Building Permits 1605 – US Fed’s Evans (non-Voter) to speak 1630 – Switzerland SNB’s Jordan to speak 2350 – Japan Mar. Trade Balance 0115 – China Rate Decision Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app:    

Forex 2022-04-19 10:30 Summary:  The Japanese yen has seen a relentless decline over the last few weeks, underpinned by a widening yield differential between the US and the Japanese government bonds. As verbal interventions from the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance fail to be heard, we are looking at a subtle policy shift with the aim to manage volatility, or a real physical intervention. The JPY continues to run away to the downside, with USDJPY surging above 128.00 for the first time since 2002. The next major chart point is the early 2002 high near at 135.00. AUDJPY has also surged to fresh record highs of 94.50+ as the AUD was slightly firmer following the hawkish tilt in RBA minutes. Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun The big why? US 10-year treasury yields have notched a new cycle peak and will soon threaten the 3.00% level if they continue to rise, widening the policy divergence with the Bank of Japan (BOJ), that continues to stick with its yield-curve-control (YCC) policy that caps 10-year Japanese government bond yields (JGB) yields at 0.25%. Both the BOJ and the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) have stepped up their verbal interventions against JPY volatility as recently as overnight, but these have hardly had any effect. The BOJ conducted unprecedented four-day purchase plan into the end of its financial year on March 31 after the JGB yields had hit 0.25%, a ceiling the central bank had made clear in March last year. This further highlighted their commitment to capping yields. While the BoJ may be concerned about the volatility and the pace of JPY decline, the Bank is unlikely to be worried about its direction. In fact, BOJ rhetoric repeatedly suggests that it sees JPY weakness as good news for the economy and exports as well as a factor helping to spur imported inflation pressures. This is especially important if we note that GDP is still well below pre-COVID levels and core inflation is negative. Is inflation a concern? The rise in JGB yields has little to do with expectations that Japanese inflation is moving sustainably higher. CPI is expected to increase above the BOJ’s 2% (from 0.9% currently) target, but the central bank expects the move to be temporary. Much of the gains in inflation are on the back of base effects and higher energy prices, and underlying price pressures remain muted. Stripping out energy prices and fresh food clearly shows that core inflation is still very benign at multiyear lows at -1% y/y. Will the YCC be tweaked? We are probably starting to see the limit of the yield curve control program, as sustained BOJ purchases could be a problem for a central bank that already owns around half of government issues. Would the BOJ go Australia’s way that clumsily abandoned its peg in November? That would need more domestic demand for JGBs which is unlikely to be achieved. Historically, BoJ has been open to adjusting targeting range of bond yields. It widened the range to +/-0.25% from +/-0.20% in March 2021, which was changed in July 2018 from +/-0.10% before that. The BoJ could tweak its YCC policy to target 10-year yields form +/-25bps to +/-30bps to give itself more flexibility and manage volatility. This move, if effected, will be communicated as a measure to manage the increased volatility in bond markets, to ensure that it is not taken as a sign of any shift in policy thinking. Article on Crypto: Hot Topic - NEAR Protocol! Terra (LUNA) has been seeing a consistent downward price trend, DAI Should Stay Close To $1 What to watch next? Our sense is that until a policy shift is spotted, or real intervention is mobilized, the market is content to continue driving the JPY lower. Ironically, in the past, the MoF has mobilised intervention in the yen in the direction of avoiding further JPY strength, not weakness. These interventions may not achieve more than temporary success if the underlying policy and market dynamics don’t shift (i.e., the BOJ sticking to its current policy while inflationary pressures and yields elsewhere continue higher). But the risk of tremendous two-way, intraday volatility should be appreciated. Japan’s Finance Minister Suzuki is heading for a bilateral meeting with the US and comments would be on watch. Next BOJ meeting is scheduled for April 27-28, but focus will still be tilted more towards the Fed’s May meeting where a 50bps rate hike is expected along with the start of quantitative tightening. The only other way could be to hope that the yen would find a floor, and wait for BoJ governor Kuroda’s tenure to end in April 2023. This may then be followed up with rate hikes.

USDJPY running out of steam in severely overbought conditions as predicted but there is no sell signal yet so I cannot suggest shorts. A break above 129.50 however targets 129.90/95 then 130.25/35, perhaps as far as 130.75/85. First support again at 127.80/70. Expect strong support at 127.10/126.90. Longs need stops below 126.70. A break lower can target 126.00. EURJPY no sell signal yet despite overbought conditions but less than positive candles for the last 3 days probably signal a consolidation ahead. Having held the next target of 139.95/99 perfectly, if we do continue higher look for 140.40/50 & 140.85/95. Minor support at 138.70/50 but below 138.30 can target 137.70/50. ON further losses look for 137.20/10 with best support at 136.50/30 this week. Longs need stops below 136.10. Read next (By Jason Sen): Can (XAUUSD) Gold Price Plunge To $1800!? Silver Price (XAGUSD) To Decrease As Well? | FXMAG.COM NZDJPY holding below 8540 is a sell signal for today targeting 8500 & perhaps as far as strong support at 8450/30. Longs need stops below 8410. First resistance at 8545/65. Shorts need stops above 8485. EURUSD holds 37 YEAR TREND LINE SUPPORT AT 1.0760/20. Longs need stops below 1.0670. Obviously there is nothing more important than this level this week. Again we must beat 1.0840/20 to target 1.0920/40. A break above 1.0960 is a buy signal targeting 1.1030/50. USDCAD messy as we trade sideways for 9 months. We are back above the February lows & the sideways 100 & 200 day moving averages. Further gains test the strongest resistance for this week at 500 day & 100 week moving average at 1.2775/85. Shorts need stops above 1.2800. A break higher should be a medium term buy signal. Read next (By Jason Sen): Euro To US Dollar (EUR To USD): That's An Amazing USD Performance, Will USDCAD (Canadian Dollar) Stay Close? USDJPY (Japanese Yen) Beats Records! | FXMAG.COM First support at 1.2660/40. Longs need stops below 1.2620 GBPCAD support at the April low of 1.6293/81 held again. Strong resistance at 1.6400/20. Shorts need stops above 1.6450. A break higher is a buy signal initially targeting 1.6530/50. A break below 1.6265 is a sell signal. Look for 1.6190/80. Please email me if you need this report updated or Whatsapp: +66971910019 – To subscribe to this report please visit daytradeideas.co.uk or email jason@daytradeideas.co.uk

Summary:  The Japanese government is rolling out a large fiscal package to ease cost-of-living pressures at a time when inflation in Japan supposedly remains muted. This is entirely out of step with the Bank of Japan doubling down on its accommodative policy mix, which has driven the Japanese yen sharply weaker this year. Will the Bank of Japan be forced to capitulate tonight? FX Trading focus: Bank of Japan meeting tonight as pressure on policy mix mounts, EUR and GBP in for fresh pressure on Russian NatGas threats, AUD and SEK ahead of Riksbank The JPY has found a bit of support this week on the consolidation in global bond yields. Yesterday saw a strong US 2-year Treasury auction that helped take yields lower at the front end of the curve as well, with risk-off finally strong enough in the background to see US treasuries serving as a safe haven. The falling yields factor by itself brings the JPY some relief, as has the Chinese decision to allow a so-far modest revaluation of its currency lower that will bring more relative support to the JPY if that move is extended. But to really reset the JPY level back higher after its runs to multi-decade lows in real-effective inflation-adjusted terms, we will need to see a policy change from the BoJ. The BoJ meets tonight, and while very few are expecting a shift, it wouldn’t take much of a hint to suggest the pressure on the BoJ via the weakening currency is becoming too strong to ignore. Even a hint that the Bank is mulling tightening without specifics could be enough to trigger a JPY rally, but spelling out that the bank is willing to tinker with its yield cap policy on 10-year JGB’s would likely spark an even sharper move. Meanwhile, the political pressure has to be mounting sharply as well: consider that overnight the Japanese government has passed a near JPY 6.2 trillion (approx. $50 billion) stimulus package aimed at offsetting cost-of-living pressures that are sorely felt by the most vulnerable in Japan. This at a time when inflation supposedly remains unsatisfactorily low. For whom the inflation bell tolls is an critical question both in Japan and globally as we have to consider that these cost of living pressures that may only measure in the mid- to high single digits nationally could weigh 20% or more for the consumption basket at the lower end of the income spectrum, in terms of rent, heating, food, etc. It’s an explosive cocktail for politicians and Japan is set for important lower house elections in July. The BoJ may not move tonight, but it can’t remain an immovable object in a rapidly moving world forever. Keep in mind that Japan is on holiday Friday and out for much of next week, so this could aggravate the volatility if the BoJ does deliver any new guidance or policy twists. Chart: USDJPY Watching the USDJPY pair and JPY crosses closely tonight over the Bank of Japan meeting for the reasons outlined above. Technically, the pair seems to have shied away from a test of the 130.00 level, while on the downside, any BoJ policy surprise could deliver tremendous intraday volatility – easily 125.00 or lower, given that the recent break level to the upside was all the way down at 116.35. JPY traders should tread carefully, considering long volatility plays in the options market if wanting to express a short-term view. JPY cross action may prove higher beta than the reaction in USDJPY itself. As well, Japan will be out on holiday over next week during the May 4 FOMC meeting so liquidity may prove thinner than usual. If we see Kuroda-san doubling down on the existing policy and a fresh surge in global yields, the uptrend could be reinvigorated for a try toward 135.00. It’s a pivotal week for USDJPY either way, in all likelihood. Source: Saxo Group Fresh euro woes. The euro touched new five-year lows versus the US dollar today, in part on general risk off, but perhaps even more so after Russia used Poland and Bulgaria as guinea pigs in its threat to cut off supplies of natural gas for importers unwilling to pay for the gas in rubles. Poland saw the writing on the wall on Russian gas a long time ago and had moved to reduce its reliance before the war in Ukraine and has considerable coal-based power it can mobilize to cover some  of the shortfall, so the impact on the zloty is considerable, but need not spin out of control. Alas, Germany is the chief focus as a full shutdown would crater German economic growth on the need to ration supplies. Meanwhile, ECB member Kazaks said yesterday he is in favour of a July ECB hike – looks like consensus is gelling on that timing for lift-off. The UK does not import Russian gas, but is under as much pressure as any other European country on the impact of any Russian supply disruptions because it is connected to the continent’s gas network and suffers the price rises together with the continental countries. An excellent commentary from Bloomberg’s Marcus Ashworth lays out the pressures on the UK economy here as it faces a “trilemma of high inflation, slowing growth and rising taxes”, with a collapsing currency possibly forcing the Bank of England to hike rates more than it would otherwise do (watching EURGBP as much as GBPUSD for the relative pressure on the UK as I would have already expected sterling to underperform more there than it has). GBPUSD looks set for a test of 1.2000 and possibly more to the downside if we are set for a significant deleveraging event across risky assets here. The Aussie tried to get a boost on news overnight that Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for an “all out” infrastructure building push to spark economic growth, but there are few details. As well, short Australian yields touched new cycle highs while yields elsewhere consolidated after the Q1 Australian CPI report came in far hotter than expected at 5.1% YoY vs. 4.6% expected and the core “trimmed mean” was out at 3.7% YoY vs. 3.4% expected. This has strongly raised the odds of a rate hike at the RBA meeting next Tuesday to above 70%. The solid drop in the trade-weighted AUD in recent days after it had spiked to near a 5-year high has likely helped the RBA to go ahead and just get started already. The Riksbank is widely expected to deliver its first rate hike since moving away from NIRP last year, with a 25 basis point move. Watch the rate guidance after Governor Ingves recently failed to push back against the market pricing a greater than 2% policy rate by the beginning of 2024 – while the February Riksbank meeting still forecast lift-off not to arrive until 2024! I like fading EURSEK upside, but the risk deleveraging here makes this hazardous tactically. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength.Note especially the enormous positive momentum shift in the JPY head of tonight’s BoJ meeting – will BoJ deliver something that spikes momentum further or back to the downtrend? The USD uptrend reading of 8 is getting into extreme territory, but won’t necessarily calm if risk deleveraging continues/accelerates. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.The “hottest” market in a long while, as can be seen in all of the extreme ATR readings (the dark orange color indicates we are in the top decile of volatility in ATR over last 1000 trading days). Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1230 – US Mar. Advance Goods Trade Balance 1400 – US Mar. Pending Home Sales 1600 – ECB President Lagarde to speak 2100 – New Zealand RBNZ deputy Hawkesby to speak 2230 – Canada Bank of Canada Governor Macklem to speak in Senate testimony 2350 – Japan Mar. Industrial Production 0100 – New Zealand Apr. ANZ Business Confidence survey 0130 – Australia Q1 Export / Import Prices

Summary:  An extension of the rout in risky assets has continued to drive the US dollar higher against the smaller currencies and most G10 currencies as well, but the Japanese yen has not only taken on a new shine, but is even sharply stronger against the strong US dollar as global bonds have suddenly rediscovered their safe haven appeal. Elsewhere, HKD is worth watching as the HKMA intervened for the first time of this cycle to maintain the top of the USDHKD band. FX Trading focus: JPY woke up and smelled the coffee. Watching HKD as USD presses upper level of USDHKD band. The JPY upside potential has been more fully realized since yesterday on the heavy weight of falling yields in global sovereign bond, which are finally serving their function as a go-to safe haven in an environment of generally risk deleveraging. The JPY is even handily outpacing the ongoing strength in the US dollar as the yield focus dominates. And the technical damage in JPY crosses is spreading: NZDJPY and GBPJPY, the latter our focus yesterday, are already trading back into old ranges that preceded the JPY sell-off sparked by the commodity rally in the wake after Russia invaded Ukraine. Now watching AUDJPY and EURJPY for whether the feat is repeated there (key levels around 86.00 and 134.00, respectively), and CNHJPY has come down hard, with more to come. More thoughts on the most important USDJPY pair below in the chart discussion. The JPY can continue higher, but the price is far “fairer” now relative to long term bond yields. Yields must extend lower still, possibly with a helping hand from crude oi and LNG prices for a full reversal of the JPY sell-off since late February.  Chart: USDJPYYesterday, our focus in JPY crosses was on GBPJPY, which took out the 160.00 and 158.00 area supports yesterday. Today we have a look at the big one: USDJPY and what levels might trigger a more notably slide. Arguably, the first of these has already been under strain today in the 128.50 area. Regardless, the direction of the US 10-year benchmark yield is the key coincident indicator, with global energy prices a secondary indicator. The next support area below is the 127.03 pivot low followed perhaps by the 125.00 area, which was a stopping point on the way up. Source: Saxo Group Sterling suffered a sell-off to new lows in the wake of the Q1 GDP data, which showed a +8.7% growth rate, slightly below expectations, but a -0.1% month-on-month figure for March, with weak production figures to boot. The March Trade Balance data was also out and showed a toe-curling negative £23.8B trade balance, a staggering figure. Still, after a run to fresh lows against the G3 currencies, the EURGBP rally reversed rather sharply, in part as EURUSD tipped over to new lows after a couple of weeks of defending the 1.0500 support area. All traders should monitor the crypto situation as a possible aggravator of additional volatility risk across markets. The TerraUSD “stable coin” broke its parity level with the US dollar earlier this week and traded as much as 70% below par. Then yesterday, a key Bitcoin support level at 30,000 broke, possibly inspiring the instability of the Tether stable coin, which is a commonly used as a kind of parking space between going in and out of crypto trades and in and out of the crypo market itself. The Tether coin traded as much as 5% below par against the US dollar this morning before the whole crypto-complex recovered. More directly pertinent to FX, we have to watch the Hong Kong dollar (HKD), as the USD strength has taken the USDHKD exchange rate to the upper limit of its band at 7.85 and has seen the Hong Kong Monetary Authority out intervening for the first time of this cycle overnight. The HKMA will also need to copy Fed policy to avoid the worst of pressure on the HKD, even with Hong Kong’s economy in a funk. The HKD band is one of those legacy set-ups that makes little sense here almost forty years after its creation, but Hong Kong remains a key gateway into and out of the mainland Chinese economy, and China probably doesn’t want to add HKD instability to its long list of challenges. Note the Chinese demand concerns continuing to weigh on the copper price, which has punched to the lowest reaches of the range since early 2021. This in turn weighs on the Aussie, which itself has punched to new lows for the cycle. The CAD has gotten off easy so far by comparison, perhaps as oil prices remain in the higher range here – but after breaking above resistance, if USDCAD loses its tethering to the 1.3000 area it is in danger of a sharp extension higher. Table: FX Board of G10 and CNH trend evolution and strength.We have noted the euro resilience of late, but signs of this crumbling today as EURUSD, EURCHF and especially EURJPY come under pressure. But the development of note here is the strong revival of the JPY momentum and outright positive trend measurement in recent days. Elsewhere, CAD looks too strong with this backdrop, although there is quite a race to the bottom of late among the weakest horses in G10 FX. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Table: FX Board Trend Scoreboard for individual pairs.Note EURJPY and CADJPY trying to join other JPY crosses in flipping to the negative side after the sharp JPY rally today. All G10 currency pairs save for a few GBP pairs (due to Brexit-related events) are in the highest 10% of their ATRs of the last 1000 trading days, as shown in the dark orange shading for the ATR readings. Source: Bloomberg and Saxo Group Upcoming Economic Calendar Highlights (all times GMT) 1230 – US Apr. PPI 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1800 – US 30-year T-Bond auction 1800 – Mexico Overnight Rate Announcement

