Attention turns to ECB and BoE

February 6, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

Ahead of two key central bank policy decisions by the European Central Bank and Bank of England where no change is expected as well as tomorrow’s release of the US jobs report, range trading is likely to dominate. Risk aversion measures remain elevated however, and further slippage by US stocks was recorded overnight.

The USD remained supported within ranges, helped by firmer US Treasury yields. Fed officials overnight showed little inclination to alter the pace of tapering despite the recent turmoil in emerging markets suggesting that emerging markets can expect little relief from the Fed.

Meanwhile, US data releases provided mixed signals, with the ADP private sector employment report (a key indicator for tomorrow’s non farm payrolls data) coming in below consensus at 175k in January (consensus 185k) while the US ISM non manufacturing survey (a survey of service sector participants) was slightly higher than consensus at 54.0 in the same month.

Aside from the policy rate decisions December US trade data and Q4 non farm productivity are on tap today although neither are likely to be big market movers.

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A further blow to risk appetite

February 4, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

Amid a market that is already very nervous the much weaker than expected US ISM manufacturing confidence index (51.3 versus 56.0 consensus) taken together with the weaker Chinese non manufacturing purchasing managers index (53.4 versus 54.6 prior) dealt another blow to risk appetite.

Consequently the VIX fear gauge has spiked to its highest level since the end of 2012 and our risk barometer has moved swiftly into risk hating territory. US Treasury yields have continued to drop, with the 10 year yield having slid by around 45 basis points so far this year.

Suffice to say investors should steer clear of risk assets over the short term as the turmoil does not look like it will be over anytime soon. A combination of tapering, a confluence of country specific emerging market country concerns and weaker growth in China provide the backdrop for a volatile few weeks if not longer, ahead.

The main event today is the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting where we look for no change in policy. However, the key events of the week are yet to come, with the European Central Bank and Bank of England policy decisions and US January jobs report all on tap over coming days. In brief, no change in policy is expected from either central bank and payrolls are expected to come in around 200k.

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GBP well supported ahead of GDP data

January 28, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

UK Q4 GDP today is likely to offer some further encouraging news on the economy. Indeed, the risk of an upside surprise compared to the consensus expectation of 0.7% QoQ suggests that GBP will also benefit.

After hitting a high around 1.6669 on 24 January GBP/USD slipped slightly but is showing little sign of reversing its gains and has jumped strongly this morning. A break of GBP/USD 1.6669 will open the door to a test of 1.6747

The fact that speculative sentiment for GBP is by no means excessive, suggests scope for even more gains in the weeks ahead. In particular, given the view that EUR/USD is set to decline further, I would suggest on capitalizing on further GBP appreciation prospects by playing the currency versus EUR too.

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AUD oversold, GBP running into resistance

January 21, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

AUD/USD has faced a significant bout of pressure since testing a high of around 0.9087. A dismal jobs report in December piled on more pressure on the currency and since then it has failed to recover. Consequently short speculative positioning has increased as sentiment has deteriorated. Yesterday’s slate of Chinese data failed to dent the AUD however, with the currency encouragingly showing some resilience.

Attention will now turn to tomorrow’s CPI inflation data. The release of the TD Securities inflation gauge which printed higher than consensus, highlights upside risks to the release of Q4 CPI and in this respect I believe market expectations of any RBA policy rate cuts look overdone. My quantitative model estimate for AUD/USD suggests that the currency is oversold, with short term fair value seen at around 0.9226.

GBP/USD is edging back up to its year highs around 1.6526 recorded at the turn of the year, a level that is likely to prove to be a tough resistance level. In spite of softer data including manufacturing and service sector confidence readings as well as industrial production the currency was buoyed by a strong December retail sales report at the end of last week.

Jobs data and the Bank of England MPC minutes will be on tap on Wednesday providing more direction for the currency. The minutes are likely to reveal few surprises but there is no doubt that the Bank is moving towards some sort of change in language on its forward guidance. GBP will find little further support over coming days, with consolidation likely. However, market positioning does not appear to be particularly stretched, suggesting limited downside risks.

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Caution continues

January 7, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

The cautious tone in risk assets was maintained at the turn of this week as equity markets slipped further overnight in the US and recorded mixed performances in Asia. While the rise in risk aversion is unlikely to reflect a major change in market sentiment, it does highlight that risk assets will not repeat the one sided moves recorded in Q4 last year over coming months. US equity valuations for example look far richer compared to historical valuations while earnings expectations are softer, suggesting that equity momentum may not be as robust.

Ahead of the key data and events this week including European Central Bank and Bank of England policy decisions and the US employment report, caution is likely to prevail. Highlights today include flash December Eurozone CPI inflation data, which is likely to show inflation pressures remaining subdued, German December employment data and the US November trade balance.

Disappointing US non manufacturing confidence data released yesterday (53.0 for the ISM non manufacturing survey against expectations of 54.7) has taken the wind out of the USD’s sails although most major currencies look set to gyrate in relatively tight ranges over the near term. JPY will find some support from a generally softer risk tone that has filtered through markets and may struggle to retake the 105 level.

Meanwhile EUR/USD has failed to hold onto recent gains, with sentiment turning less positive as indicated by the latest CFTC IMM data on speculative positioning. Likely soft Eurozone inflation data to be released today will likely undermine the currency further. However, given that it is unlikely that the ECB will sound any more dovish at this Thursday’s policy meeting the downside for the EUR is set to be limited, with technical support around 1.3525.

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