Euro slides as Greek worries intensify

September 12, 2011 — Mitul Kotecha

The USD ended last week on high a note having overcome speeches by Fed Chairman Bernanke and President Obama. Bernanke’s lack of detail on potential further Fed stimulus offered the USD a lifeline as there was no mention of QE3 but nervousness may mount ahead of the September 21 FOMC meeting.

This week’s data releases (including retail sales, inflation, industrial production and regional manufacturing surveys may offer some direction to the USD and it is likely that the data over coming days will look less negative than in past weeks, giving the USD some support. Having broken above its 200 day moving average around 76.1986 for the first time in a year the USD index is set to begin the week in positive mode and will likely extend its gains over coming days.

In sharp contrast, EUR/USD crumbled at the end of last week dropping through its 200 day moving average despite positive news from Germany (rejection of bills in the constitutional court) and Italy (passage of austerity measures). The European Central Bank (ECB) did not help the EUR’s cause however, with the change in its stance to a more balanced assessment of risks from its more hawkish stance previously.

However, the real damage occurred as speculation of a Greek default intensified and ECB hawk Stark resigned from the ECB council, highlighting the divisions within the governing board. This week attention will remain on Greece as negotiations between the Troika (ECB, EU and IMF) and Greek officials resume.

Ahead of the talks Greece approved a further EUR 2 billion in austerity measures over the weekend but nonetheless, despite denials by Greek officials speculation of a debt default will continue to hammer the EUR lower. Near term technical support is seen around 1.3525 for EUR/USD.

GBP found some relief last week following the decision by the Bank of England to leave policy unchanged though it is unlikely to be able to make much if any headway against the USD over coming sessions as expectations of further UK quantitative easing may simply have been pushed back to the November meeting.

Inflation data this week will give further clues to policy but once again there is likely to be no sign of any easing in inflation pressure, limiting the room for maneuver for the BoE. Moreover, a weak outcome for UK retail sales in August will maintain the trend of soft UK data keeping up the pressure for more BoE action. As a result GBP will struggle against the USD but given that problems in Europe look even worse, GBP will likely extend gains against the EUR this week.

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Payrolls sour mood, Eurozone concerns intensify

September 5, 2011 — Mitul Kotecha

The market mood has soured further and risk aversion has increased following disappointing August US jobs report in which the change in payrolls was zero and downward revisions to previous months has reinforced the negative mood on the US and global economy while raising expectations of more Federal Reserve action. Moreover, the report has put additional pressure on US President Obama to deliver fresh jobs measures in his speech on Thursday though Republican opposition may leave Obama with little actual leeway for further stimulus.

There is plenty of event risk over coming days, with a heavy slate central bank meetings including in Europe, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada and Sweden. The European Central Bank will offer no support to a EUR that is coming under growing pressure, with the Bank set to take a more neutral tone to policy compared its previously hawkish stance. In the UK, GBP could also trade cautiously given recent comments by Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee members about potential for more UK quantitative easing.

The EUR has been unable to capitalise on the bad economic news in the US as news there has been even worse. The negative news includes the weekend defeat of German Chancellor Merkel’s centre-right bloc in regional elections, which comes ahead of a vote in Germany’s constitutional court on changes to the EFSF bailout fund.

The withdrawal of the Troika (ECB, IMF and EU) from Greece has also put renewed emphasis on the country at a time when protests are escalating. If all of this is not enough there is growing concern about Italy’s apparent backtracking on austerity measures, with the Italian parliament set to discuss measures this week. Separately Germany, Holland and Finland will hold a meeting tomorrow on the Greek collateral issue. On top of all of this is the growing evidence of deteriorating growth in the euro area.

Data releases are unlikely to garner a great deal of attention amidst the events noted above, with mainly service sector purchasing managers indices on tap and at least threw will look somewhat better than their manufacturing counterparts. In the US the Beige Book and trade data will be in focus but all eyes will be on Obama’s speech later in the week. The USD has maintained a firm tone despite the jobs report but its resilience may be better explained by eurozone negativity rather than US positivity. Even so, the USD is looking less uglier than the EUR in the current environment.

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Awaiting US jobs data

September 1, 2011 — Mitul Kotecha

The USD continues to languish as market hopes/expectations of further US Federal Reserve stimulus including possibly more quantitative easing or QE3 weigh on the currency. There may also be some hesitation to buy USDs ahead of tomorrow’s August jobs report. The omens from the US ADP jobs data yesterday were not particularly positive, with a below consensus 91k private jobs reported.

As the Fed FOMC minutes earlier this week highlighted there are a few in the FOMC who are prepared to take more aggressive action which would equate to an even weaker USD. Ahead of the jobs data today’s August ISM manufacturing survey will offer some direction for markets but if our forecast of a sub 50 outcome proves correct it will only play into expectations of more Fed stimulus leaving the USD on the back foot.

EUR/USD struggled to sustain any move above 1.45 this week but has continued to withstand various peripheral bond concerns without too much difficulty, an ability it has managed to maintain for the past several months. Although it has pulled back EUR/USD may struggle to sustain a drop below its 100-day moving average at 1.4362.