Summary:  US equities traded a bit lower yesterday after the S&P 500 challenged the 200-day moving average from below the prior day for the first time since April in the steep comeback from the June lows. Sentiment was not buoyed by the FOMC minutes of the July meeting suggesting the Fed would like to slow the pace of tightening at some point. Crude oil rose from a six-month low on bullish news from the US and OPEC.   What is our trading focus? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures rolled over yesterday wiping out the gains from the two previous sessions and the index futures are continuing lower this morning trading around the 4,270 level. US retail sales for July were weak and added to worries of the economic slowdown in real terms in the US. The 10-year yield is slowing crawling back towards the 3% level sitting at 2.87% this morning. A move to 3% and potentially beyond would be negative for equities. The next levels to watch on the downside in S&P 500 futures are 4,249 and then 4,200 Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Shares in the Hong Kong and mainland China markets declined. China internet stocks were weak across the board with Tencent (00700:xhkg) +2.7% and Meituan (03690:xhkg) +1%, being the positive outliers. Tencent reported a revenue decline of 3% y/y in Q2, weak, but in line with market expectations. Non-GAAP operating profit was down 14% y/y to RMB 36.7bn, and EPS fell 17% y/y to RMB 2.90 but beating analyst estimates. Revenues from advertising at -18% y/y were better than expected. In the game segment, weaker mobile game revenues were offset by stronger PC game revenues. Beer makers outperformed China Resources Beer (00291:xhkg) +3.8%, Tsingtao Brewery (00168:xhkg) +1.7%. COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (01138:xhkg) made a new high at the open on strong crude oil tanker freight rates before giving back some gains. USD pairs as the USD rally intensifies The US dollar rally broadened out yesterday, as USDJPY retook the 135.00 area, but needs to follow through above 135.50-136.00 to take the momentum back higher. Elsewhere, AUDUSD has broken down again on the move down through 0.7000 and USDCAD has posted a bullish reversal, needing 1.3000 for more upside confirmation. The GBPUSD pair looks heavy despite a massive reset higher in UK rates in the wake of recent UK inflation data, with a close below 1.2000 indicating a possible run on the sub-1.1800 lows, while EURUSD is rather stuck tactically, as price has remained bottled up above the 1.0100 range low. USDCNH, as discussed below, may be a key pair for whether the USD rally broadens out even more aggressively, and long US treasury yields and risk sentiment are other factors in the mix that could support the greenback, should the 10-year US treasury benchmark move higher toward 3.00% again or sentiment roll over for whatever reason. Certainly, tightening USD liquidity could prove a concern for sentiment as the Fed turns up the pace of quantitative tightening – something it seems behind schedule in doing if we look at the latest weekly Fed balance sheet data.  USDCNH The exchange rate edged higher again to above 6.80 overnight after a brief spike higher earlier this week as China’s PBOC moved to stimulate with a small 10-basis point rate cut of the key lending rate. There is no real drama in the exchange rate yet after the significant rally this spring from below 6.40 to 6.80+, but traders should keep an eye on this very important exchange rate for larger volatility and significant break above 6.83, as China’s exchange rate policy shifts can provoke significant volatility across markets. Crude oil Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) bounced from a six-month low on Wednesday in response to a bullish US inventory report that saw big declines in gasoline and crude oil stocks as demand from US motorist climbed to the highest this year while crude exports reached a record $5 million barrels per day. The prospect for an Iran nuclear deal continues to weigh while OPEC’s new Secretary-General said spare capacity was becoming scarce. US strategic reserves are now at the lowest level since 1985 and the government has by now sold around 90% of what was initially offered in order to bring down prices. While demand concerns remain a key driver for macroeconomic focused funds selling crude oil as a hedge we notice a renewed surge in refinery margins, especially diesel, supported by increased demand from gas-to-fuel switching Gold and silver Gold has so far managed to find support at $1759, the 38.2% retracement of the July to August bounce, after trading weaker in response to a stronger dollar and rising yields. Silver (XAGUSD) meanwhile has almost retraced half of its recent strong gains with focus now on support at $19.50. The latest driver being the FOMC minutes which signaled ongoing interest-rate hikes and eventually at a slower pace than the current. The short-term direction has been driven by speculators reducing bullish bets following a two-week buying spree in the weeks to August 9 which lifted the net by 63k lots, the strongest pace of buying in six months. ETF holdings meanwhile have slumped to a six-month low, an indication investor, for now, trusts the FOMC’s ability to bring down inflation within a relatively short timeframe   What is going on? Financial conditions are tightening, if modestly. Recent days have brough a rise in short US treasury yields, but more importantly it looks as though some of the risk indicators like corporate credit spreads may have bottomed out here after a sharp retreat from early July highs – one Bloomberg high yield credit spreads to US treasuries peaked out above 5.75% and was as low as 4.08% earlier this week before rising to 4.19% yesterday, with high yield bond ETFs like HYG and JNK suffering a sharp mark-down yesterday of over a percent. Factors that could further aggravate financial conditions include a significant CNH weakening, higher US long treasury yields (10-year yield moving back toward 3.00%, for example) or further USD strength. Adyen sees margin squeeze. One of Europe’s largest payment companies reports first-half revenue of €609mn vs est. €615mn despite processed volume came significantly above estimates at €346bn suggesting the payments industry is experiencing pricing pressures. Cisco outlook surprises. The US manufacturer of networking equipment surprised to the upside on both revenue and earnings in its fiscal Q4 (ending 30 July), but more importantly, the company is guiding revenue growth in the current fiscal quarter of 2-4% vs est. -0.2% and revenue growth for the current fiscal year of 4-6% vs est. 3.3%. Cisco said that supply constraints are beginning to ease and that customer cancellations are running below pre-pandemic levels, and that the company’s growth will be a function of availability. Stale FOMC minutes hint at sustained restrictive policy, but caution on pace of tightening. Fed’s meeting minutes from the July meeting were released last night, and officials agreed to move to restrictive policy, with some noting that restrictive rates will have to be maintained for some time to bring inflation back to the 2% target. Still, there was also talk of slowing the pace of rate hikes ‘at some point’, despite pushing back against easing expectations for next year. The minutes were broadly in-line with the market’s thinking, and lacked fresh impetus needed to bring up the pricing of Fed’s rate hikes. Chairman Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium next week will be keenly watched for further inputs. US retail sales were a mixed bag. July US retail sales were a little softer at the headline level than the market expected (0% growth versus the +0.1% consensus) but the ex-auto came in stronger at 0.4% (vs. -0.1% expected). June’s growth was revised down to 0.8% from 1%. The mixed data confirmed that the US consumers are feeling the pinch from higher prices, but have remained resilient so far and that could give the Fed more room to continue with its aggressive rate hikes. Lower pump prices and further improvements in supply chain could further lift up retail spending in August. The iron ore miners are resilient despite price pressures Despite China planning more fiscal stimulus to fund infrastructure investment, the iron ore (SCOA, SCOU2) price paired back 8% this week, retreating to its lowest equal level in five weeks at $101.65, a level the iron ore price was last at in December 2021. Since March, the iron ore price has retreated 37%, with the most recent pull back being fueled by concerns China’s Covid cases are surging again with cases at a three-month high, as the outbreak worsens in the tropical Hainan province. Despite iron ore pulling back, shares in iron ore majors like BHP, remain elevated, up off their lows, with BHP’s shares trading 14% up of its July low, and moving further above its 200-day moving average, on hopes of commodity demand picking up. What are we watching next? Norway’s central bank guidance on further tightening. The Norges Bank is expected to hike 50 basis points today to take the policy rate to 1.75% despite an indication from the bank in June that the bank would prefer to shift back to hiking rates by 25 basis points, as a tight labour market and soaring inflation weigh. The path of tightening for the central bank has been an odd one, as it was the first G10 bank to actually hike rates in 2021, but finds itself with a far lower policy rate than the US, for example, which started much later with a faster pace of hikes. But NOK may react more to the direction in risk sentiment rather than guidance from the Norges Bank from here, assuming no major surprises. The EURNOK downtrend has slowed of late – focusing on 10.00 if the price action continues to back up. Japan’s inflation will surge further. Japan’s nationwide CPI for July is due on Friday. July producer prices came in slightly above expectations at 8.6% y/y (vs. estimates of 8.4% y/y) while the m/m figure was as expected at 0.4%. The continued surge reflects that Japanese businesses are grappling with high input price pressures, and these are likely to get passed on to the consumers, suggesting further increases in CPI remain likely. More government relief measures are likely to be announced, while signs of any Bank of Japan pivot away from its low rates and yield-curve-control policy are lacking. Bloomberg consensus estimates are calling for Japan’s CPI to accelerate to 2.6% y/y from 2.4% previously, with the ex-fresh food number seen at 2.4% y/y vs. 2.2% earlier.   Earnings to watch In Europe this morning, the key earnings focus is Adyen which has already reported (see review above) and Estee Lauder which is deliver a significant slowdown in figures and increased margin pressure due to rising input costs. Today’s US earnings to watch are Applied Materials and NetEase, with the former potentially delivering an upside surprise like Cisco yesterday on improved supply chains. NetEase, one of China’s largest gaming companies, is expected to deliver Q2 revenue growth of 12% y/y as growth continues to slow down for companies in China. Today: Applied Materials, Estee Lauder, NetEase, Adyen, Nibe Industrier, Geberit Friday: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 0800 – Norway Deposit Rates 0900 – Eurozone Final Jul. CPI 1100 – Turkey Rate Announcement 1230 – US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims 1230 – Canada Jul. Teranet/National Bank Home Price Index 1230 – US Philadelphia Fed Survey 1400 – US Jul. Existing Home Sales 1430 – EIAs Weekly Natural Gas Storage Change 1720 – US Fed’s George (Voter) to speak 1745 – US Fed’s Kashkari (Non-voter) to speak 2301 – UK Aug. GfK Consumer Confidence 2330 – Japan Jul. National CPI Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 18, 2022

Summary:  Better than expected economic data continued to support sentiment in US in contrast to Europe, where ECB’s Schnabel's warning on the growth/inflation picture aggravated concerns. Fed speakers meanwhile continued to push for more rate hikes this year, aiding dollar strength despite lack of a clear direction in long end yields. EUR and GBP broke below key support levels, but oil prices climbed higher amid improving demand outlook but sustained supply issues. Focus now on Jackson Hole next week. What is happening in markets? Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I)  In its second lightest volume session of the year, U.S. equities edged modestly higher, S&P 500 +0.23%, Nasdaq 100 +0.26%. As WTI crude climbed 2.7%, rebounding back above $90, the energy space was a top gainer aside from technology. Exxon Mobil (XOM:xnys) gained 2.4%.  Cisco (CSCO:xnas) surged 5.8% after reporting better-than-expected revenues. Nvidia (NVDA:xnas), +2.4% was another top contributor to the gain of the S&P 500 on Wednesday.  95% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q2 results, with about three-quarters of them managing to beat analyst estimates. On Friday there is a large number of options set to expire.  The U.S. treasury yield curve bull steepened on goldilocks hope The U.S. 2-10-year curve steepened 7bps to -32bps, driven by a 9bp decline in the 2-year yield.  In spite of hawkish Fed official comments and the August Philadelphia Fed Index bouncing back to positive territory, the market took note of the falls in the prices paid diffusion index and the prices received index from the survey and sent the short-end yields lower.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSIQ2) and China’s CSI300 (03188:xhkg) Both Hang Seng Index and CSI300 declined about 0.8%.  Tencent (00700:xhkg) rose 3.1% after reporting results that beat estimates as a result of better cost control and adverting revenues. Other China internet stocks traded lower, Bilibili (09626:xhkg) -4.2%, Baidu (09888:xhkg) -4.5%, Alibaba (09988:xhkg) -2.1%, JD.COM (09618:xhkg) -2.5%. The surge of Covid cases in China to a three-month high and the Hainan outbreak unabated after a 2-week lockdown, pressured consumer stocks.  Great Wall Motor (02333:xhkg) led the charge lower in autos, plunging near 6%.  Other automakers fell 2% to 4%.  Geely (00175:xhkg) fell 3.1% after reporting 1H earnings missing estimates.  A share Chinese liquor names declined, Kweichow Moutai (600519:xssc) -1.2%, Wuliangye Yibin (000858:xsec) -1.6%. Chinese brewers were outliner gainers in the consumer space, China Resources Beer (00291:xhkg) +4.8%, Tsingtao Brewery (00168:xhkg) +1.9%. Chinese property developers traded lower with Country Garden (02007:xhkg) losing the most, -5.2% , after warning that 1H earnings may have been down as much as 70%. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is looking at the quality of real estate loan portfolios at some financial institutions.  EURUSD and GBPUSD break through key support levels Dollar strength prevailed into the end of the week with upbeat US economic data and a continued hawkish Fedspeak which continued to suggest more Fed rate hikes remain in the pipeline compared to what the market is currently pricing in. EUR and GBP were the biggest loser, with both of them breaking below key support levels. EURUSD slid below 1.0100 handle while GBPUSD broke below 1.2000 despite a selling in EGBs and Gilts. USDJPY also broke above 136 in early Asian trading hours despite lack of a clear direction in US 10-year yields and a slide in 2-year yields. AUDUSD testing a break below 0.6900 as NZDUSD drops below 0.6240. Crude oil prices (CLU2 & LCOV2) Oil prices reversed their drop with WTI futures back above $90/barrel and Brent futures above $96. Upbeat US economic data has supported the demand side sentiment in recent days. Moreover, President Xi’s comment that China will continue to open up the domestic economy also aided the demand equation. Supply concerns, meanwhile, were aggravated by geopolitical tension around a potential incident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Shell hinted at reducing the capacity of Rhineland oil refinery due to the lower water level on the Rhine river and said the situation regarding supply is challenging but carefully managed. Gold (XAUUSD) still facing mixed signals The fate of gold has been turned lower again this week with the yellow metal facing decline of 2.5% so far in the week and breaking below the $1759 support, the 38.2% retracement of the July to August bounce. Stronger dollar, along with Fed’s continued hawkish rhetoric, weighed. Silver (XAGUSD) is also below the key support at $19.50, retracing half of its recent gains. The short-term direction has been driven by speculators reducing bullish bets, but with inflation remaining higher-for-longer, the precious metals can continue to see upside in the long run. What to consider? Existing home sales flags another red for the US housing market US existing home sales fell in July for a sixth straight month to 4.81 mn from 5.11 mn, now at the slowest pace since May 2020, and beneath the expected 4.89 mn. Inventory levels again continued to be a big concern, with supply rising to 3.3 months equivalent from 2.9 in June. This continues to suggest that the weakening demand momentum and high inventory levels may weigh on construction activity. US economic data continues to be upbeat The Philly Fed survey outperformed expectations, with the headline index rising to +6.2 (exp. -5.0, prev. -12.3), while prices paid fell to 43.6 (prev. 52.2) and prices received dropped to 23.3 (prev. 30.3). new orders were still negative at -5.1, but considerably better than last month’s -24.8 and employment came in at 24.1 from 19.4 previously. While this may be a good signal, survey data tends to be volatile and a long-term trend is key to make any reasonable conclusions. Jobless claims also slid to 250k still suggesting that the labor market remains tight. Fed speakers push for more rate hikes St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard flagged another 75 basis point rate hike at the September meeting and hinted at 3.75-4% Fed funds rate by the end of the year with more front-loading in 2022. Fed’s George, much like Fed’s Daly, said that last month’s inflation is not a victory and hardly comforting. Bullard and George vote in 2022. Fed’s Kahskari said that he is not sure if the Fed can avoid a recession and that there is more work to be done to bring inflation down, but noted economic fundamentals are strong. Overall, all messages remain old and eyes remain on Fed Chair Powell speaking at the Jackson Hole conference on August 25. Japan’s inflation came in as-expected Japan’s nationwide CPI for July accelerated to 2.6% y/y, as expected, from 2.4% y/y in June. The core measure was up 2.4% y/y from 2.2% previously, staying above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target and coming in at the strongest levels since 2008. Upside pressures remain as Japan continues to face a deeper energy crisis threat into the winter with LNG supplies possibly getting diverted to Europe for better prices. Still, Bank of Japan may continue to hold its dovish yield curve control policy unless wage inflation surprises consistently to the upside. Cisco’s revenues came in flat, beating a previously feared decline Cisco Systems reports July 2022 quarter revenues of USD13.1 billion, down 0.2% YoY but better than the consensus of a 3% decline.  Net income came in at USD3.4 billion, -3.2% YoY but more than 1 percentage point above consensus.  The fall in product order was also smaller than feared.  The company guided the fiscal year 2023 revenue growth of +4% to +6%, ahead of the 3% expected and FY23 EPS of USD3.49 to USD3.56, in line with expectations as gross margin pressures are expected to offset the impact of higher sales.  NetEase’s Q2 results beat NetEase (09999:xhkg/NTES:xnas) reported above-consensus Q2 revenues, +13% YoY, and net profit from continuing operations, +28%.  PC online game revenues were above expectations, driven by Naraka Bladepoint content updates and the launch of Xbox version.  Mobile game segment performance was in line.  Geely Automobile 1H earnings missed estimates on higher costs Chinese automaker Geely reported higher-than-expected revenue growth of 29%YoY in 1H22 but a 35% YoY decline in net profit which was worse than analyst estimates.  The weakness in profit was mainly a result of a 2.6 percentage point compression of gross margin to 14.6% due to higher material costs and production disruption, higher research and development costs, and the initial ramping-up of production of the Zeekr model.  The company maintains its sales volume target of 1.65 million units, an growth of 24% YoY, for the full year of 2022.    For a week-ahead look at markets – tune into our Saxo Spotlight. For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast.   Source: APAC Daily Digest: What is happening in markets and what to consider next – August 19, 2022

