Fed disappoints, NZD jumps on firm GDP

June 21, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

The decision by the Fed to extend its maturity extension program through year end by USD 267 billion left markets with a taste of disappointment. Although the Fed noted that it was “prepared to take further action” it was clear that FOMC members were resistant to such action at this point in time. Nonetheless, any downside to risk assets was limited by the potential for more quantitative easing (QE) somewhere down the line.

Indeed, while equity markets took a softer tone it was notable that the VIX ‘fear gauge’ continued to drop reflecting an improvement in risk sentiment. The VIX has dropped by 35% from its high at the beginning of the month. Commodity prices remained under downward pressure, however. The lack of further Fed balance expansion capped gold prices too. The outcome is likely to play positively for the USD given that the Fed is not going to debase the currency any further for now.

Following the Fed decision clearly pressure is on other central banks to act. The European Central Bank’s Coeure hinted at the prospects a press interview while the Bank of England minutes were surprisingly dovish, indicating a strong likelihood of further UK QE at the next MPC meeting.

EUR/USD dropped to around 1.2638 following the FOMC outcome but rebounded probably helped by the fact that the Fed left open the door for further balance sheet expansion. EUR/USD 1.2750 remains a major barrier to the currency pair but if breached there is plenty of upside potential.

Flash Eurozone purchasing managers indices (PMI) releases today will likely restrain the EUR, with a further slight declines in manufacturing confidence expected, consistent with further contraction in activity. The data will put further pressure on the ECB to cut interest rates. EUR direction today will also come from Spanish and French bond auctions today.

It’s worth highlighting the surprisingly robust New Zealand Q1 GDP data released this morning. The data revealed a strong 1.1% quarterly increase compared to consensus expectations of a 0.4% increase. The data boosted NZD which rallied to a high of 0.8018 versus the USD and remains well supported. NZD/USD 200 day moving average around 0.7952 will provide decent support for the currency especially given the sharp move hawkish move in NZ interest rate markets.

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Euro gives up its gains, GBP tracks lower

June 19, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Although attention may briefly turn to the Fed FOMC outcome tomorrow the lack of progress to resolve’s Europe’s crisis threatens to inflict much more severe damage onto global markets. Against this background the European summit at the end of the week will be particularly important but the scope for disappointment remains high.

As with news of Spain’s banking bailout the positive EUR reaction to the Greek elections has faded even more quickly than I anticipated. EUR/USD’s inability to build on gains above 1.2700 despite extreme short market positioning, highlights the lack of confidence in resolving the crisis. EUR/USD appears to be increasingly following the moves in peripheral bond spreads and the news here is not good either especially in Spain, with spreads continuing to widen out.

The G20 communiqué offered no support to the EUR, with little by way of concrete measures while Germany continues to stick to its stance of no renegotiation of Greece’s bailout terms. The EU finance ministers summit in a couple of days time may provide some relief but only if concrete measures are outlined. In the meantime EUR/USD will continue to remain under pressure. As noted yesterday, I look for a test of EUR/USD 1.2515 which could happen as early as today.

Considering that the prospects of a further round of Bank Of England quantitative easing has grown as hinted at by BoE Governor King, GBP has shown some resilience. Indeed, it is not clear that GBP will weaken if and when the BoE expands its balance sheet again. My analysis reveals that the reaction of GBP has been mixed both to the announcement and implementation of asset purchases.

Inflation data will provide some clues to the room for further monetary stimulus while the minutes of the last MPC meeting two weeks ago will provide some inkling of the support within the Committee for fresh QE. CPI is likely edge higher but this will be due to seasonal factors, while the minutes will likely reveal two dissenters.

GBP meanwhile, will continue to track the EUR with the currency pair trading in a 0.80-0.81 range. EUR’s drop overnight has taken the wind out of GBP’s sails, but strong technical support will be found around GBP/USD 1.5601.

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Euro rallies on Greek election outcome but gains to be short lived

June 18, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

The Greek election outcome will be met with a sigh of relief across markets. However, there is still likely to be plenty of horse trading before a new government is formed and even then Greece’s fiscal/debt/growth problems will not just miraculously go away. Market pressure will resume after a brief delay.

At least for the early part of this week markets will likely find some support however, and with events including the FOMC meeting, G20 meeting and EU Summit coming up, hopes that some solutions may be forthcoming may at least prevent sentiment for risk assets from deteriorating too significantly.

The EUR garnered support following news that pro-bailout parties have gained sufficient votes to form a government in Greece. Negotiations will begin to form a coalition government between the first placed party New Democracy and third placed Pasok but the risk remains that prolonged discussions could quickly result in the EUR erasing its gains. Indeed, Pasok leaders are talking about the need to form a ‘government of national unity’, suggesting the process of forming a government will not be straightforward.

A slightly less negative shift in EUR sentiment has been apparent from the CFTC IMM data which revealed that net short positions dropped (ie there has been some short covering) even before the election outcome. The election result will encourage more short covering although data releases this week including the June German ZEW investor confidence and IFO business confidence surveys, both of which are set to decline, will caution against becoming overly bullish EUR. Short term EUR/USD resistance is seen around 1.2750 but a move back down to around 1.2515 is more likely as the week progresses.
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One of the reasons the EUR has managed to garner support over recent days has been growing speculation of Fed action to boost the economy in the wake of a rash of softer data releases. Such expectations have put the USD under pressure, with last week’s data revealing disappointing retail sales, industrial production and consumer confidence. On Wednesday the markets will find an answer to speculation of more Fed action, with the Fed FOMC policy decision.