Although there have been various fresh worries over recent days such as the collateral issues between Greece and Finland as well as well as questions about German demands for Greece’s bailout, the EUR is likely to remain unperturbed. Whether the EUR will be able to withstand growing evidence of slowing growth in the eurozone is another question altogether, especially as it is leading to a reassessment of European Central Bank (ECB) policy expectations, something that will likely be confirmed at next week’s ECB meeting.

GBP has had problems of its own to deal with and has failed to capitalise on any USD tone while losing ground against the EUR. Data yesterday did not help, with consumer sentiment falling for a third straight month according to the GfK confidence index. It appears that speculation of further Fed monetary stimulus may also be rubbing off on GBP, with potential for more UK QE likely to act as a weight on the currency.

Bank of England MPC member Posen added fuel to the fire in comments that he made supporting the need for central banks to undertake more QE. GBP looks destined for more weakness in the short term, with support around GBP/USD likely 1.6111 likely to be tested. A below 50 reading for the August manufacturing PMI today, will only add to downside pressure.

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No QE3 but Bernanke gives some hope

August 29, 2011 — Mitul Kotecha

Not only did Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke not discuss the potential for more quantitatiive easing QE3 but he also did not discuss many other options for Fed policy at Jackson Hole last Friday. The onus has now shifted to the 2-day Fed FOMC meeting on September 21 where markets are looking (hoping) for fresh policy measures. Such hopes helped US equity markets bounce back after initially reacting negatively to Bernanke’s speech.

Bernanke provided some hope to markets that the US economy wasn’t sliding into the abyss while offering the potential for further Fed stimulus even if QE3 wasn’t quite on the cards. This hope was sufficient to spur markets higher. However, importantly Bernanke noted the limitations of monetary policy in stimulating growth over the medium term.

In this respect there will be plenty of attention on President Obama’s speech on September 5 in which markets will be looking for a response from the administration at a time when the economy is becoming an increasingly important issue for the electorate.

In the meantime there are plenty of data releases to contend with this week including the August US jobs report, ISM manufacturing survey, US consumer confidence and various confidence surveys in Europe. Unfortunately the news will not be positive as the data releases are set to reinforce concerns of economic slowdown. The US jobs report is likely to reveal a limited, around 75k increase in non-farm payrolls according to consensus while the ISM manufacturing survey is set to drop into contraction territory.

Consequently markets may start the week in risk on mood but this is unlikely to last given renewed economic worries. Moreover, Eurozone peripheral country travails continue to exasperate markets, with concerns that some members of German Chancellor Merkel’s coalition plan to vote against the revamped EFSF bailout fund and news that two German banks have yet to commit on Greece’s bailout plan. Against this background the EUR continues to defy gravity around the 1.45 level versus USD but may yet come down to earth with a bang.

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All Eyes On Jackson Hole

August 26, 2011 — Mitul Kotecha

It’s all about Jackson Hole and ahead of the Fed symposium the USD index is likely to maintain its place in towards the middle end of its recent 73.47 – 75.12 range helped by weaker equity markets. Expectations or hopes that Fed Chairman Bernanke will announce or at least hint at a fresh round of quantitative easing have receded allowing the USD to escape further pressure. Bernanke will likely keep all options open but there are still some in the FOMC who do not want to embark on QE3.

Although the USD may be saved from a further drubbing the commitment to maintain exceptionally accommodative monetary policy through Q2 2013 has contributed to a relative reduction in US bond yields and in turn is acting to restrain the US currency. A likely revision lower to US Q2 GDP will not help the USD in this respect.

One currency in particular that is reactive to yield differentials is USD/JPY, which registers an impressively high correlation with US – Japan yield differentials. Attempts this week by the Japanese authorities to encourage capital outflows and a downgrade of Japan’s credit ratings by Moody’s have done little to weaken the JPY.

Even the usually bearish JPY Japanese margin traders have been scaling back their long USD/JPY positions over recent weeks while speculative investors remain overly long (well above the three-month average) JPY according to IMM data. The risk of a shake out of long JPY positions is high but unless yield differentials reverse renewed JPY weakening looks unlikely in the short-term.

Eurozone peripheral issues will be put on the backburner ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting but that doesn’t mean they have gone away. As the continued pressure on Greek bonds shows markets continue to be fixated on the country’s problems and there may be growing nervousness ahead of the decision to distribute the next IMF loan tranche at the end of September. Nervousness also extended to Germany, with ratings agencies having to confirm the country’s AAA rating.

So far this week EUR has shown impressive resilience despite weak data in the form the German August IFO business and ZEW investor confidence surveys. However, there is a risk of EUR weakness should Bernanke not hint at QE3, with the currency already trading around the bottom of its multi-day range.

AUD has failed to recoup its end July losses and is still some 5% below its high above 1.10 versus USD. There is scope for some AUD appreciation especially as AUD speculative positioning has dropped sharply over recent weeks reducing sharply the net long overhang in the currency.

Moreover, markets have become overly aggressive in pricing in interest rate cuts in Australia and as evidenced from the AUD bounce following RBA Governor Stevens comments this morning (in which he referred to inflation data as still being concerning) there is an asymmetric risk to the AUD on the upside.

Nonetheless, AUD has experienced an increase in sensitivity to risk over recent weeks and will continue to be driven by gyrations in risk appetite. In this respect it is too early to assume the worst is over, suggesting that any further gains in AUD will be limited.

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