Summary:  Equity markets managed a quiet session yesterday, a day when the focus is elsewhere, especially on the surging US dollar as EURUSD is on its way to threatening parity once again, GBPUSD plunged well below 1.2000 and the Chinese renminbi is perched at its weakest levels against the US dollar for the cycle. Also in play are the range highs in longer US treasury yields, with any significant pull to the upside in yields likely to spell the end to the recent extended bout of market complacency.   What is our trading focus?   Nasdaq 100 (USNAS100.I) and S&P 500 (US500.I) S&P 500 futures bounced back a bit yesterday potentially impacted by the July US retail sales showing that the consumer is holding up in nominal terms. The key market to watch for equity investors is the US Treasury market as the US 10-year yield seems to be on a trajectory to hit 3%. In this case we would expect a drop in S&P 500 futures to test the 4,200 level and if we get pushed higher in VIX above the 20 level then US equities could accelerate to the downside. Fed’s Bullard comments that he is leaning towards a 75 basis point rate hike at the September meeting should also negatively equities here relative to the expectations. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI.I) and China’s CSI300 (000300.I) Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.4% and CSI300 was little changed. As WTI Crude bounced back above $90/brl, energy stocks outperformed, rising 2-4%. Technology names in Hong Kong gained with Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH.I) up 0.6%. Investors are expecting Chinese banks to cut loan prime rates on Monday, following the central bank’s rate cut earlier this week. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is looking at the quality of real estate loan portfolios and reviewing lending practices at some Chinese banks. The shares of NetEase (09999:xhkg/NTES:xnas) dropped more than 3% despite reporting above-consensus Q2 revenue up 13% y/y, and net profit from continuing operations up 28%.  PC online game revenue was above expectations, driven by Naraka Bladepoint content updates and the launch of Xbox version. Mobile game segment performance was in line. USD pairs as the USD rally intensifies The US dollar rally is finding its legs after follow up action yesterday that took EURUSD below the key range low of 1.0100, setting up a run at the psychologically pivotal parity, while GBPUSD slipped well south of the key 1.2000 and USDJPY ripped up through 135.50 resistance. An accelerator of that move may be applied if US long treasury yields pull come further unmoored from the recent range and pull toward 3.00%+. A complete sweep of USD strength would arrive with a significant USDCNH move as discussed below, and the US dollar “wrecking ball” will likely become a key focus and driver of risk sentiment as it is the premiere measure of global liquidity. The next key event risk for the US dollar arrives with next Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium speech from Fed Chair Powell. USDCNH The exchange rate is trading at the highs of the cycle this morning, and all traders should keep an eye out here for whether China allows a significant move in the exchange rate toward 7.00, and particularly whether CNH weakness more than mirrors USD strength (in other words, if CNH is trading lower versus a basket of currencies), which would point to a more determined devaluation move that could spook risk sentiment globally, something we have seen in the past when China shows signs of shifting its exchange rate regime from passive management versus the USD. Crude oil Crude oil (CLU2 & LCOV2) remains on track for a weekly loss with talks of an Iran nuclear deal and global demand concerns being partly offset by signs of robust demand for fuel products. Not least diesel which is seeing increasing demand from energy consumers switching from punitively expensive gas. Earlier in the week Dutch TTF benchmark gas at one point traded above $400 per barrel crude oil equivalent. So far this month the EU diesel crack spread, the margin refineries achieve when turning crude into diesel, has jumped by more than 40% while stateside, the equivalent spread is up around 25%, both pointing to a crude-supportive strength in demand. US natural gas US natural gas (NGU2) ended a touch lower on Thursday after trading within a 7% range. It almost reached a fresh multi-year high at $9.66/MMBtu after spiking on a lower-than-expected stock build before attention turned to production which is currently up 4.8% y/y and cooler temperatures across the country lowering what until recently had driven very strong demand from utilities. LNG shipments out of Freeport, the stricken export plant may suffer further delays, thereby keeping more gas at home. Stockpiles trail the 5-yr avg. by 13%. US Treasuries (TLT, IEF) The focus on US Treasury yields may be set to intensify if the 10-year treasury benchmark yield, trading near 2.90% this morning, comes unmoored from its recent range and trades toward 3.00%, possibly on the Fed’s increase in the pace of its quantitative tightening and/or on US economic data in the coming week(s). Yesterday’s US jobless claims data was better than expected and the August Philadelphia Fed’s business survey was far more positive than expected, suggesting expansion after the volatile Empire Fed survey a few days earlier posted a negative reading.   What is going on?   Global wheat prices continue to tumble ... with a record Russian crop, continued flows of Ukrainian grain and the stronger dollar pushing down prices. The recently opened corridor from Ukraine has so far this month seen more than 500,000 tons of crops being shipped, and while it's still far below the normal pace it has nevertheless provided some relief at a time where troubled weather has created a mixed picture elsewhere. The Chicago wheat (ZWZ2) futures contract touch a January on Thursday after breaking $7.75/bu support while the Paris Milling (EBMZ2) wheat traded near the lowest since March. Existing home sales flags another red for the US housing market while other US economic data continues to be upbeat US existing home sales fell in July for a sixth straight month to 4.81 mn from 5.11 mn, now at the slowest pace since May 2020, and beneath the expected 4.89 mn. Inventory levels again continued to be a big concern, with supply rising to 3.3 months equivalent from 2.9 in June. This continues to suggest that the weakening demand momentum and high inventory levels may weigh on construction activity. The Philly Fed survey meanwhile outperformed expectations, with the headline index rising to +6.2 (exp. -5.0, prev. -12.3), while prices paid fell to 43.6 (prev. 52.2) and prices received dropped to 23.3 (prev. 30.3). New orders were still negative at -5.1, but considerably better than last month’s -24.8 and employment came in at 24.1 from 19.4 previously Fed speakers push for more rate hikes St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard 2.6% with more front-loading in 2022. Fed’s George, much like Fed’s Daly, said that last month’s inflation is not a victory and hardly comforting. Bullard and George vote in 2022. Fed’s Kashkari said that he is not sure if the Fed can avoid a recession and that there is more work to be done to bring inflation down, but noted economic fundamentals are strong. Overall, all messages remain old and eyes remain on Fed Chair Powell speaking at the Jackson Hole conference on August 26, next Friday.  Japan’s inflation came in as expected Japan’s nationwide CPI for July accelerated to 2.6% y/y, as expected, from 2.4% y/y in June. The core measure was up 2.4% y/y from 2.2% previously, staying above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target and coming in at the strongest levels since 2008. Upside pressures remain as Japan continues to face a deeper energy crisis threat into the winter with LNG supplies possibly getting diverted to Europe for better prices. Still, Bank of Japan may continue to hold its dovish yield curve control policy unless wage inflation surprises consistently to the upside.   What are we watching next?   Strong US dollar to unsettle markets – and Jackson Hole Fed conference next week? The US dollar continues to pull higher here, threatening the cycle highs versus sterling, the euro and on the comeback trail against the Japanese yen as well. The US dollar is a barometer of global liquidity, and a continued rise would eventually snuff out the improvement in financial conditions we have seen since the June lows in equity markets, particularly if longer US treasury yields are also unmoored from their recent range and rise back to 3.00% or higher.  The focus on the strong US dollar will intensify should the USDCNH exchange rate, which has pulled to the highs of the cycle above 6.80, lurch toward 7.00 in coming sessions as it would indicate that China is unwilling to allow its currency to track USD direction. As well, the Fed seems bent on pushing back against market expectations for Fed rate cuts next year and may have to spell this out a bit more forcefully at next week’s Jackson Hole conference starting on Thursday (Fed Chair Powell to speak Friday). Earnings to watch The two earnings releases to watch today are from Xiaomi and Deere. The Chinese consumer is challenged over falling real estate prices and input cost pressures on food and energy, and as a result consumer stocks have been doing bad this year. Xiaomi is one the biggest sellers of smartphones in China and is expected to report a 20% drop in revenue compared to last year. Deere sits in the booming agricultural sector, being one of the biggest manufacturers of farming equipment, and analysts expect a 12% gain in revenue in FY22 Q3 (ending 31 July).   Today: China Merchants Bank, CNOOC, Shenzhen Mindray, Xiaomi, Deere Economic calendar highlights for today (times GMT) 1230 – Canada Jun. Retail Sales 1300 – US Fed’s Barkin (Non-voter) to speak Follow SaxoStrats on the daily Saxo Markets Call on your favorite podcast app: Apple  Spotify PodBean Sticher   Source: Financial Markets Today: Quick Take – August 19, 2022

The recent behavior of the euro and the British pound and their potential weakness against the rest of the world's major currencies is beginning to bring concerns about a sustained deterioration in the prospects for these currencies. As Bloomberg commentators note, the behavior of the pound and the euro are worrisome. We have recently seen large shifts in the euro and pound's short-term market interest rates against the U.S. dollar, with a simultaneous weakening of the GBP/USD and EUR/USD exchange rates. Last week was the worst week for the pound in nearly two years, and at the same time, the yield on the UK's 2-year bond rose by 50 basis points. Typically, the opposite happens in developed markets. Expectations of a central bank rate hike and thus an increase in short-term market yields generally strengthen the currency. The collapse in the correlation between the exchange rate and interest rates is usually associated with emerging markets, which may have lost the battle for the credibility of keeping inflation within the inflation target. The energy dependence of the UK and Europe as a whole means that their balance sheets could deteriorate in the near future, while energy commodity inflation shows no signs of abating. Rate hikes in such a situation may not stem the tide of depreciation of the aforementioned currencies, Bloomberg reports. Thus, it seems that the winter months for the EUR and GBP may be a kind of test of the credibility of the economies in the eyes of investors. Their abandonment of investments in the EUR and GBP despite rising interest rates could be potentially worrying. Moreover, it could change the entire scene of the foreign exchange market. In the dollar index, the euro has a weighting of more than 57 percent, while the pound has a weighting of more than 11 percent. Together, these two currencies alone have a weighting of almost 70 percent. Since the beginning of the year, the euro against the U.S. dollar has lost almost 12 percent, and the British pound almost 13 percent. In contrast, since August 2021, the euro has lost almost 15 percent to the dollar, and the British pound less than 14 percent. Of the major currencies, only the Japanese yen has fared worse and has weakened by almost 20 percent against the U.S. dollar over the year. Daniel Kostecki, Director of the Polish branch of Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service) Materials, analysis and opinions contained, referenced or provided herein are intended solely for informational and educational purposes. Personal opinion of the author does not represent and should not be constructed as a statement or an investment advice made by Conotoxia Ltd. All indiscriminate reliance on illustrative or informational materials may lead to losses. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.59% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.   Source: Pound and euro similar to currencies of emerging markets?

USDJPY Yen sellers remain in control as traders become skeptical that Japan officials follow through on intervention threats. The yen has steadily weakened this quarter on US economic resilience and as the BOJ vowed to keep rates low for now along with a weak signal for a chance of future hike.   Dollar Technicals The dollar index could be flashing an oversold signal and that could lead to further bets against the yen and not necessarily with European currencies that might see much more tightening.  

A week packed with earnings and central bank decisions Last week ended on a caution note after the first earnings from Big Tech companies were not bad, but not good enough to further boost an already impressive rally so far this year. The S&P500 closed the week just 0.7% higher, Nasdaq slipped 0.6%, while Dow Jones recorded its 10th straight week of gains, the longest in six years, hinting that the tech rally could be rotating toward other and more cyclical parts of the economy as well.   This week, the earnings season continues in full swing. 150 S&P500 companies are due to announce their second quarter earnings throughout this week. Among them we have Microsoft, which is pretty much the main responsible of this year's tech rally thanks to its ChatGPT, Meta, Alphabet, Visa, GM, Ford, Intel, Coca-Cola and some energy giants including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.   On the economic calendar, we have a busy agenda this week as well. Today, we will be watching a series of flash PMI figures to get a sense of how economies around the world felt so far in July, then important central bank meetings will hit the fan from tomorrow. The early data shows that both manufacturing and services in Australia remained in the contraction zone, as Japan's manufacturing PMI dropped to a 4-month low in July. German figures could also disappoint those watching the EZ numbers.   On the central banks front, the Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will meet this week, and the first two are expected to announce 25bp hike each to further tighten monetary conditions on both sides of the Atlantic.     Zooming into the Fed, activity on Fed funds futures gives almost 100% chance for this week's 25bp hike. But many think that this week's rate hike could be the last of this tightening cycle, as inflation is cooling. But the resilience of the US labour market, and household consumption will likely keep the Fed cautiously hawkish, and not announce the end of the tightening cycle this Wednesday. There is, on the contrary, a greater chance that we will hear Fed Chair Jerome Powell rectify the market expectations and talk about another rate hike in September or in November. Therefore, the risks tied to this week's FOMC meeting are tilted to the hawkish side, and we have more chance of hearing a hawkish surprise rather than a dovish one. Regarding the market reaction, as this week's Fed meetings falls in the middle of a jungle of earnings, stock investors will have a lot to price on their plate, so a hawkish statement from the Fed may not directly impact stock prices if earnings are good enough. Bond markets, however, will clearly be more vulnerable to another delay of the end of the tightening cycle. The US 2-year yield consolidates near the 4.85% level this morning, and risks are tilted to the upside. For the dollar, there is room for further recovery as the bearish dollar bets stand at the highest levels on record and a sufficiently hawkish Fed announcement could lead to correction and repositioning.  Elsewhere, another 25bp hike from the ECB is also seen as a done deal by most investors. What investors want to know is what will happen beyond this week's meeting. So far, at least 2 more 25bp hikes were seen as almost certain by investors. Then last week, some ECB officials cast doubt on that expectation. Now, a September rate hike in the EZ is all but certain. The EURUSD remains under selling pressure near the 1.1120 this morning, the inconclusive Spanish election is adding an extra pressure to the downside.   Finally, the BoJ is expected to do nothing, again, this week. Japanese policymakers will likely keep the policy rate steady in the negative territory and the YCC policy unchanged. The recent U-turn in BoJ expectations, and the broad-based rebound in the US dollar pushed the USDJPY above the 140 again last Friday, and there is nothing to prevent the pair from re-testing the 145 resistance if the Fed is sufficiently hawkish and the BoJ is sufficiently dovish.     By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank  

The everything selloff By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The global selloff intensified yesterday, after the FOMC minutes released Wednesday highlighted that the Federal Reserve (Fed) continues to see significant risks to inflation. And if that's not enough, Atlanta Fed's GDPNow printed an eye-popping growth forecast of 5.8% for Q3 on Wednesday, up from 5% printed a day before. Atlanta Fed computes this number using the data available to them at a time t, therefore the number is not necessarily accurate, but it reflects the positive data released lately, and fuels worries that with such a strong growth, the US inflation could only make a U-turn and take a lift. Yesterday, the Philly Fed index printed a surprisingly strong number, as well. This is why, we continue to see the upside pressure in yields persist, in the US and around the world, though we saw some respite in the US 2-year yield that bounced lower from the 5% mark earlier in the week, and the 10-year yield spiked above 4.30% before falling back to 4.25% this morning.   But note that there is more to this story. Long story short, the US Treasury has been printing a lot of T bills lately, and fell well behind the government bond issuance, and the latter helped keeping US liquidity well contained since the US exited its debt ceiling crisis after which the Treasury started refilling its general account. That was supposed to pull liquidity away from the market. But in the meantime, the Fed was pushing liquidity into the system by reverse repo operations, allowing the money market funds to buy T bills and release cash. The problem is, nowadays, the percentage of T bills approaches the 20% level, which is a self-induced limit for the Treasury, and the Treasury will shift back to issuing bonds, instead of T bills. The latter will increase the amount of sovereign bonds in the system at a time the Fed is decreasing its balance sheet by QT, and the banks don't necessarily want to buy bonds either. So, the increasing supply, and the decreasing demand for US sovereigns will be one major force pushing the US yield curve higher. And if the strong economic data translates into higher inflation, the impact on yields will likely be higher. So, yes, the US 30-year yield is at the highest levels since 2011 and that looks appetizing, especially if the risk sentiment sours – due to multiple reasons ranging from geopolitical tensions to China worries – but the downside risks in the US sovereign bonds market prevails. And Bill Ackman said earlier this month that the 30-year yield could hit the 5% mark.  And the upside pressure in sovereign yields is true for other parts of the world as well, because obviously when the US coughs the world catches a cold. More precisely, higher US yields also translate into a stronger US dollar, and a stronger US dollar is inflationary for the rest of the world. If nothing, the energy and raw material prices that are negotiated in USD terms on international markets simply become more expensive when imports are reverted back to local currencies, and that, alone, is enough to push inflation higher in the rest of the world when the US dollar appreciates. The EURUSD fell to 1.0856, the AUDUSD slipped below 64 cents and the USDJPY spiked above 146.50. The correction is in play this morning and we could see the US dollar retreat further into the weekly closing bell, but the stronger dollar trend is clearly in play and it is worrying. Looking at yields elsewhere the US, the 10-year gilt yield has now surpassed the levels last seen during the Liz Truss induced disaster peak and is headed toward the 5% psychological mark while the German 10-year yield hit 2.70%, a level last seen in 2011 as well. Even the Japanese 10-year yield, which is controlled by the BoJ and should not exceed the 50bp benchmark by 'too much', goes up significantly.  As a result, the selloff in equities deepens. The S&P500 sank to 4370 yesterday and is getting ready to test the minor 23.6% Fibonacci retracement on October to July rally, and the base of that positive trend, while Nasdaq 100 is no more than 8 points from its own 23.6% retracement and already fell below the ascending trend base. The Stoxx600 slumped below the 200-DMA and is flirting with its own 23.6% retracement level, and the Japanese Nikkei, which was one of the rising stars of the year, and which recorded a rally past 30% since January, has fallen below its 23.6% retracement and is preparing to test the 100-DMA.   And note that this simultaneous selloff in stocks and bonds is a sign that the market liquidity is draining. Bitcoin, which is a gauge of market liquidity, slumped more than 7% yesterday and traded close to the $25K level. According to CoinGlass, $1 billion left cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours and Bitcoin suffered almost half of the liquidations.   

In the FX  The dollar index remains bid above its 200-DMA – though we see a slowing positive trend, and weakening trend and momentum indicators. While I believe that there is room for further USD recovery, we could well see a temporary downside correction in the next few days, depending on what Powell will say, and how the markets will react. The EURUSD is still on a decidedly bearish path. Trend and momentum indicators remain comfortably bearish, and the pair is not yet at the oversold market conditions; the actual selloff could extend toward the 200-DMA, near the 1.08 mark. The USDJPY is steady a touch above the 145 mark, as the possibility of a direct FX intervention holds many traders back from topping up their short yen positions. Cable on the other hand sees resistance at its 50-DMA, a touch below the 1.28 mark.  In energy, the US crude remains close to the $80pb psychological mark, lacking a clear short-term direction. Therefore, this week's US inventories report could help traders decide whether they want to play the slow China demand rhetoric or continue backing the supply tightness narrative. In both cases, we shall see range-bound trading within the $75/85 range, including the 200-DMA and the August peak.     Nvidia goes to the earnings confessional!  Today, all eyes are on Nvidia earnings due after the closing bell. Investors will focus on whether Nvidia's Q2 sales meet the $11bn estimate. Anything less than absolutely fantastic could trigger a sharp downside correction in Nvidia's stock price which rallied 345% since the October dip.      