Expectations of more quantitative easing will be disappointed but the Fed will likely increase Operation Twist buying time to evaluate incoming data releases. A combination of a relatively positive Greek election outcome together with speculation of more QE will keep the USD under pressure ahead of Wednesday’s outcome but weakness ought to prove short lived, with USD gains expected following the Fed decision not to expand its balance sheet further.

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Is gold losing its lustre?

June 15, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Hopes and expectations of more Fed quantitative easing in the wake of a run of weak US data, including the US May jobs report, has been attributable to the bounce in gold prices over recent weeks. However, Fed Chairman Bernanke dampened such hopes in his speech to Congress, in which he did not indicate a desire to move towards more QE. The Fed is unlikely in my view to embark on more QE any time soon.

Clearly, should the Fed implement more QE it will help to renew the attraction of gold. Once again markets will see the consequences of Fed QE as a means to debase the USD. A shift in Fed stance cannot be ruled out if US economic conditions worsen further and/or the Eurozone crisis escalates. Assuming no more QE and no more USD debasement, gold prices ought to decline over coming months.

One of the biggest factors putting downward pressure on gold prices has been the strength of the USD. While I do not expect the USD to continue to strengthen at the same pace as it has done recently, further gradual gains in the currency are likely. My FX forecasts predict a further small gain for the USD index by the end of the year but I also believe that the recent run up in the USD may have been too rapid. Assuming that the USD continues on a gradual upward trajectory I expect it to exert a negative influence on gold prices.

Gold appears to have lost its sensitivity to risk aversion. Indeed, gold’s relationship with risk has actually inverted over recent months, with a negative but significant relationship registered over the past 3 months between gold prices and my Risk Aversion Barometer. In other words as risk aversion goes up, gold prices actually drop.

The lack of reaction to higher risk aversion shows that the lustre of gold as a safe haven has faded as investors pull capital out of this as well as many other asset classes. However, gold’s drop is not unusual when compared to other commodity prices, with oil and copper prices falling too and gold maintaining a strong correlation with these commodities.

Some deterioration in sentiment towards gold prices has been reflected in the drop in speculative appetite for the commodity. Speculative demand for gold hit a cyclical high in August 2011 but since then there has been a steady reduction in appetite for gold from these investors. Indeed, CFTC IMM data reveals that speculative gold positioning dropped well below its three-month average. However, positioning is still well above its all time lows reached in February 2005, suggesting if anything, there is scope for more declines.

On top of the drop in speculative appetite for gold the technical picture has turned bearish. Since March 2009 at the height of the financial crisis the 100 day moving average price of gold had been trading above the 200 day moving average. On 27 March 2012 the 100 day moving average crossed below the 200 day moving average. Moreover, gold is now trading below both the 100 and 200 day moving average prices which sends a bearish technical message. Over the near term some key levels to look for are the 100 day moving average around 1658 on the topside and trendline support around the 1530 level on the bottom.

Another determinant of gold prices is demand from India and China. Growth in both countries is slowing, suggesting that gold demand is also weakening. While I certainly do not expect a collapse in demand from either country I have no doubt that compared to last year the strength of demand will be softer over coming months. Although I still look for a soft landing in China the Indian economic picture has clearly deteriorated while the Indian rupee has weakened. A weaker INR means that has become increasingly more expensive to import gold to India for domestic purchasers.

Overall, a weaker real demand picture taken together with reduced speculative appetite implies little support for gold prices. Moreover, a firmer USD in general will continue to weigh on prices. Perhaps a dose of inflation would help gold prices but there is little risk of this given the still sizeable amount of excess capacity in major economies.

Uncertainty about QE will help to limit any downside pressure on gold prices but elevated risk aversion will provide little assistance to gold. If however, the Eurozone and global picture deteriorates further gold will find itself with a lifeline but only if this means more currency debasement and a Fed engineered lower USD. If not, a further decline is on the cards and I forecast a drop in gold prices to around USD 1475 by the end of the year.

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Central banks ready to act

June 15, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Markets are in wait and see mode ahead of Greek elections with range trading likely to dominate market action, albeit with a slightly risk on bias. US data disappointed once again, with jobless claims coming in worse than expected, compounding the growing fears about deterioration in US job market conditions. Perversely the poor jobs data coming against the background of soft May CPI inflation data have fuelled expectations of Fed action at next week’s Federal Reserve FOMC meeting.

It is not only the Fed that markets believe may act, with reports overnight suggesting that there may be some form of coordinated action by central banks should the Greek election outcome prove to be unfavourable. On this front, the news appears to be a little more encouraging as expectations that pro bailout parties will garner relatively more votes has grown as reflected in the 10% rally in Greek shares overnight.

If it takes weak economic data for markets to rally nowadays then there will be plenty available today, with declines expected for the May Empire manufacturing survey and June Michigan confidence, while industrial production is only likely to register a marginal gain in May. While the data may add more fuel to the fire, I suspect it will still be insufficient to result in more Fed balance sheet expansion.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Draghi is scheduled to speak today but I doubt he will suggest a move towards another LTRO or Securities Market Purchases. On the subject of central banks the Bank of Japan will announce its policy decision today but I expect no change in stance despite the fact that the 1% inflation goal remains a long way off. Currencies will remain in ranges but hopes of central bank action and a favourable outcome to the Greek elections will provide support for risk currencies and keep the USD under pressure.

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