Calm before the storm?  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The week started in a relatively good mood. The S&P500 posted its first back-to-back gains this month, even though the US 2-year yield advanced to a fresh high since July with the 2 and 5-year treasury auctions hitting the highest yields since before the 2008 crisis. One would think that the Chinese stimulus measures have lifted up the sentiment across global equities, but the CSI 300 closed yesterday just around 1% higher. In this sense, yesterday was just another day the Chinese stimulus measures didn't get the attention Chinese officials were hoping for. And that's the new normal. Before 2020, any stimulus news from China would move oceans, but now, China can cut rates, inject liquidity, half stamp duty, prevent big names from becoming net sellers... nothing is enough to bring investors back apart from a massive fiscal stimulus. And the chances are that, China won't do that, because Xi doesn't want to explode the national debt levels – which are already alarmingly high – to kick start another unsustainable growth in China. That's not bad in the long run, but it sure costs China a lot of investment. MSCI's EM ex-China ETF has outperformed the MSCI China since the beginning of the year and the trend in Chinese equities, and the latest surveys hint at around 5% growth in 2023, in line with the government's growth target, but not enough to bring money on board.     Focus on US growth & jobs data  The softer US dollar gave some breathing room to other currencies yesterday. The EURUSD bulls won a battle near the 200-DMA, and the pair is slightly above that level this morning, while the USDJPY is steady around 146.50. Crude oil steadied above the $80pb with the news that the tropical storm Idalia could interrupt crude production in the Gulf Coast and put an additional short-term pressure on oil prices. Gold is better bid above the $1900 thanks to a retreat in the US 10-year yield.  Today, the US JOLTS data is expected to post a third month below 10mio job openings. A number lower than expectations would point to loosening jobs market and could soften the hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations, while a strong figure will keep the economists and the Fed officials in a state of confusion. It is now increasingly certain that the Covid disruption in jobs market has largely passed, which means that the fact that the jobs figures remain resilient to rate hikes is due to another reason! And that reason could be the ageing population. Looking at the CBO projections, the participation rate in the US is not at shocking levels compared to the long-term projections. On the contrary, the actual participation rate (62.6%) is even higher than the long-term projection (62.4%).   Strong jobs figures have potential to boost Fed hawks as tightness of the jobs market means people ask for more money for doing the same job than they would otherwise. 

Oil consolidates gains Brent consolidates gains above $90pb, and US crude is at $87pb with little conviction from the bears to counter the positive trend after the latest API data showed around 5.5-mio-barrel fall in US inventories last week.   The US dollar's appreciation adds an additional layer of complexity for the rest of the world, as not only crude prices rise, but the US dollar used to trade oil gains in value as well. Big Asian economies are reacting to the US dollar's renewed strength. China defends its yuan by offering forceful guidance with its daily reference rate, while the Japanese issued a strong warning this week, threatening investors that if the USDJPY continued to rise, they would intervene. But in vain, the USDJPY 147.80 and consolidates above 147.50 this morning. However, the upside potential is clearly limited as the Japanese have been vocal about the fact that they won't let the dollar-yen hit 150.   Elsewhere, the USDCAD advanced to the highest levels since March as the Bank of Canada (BoC) kept its policy rate unchanged at 5% as expected, Cable slipped below 1.25, while the selloff in the EURUSD slowed into the 1.07 support. What's next? The European Central Bank (ECB) doves may have gotten ahead of themselves on the back of the recent weakness in economic data, but the fact that the softness in inflation is at jeopardy means that an ECB pause this month is not warranted. ECB's Knot said that the markets are underestimating the chance of a rate hike next week. He reminded that a rate hike is 'still a possibility', just not a 'certainty'. Peter Kazimir also said that one more rate hike should happen in Europe. Yes, the 11% slump in German exports make the ECB hawks sound less powerful, but you must keep somewhere in the back of your mind that economic weakness is needed to slow inflation – at least this is what the theory tells – therefore, the ECB hawks will fight for their last 25bp hike this month. 

Beyond Apple...  When a tech giant like Apple, with a market cap of nearly $2.8 trillion sneezes, the whole market catches a cold. The S&P500 fell for the third day to 4451 yesterday, while Nasdaq 100 slipped below its 50-DMA. Apple selloff also affected suppliers and other mega cap stocks. Qualcomm for example fell more than 7%, while Foxconn remained little impacted by the news.   Zooming out, the US small caps were also under pressure yesterday, the Russell 2000 fell below its 100-DMA and came close to the 200-DMA, as the latest data showed that the US jobless claims fell to the lowest levels since February, defying the latest softness in jobs data. Other data also showed that the labor unit cost didn't fall as much as expected in Q2. But happily, the US treasuries were not much affected by the latest jobless claims data. The US 2-year yield fell below 5%, although the US dollar index extended its advance toward fresh highs since last March.   The selloff in the Japanese yen slowed against the US dollar. The USDJPY pushed below the 147 mark this morning despite a slower than expected GDP print in Japan in the Q2. Capital expenditure fell 1%, private consumption declined 0.6%, making the case for a softer Bank of Japan (BoJ) more plausible. But the Japanese officials dared traders to continue buying the USDJPY to 150, saying that they would intervene.   The EURUSD sees more hesitation into the 1.07 mark, and into next week's European Central Bank (ECB) meeting. The base case is a no rate hike, and yesterday's morose growth figures came to cement the no change expectation. But the economic weakness may have little impact on inflation. Any bad surprise in German inflation due this morning could convince some ECB doves that the European policymakers may announce another 25bp hike when they meet next week.  

A busy week ahead By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The S&P500 ended last week on a meagre positive note, as the selloff in Apple shares slowed. Apple will be unveiling the new iPhone15 after the Chinese storm. Last week's selloff was certainly exaggerated. Once the Chinese dust settles, Apple's performance will continue to depend on the overall sentiment regarding the tech stocks, which will in return, depend on the Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations, the rates, energy prices, Chinese property crisis, deflation risks, and how that mix affects the global price dynamics.   China announced this morning that consumer prices rose by 0.1% y-o-y in August, slower than 0.2% penciled in by analysts and after recording its first drop in over two years of 0.3% a month earlier. Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.8% y-o-y, at the same speed as in July, and remained at the fastest pace since January. The numbers remain alarmingly low, and the recent stimulus measures announced by the government did little to boost investors' appetite. The CSI 300 was thoroughly sold on the rallies following stimulus news. And the yuan continued trending lower against the US dollar.  The US dollar is under a decent selling pressure this morning, particularly against the yen, after comments from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Ueda were interpreted as being 'hawkish'. Ueda said that 'there may be sufficient information by the year-end to judge if wages will continue to rise', and that will help them decide whether they would end the super-loose monetary policy and step out of the negative rate territory. The remarks were disputably hawkish, to be honest, but given how negatively diverged the Japanese monetary policy is, any hint that the negative rates could end one day boosts hope. The 10-year JGB yield jumped 5bp to 70bp on the news, and the USDJPY fell to 146.30. The USDJPY has a limited upside potential as the Japanese officials have been crystal clear last week that a further selloff would be countered by direct intervention. But the pair has plenty of room to drop significantly, when the BoJ finally decides to jump and leave the negative rates behind.   This week, the US inflation numbers will give the dollar a fresh direction, and hopefully a softish one. The headline inflation is expected to tick higher from 3.2% to 3.6% in August, on the back of rising energy prices, while core inflation may have eased from 4.7% to 4.3%. 'We've gotten monetary policy in a very good place' said the NY Fed President Williams last week. Indeed, the Fed hiked the rates by more than 500bp and shed its balance sheet by $1 trillion, while keeping the GDP around 2%, as inflation eased significantly from the 9% peak last summer to around 3% this summer. But crude oil cheapened by more than 40% between last summer and this spring, and the prices are now up by nearly 30% since then. The Fed will likely hold fire when it meets this month, but nothing is less sure for the November meeting. This week's inflation data will be played in terms of November expectations.   For the European Central Bank (ECB), the base case scenario is a no rate hike at this week's monetary policy meeting, but the European policymakers could announce a 25bp hike despite the latest weakness in economic data. The EURUSD is slightly better bid this morning, expect consolidation and minor correction toward the 200-DMA, 1.0823, into the meeting. The ECB, unlike the Fed, is not worried about surprising the market, on one side or the other. A no rate hike – even if it's a hawkish pause - could push the EURUSD to below 1.0615, the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement, into a medium term bearish trend whereas a 25bp hike should trigger a rally toward the 1.09 level.   On the corporate calendar, ARM will go public this week, in what is going to be this year's biggest IPO. The company is expected to price on the 13th of September with a price range of $47-51 per share, and will start trading on Nasdaq the following day. ARM is expected to be valued at around $52bn, roughly 20 times its last disclosed annual revenue on expectation that the chips needed to power the generative AI will make ARM a sunny to-go place. Hope it won't be stormy.  

Tesla surged 10.2% post a major investment bank's upgrade, while Meta gained 3.3% on its powerful AI system news. Oracle, however, tumbled 9% in after-hours trading due to sluggish cloud sales growth. Strong loan and financing data spurred an intraday Hang Seng Index recovery after a morning dip, alongside gains in iron ore and copper. The weaker US dollar boosted G10 currencies, particularly AUD and JPY. The Yuan strengthened against the dollar, influenced by positive credit data and government support. Additionally, the EU Commission lowered the euro zone growth forecast.       US Equities: Tesla surged 10.2% after a major US investment bank upgrading the stock, assigning an additional USD500 billon to the valuation for a supercomputer that Tesla is developing. Meta gained 3.3% on news that the company is developing a powerful AI system (WSJ). The Nasdaq 100 added 1.2% to 15,461 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 4,487. Fixed income: The 3-year auction tailed by 1bp (i.e. awarded yield 1bp higher than the level at the auction deadline) and kept traders cautious ahead upcoming hefty supply in 10 and 30-year auctions and corporate issuance and CPI data on Wednesday. The 2-year ended unchanged while the 10-year closed at 4.29%, 2bps cheaper from Friday. China/HK Equities: The Hang Seng Index pared much of the sharp loss in the morning and recovered to end the day 0.6% lower at 18,096. The initial nearly 2% decline was driven by an earnings miss by Sun Hung Kai Properties and departure of the head of the cloud division and former CEO Daniel Zhang from Alibaba. The stronger-than-expected bounce in China’s loans and aggregate social financing data, released during the lunch break, triggered a sharp recovery. Southbound flows however registered a large net sale of HKD10.3 billion by mainland investors. In A-shares, the CSI300 added 0.7%. FX: The retreat of the US dollar brought strong gains across the G10 board, led by AUD and JPY. AUDUSD broke above 0.64 to highs of 0.6449 before settling around 0.6430, while Japanese yen saw strong gains on the back of weekend Ueda comments that brought forward expectations of policy normalization. USDJPY dropped to lows of 145.91, coinciding with fresh recent peaks in JGB yields, before a rebound back to 146.50+ levels as US CPI is awaited. Yuan also strengthened with USDCNH taking a look below 7.30 from highs of 7.36 amid verbal warnings from authorities, better-than-expected credit data as well as the continued appreciation bias in PBoC’s daily fixings.   Commodities: Crude oil held onto its gains near the recent highs with Brent still close to $90/barrel despite a small sell-off in Monday’s session. However, Monday’s price action came despite a weaker USD. With focus still on supply tightness concerns, today’s OPEC and EIA monthly reports will be on watch. Strong performance in metals led by iron ore up 3.5% and copper up close to 2.5% with China credit data boosting sentiment and a strong move in the yuan as well. Gold finding is hard to clear $1930 hurdle and the move in yields remains key with hefty corporate supply and US CPI ahead. Macro: China’s new Yuan loans in August surged more than expected to RMB 1,360 billion. This increase is attributed to greater regulatory encouragement for banks to lend and favorable seasonal factors. This, together with the front-loading of local government bond issuance, brought aggregate social financing to RMB 3,120 billion in August, up from July's RMB 528.5 billion. US NY Fed inflation expectations rose higher for one-year to 3.6% from 3.5%, while the long-term five-year also rose 0.1ppt to 3.0% from 2.9%. However, the three-year expectations dipped to 3.8% from 3.9%. Macro events: US NFIB small business survey (Aug), US 10-year T-note auction ($35 billion), UK payrolls (Aug), Germany ZEW survey (Sep) Company Events: Apple's iPhone 15 launch In the news: China’s PBoC asks banks to get approval for dollar purchases over USD50 million (Reuters) EU Commission cuts euro zone growth forecast as Germany in recession (Reuters) Representatives from eight core member institutions of the China National Forex Market Self-regulatory Mechanism met on Monday to discuss about maintaining the stability of the renminbi (Xinhua). Strong demand pushes Arm to close IPO order book early (FT) Qualcomm strikes new Apple deal on 5G chips (FT) US and Vietnam unveil billions in semiconductor and AI deals (FT)    

 Following on from weakness in the US and Europe, stocks in Asia fell across the board as oil prices extended gains ahead of today’s key US inflation report. The weakness in US stocks was led by technology companies with Apple dropping almost 2%. The potentially tightest oil market in a decade lifted oil prices while raising fresh inflation concerns saw the 2-year Treasury yield back above 5%, while the dollar traded mixed against its G10 peers after seeing broad gains on Tuesday. US CPI the focus today given the current 50/50 split on whether the FOMC will hike rates one more time.   Equities: Nasdaq 100 futures are sliding further this morning to the 15,478 level as Apple’s iPhone event last night failed to muster any excitement, which means that the market is now in a wait-and-see mode ahead of today’s US inflation report. Energy stocks continue to be in focus given the rally in Brent crude on estimated oil supply shortfall due to Saudi Arabia’s oil production cuts. FX: Higher crude oil prices made CAD the G-10 outperformer with USDCAD down to 1.3550 from 1.3590 but EUR attempted to catch up in late NY/early Asian hours on ECB leak that inflation forecasts may be raised higher which are seen to be raising the prospect of a hike this week. EURUSD jumped higher to 1.0770 with EURGBP above the 0.86 hurdle as GBPUSD dipped below 1.25 on not-so-hawkish labor market. USDCNH takes another leg lower below 7.29 but AUDUSD also dipped to 0.64 handle in Asia. Commodities: Saudi Arabia’s ‘stable market’ reason for cutting production rings increasingly hallow after OPEC in their monthly report said the market may experience a shortfall of 3.3m b/d in the fourth quarter. With the EIA meanwhile only predicting a 230k b/d shortfall, OPEC could find themselves being accused of trying to inflate prices to meet big spending plans among its members. IEA’s report will be on watch today ahead of the US CPI print and EIA’s weekly stock report which according to API’s figures may show a rise. Oil’s rally to a fresh 10-month high and the stronger dollar saw gold drop below 200DMA as inflation concerns returned, bringing more fear of rate hikes. Fixed income: European sovereign curves are likely to bear-flatten this morning after Reuters reported that the ECB expects inflation to remain above 3% next year and growth to be downgraded for this and next year. Despite the upcoming forecasts painting the perfect stagflation picture for the eurozone, policymakers will weigh their options carefully and tilt towards a hawkish pause rather than a hike. Yet, they might need to reinforce their message by ending reinvestments under the PEPP facility. That would buy them enough time to wait for rate hikes to feed through the economy instead of adding pressure to the German and Dutch recessions. The focus today is on the US CPI numbers and the 30-year US Treasury auction. Volatility: VIX traded 43 cents higher at 14.23, but more importantly the VIX futures traded 1.31 higher, up to 15.95, indicating there is some uncertainty about the upcoming US inflation report. Adobe, which is scheduled to release its earnings report later this week, closed lower yesterday. Options traders were divided on the stock, with the put/call ratio at 1, indicating that equal amounts of calls and puts were traded. This might suggest that there is no clear consensus on how the earnings report will be received.  Macro: ECB’s new 2024 inflation projection could be raised above 3% vs 3% in June, firming case for interest rate hike. ECB also to cut 2023 and 2024 economic growth projections to broadly in line with market expectations. UK labor report was mixed with headline earnings up 8.5% YoY in July vs. 8.2% expected. For more, read our latest Macro/FX Watch. In the news: Europe's high gas prices hit industrial output – full story on Reuters. Apple unveiled four new iPhone models with a muted reaction from investors in extended trading – full story in FT. Technical analysis: S&P 500 rejected at 4,540 resistance level, expect set back, support at 4,340.Nasdaq 100 rejected at 15,561 key resistance level. USDJPY uptrend eyeing 149-150. EURUSD downtrend, support at 1.0685, Expect short-term bounce to 1.08. Brent oil uptrend potential to 98.50 Macro events: UK Industrial Production (Jul) exp. -0.7% m/m vs 1.8% prior (0600 GMT), US CPI (Aug) exp. 0.6% m/m and 0.2% core vs 02% and 0.2% prior (1230 GMT), US 30-year T-bond auction ($20 billion) Commodities events:  IEA’s Oil Market Report (0900 GMT), EIA’s Weekly Crude and Fuel Stock Report (1430 GMT) Earnings events: Inditex F424 1H results, which have already reported with EPS at €0.81 vs est. €0.80 and a small positive revenue surprise.  

US inflation remained firm both on headline and core, suggesting Fed will continue to push for higher-for-longer at next week’s meeting. Markets however shrugged off the report and USD also was largely unchanged. The yuan extended gains, and focus today will be on whether ECB can surprise hawkish, as well as the US retail sales. Oil prices saw another run higher before settling lower on inventory builds.     US Equities: The S&P500 ticked up 0.1% while the Nasdaq 100 added 0.4%. The CPI prints released were generally considered as not having an impact on a probable pause at the FOMC next week. Nvidia and Microsoft gained around 1.3% as the chipmaker’s chief scientist and the software giant’s President testified in Senate hearings about AI.     Fixed income: Treasuries sold off briefly following a higher-than-expected core CPI print but quickly reversed as buy-the-dip trades emerged. The 2-year yield ended the choppy session 5bps lower at 4.97% while the 10-year yield finished 3bps richer at 4.25%, near the day-low in yields in spite of a relatively weak 30-year auction.     China/HK Equities: Weaknesses in healthcare and technology stocks weighed on the benchmark indices, offsetting gains in China properties and financials. China properties were supported by news that Zhengzhou, a major city in eastern-central China, lifted restrictions on home purchases and lowered minimum down payment requirements. EV stocks sold off on EU anti-subsidy investigation news. The Hang Seng Index slid by 0.1% while the CSI300 dropped by 0.7%. Northbound net selling reached RMB6.6 billion.     FX: The US dollar wobbled on the CPI release but could not close the day higher with Treasury yields slipping. EUR in the spotlight today as ECB decision is due, and EURUSD has found support at 1.07 for now with a rate hike priced in with over 65% probability. USDJPY spiked to 147.73 but that remained short-lived and pair was back below 147.40 into Asian open. Yuan strengthened further with authorities increasing bill sales in Hong Kong to soak up yuan liquidity making it more expensive to short the currency. This could likely continue into the month-end National Day holiday, and USDCNH is seen testing 7.27 handle.     Commodities: Crude oil prices rose further with IEA estimates also looking at a supply deficit in Q4, although less so than the OPEC estimates. But gains were short-lived and prices fell after inventory data showing a crude build following weeks of drawdowns. US commercial inventories of crude oil rose 4 million barrels last week, according to EIA data. Gasoline inventories also rose by 5.6mn barrels. Meanwhile, Gold is back to threatening the $1900 handle with firmer US CPI.   Macro: US CPI surprised to the upside, but markets were not spooked as it did little to change the thinking around the Fed. Core CPI rose 0.3% MoM, or +0.278% unrounded, above the prior/expected +0.2%, with core YoY printing 4.3%, down from July's 4.7%, and in line with expectations. Headline print was in line with expectations at 0.6% MoM, up from +0.2% on account of energy price increases, with YoY lifting to 3.7% from 3.2%, above the expected 3.6%. The PBoC announced plans to issue RMB15 billion Central Bank Bills in Hong Kong on September 19, which is going to tighten CNH (offshore renminbi) liquidity. This issuance includes RMB5 rollover and RMB10 billion net issuance. According to PBOC's Financial Times, the PBoC will continue to issue bills in the offshore market to maintain ongoing control over offshore renminbi liquidity. The CNH HIBOR in Hong Kong reached 5.6% on Wednesday, marking its highest level since April 2022.   Macro events: US retail sales (Aug) exp 0.1% MoM (prev 0.7%), US PPI (Aug) exp 0.4% MoM and 1.3% YoY (prev 0.3% MoM, 0.8% YoY), US jobless claims exp 225k (prev 21k), ECB policy meeting exp 4.25% (prev 4.25%), Australia employment change exp 25k (prev -14.6k)   Adobe is scheduled to report Q3 results on Thursday after market close. Analysts' median forecast anticipates a 9.8% revenue increase and a 17% growth in adjusted EPS, reaching USD3.979. While Adobe has experienced steady revenue growth due to its shift to a cloud-based subscription model, recent trends indicate a plateau. Analysts remain skeptical about whether generative AI features in Adobe's content creation software will significantly contribute to growth.     In the news: EU launched an anti-subsidy investigation Wednesday against import of Chinese electric cars into the EU (Politico). Arm prices IPO at $51 per share, valuing company at over $54 billion (CNBC) Citigroup CEO shook up the management team (WSJ). For    

EGB curves bear-flattened yesterday, with investors adjusting their positions ahead of upcoming macro events. Gilts were the stars of the day, with their yields declining after July jobs data confirmed a softening of the labor market, while USTs were little changed. European stocks edged moderately lower. Brent rose by 1.5% to USD 92/bbl   Caution has prevailed overnight, as highlighted by the weak performance of Asian stocks as well as US and European stock futures. While USTs are little changed, Bund futures have edged lower following a Reuters report that the ECB might raise its inflation projection for next year to above 3%. EGBs are set to open the trading session under pressure. In FX, EUR-USD has risen towards the 1.0750 area and USD-JPY has reached 147.40. EGB issuance activity will be quite lively today, with Italy, Germany and Portugal selling a total of EUR 13bn. Focus will be on the new 7Y BTP, the fourth and last new benchmark to be issued by Italy in 3Q23. With respect to the macro data, investor focus will be on US CPI data. The inflation report precedes the FOMC meeting by a week and will probably affect the Fed’s decision and, to a lesser extent, the updated economic projections that will be published next Wednesday. August CPI data are expected to show a mixed picture, with headline inflation likely having increased due to higher energy prices (in August, the average oil price was 6% higher than in July), while core inflation probably softened further. If data come in line with our estimates and consensus, the impact on fixed-income securities will probably be negligible as there seems to be consensus among analysts. Although market-based inflation expectations have already risen due to higher energy prices, especially at shorter tenors, their increase has been limited and breakeven rates have remained within the trading ranges of the last three months. Since 10 August, when July CPI data were published, the 10Y UST yield has risen by 20bp, with the real yield component, now close to 2%, contributing almost 100%. This move shows that inflation expectations remain anchored and that the re-acceleration of headline inflation in August is not seen as a major concern for investors or the Fed. On the other hand, the fresh increase in real yields seems to suggest that investors are continuing to reduce their expectations of a recession in the US and a rapid shift towards a looser monetary policy by the Fed. We see credit starting on a more cautious tone today ahead of the release of US CPI data in the afternoon and higher oil prices are weighing on equity markets. The sentiment on the Swedish residential property market declined again in September with more respondents in the monthly SBAB house price survey now seeing prices falling. The market expectation of a further rate hike by the Swedish central bank indicates expectations that further rising borrowing costs and inflation will lead to accommodation becoming less affordable. Swedish residential property prices are around 10% below their peak in March 2022 and market commentators see overall price declines of 20% as possible. For Swedish banks we see a further decline as still manageable given that average LTVs are in the 50-60% rang   Today and tomorrow are set to be two crucial days for the FX market US CPI inflation for August is the key release early this afternoon, but the USD reaction might prove to be complicated. This is because the US data will likely be mixed. We expect a rise in the headline index and a further decline in the core rate. This might spark some USD swings when the data are published but FX majors will probably end today’s session not far from current levels, given the ECB decision tomorrow. For there to be a more directional reaction, both headline and core inflation would have to surprise to the upside or the downside. Since a steady FOMC meeting outcome on 20 September is highly likely at this point, we expect the market reaction to be asymmetric and think that softer-than-expected data (even in the headline component) are unlikely to dent the current USD strength too much. On the other hand, an unexpected and sharp acceleration in the core index is probably needed to force investors to return to pricing in a higher chance of another rate hike in the US next week, which would drive the dollar index (DXY) back towards the recent peak of 105.15. In our view, EUR-USD is set to remain close to 1.0750, after press report suggesting that the ECB expects inflation to remain above 3% next year. Recent lows of around 1.0690 and 1.0770-1.08 are thus the key levels to monitor. Meanwhile, bad economic data in the UK early this morning will likely keep GBP-USD below 1.25. The return of USDJPY to 147 makes it clear that the debate on policy normalization in Japan is not enough to convince investors to ride a yen recovery, while USD-CNY and USD-CNH are likely to remain below 7.30 amid higher funding costs in the offshore market. Early tomorrow morning the decline that we expect in both headline and core inflation data in Sweden is unlikely to prevent another 25bp rate hike by the Riksbank next week. Still, the data will probably weigh somewhat on the SEK at the start of the European session. The PLN looks set to continue to suffer from the NBP’s bold rate cut last week. The HUF will likely trade close to 385 against the EUR after Hungarian Economic Development Minister Nagy hinted at stagnant growth for Hungary this year, while the NBH confirmed that the base rate (now 13%) will replace the 1D depo rate (now 14%) from 1 October. Lastly, the RUB steadying around 95 against the USD further suggests a steady outcome to the CBR meeting on Friday.

US and European equity futures markets trade higher with Asian markets also climbing on cautious optimism the Federal Reserve may decide to pause rate hikes after US core inflation advanced the least in two years. The dollar and Treasury yield both trade softer ahead of US retail sales with the euro ticking higher as traders' price in a two-third chance of a rate hike from the European Central Bank later today. Crude trades near a ten-month high on concerns about a supply shortfall, copper higher on yuan strength while gold prices have steadied following a two-day decline.   Equities: S&P 500 futures are holding up well against recent weakness trading around the 4,530 level despite yesterday’s higher-than-expected US inflation opening the door for the Fed to hike interest rates one more time in December. Arm IPO was priced at the top end of the range at $51 per share with trading set to being today. Adobe earnings after the US market close could be a key event for the AI-related cluster of stocks. FX: The US dollar wobbled on the CPI release but could not close the day higher with Treasury yields slipping. EUR in the spotlight today as ECB decision is due, and EURUSD has found support at 1.07 for now with a rate hike priced in with over 65% probability. USDJPY trades softer after government minister talked about the need for strong economic measures. Yuan strengthened further with authorities increasing bill sales in Hong Kong to soak up yuan liquidity making it more expensive to short the currency. Commodities: Brent holds above $92 and WTI near $90 after the IEA joined OPEC’s warnings of a supply shortfall in the coming months, thereby supporting a rally that started back in June when Saudi Arabia curbed supply to boost prices. Softening the rally was a weekly US stock report showing rising stocks and production near the 2020 record. Near-term the market looks overbought and in need of a pullback. Gold looking for support ahead of $1900 with a hawkish FOMC pause back on the agenda while copper trades firmer with a stronger yuan offsetting a rise in LME stocks to a two-year high Fixed income: The US yield curve bull-steepened yesterday despite higher-than-expected CPI numbers, indicating that the Federal Reserve might be approaching the end of the hiking cycle. Yet, long-term yields remained flat as the 30-year auction showed a drop in indirect demand and tailed by 1bps despite pricing at the highest yield since 2011. Overall, we remain cautious, favouring the front part of the yield curve over a long duration. Bonds will gain as the economy starts to show signs of deceleration. Still, larger coupon auction sizes and a hawkish BOJ will support long-term yields unless a tail event materializes. We still see 10-year yields rising further to test strong resistance at 4.5%. Today, the focus will be on the ECB, which markets expect to hike. Due to a recession in Germany and in Netherlands, we believe that the ECB will deliver a hawkish pause today, which might result in a short-lived bond rally. Macro: US CPI surprised to the upside, but it did not alter the markets thinking around the Fed. Core CPI rose 0.3% MoM, or +0.278% unrounded, above the prior/expected +0.2%, with core YoY printing 4.3%, down from July's 4.7%, and in line with expectations. Headline print was in line with expectations at 0.6% MoM, up from +0.2% on account of energy price increases, with YoY lifting to 3.7% from 3.2%, above the expected 3.6%. The PBoC announced plans to issue RMB15 billion Central Bank Bills in Hong Kong on September 19, which is going to tighten CNH (offshore renminbi) liquidity further In the news: Asset managers BlackRock and Amundi are warning that US recession risks are rising – full story in the FT. Germany is facing big structural problems in its manufacturing sector with gloom taking over among workers – full story in the FT. The EU is weighing tariffs against China over flooding the market with cheap electric vehicles – full story on Reuters. Technical analysis: S&P 500. Key at resistance at 4,540. Key Support at 4,340. Nasdaq 100 15,561 is key resistance. EURUSD downtrend, support at 1.0685, Expect short-term bounce to 1.08. AUDJPY testing resistance at 95.00. Crude oil uptrend stretched, expect a correction lower Macro events: ECB Main Refinancing Rate exp. unchanged at 4.25% (1215 GMT), US Retail Sales (Aug) exp. 0.1% vs 0.7% prior (1230 GMT), US Initial Jobless Claims exp. 225k vs 216k prior (1230 GMT), US PPI (Aug) exp. 0.4% vs 0.3% prior (1230 GMT), Commodities events:  EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Change (1430 GMT) Earnings events: Adobe reports FY23 Q3 earnings (ending 31 August) after the US market close with analyst expecting revenue growth of 10% y/y and EPS of $3.98 up 63% y/y. Read our earnings preview here.  

Hawkish pause?  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Strikes at GM, Ford and Stellantis factories dampened overall market sentiment on Monday. The walkout led by United Auta Workers (UAW) began last Friday and saw little progress as the union refused a 21% pay rise offered to workers. Shawn Fain, who is at the helm of the movement, demands a 40% pay rise and 32-hour workweek – unprecedented for the US. Good luck to both parties in these negotiations.   GM, Ford and Stellantis fell yesterday. The barrel of US crude traded past the $92 level, as Brent crude advanced past $95pb. I believe that we are approaching a peak in the actual oil rally and we should see a downside correction of at least 5-6% from the actual levels, yet the damage from rising oil prices is already showing in inflation numbers. That's partly why the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a 'dovish hike' last week.  A hawkish pause?  This week, the US policymakers will certainly opt for a 'hawkish pause'. The Fed will likely revise its growth expectations significantly higher on the back of resilient consumer spending and solid growth. The looming talk of another government shutdown, the student loan repayments and the UAW strikes will sure have a negative impact on US growth numbers, but US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defends the scenario of 'soft landing' as labour market is still healthy, industrial output is rising and inflation is coming down, she says.   Despite the latest softness in the jobs data, the US inflation figures last week surprised to the upside. A major part of disinflation since last summer was due to waning post-Covid supply issues that led to higher supply, hence slower price growth. But the improvement in supply could be coming to an end, and oil prices are rising. Therefore, the Fed will certainly sound cautious and reasonably hawkish this week. The so called dot plot will certainly point at another rate hike before the year end, and a higher median rate throughout next year.   The US dollar index tested the important 38.2% Fibonacci resistance last week, especially after the euro sold off following the ECB rate hike. The Fed announcement could push the US dollar index into the medium-term bullish consolidation zone.   A dovish hike?  If the Fed is not expected – not even a little bit – to hike rates this week, the Bank of England (BoE) could hike the bank rate by a final 25bp on Thursday. It's possible that a hawkish pause from the Fed propels the dollar higher, while a dovish hike from the BoE has the opposite impact on sterling. Cable slid below its 200-DMA last week and is now back in a long-term bearish trend.   And nothing...?  In Japan, not much is expected to change this week. Warnings from Japanese officials that a further yen selloff would spark a direct FX intervention slowed down but not reversed the JPY selloff. The USDJPY is trading just below the 148 level, with, sure, limited upside potential, and of course a good downside potential, but that downside potential must be unlocked by a reasonably hawkish BoJ, and I don't see that coming this week.    

US yields rise, dollar gains on another US government gong show By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The US yields rose, and the dollar extended gains yesterday as the looming US government shutdown drama got the only remaining big rating agency company Moody's to sound cautious about the US' AAA rating. 'Debt service payments would not be impacted, and a short-lived shutdown would be unlikely to disrupt the economy', they said, but 'it would underscore the weakness of US constitutional and governance strength relative to other triple-A rated sovereigns.' Both S&P and Fitch have downgraded the US credit rating this summer, over a potential US default in the context of debt ceiling drama.   The US 10-year yield advanced past the 4.55% level and could advance even higher due to political tensions and an increased treasury issuance for long-dated papers. Rising US yields helped the US dollar gain more strength across the board. The US dollar index, which was already propelled into the bullish consolidation zone following the Federal Reserve's (Fed) pledge last week to maintain rates higher for longer, hit a fresh high since last November. Even if it sounds funny, the dollar could profit from safe-haven inflows if the government shutdown drama doesn't last long. During the last US government shutdown, in 2018 – which was, by the way the longest shutdown since 1970s - the US dollar gained against most major currencies. Of course, the longer a shutdown lasts, the bigger the impact would be on the economy, and potentially on the US' credit rating. And the bigger the impact on the US growth and its credit worthiness, the more likely we see the US dollar get – at least a small – hit from another political gong show. For now, though, don't pull all your eggs out of the US basket, because, the dollar could well strengthen despite the political shenanigans in the US, and the US stocks could see increased inflows, as well. The last time the US government was shut in 2018, the S&P500 rallied 13%.   Yesterday's renewed dollar rally pushed the EURUSD below a critical Fibonacci level yesterday. The EURUSD slipped below the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on last September to July rally, and was thrown into a medium term bearish consolidation zone. The expectation that inflation in the euro area may have eased significantly may have enhanced the euro selloff before investors had a glimpse of the latest update – due later this week. Cable tested the 1.22 support to the downside, in a move that could extend toward the 1.2080 level, which is the major 38.2% retracement on pound-dollar's last year rally. The dollar-franc rises exponentially above the 200-DMA, after last week's surprise Swiss National Bank (SNB) pause convinced traders that the end of a strong franc era could be coming to an end, as long as inflation in Switzerland remains under control. Gold fell, trend and momentum indicators turned negative, and the yellow metal is about to post a death cross formation where the 50-DMA is about to cross below the 200-DMA, which could further fuel some short-term selloff. And the USDJPY is flirting with the 149 level, with traders determined to defy the Japanese officials' threats of direct FX intervention into the 150. Released this morning, the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) core CPI came in steady at 3.3%, higher than 3.2% expected by analysts. Normally, a stronger-than-expected inflation data would revive the BoJ hawks, and rate hike expectations and lead to a stronger yen. But, the BoJ isn't much concerned about inflation when they decide on their rate policy, they are more concerned about how to keep an absurdly loose monetary policy without causing more bleeding in the yen.  In energy, the barrel of US crude stabilizes around the $90pb, the daily MACD index fell to the negative territory for the first time since the beginning of September, and the impact of US shutdown drama on growth outlook, and the deepening real estate crisis in China, with Evergrande's latest default on a 4 billion yuan onshore bond, could add another layer of uncertainty in global financial markets, and trigger a much-awaited correction in oil prices. The $86/87 range is a reasonable target for those looking for a minor downside correction in oil prices without having to bet on a dramatic trend change.    

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.

US and European equity futures trade mixed following Tuesday's US technology stocks led weakness after consumer confidence dropped to a four-month low and the expectations index fell below a level that in the past has signaled an incoming recession. The S&P 500 dropped to a June low as the Fed’s higher for long message drove US 10-year yields to a fresh 16-year high while the Dollar index reached a fresh year-to-date high. Overnight equities in Hong Kong gained with those on the mainland cooling after sharp gains earlier as China reported improved industrial profits Crude oil prices remain elevated adding to inflation concerns while gold trades soft near $1900. The Saxo Quick Take is a short, distilled opinion on financial markets with references to key news and events. Equities: The relentless rise in long-end US Treasury yields saw selling accelerate across US stocks on Tuesday with the S&P 500 dropping 1.5% to hit the lowest level since June 7. Technology stocks, which led the rally earlier this year, has been challenged all month on concerns the Fed’s higher for longer message is starting to hurt consumer confidence. A message that was strengthened after the Consumer Expectations Index declined below 80, the level that historically signals a recession within the next year. The S&P 500 will be looking for support around 4,200, the 50% correction of the March to July rally and the 200-day moving average. FX: The DXY dollar index broke higher to fresh YTD highs, having taken out the 105.80 resistance, as long-end Treasury yields continued to rise. Data remained soft, helping keep the short-end yields capped but Fed member Kashkari, who is usually a dove, noted he puts a 40% probability on a scenario where Fed will have to raise rates significantly higher to beat inflation and a 60% probability of a soft landing. USDCAD rose to 1.3528 while GBPUSD slid below 1.2150 and next target at 1.20. EURUSD plunged further to lows of 1.0556 while USDJPY is hovering close to the 150-mark as verbal jawboning continues to have little effect. Commodities: Crude oil remains rangebound with tight market conditions, as seen through the highest premium for near-term barrels in more than a year, being offset by a stronger dollar and the general risk-off tone. API inventory data showed a crude build of 1.6m barrels vs expectations of a 1.7m drop. Gold trades below $1900 on continued dollar and yield strength with focus on $1885 support while China property market concerns sees copper traded near a four-month low. Meanwhile in agriculture, El Nino has been confirmed, and it could be a strong one, potentially impacting food inflation from rising risks of droughts in Southeast Asia, Australia and Brazil-Columbia. 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 less foreign investors demand, it’s not unlikely to see yields to continue to rise towards 5% until something breaks. This week, our attention turns to US PCE numbers and Europe CPI data and US Treasury auctions. Yesterday’s 2-year notes auction received good demand while offering the highest auction yield for that tenor since 2006. Yet, our focus is on the belly of the yield curve with the Treasury selling 5- and 7-year notes today and tomorrow. If demand is poor, it might mean that the yield curve is poised to bear-steepen further. Overall, we continue to favour short-term maturities and quality. Volatility: The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 2 on Tuesday to close at 18.94%, a four-month high after the underlying SPX index lost 1.5% to settle at the lowest level since June Macro: US consumer confidence fell for a second consecutive month to 103.0 from 108.7 (upwardly revised from 106.1) and beneath the expected 105.5. Present Situation Index marginally rose to 147.1 (prev. 146.7), while the Expectations Index declined further to 73.7 (prev. 83.3), falling back below 80 - the level that historically signals a recession within the next year. Inflation expectations for the 12 months ahead were unchanged at 5.7% in September. New home sales in the US fell 8.7% to 675k from 739k (upwardly revised from 714k), shy of the consensus 700k. Fed's Kashkari has published an essay where he says there is a 60% chance of a soft landing with a 40% chance the Fed will have to hike 'significantly higher'. In the news: FTC Sues Amazon, Alleging Illegal Online-Marketplace Monopoly (WSJ), Foreign brands including Tesla to face scrutiny as part of EU probe into China car subsidies (FT), Senate leaders agree on a short-term spending bill, aiming to avert a shutdown, extending government funding until November 17, pending House approval (CNN). What ‘peak oil’ will mean for China (FT), Americans finally start to feel the sting from the Fed’s rate hikes (WSJ), Exclusive: German economic institutes forecast 0.6% GDP contraction this year – sources (Reuters) Technical analysis: S&P 500 downtrend support at 4,200. Nasdaq 100 support at 14,254. DAX downtrend support at 14,933. EURUSD downtrend support at 1.05. GBPUSD below support at 1.2175, oversold, next support 1.2012. USDJPY uptrend stretched but could reach 150. Gold bearish could drop to 1,870. Brent and WTI Crude oil resuming uptrend. US 10-year T-yields uptrend expect minor correction Macro events: US Durable Goods Orders (Aug) est –0.5% vs –5.2% prior (1230 GMT), Feds Kashkari Speaks on CNBC (1200 GMT), EIA’s Weekly Crude and Fuel Stock Report (1430 GMT)

The fear of strong jobs By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Even a hint of an improving US jobs market sends shivers down investors' spines.  This is why the stronger than expected job openings data from the US spurred panic across the global financial markets yesterday. Although hirings and firings remained stable, the financial world was unhappy to see so many job opportunities offered to Americans as the data hinted that the US jobs market could be going back toward tightening, and not toward loosening. And that means that Americans will keep their jobs, find new ones, asked better pays, and keep spending. That spending will keep US growth above average and continue pushing inflation higher, and the Federal Reserve (Fed) will not only keep interest rates higher for longer but eventually be obliged to hike them more. Alas, a catastrophic scenario for the global financial markets where the rising US yields threaten to destroy value everywhere. PS. JOLTS data is volatile, and one data point is insufficient to point at changing trend. We still believe that the US jobs market will continue to loosen.  But the market reaction to yesterday's JOLTS data was sharp and clear. The US 2-year yield spiked above 5.15% after the stronger than expected JOLTS data, the 10-year yield went through the roof and hit the 4.85% mark. News that the US House Speaker McCarthy lost his position after last week's deal to keep the US government open certainly didn't help attract investors into the US sovereign space. The US blue-chip bond yields on the other hand have advanced to the highest levels since 2009, and the spike in real yields hardly justify buying stocks if earnings expectations remain weak. The S&P500 is now headed towards its 200-DMA, which stands near the 4200 level. The more rate sensitive Nasdaq still has ways to go before reaching its own 200-DMA and critical Fibonacci levels, but the selloff could become harder in technology stocks if things got uglier.  In the FX, the US dollar extended gains across the board. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept the interest rate steady at 5.5% as expected. Due today, the ADP report is expected to show a significant slowdown in US private job additions last month; the expectation is a meagre 153'000 new private job additions in September. Any weakness would be extremely welcome for the rest of the world, while a strong looking data, an - God forbid – a figure above 200K could boost the Federal Reserve (Fed) hawks and bring the discussion of a potential rate hike in November seriously on the table.   The EURUSD consolidates below the 1.05 level, the USDJPY spiked shortly above the 150 mark, and suddenly fell 2% in a matter of minutes, in a move that was thought to be an unconfirmed FX intervention. Gold extended losses to $1815 per ounce as the rising US yields increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-bearing gold.  The barrel of American crude remains under pressure below the $90pb level. US shale producers say that they will keep drilling under wraps even if oil prices surge to $100pb, pointing at Joe Biden's war against fossil fuel. A tighter oil supply is the main market driver for now, but recession fears will likely keep the upside limited, and September high could be a peak. 

The fear of strong jobs By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Even a hint of an improving US jobs market sends shivers down investors' spines.  This is why the stronger than expected job openings data from the US spurred panic across the global financial markets yesterday. Although hirings and firings remained stable, the financial world was unhappy to see so many job opportunities offered to Americans as the data hinted that the US jobs market could be going back toward tightening, and not toward loosening. And that means that Americans will keep their jobs, find new ones, asked better pays, and keep spending. That spending will keep US growth above average and continue pushing inflation higher, and the Federal Reserve (Fed) will not only keep interest rates higher for longer but eventually be obliged to hike them more. Alas, a catastrophic scenario for the global financial markets where the rising US yields threaten to destroy value everywhere. PS. JOLTS data is volatile, and one data point is insufficient to point at changing trend. We still believe that the US jobs market will continue to loosen.  But the market reaction to yesterday's JOLTS data was sharp and clear. The US 2-year yield spiked above 5.15% after the stronger than expected JOLTS data, the 10-year yield went through the roof and hit the 4.85% mark. News that the US House Speaker McCarthy lost his position after last week's deal to keep the US government open certainly didn't help attract investors into the US sovereign space. The US blue-chip bond yields on the other hand have advanced to the highest levels since 2009, and the spike in real yields hardly justify buying stocks if earnings expectations remain weak. The S&P500 is now headed towards its 200-DMA, which stands near the 4200 level. The more rate sensitive Nasdaq still has ways to go before reaching its own 200-DMA and critical Fibonacci levels, but the selloff could become harder in technology stocks if things got uglier.  In the FX, the US dollar extended gains across the board. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept the interest rate steady at 5.5% as expected. Due today, the ADP report is expected to show a significant slowdown in US private job additions last month; the expectation is a meagre 153'000 new private job additions in September. Any weakness would be extremely welcome for the rest of the world, while a strong looking data, an - God forbid – a figure above 200K could boost the Federal Reserve (Fed) hawks and bring the discussion of a potential rate hike in November seriously on the table.   The EURUSD consolidates below the 1.05 level, the USDJPY spiked shortly above the 150 mark, and suddenly fell 2% in a matter of minutes, in a move that was thought to be an unconfirmed FX intervention. Gold extended losses to $1815 per ounce as the rising US yields increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-bearing gold.  The barrel of American crude remains under pressure below the $90pb level. US shale producers say that they will keep drilling under wraps even if oil prices surge to $100pb, pointing at Joe Biden's war against fossil fuel. A tighter oil supply is the main market driver for now, but recession fears will likely keep the upside limited, and September high could be a peak.   

Yen falls after BoJ decision, US bond investors hopeful on Treasury's plan to spend 'less'  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept interest rates unchanged, redefined the 1% limit on the 10-year JGBP yield as a loose 'upper bound' and scrapped its promise to keep that level intact. Alas, the move was less aggressive than expected by the market and sent the yen tumbling. Japanese policymakers' insistence that they won't hesitate to take additional easing measures 'if needed' also spoiled sentiment. The USDJPY trades just above the 150 mark this morning after the BoJ decision, although the spike in the 10-year JGB yield to almost 1% should've pulled the pair lower – especially after the news that the US Treasury will be borrowing less money in the last three months of this year.  The US Treasury will borrow less; the Fed is expected to announce no change. Yet...  The US Treasury Department said yesterday that they are planning to borrow around $776 billion in the final quarter of the year. That's still a historically high borrowing, but it has the merit to be below the expectation of around $800bn and it's well below the $1 trillion that they borrowed in the July-to-September period, and which wreaked havoc in the US bond market, sending – especially the long-end of the US yield curve rallying.  Today, the Federal Reserve (Fed) starts its two-day policy meeting. Yes, the FOMC announcement on interest rates is often a big event for investors, but this time around, it won't be the only shining star of the week. First, because we know that there won't be any rate hikes this week. The probability of no change is priced as being almost 100% sure. The Fed members will still be raising their eyebrows given the strength of the recent economic data, the uptick in inflation and global uncertainty. But they won't necessarily be raising the rates. Therefore, what they will say they will do will matter more for the market pricing than what they will do. And the rate expectations will be played for the December and January meetings – which both hint at no rate hike either, by the way. That could change, but for now, no more rate hike is what investors are betting on.   So, in the absence of a surprise rate decision, or a surprise forward guidance about a rate decision, what will really, really matter this week for the US sovereign space and the faith of the US yields, is the US debt situation, and the Treasury Department's quarterly announcement on details regarding the size and the maturity of the bonds that they will issue to borrow that extra $776 bn this quarter.  The composition of the US Treasury's bond issuances will be crucial. Shifting toward shorter maturity debt could relieve the pressure on the US long-term papers but the problem with the short-term bills is that the US Treasury already sold plenty of them - they came close to their self-imposed limit of 20% last quarter- and that's why they decided to sell more longer maturity bonds since September. The latter shift towards longer-term maturity debt explained why the long-term yields took a lift since September. Therefore, it's not a given that the Treasury's issuance calendar will fully calm down the bond investors' nerves on Wednesday. 

Don't expect the Fed to stop amid strong growth, higher inflation.  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank    The US dollar was bid on Tuesday thanks to a rapid selloff in the Japanese yen, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced mini policy loosening steps that didn't find buyers. Loosening the upper limit on the 10-year JGB yield in the context of a YCC policy is not enough when considering that the BoJ should drop it altogether and for good.   But on the contrary, not only that the BoJ is not giving up on its YCC policy, but is on track to match its record annual bond purchases. Almost all the Japanese 10-year bonds are held by the BoJ – which in my opinion will become illegal one day - and the BoJ hasn't yet moved an inch towards normalization of its rate policy whereas the major central bank rate hikes start plateauing after more than a 1.5 year of aggressive rate hikes. So, no wonder the yen got smashed yesterday. The USDJPY spiked past 151, even though the uptick in the US - Japan 10-year yield spread – which also ticked up because of a jump in the Japanese 10-year yield, didn't attract the yen longs. The only thing that holds traders back from more aggressive selling is the fear of a direct FX intervention. If that happens, there is a good reason to buy a dip.   Zooming out of Japan, the US dollar index consolidated a touch below last month peak. The US consumer confidence index dropped to a 5-month low, but the latest wages data continued to give signs of strength. Yes strength – I am sorry. The employment cost index, a top-notch gauge of what employers spend on compensation, rose 1.1% in Q3 – slightly higher than a quarter earlier. Wages and salaries rose 4.6% - above the US headline CPI, and well above 3% as before the pandemic. And that was before the UAW reached a jaw-dropping deal with Detroit's 3 carmakers where they nailed a 25% increase in wages and around 150% increase in compensations for the low-paid tier of temporary workers. The ADP data is expected reveal around 150K new private job additions in October, and JOLTS data is expected to show a drop in job openings. On Friday, we will have a look at the official figures. The latter won't impact the Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations for this week's policy decision. But any further strength in US jobs data will reinforce a potentially hawkish stance from the Fed policymakers this week.   The Fed.  We know that the Fed is not done hiking the interest rates. We know that Jerome Powell won't call the end of the policy tightening after seeing a blowout growth data – which showed that the US GDP grew almost 5% in Q3 (that's more than China!), and inflation ticked higher because Americans kept spending. Duh! And if people kept spending their savings it was because they didn't necessarily feel threatened to lose their jobs, or remain jobless for long. So yes, the jobs market strength is playing tricks on the Fed, and it's clearly not loose enough. The chances are that we won't hear anything soothingly dovish. 'The higher yields help us do the job' is the best it will get.   You know where growth is not strong?  China is not doing brilliant and this week's economic data in China showed that the Chinese factory sector slipped back into contraction and the Eurozone economies announced gloomy GDP updates, as well. The German economy contracted in Q3, the French and Italian economies stagnated, the overall Eurozone growth fell 0.1% on a quarterly basis.   But at least, inflation slowed. As a result of soft growth and inflation data, the EURUSD couldn't extend gains above the 50-DMA and sank below the 1.06 level yesterday. The positive trend is losing momentum, the divergence between the strength of the US economy versus its European counterparts, and the divergence between the Fed and the European Central Bank (ECB) outlooks play in favour of a deeper depreciation in the euro against the greenback.  Crude approaching $80pb crossroads  US crude slipped below its 100-DMA yesterday as buyers became rare on news that Israel's ground offensive is not as violent as expected. A 1.3mio barrel build in US crude inventories may have helped the bears to push the selloff below the $82pb level. Yet, oil bears will certainly hit a decent support near the $80p level because at this level, they know that Saudi has their back. And the risks of geopolitical nature remain clearly tilted to the upside. For those who bet that we will see a dip near the $80pb level, it is soon time to roll up the sleeves.   Worst since the pandemic, and yet...  The S&P500 rose on the last day of October but recorded its longest monthly slide since the pandemic. Still, the index kicks off the new month a touch above the major 38.2% retracement which should distinguish between the continuation of last year's rally, and a slide into the medium-term bearish consolidation zone. The next direction will depend on whether the US yields will consolidate and eventually come lower, or they will continue their journey higher. In the second scenario, we will likely see major US stock indices sink into a bearish trend. 

In the FX  The US dollar jumped to its 50-DMA as a response to a rapid surge in the US Treasury yields. The EURUSD sank below the 1.07 level. From a technical perspective, the early week rally remained capped below a major Fibonacci level, the 38.2% retracement on summer to October selloff near the 1.0760. The EURUSD remains in a bearish trend after the failure to clear an important technical resistance. Unideal political news from Spain and Portugal, and a morose economic outlook for the Eurozone will likely keep the euro in retreat against the US dollar. Even though the European Central Bank (ECB) officials cry out loud that the rates will stay high for long in the Eurozone as well, it sounds much less credible when economic data doesn't give sufficient support.   In the UK, the Bank of England (BoE) wants to look tough and convince investors that it's too early to talk about rate cuts. But Cable's latest surge remained capped below the 200-DMA, and the pair is back to 1.22. The medium-term outlook for Cable remains neutral to bearish. Another surge in the dollar appetite will easily send the pair to 1.20 psychological level.   The dollar-yen is back to misery, above 151. Traders want to buy the USDJPY, but they also know that the Japanese authorities are tempted to intervene to prevent the Japanese yen from getting shattered just because the Bank of Japan (BoJ) can't keep up with the rest of the major global central bank policies. Japanese are happy to see inflation emerge after decades of deflation. Perhaps, the view of China – and Chinese deflation – doesn't make them want to move any faster.  In energy, the oil bulls come in timidly near the $75pb psychological support. The oil selloff probably went too far and it's time for – at least – a minor positive correction. A move toward the $78/80 range would be reasonable. This area includes the 200-DMA and the minor 23.6% Fibonacci retracement on September to November selloff.   Today is Friday. Fears of escalating geopolitical tensions could help strengthen the $75 support in US crude. But regarding that topic, the biggest fear of oil traders in Gaza was the implication of Iran in the war, which would then lead to another embargo on the Iranian oil, decrease the global supply and send prices higher. Now, the new market narrative is that, even if the Iranian oil gets banned, it doesn't matter because first, the Iranian shipments have been falling due to weaker Asian demand and two, 90% of the Iranian shipments go to China anyway, and China doesn't care about the Iranian oil ban, they will continue buying it. And oh, there is also the fact that the US shale production hit a record high of 13.2mbpd. Together with the rising worries of slower global demand, the above-stated factors should ensure that a potential rebound in oil prices doesn't extend easily above the $78/80 range.   

Asia Morning Bites High-level communication to resume between the US and China as Biden hails meetings with Xi as making "real progress". Taiwan's main opposition parties are reported to be combining forces for the upcoming Presidential Election.   Global Macro and Markets Global markets:   A mixed run of US data yesterday resulted in Treasury yields pushing higher again. 2Y yields rose 7.6bp to 4.912%, while yields on 10Y US Treasuries rose 8.4bp taking them back above the 4.50% level to 4.531%. EURUSD has dropped slightly following this yield reversal but remains at 1.0849 for now. The AUD is reasonably stable at just over 0.65, but the GBP and JPY have both lost more ground. USDJPY is now 151.29. Most of the Asian FX pack made decent gains yesterday, but will probably revert to a weakening bias today. US stocks made only very small gains yesterday. Chinese stocks did far better. The Hang Seng rose 3.92% while the CSI 300 rose 0.7% on the slight improvement in activity data. On the political front, a resumption of high-level dialogue as President Biden hails talks with President Xi as making “real progress”, is probably the main win from the Pre-APEC session. Elsewhere, the Financial Times reports that the two main opposition parties in Taiwan will join forces against the DPP for January’s Presidential elections. It remains to be seen which party’s candidate will stand for the Presidential role. This, it is reported, will be determined by a third-party analysis of how the parties are polling. These parties are viewed as being more open to dialogue with Mainland China, so they could usher in a less tense election period than has historically been the case. G-7 macro: Yesterday’s US data stuck with the theme of price pressures waning, but activity remaining more resilient (see here for a more detailed note from JK). PPI inflation dropped to 1.3% YoY following a 0.5% MoM decline, and core PPI inflation also slowed to 2.4% YoY from 2.7%. Retail sales, however, were expected to fall 0.3% MoM in October, but only fell 0.1%. The control group of sales which strips out volatile items, rose 0.2%MoM – in line with expectations. UK inflation released yesterday showed a larger-than-expected fall. The CPI inflation rate tumbled to 4.6% from 6.7%. The news flow today won’t be quite as interesting. US export and import price data is rarely a market mover. Although we do also get industrial production, which is forecast to decline by 0.4% MoM, as well as the Philly Fed business survey and usual weekly jobs figures. Japan:  Exports for October rose 1.6%YoY – beating the forecast 1.0% gain, while imports were also a little less negative than expected at -12.5% YoY, though not enough to dent the trade balance. In adjusted terms, the deficit shrank to -JPY462bn. Alongside the trade figures, core machine orders data for September showed a decent 1.4% increase, beating expectations, though still leaving the annual rate down 2.2% YoY Australia: October employment was fairly strong. The total employment change from the previous month was +55,000, up from +7,800 in September. Most of the gain was due to a 37,900 rise in part-time jobs, so the total figure flatters the positive impact this will have on domestic demand. Full-time employment rose 17,000. There was a much bigger than usual increase in unemployment, which helped lift the unemployment rate to 3.7% from 3.6%.   Philippines:  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to keep rates unchanged today at 6.5%.  BSP hiked policy rates by 25bp two weeks ago in an off-cycle move so they are expected to hold today.  BSP Governor Remolona however could retain his hawkish rhetoric should inflation projections for 2024 point to another year of above-target inflation.    What to look out for: Australia jobs data and BSP meeting Japan trade balance (16 November) Australia labour report (16 November) Philippines BSP policy (16 November) US initial jobless claims and industrial production (16 November) Singapore NODX (17 November)

On a slippery floor By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   While the US economy has been surprisingly resilient this year to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) aggressive monetary tightening, we cannot say that we have a similar soothing picture in Europe. The energy crisis, that followed the pandemic, has been hard on Germany. The country needs money when money becomes rare and expensive. Germany decided to suspend the debt limit for the 4th consecutive year – signaling that borrowing in Europe will continue to increase, and the new debt that the Europeans will take on their shoulders will cost significantly higher than a few years ago.   German bonds fell yesterday on news of yet another suspension of the debt limit. The 10-year German yield advanced to 2.60%, Italy's 10-year yield jumped to 4.40%, the Italian – German yield spread rebounded this week from the lowest levels since September, and the widening yield spread between core and periphery could become a limiting factor for euro appetite at a time traders should decide whether the EURUSD should appreciate above the 1.10 psychological mark.   As per the European Central Bank (ECB) expectations, the European officials do their best to tame the rate cut expectations in the Eurozone. Belgian central bank governor Pierre Wunsch said yesterday that the ECB won't cut the rates as long as wages growth remains elevated, while the German central bank head Joachim Nagel said that cutting rates too early would be a mistake. A mistake? Maybe. Yet, economic data comes as further evidence that the European economies are not going toward sunny days. Released yesterday, the European PMI figures came in slightly better than expected, but the reading was below 50 for the 6th consecutive month, meaning that activity in the Eurozone contracted for the 6th consecutive month. The Eurozone GDP fell below 0 at the latest reading, while in comparison, the US GDP grew nearly 5%. This is to say that, based on the current data, the Fed has a greater margin for keeping rates steady than their European counterparts. It at least has better credibility. And the Fed's bigger hawkish margin compared to the ECB should keep the euro appetite limited against the US dollar following the rally since the beginning of October.   In the US, despite warnings that the falling US long-term yields will, at some point, trigger a hawkish reaction from the Fed and eventually reverse, the Fed doves remain in charge of the market. The US dollar index struggles to gain traction above the 200-DMA.   The USDJPY remains offered near the 50-DMA after the Japanese inflation advanced to a 3-month high in October (rose to 3.3% level from 3% printed a month earlier). Normally, it would've boosted bets of Bank of Japan (BoJ) normalization, but the BoJ should first awaken from its coma.  In energy, US crude trades near $75/76 region. Downside risks prevail due to speculation that the delayed OPEC meeting could result in Saudi Arabia not doubling its solo production cuts. There is even a slim possibility that they eventually reverse them.   I am wondering if this week's drama is not staged amid poor buying following the news that Saudi would doble its cuts, to cast shadow in Saudi's intention to defend oil prices, to bring attention to OPEC and to Saudi which finally would go ahead and double its production cuts hoping that the market reaction would be stronger than if they had announced the same outcome this weekend. In all cases, deteriorating growth prospects will likely limit the upside potential in oil prices in the medium run. The short run will certainly see more volatility.    

The dollar index extends losses below 200-DMA   Friday's rebound in the US yields couldn't give a bullish shift to the US dollar. The dollar index slipped below its 200-DMA, closed the week below this level and is under renewed selling pressure this morning despite positive pressure on the yields. The broad-based dollar weakness helps the EURUSD extend gains to 1.0950, with solid resistance seen into the 1.10 level given weaker growth perspectives for the European economies compared to the US in the coming months. Cable trades past the 1.26 level, while the USDJPY remains offered near the 50-DMA, near the 149 level. The yen is benefiting from rumours that a growing number of institutional players are turning long yen on expectation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will one day normalize its rate policy. Every day that goes by brings the BoJ closer to normalization and there is a great upside potential for the yen at the current levels – hence a great downside potential for the USDJPY. Yet the right time for getting long yen is anybody's guess. What we know however is that the upside potential in the USDJPY is certainly limited above the 150 level.   In commodities, gold pulled out offers at the $2000 per ounce and is trading above this level this morning. The softer dollar gives support to the yellow metal, yet the rebound in the US long-term yields, news of a potential extension of cease fire in Gaza beyond today and the fact that the precious metal is worth just shy of its ATH levels hint at a limited upside potential at the current levels.   In energy, appetite in oil is nowhere to be found this morning. The barrel of US crude trades below the $75pb level despite news that OPEC+ is nearing a resolution of the disagreement on output quotas, which led to the group delaying a crucial meeting last weekend. Officials said that discussions with the African nations over the production quotas continue and agreement is within reach – in which case Saudi will likely announce at least 1mbpd extra supply cut to prevent oil bulls from leaving the battlefield. But oil traders need more effort to reverse the selloff in oil prices. The barrel of US crude sees strong resistance around the 200-DMA, near the $78pb level, and the price should rally past the $81pb level for the current bearish trend to reverse. 

The day has come.  By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Yesterday was finally the day that most FX traders have been waiting for since at least a year: the day where the Bank of Japan (BoJ) gave a hint that it will finally exit its negative interest rate policy. Precisely, the BoJ Governor said, after his meeting with the Japanese PM - that handling of monetary policy would get tougher from the end of the year. Indeed, the BoJ is buying a spectacular quantity of JGBs to keep the YCC intact at absurdly low levels compared with where the rest of the developed markets yields are following an almost 2-year long of aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign. At its highest this year – after the BoJ relaxed the rules on its YCC policy – the 10-year JGB flirted with the 1% mark, whereas the 10-year yield German bund yield hit 3%, the 10-year British gilt yield advanced to 4.70% and the US 10-year yield hit 5%. Certainly, inflation in Japan lagged significantly behind inflation in Western peers, yet inflation in the US is now exactly where inflation in Japan is: near 3%.   The BoJ's negative rate is the last souvenir of the zero/negative rate era and any small hint that things will get moving over there could move oceans. And this is what happened yesterday. The speculation that the BoJ will hike rates as soon as this month spiked to 45% soon after Mr. Kuroda's words reached investors ears. The 10-year JGB yield spiked to 0.80% from around 0.62% reached earlier this week in parallel with the falling DM yields. The USDJPY fell from 147 to 141 in a single move, and the pair is consolidating gains a touch below 144 this morning, as traders argue whether a December normalization is too soon or not. Fundamentally it is not: in all cases, the BoJ will start normalizing policy two years after the Bank of England (BoE) hiked its rate for the first time after a long period. And the BoJ will be normalizing its rates when all major central banks plateaued their tightening policy and when investors are out guessing when the normalization – toward the other direction – will begin. So no, fundamentally, it is not too early for the BoJ to start hiking its policy rate. But it would be a sudden move – that's for sure!   In any case, it is more likely than not that the fortunes of the Japanese yen turned for good this week. In the short run, consolidation is the immediate answer to yesterday's kneejerk rally – which took the USDJPY immediately into the oversold market conditions as the move was also amplified with many traders covering their short positions. But from here, yen traders will be looking to sell the tops rather than to buy to dips. A sustainable move below 142.60 – the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on this year's bullish trend – will confirm a return to the bearish consolidation zone, then the pair will likely take out the next major technical supports: the 200-DMA near 142.30, the next psychological support at 140 and should gently head back to – at least around 127 – where it started the year. But these forecasts will hold only, and if only, the BoJ doesn't make a sudden U-turn on its normalization plans. Remember, the BoJ didn't say it would normalize. It just said that it will be hard to handle the actual policy for longer. If one were to imagine, Governor Kuroda maybe spent last night looking at the ceiling and wondering 'what have I said!'. Funny thing is, the BoJ's rate normalization speculation comes a few hours before the country revealed a 2% fall in its GDP; obviously, the global policy tightening has been hard on the world economy, and Japan can't avoid the global slowdown winds. If it turns out, Japan might normalize its monetary policy when its economy begins to slow down.    

Decision week By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Friday's jobless report from the US was strong. It could've gone both ways, but it went well. The US economy added nearly 200'000 new nonfarm jobs in November, average earnings were higher than expected on a monthly basis, but stable around the 4% level on a yearly basis. That's twice the Federal Reserve's (Fed) inflation target and sticky, but it didn't bother much, and the jobless rate fell from 3.9% to 3.7%, as the participation rate slightly improved.   The stronger-than-expected jobs data sent the US 2-year yield to near 4.75%, and the 10-year yield recovered to 4.28%, but the stock traders gave a cheerful reaction to the news that the US jobs market is softening, not collapsing. The latest data suggests that the Fed is one step closer to realizing its Goldilocks scenario: it could win the inflation battle without pushing the economy into recession. Is it too good to be true? This week's inflation update and the Fed decision will tell.  The S&P500 traded at a ytd high on Friday, and Nasdaq closed a touch below its ytd high. The US dollar index recovered from the selloff of the day before which was mostly driven by a notable jump in the yen following the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Ueda's confession last week that the BoJ's negative rates would get tougher to maintain from the end of the year. The USDJPY – which fell from above 147 to 142 in a single move – is now consolidating gains around 145 level as traders are out guessing whether the BoJ will exit the negative rates before the year ends. Elsewhere, gold slipped below $2000 per ounce, the EURUSD consolidates near its 100-DMA, near the 1.0760 mark, Cable is losing field on the back of a broad-based USD rebound and tests the 1.25 to the downside, while the AUDUSD hovers around its 200-DMA. The pair is still in the positive trend according to the Fibonacci retracement on the latest rebound, but on the verge of sinking into the bearish consolidation zone, as is the case for the other major peers.      

The day has come By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Yesterday was finally the day that most FX traders have been waiting for since at least a year: the day where the Bank of Japan (BoJ) gave a hint that it will finally exit its negative interest rate policy. Precisely, the BoJ Governor said, after his meeting with the Japanese PM - that handling of monetary policy would get tougher from the end of the year. Indeed, the BoJ is buying a spectacular quantity of JGBs to keep the YCC intact at absurdly low levels compared with where the rest of the developed markets yields are following an almost 2-year long of aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign. At its highest this year – after the BoJ relaxed the rules on its YCC policy – the 10-year JGB flirted with the 1% mark, whereas the 10-year yield German bund yield hit 3%, the 10-year British gilt yield advanced to 4.70% and the US 10-year yield hit 5%. Certainly, inflation in Japan lagged significantly behind inflation in Western peers, yet inflation in the US is now exactly where inflation in Japan is: near 3%.   The BoJ's negative rate is the last souvenir of the zero/negative rate era and any small hint that things will get moving over there could move oceans. And this is what happened yesterday. The speculation that the BoJ will hike rates as soon as this month spiked to 45% soon after Mr. Ueda's words reached investors ears. The 10-year JGB yield spiked to 0.80% from around 0.62% reached earlier this week in parallel with the falling DM yields. The USDJPY fell from 147 to 141 in a single move, and the pair is consolidating gains a touch below 144 this morning, as traders argue whether a December normalization is too soon or not. Fundamentally it is not: in all cases, the BoJ will start normalizing policy two years after the Bank of England (BoE) hiked its rate for the first time after a long period. And the BoJ will be normalizing its rates when all major central banks plateau their tightening policy and when investors are out guessing when the normalization – toward the other direction – will begin. So no, fundamentally, it is not too early for the BoJ to start hiking its policy rate. But it would be a sudden move – that's for sure!   The Day of Anticipation: BoJ's Hint at Exiting Negative Rates Sparks Market Reaction"In any case, it is more likely than not that the fortunes of the Japanese yen turned for good this week. In the short run, consolidation is the immediate answer to yesterday's kneejerk rally – which took the USDJPY immediately into the oversold market conditions as the move was also amplified with many traders covering their short positions. But from here, yen traders will be looking to sell the tops rather than to buy to dips. A sustainable move below 142.60 – the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on this year's bullish trend – will confirm a return to the bearish consolidation zone, then the pair will likely take out the next major technical supports: the 200-DMA near 142.30, the next psychological support at 140 and should gently head back to – at least around 127 – where it started the year. But these forecasts will hold only, and if only, the BoJ doesn't make a sudden U-turn on its normalization plans. Remember, the BoJ didn't say it would normalize. It just said that it will be hard to handle the actual policy for longer. If one were to imagine, Governor Ueda maybe spent last night looking at the ceiling and wondering 'what have I said!'. Funny thing is, the BoJ's rate normalization speculation comes a few hours before the country revealed a 2% fall in its GDP; obviously, the global policy tightening has been hard on the world economy, and Japan can't avoid the global slowdown winds. If it turns out, Japan might normalize its monetary policy when its economy begins to slow down.    

Surprise dovish twist By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The Federal Reserve (Fed) wraps up the year with a resounding finale. The Fed is not bothered to see the US yields fall in preparation for a rate cut. On the contrary, they endorsed the idea of a policy pivot thanks to an encouraging fall in inflation and sounded way more dovish than everybody expected at their announcement yesterday – which clearly exposed that the policy pivot is coming. This is the major take of the final FOMC meeting of the year, and it was totally unexpected. Jerome Powell still said – just for the sake of saying – that 'it is far too early to declare victory' over inflation, but the committee lowered their inflation forecasts for this year and the next, and the so-called dot plot – which plots where the Fed officials see the interest rates going – plotted a 75bp cut in Fed funds rate next year. The median expectation now suggests that the Fed rate will be lowered to 4.6% by the end of next year. And that's quite a big change compared to last time the Fed President spoke to say that the rates would stay high for long. It now appears that the rates won't stay high for so long. The first Fed rate cut is now expected to happen in March, with more than 85% probability.  As a result, the US 2-year yield – which captures the Fed rate bets – sank to 4.33% yesterday, and with the dovish message that the Fed sent to the market, the 4.50% level that I saw as a support at the start of this week should now act like a resistance. The US 10-year yield sank below 4%, reflecting the idea that the policy pivot suggests some meaningful slowdown in the US economy. The falling yields sent the S&P500 above the 4700 mark, to the highest levels in almost two years and the Dow Jones Industrial Index hit a record high. There is no reason to stop believing that the S&P500 will soon renew record as well, unless there is a meaningful decline in earnings expectations.   The dovish Fed echoed loudly across the FX markets as well. The US dollar was sharply sold, the EURUSD rebounded back above the 1.09 level, Cable extended gains to 1.2650 and the USDJPY fell almost 1.80% yesterday and slipped below the 141 level this morning. Trend and momentum indicators are comfortably negative, the fundamentals – meaning the narrowing divergence between the more dovish Fed and the more hawkish Bank of Japan (BoJ) – are comfortably positive for the yen, hence price rallies in the USDJPY are now seen as opportunities to strengthen the short USDJPY positions.  Now today, it's the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England's (BoE) turn to give their final policy verdict for this year. And both Mme Lagarde and Mr. Bailey are certainly annoyed to see the Fed go so soft yesterday, as Christine Lagarde had said herself that no reduction in rates should be expected in the next few quarters. It will be interesting to see if ECB and BoE officials feel comfortable about giving up their tough stance. I still believe that Lagarde will repeat that it's too early to talk about rate cuts, in which case we could see the EURUSD jump above the 1.10 level and finish the year above this level.   Across the Channel, the situation is less obvious. The UK economic outlook is not bright, and wages show signs of slowing. One big argument is that inflation has more than halved in the UK since the start of this year. Yes. But inflation in the UK – though halved – stands at 4.6% which is more than twice the BoE's 2% target. The latter makes the BoE less inclined to initiate rate cuts compared to the other two major central banks.   

Rates Spark: Does the Fed know something we dont? The surprise from the FOMC was partly the extra 25bp implied cut added to 2024, but it was more the lack of pushback from Chair Powell on the 2024 rate cut narrative. He almost endorsed it, which leads us to question whether he knows something of significance that we don't. Today's focus is on the ECB and BoE policy meetings.   Chair Powell validates the move from 5% to 4% on the 10yr yield Such was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's phraseology at the press conference that one must suspect that he knows more than we know. And its not about the macro data. We can see that. It's more about what the Fed might be seeing under the hood. Perhaps in commercial real estate, or single family residential rentals or private credit, or another other area of the system that might find itself overexposed to rate hikes delivered, under water and vulnerable to breaking. We don't know of course, but a Fed chair that stands up asserts that he understands the dangers they run by keeping rates too high for too long is one that looks like he's ringing alarm bells. Along with the Fed, the market too has added an additional 25bp rate cut for 2024, now at 150bp cumulative. The entire curve has shifter lower, led by real rates. The 2/10yr curve has gapped steeper too. This is a meaningful outcome. The question now is whether the 2yr can really break free and head lower as a driver of the yield curve, steepening it out from the front end. That traditionally happens on a three month run in ahead of an actual rate cut. We’re on the cusp if this, but not quite there just yet. It’s been a remarkable ongoing market move, especially as it has been interlaced with some tailed auctions, indicative of resistance to the falling market rates narrative (in the long end). But there’s been little from Chair Powell and the FOMC to stand in the way of this. Recent data has not really validated the dramatic fall in yields. But today the Fed has helped to do so. A far more hawkish Fed had been anticipated. The question ahead is where is fair value for the 10yr. We think it’s 4%. It’s premised off the view that the funds rate gets to 3% and we are adding a 100bp curve to that. We are about to sail below 4% though as a theme for 2024, with 3.5% the target. But the move below 4% towards 3.5% will be an overshoot process. If something breaks, we fast track all of that and jump to a new environment. That has not happened as of yet, but we think the stakes have risen.   ECB to push back against early cut expectations With a first rate cut more than fully discounted by April and on overall anticipated easing of 135bp over 2024, the market’s expectations of European Central Bank policy stand in stark contrast to the official line of rates having to remain high for longer. But since the last meeting in particular the inflation data has surprised to the downside, which even influential ECB officials like Isabel Schnabel had to acknowledge. The prospect of further hikes is clearly off the table, but she warned that central banks will have to be more cautious. That also meant that the ECB should be more careful with regards to making statements about what will happen in the next six months. The ECB’s new growth and inflation forecasts will have to be lowered, the crucial question is just by how much. Also taking it from Schnabel, the ECB is unlikely to give any longer rate guidance, which would only mean a truer meeting-by-meeting and data dependent approach. Still, the ECB is unlikely to endorse the aggressive market pricing, especially that of cuts already early in the year. So far the communication has been that one is particularly concerned about the development of upcoming wage negotiations which makes pricing for March rate cuts look premature. But how can the ECB still convey a hawkish tilt? One possibility is using communication about plans to shrink the balance sheet. We do not think there will be concrete decisions yet, but the ECB could state that it has begun discussing to potentially end PEPP reinvestments earlier than planned.   BoE likely reiterate rates will stay restrictive for an extended period Expectations of policy easing have further deepened ahead of today’s Bank of England monetary policy committee meeting. A first rate cut is now fully discounted by June with an overall expected easing of close to 100bp over 2024. One reason for growing expectations was a downside surprise in wage growth which saw private sector regular pay growth fall to 7.3% year-on-year from 7.8% YoY. Another trigger was yesterday’s disappointing GDP growth for October which means we are potentially on track for a fractionally negative overall fourth quarter figure. The BoE is likely to reiterate the guidance from November, where it said it expected rates to stay restrictive for “an extended period.  A hold is also widely anticipated by the market, but the recent data could convince some of the three MPC’s hawks who had still voted for a hike in November to back down from that position toward a ‘no change’.    Today's events and market view The central bank meetings are clearly the focus today given how far market expectations of policy easing have come. There may well be some disappointment in store for pricing of rate cuts as early as March. But further out we must acknowledge that the shift lower in rates is also driven by a drop in inflation expectations. The 10Y EUR inflation swap for instance has come down all the way from levels closer to 2.6% in October to currently 2.15%. Even central banks themselves have become more positive about the disinflationary tendencies taking hold. On the heels of the FOMC meeting rates markets in the US will look out for the initial jobless claims as well as retail sales data today. we will also get import and export prices.

What's cooking in Japan?  The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will announce this year's final policy verdict on Tuesday. The BoJ Governor Ueda's comments that the BoJ's policy would be hard to maintain from the year end, had triggered expectations that the BoJ will finally say goodbye to negative rates. There is nothing more than a slim probability for the BoJ to exit negative rates this week, but investors are eager to hear further details about how and when the BoJ will leave the negative rate territory. Concrete details regarding the BoJ's policy plans and/or changes in BoJ's inflation outlook could cause swift moves in yen markets, which became very volatile since Ueda hinted that something is cooking in its kitchen. The USDJPY fell from above 150 to nearly 140 in just two weeks. As such, the pair slipped - a bit too fast – into the bearish consolidation zone, below the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on this year's rally.   The market's position regarding the yen couldn't be clearer. Presently, long Japanese yen is the most obvious trade in the currency markets. It is almost too easy. A hawkish signal from the BoJ has the potential to push the USDJPY below the 140 level, even with prevailing oversold conditions. Conversely, should the BoJ disappoint the market once more, any price rallies could draw the attention of top sellers.   

Soft inflation at the Top of Santa's Wishlist By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Appetite in European stocks waned yesterday, yet the US counterparts recovered Wednesday losses and closed the session more than 1% higher as the latest growth data was revised slightly lower to 4.9%, real consumer spending was revised down from 3.6% to 3.1%, corporate profits from above 4 to 3.7%. Else, jobless claims came in lower than expected and the Philly Fed index printed a sharper contraction in December. All in all, the data pointed at a certain slowdown – except for the jobless claims – but the numbers looked strong in absolute terms: that's about everything that the soft-lander camp love to hear : a slowing economy that will allow the Federal Reserve (Fed) to loosen its grip on the monetary policy, but an economy that will avoid entering recession if inflation falls and remains low near the Fed's 2% target. As such the S&P500 closed a few points below 4500 and Nasdaq 100 a few points below an ATH.   Today's inflation print is the Fed puzzle's last crucial piece. If today's PCE print comes in as soft as expected, or ideally softer-than-expected, we shall see the rally in bonds – and perhaps in stocks – extend the Santa rally. In numbers, core PCE is expected to show no change on a monthly basis. If that's the case, the core PCE – the Fed's favourite gauge of inflation – will fall to the Fed's 2% target over the past 6 months, on an annualized basis. Given the strong positive trend and the market's optimism, a sufficiently soft inflation figure should be enough to justify a fresh record for the S&P500 after the Dow Jones and Nasdaq renewed record after record over the past week. When the market is high on dovish Fed expectations, the sky is the limit.  Presently, swaps point at six 25bp cut in the US by this time next year. That's a 150bp cut in total. It means that the US rates are expected to fall to 375/400bp range in a year time. And that leaves the 2-year bond – which currently yields near 4.35% with plenty of room to extend rally. This being said – and I can't repeat it enough – if the US economy is set for a 150bp cut, it would also be due to something ugly that would've triggered that Fed reaction. A 5% growth, combined with robust consumer spending, strong profit expectations and a historically low unemployment rate don't call for a 150bp cut.   Elsewhere  Today's inflation data from Japan confirmed an expected fall in inflation to 2.5% from 2.9% printed a month earlier. As such, there is no rush for the Japanese policymakers to move; low rates are sweet for growth if they don't generate inflation. Plus, the yen appreciation should keep inflation contained in Japan and leave the Bank of Japan (BoJ) in a position to ... wait until at least April to exit the negative rates... et encore. Therefore, there is a weakening case for the USDJPY to dip below the 140 level, and there is no issue with buying the Japanese stocks at 33-year high levels when the BoJ remains so supportive.   In Europe, the EURUSD bulls are waiting for the US inflation data in ambush. A sufficiently soft inflation read is expected to boost the Fed doves, back a further USD depreciation and drive the EURUSD above the 1.10 mark to the end of the year. In this configuration, gold will also remain on track for further gains above the $2000 level.   Good Bye!  American crude is testing the top of the downtrending channel that has been building since the end of September. The $74/75 offers continue to push back the bullish attempts, while trend and momentum indicators are strong and tell that a positive breakout is still possible and could lead the price of a barrel to near 200-DMA – near $78pb.   The latest news from OPEC is not necessarily enchanting. Angola decided to leave OPEC as the country rejected the restricted production quotas that the cartel imposed on them. But note that, Angola won't be pumping significantly more outside OPEC: once Africa's biggest producer, the country's production collapsed by 40% in 8 years due to an unfavourable tax environment and the absence of fresh investments, and the country pumped just above 1.1mbpd, anyway. Therefore, in absolute terms, Angola's exit won't change the dynamics for OPEC, but Angola's walkout is just another reminder that the tensions are mounting at the heart of OPEC, and the cartel – which now has the lowest market share of its history – will hardly maintain an impactful position to influence the oil price if they can't show unity.    

Notes from a slow year-end morning By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank  The last PCE print for the US was perfect. Core PCE, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) favourite gauge of inflation, printed 0.1% advance on a monthly basis – it was softer than expected, core PCE fell to 3.2% on a yearly basis – it was also softer than expected, and core PCE fell to 1.9% on a 6-month basis, and that's below the Fed's 2% inflation target.   Normally, you wouldn't necessarily cheer a slowdown in 6-month inflation but because investors are increasingly impatient to see the Fed cut its interest rates, all metrics are good to justify the end of the Fed's policy tightening campaign. So here we are, cheering the fact that the 6-month core PCE fell below the Fed's 2% target in November. The US 2-year yield is preparing to test the 4.30% to the downside, the 10-year yield makes itself comfy below the 4% mark – and even the 3.90% this morning, and the stocks joyfully extend their rally. The S&P500 closed last week a few points below a ytd high, Nasdaq100 and Dow Jones consolidated near ATH levels and the US dollar looks miserable. The dollar index is at the lowest level since summer and about to step into the February to August bearish trend.   There is not much data left to go before this year ends. We have a light economic calendar for the week, and the trading volumes will be thin due to the end-end holiday.   Morning notes from a slow morning  Major central banks reined in on inflation in 2023 – the inflation numbers are surprisingly, and significantly lower than the expectations. Remember, we though – at the start of the year - that the end of China's zero-Covid measures was the biggest risk to inflation. Well, we simply have been served the exact opposite: China's inability to rebound, and inability to generate inflation simply helped getting the rest of us out of inflation. China did not contribute to inflation but to disinflation instead.  The Fed sounds significantly more dovish than its European peers – even though inflation in Europe and Britain have come significantly down, and their sputtering economies would justify softer monetary policies, whereas the US economy remains uncomfortably strong. Released last Friday, the US durables goods orders jumped 5.4% in November! The diverging speed between the US and the European economies makes the policy divergence between the dovish Fed and the hawkish European central banks look suspicious. Yes, the EURUSD will certainly end this year above that 1.10 mark, nonetheless, the upside potential will likely remain limited.   Elsewhere, everyone I talk to is short USDJPY, or short EURJPY, or GBPJPY. But the bullish sentiment in the yen makes the yen stronger and a stronger yen will help inflation ease in Japan, and slow inflation will allow the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to remain relaxed about normalizing policy. And indeed, released this morning, the BoJ core inflation fell more than expected to 2.7%. Bingo! Therefore, it looks like the USDJPY's downside potential may be coming to a point of exhaustion near the 140 – in the absence of fresh news.   In energy, oil is having such a hard time this year. The barrel of American crude couldn't break the $74pb resistance and there is now a death cross formation on a daily chart. Yet the oil bulls have all the reasons on earth to push this rally further: the tensions in Suez Canal are mounting, the war in the Middle East gets uglier, Iran looks increasingly involved in the conflict, OPEC restricts production, and central banks are preparing to cut rates. But interestingly, none has been enough to strengthen the back of the bulls. Failure to clear the $74/75 resistance will eventually weaken the trend and send the price of a barrel below $70pb. If that's the case, there will be even more reason to be confident about a series of rate cuts next year.  

Indices trying to end 2023 on a high note Global stock markets seem to be headed for an end-of-year 'Santa rally' as traders and investors return to their desks after the Christmas break, gearing up for the final push into 2024. The ongoing optimism surrounding the prospect of central banks initiating interest rate reductions in 2024, with multiple cuts expected next year, continues to propel shares higher after the US stock market experienced gains in light trading, bringing the S&P 500 index to its highest intraday level in nearly two years.   This positions the S&P 500 just below 1% of its closing all-time high of 4,796.56 recorded in January 2022 with this rally reflecting investors' growing confidence in the ability of US policymakers to engineer a 'soft landing,' effectively curbing inflation without precipitating a recession with this sentiment gaining further traction after the recent US PCE index data revealed a deceleration in inflation last month. However, it is important to note that the situation in the UK is significantly more troubling after recently released data continues to indicate inflationary and economic issues in the economy as the Bank of England may have run out of moves.    

The Finish Line By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   Here we are, on the last trading day of the year. This year was completely different than what was expected. We were expecting the US to enter recession, but the US printed around 5% growth in the Q3. We were expecting the Chinese post-Covid reopening to boost the Chinese growth and fuel global inflation, but a year after the end of China's zero-Covid measures, China is suffocating due to an unexpected deflation and worsening property crisis. We were expecting last year's negative correlation between stocks and bonds to reverse – as recession would boost bond appetite but batter stocks. None happened.  The biggest takeaway of this year is the birth of ChatGPT which propelled AI right into the middle of our lives. Nasdaq 100 stocks close the year at an ATH, Nvidia – which was the biggest winner of this year's AI rally dwarfed everything that compared to it. Nvidia shares gained more than 350% this year. That's more than twice the performance of Bitcoin – which also had a good year mind you.   Besides Nvidia, ChatGPT's sugar daddy Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Google and Tesla – the so-called Magnificent 7 generated almost all of the S&P500 and Nasdaq100's returns this year. And thanks to this few handfuls of stocks, Nasdaq100 is set for its best year since 1999 following a $7 trillion surge.   The million-dollar question is what will happen next year. Of course, we don't know, nobody knows, and our crystal balls completely missed the AI rally that marked 2023, yet the general expectation is a cool down in the technology rally, and a rebalancing between the big tech stocks and the S&P493 on narrowing profit lead for the Magnificent 7 compared to the rest of the index in 2024. T  The other thing is, the S&P500's direction next year is unclear as the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to start chopping the interest rates, with the first rate cut expected to happen as early as much with more than 85% probability. So what will the Fed cuts mean for the S&P500? Looking at what happened in the past, the S&P500 typically rises after the first rate cut, but the sustainability of the gains will depend on the underlying economic fundamentals. Lower rates are good for the S&P500 valuations EXCEPT when the economy enters recession within the next 12-months. So that backs the idea that I have been trying to convey here since weeks: lower US yields will be supportive of the S&P500 valuations as long as the economy remains strong, and earnings expectations hold up.    For now, they do. The S&P500 earnings will certainly end a bit better than flat this year, and the EPS is expected to rise by more than 10% next year. The Magnificent 7 are expected to post around 22% EPS growth next year. But note that, these expectations are mostly priced in, so yes, there will still be a hangover and a correction period after a relentless two-month rally triggered a broad-based risk euphoria among investors. The S&P500 is about to print its 9th consecutive week of gains – which would be its longest winning streak in 20 years.  In the FX, the US dollar index rebounded yesterday as treasury yields rose following a weak sale of 7-year notes. But the US dollar is still set for its worse year since 2020. Gold prepares to close the year near ATH, the EURUSD will likely reach the finish line above 1.10 and the USDJPY having tested but haven't been able to clear the 140 support. In the coming weeks, I would expect the EURUSD to ease on rising expectations from the ECB doves, and/or on the back of a retreat from the Fed doves. We could see a minor rebound in the USDJPY if the Japanese manage to calm down the BoJ hawks' ambitions. Overall, I wouldn't be surprised to see the US dollar recover against most majors in the first weeks of next year.  In the energy, crude oil remains downbeat. The barrel of American crude couldn't extend rally after breaking the $75pb earlier this week, and that failure to add on to the gains is now bringing the oil bears back to the market. The barrel of US crude sank below the $72pb as the US oil inventories slumped by more than 7mio barrels last week, much more than a 2-mio-barrel decline expected. The latter brought forward the demand concerns and washed out the supply worries due to the Red Sea tensions. Note that crude oil is set for its biggest yearly decline since 2020; OPEC's efforts to curb production and the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remained surprisingly inefficient to boost appetite in oil this year. 

Say something hawkish, I'm giving up on you By Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst | Swissquote Bank   The week started on a positive note on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Equities in both Europe and the US gained on Monday. The tech stocks continued to do the heavy lifting with Nvidia hitting another record. The positive chip vibes also marked the European trading session; the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer ASML regained its status as the third-largest listed company in Europe, surpassing Nestle, thanks to an analyst upgrade.  Moving forward, the earnings announcements will take the center stage, with Netflix due to announce its Q4 results today after the bell. The streaming giant expects to have added millions more of new paid subscribers to its platform after it scrapped password sharing last year.   Away from the sunny US stocks, the situation is much less exciting for China. Right now, the CSI 300 stocks trade near 5-year lows and Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong are trading with the deepest discount to the mainland peers in 15 years, as the Chinese interventions are said to be less felt in Hong Kong than in the mainland. Today, though, the Chinese stocks are better bid because Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for more effective measures to stabilize the slumping Chinese stocks, but the truth is, investors left Chinese stocks because of the ferocious government crackdown on most loved Chinese companies. Nothing less than drastic financial support would be enough to bring investors back.  The Japanese stocks continue to be the bright spot among the Asian equity markets. The Bank of Japan's (BoJ) negative interest rates, the cheap yen and the positive outcomes of the tech war between the US and China have been pushing the Japanese Nikkei index to multi-decade highs, and these factors are not ready to reverse just yet. Today, the BoJ didn't only announce that it would keep the interest rates unchanged at -0.10% and the upper band for the 10-yer yield steady at 1%, but the bank lowered its inflation forecasts citing the decline in oil prices. We haven't heard the BoJ presser at the time of writing but lowering inflation forecast highlights that there is no emergency to make any changes to the BoJ policy, even less so after a powerful earthquake hit the island at the very beginning of the year. On the contrary, if inflation – which is the bad side of low rates – is under control, the bank would do better to keep the rates low and its economy supported. As such, the USDJPY remains bid above the 148 level after the BoJ decision and before the post-decision presser. The long yen trade looks much less appetizing today than it did by the end of last year. Yet going short the yen is a risky option considering the rising risk of a verbal intervention when the USDJPY approaches the 150 level. Therefore, the USDJPY will likely waver between the 145/150 range, until there is more clarity about the timing of the BoJ normalization.   Elsewhere, the day is expected to unfold slowly. Investors will monitor the Richmond manufacturing index and await Netflix's earnings release. Additionally, attention is on Donald Trump, who has gained favoritism after Ron DeSantis withdrew his support and endorsed Mr. Trump for this year's presidential race. The potential impact of a Trump victory on financial markets is challenging to quantify; he may adopt a tougher stance on China, implement tax cuts, and increase spending, leading to mixed effects.   For those who missed out on the meme stock frenzy, it's however intriguing to observe Trump's special-purpose acquisition company, DWAC, which surged nearly 90% yesterday.