Shock and Awe

May 10, 2010 — Mitul Kotecha

The Greek crisis spread further last week, not only to Portugal and Spain, but in addition to battering global equity markets, contagion spread to bank credit spreads, OIS-libor and emerging market debt. In response, European Union finance ministers have rushed to “shock and awe” the markets by formulating a “crisis mechanism” package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The package includes loan guarantees and credits worth as much as EUR 750 billion. The support package can be added to the EUR 110 billion loan package announced last week.

In addition, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced the authorisation of temporary currency swaps through January 2011 between the Fed, European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of Canada (BoC), Bank of England (BoE) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) in order to combat in the “the re-emergence of strains” in European markets. Separately, the ECB will conduct sterilised interventions in public and private debt markets, a measure that was hoped would be announced at the ECB meeting last week, but better late than never. The ECB did not however, announce direct measures to support the EUR.

The significance of these measures should not be underestimated and they will go a long way to reducing money market tensions and helping the EUR over the short-term. Indeed, recent history shows us that the swap mechanisms work well. The size of the package also reduced default and restructuring risks for European sovereigns. However, the risk is that it amounts to a “get out of jail free card” for European governments. A pertinent question is whether the “crisis mechanism” will keep the pressure on governments to undertake deficit cutting measures.

The Greek crisis has gone to the heart of the euro project and on its own the package will be insufficient to turn confidence around over the medium term. In order to have a lasting impact on confidence there needs to be proof of budget consolidation and increasing structural reforms. Positive signs that the former is being carried out will help but as seen by rising public opposition in Greece, it will not be without difficulties whilst structural reforms will take much longer to implement. Confidence in the eurozone project has been shattered over recent months and picking up the pieces will not be an easy process.

Some calm to markets early in the week will likely see the USD lose ground. There was a huge build up of net USD long positioning over the last week as reflected in the CFTC IMM data, suggesting plenty of scope for profit taking and/or offloading of USD long positions. In contrast, EUR positioning fell substantially to yet another record low. Some short EUR covering is likely in the wake of the new EU package, but EUR/USD 1.2996 will offer tough technical resistance followed by 1.3114.

The EU/IMF aid package will help to provide a strong backstop for EUR/USD but unless the underlying issues that led to the crisis are resolved, EUR/USD is destined to drop further. Perhaps there will be some disappointment for the EUR due to the fact that the package of support measures involves no FX intervention. This could even limit EUR upside given that there was speculation that “defending the EUR” meant physically defending the currency. In the event the move in implied FX volatility over the last week did not warrant this.

Posted in central banks, Currencies, Economics, Economy, emerging markets, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, Federal Reserve, Financial crisis, Fiscal/Budget, FX, Germany, Greece, IMF, Interest rates, Japan, Monetary Policy, US. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Risk Aversion Back With A Vengeance

May 5, 2010 — Mitul Kotecha

Risk aversion is back with a vengeance as reflected in the rise in equity volatility (VIX), drop in equity markets and rally in US Treasuries.  European peripheral debt markets sold off despite the EU/IMF aid package for Greece, whilst EUR/USD slid below 1.3000.  Various rumours dealt a blow to markets including talk of a sovereign ratings downgrade and a EUR 280 billion bailout for Spain.   The message is clear.  This situation is becoming increasingly dire by the day.  Europe is in big trouble and the whole euro project is under threat of unravelling.  

Concerns about parliamentary approvals, implementation/execution risk, prospects for relatively weaker growth in Europe, as well as contagion to Spain and Portugal, has tempered any enthusiasm towards the EU/IMF bailout package.  In addition, despite the large size of the EUR 110 billion loan package there are growing worries that it will be insufficient to cover Greece’s funding requirements over the next three years.  All of this implies that the EUR will remain under pressure for some time yet.  I have previously spoken about a drop to around EUR/USD 1.25 but the risk is for a much sharper decline is growing.

The USD is the clear winner, spiking to its highest level since May 2009 and is looking well set to consolidate its gains over the short-term despite the fact that net aggregate USD speculative positioning has already reached its highest level since September 2008 (according to the CFTC Commitment of Traders IMM data) in contrast to EUR positioning, which is at a record low.  This is unlikely to stand in the way of further downside for EUR/USD, with the next technical support level seen at 1.2885, which would match the previous lows see in April 2009.

A combination of worries including contagion to Spain and Portugal, policy tightening in China, debt concerns in the UK and Japan, all threaten to undo the positive message from recent positive economic data including further strengthening in Purchasing Managers Indices globally.   The immediate attention remains on Greece and growing scepticism about the ability of Greece to carry out austerity measures in the face of rising domestic opposition, including a nationwide strike today. 

The rout in US and European markets will spill over to Asia, putting equity markets and Asian currencies under pressure.  Another risk currency to suffer is the AUD, which has dropped sharply following the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting, in which the Bank indicated that rates were close to peaking.  Speculative positioning has dropped for the past two weeks as longs are taken off but AUD/USD weakness is set to be temporary, with buyers likely to emerge around near term support seen around 0.9001.

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Greece Bailed Out, Euro Unimpressed

May 3, 2010 — Mitul Kotecha

After much debate eurozone ministers along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), finally announced an emergency loan package for Greece amounting to  EUR 110 billion. In return for the bailout Greece agreed to enhanced austerity measures. The good news is that the package covers Greece’s funding requirements until 2012, and is sufficient to avoid debt restructuring and default. The loan package has also removed uncertainty ahead of bond redemption on May 19th.

One aim of the package was to prevent contagion to other eurozone countries, especially Portugal and Spain, where there has been growing pressure on local bond and equity markets. However, the path ahead is strewn with obstacles and it is too early to believe that the package has ensured medium term stability for the EUR.

The challenges ahead are two-fold, including both the implementation of the measures in Greece in the face of strong domestic opposition and the approval of the loans by individual country parliaments within the eurozone, both of which are by no means guaranteed.

The toughest approval process is likely to be seen in Germany where the government will face a grilling in parliament and a challenge in the constitutional court ahead of official approval of the package. European Union leaders are scheduled to meet on May 7th to discuss the parliamentary approval of loans to Greece whilst German officials meet on the same day.

Implementation risk is also high. Although the Greek government appears to be sufficiently committed, opposition within Greece is growing; various strikes planned over coming days. Aside from union opposition, the scale of the budgetary task ahead is enormous, having never been undertaken on such a large scale in recent history. The sharp decline in growth associated with the austerity measures will make the task even harder.

The EUR bounce on the news has been limited, with the currency failing to hold onto gains. The announcement seems to have triggered a “buy on rumour, sell on fact” reaction, with the size of the loan package falling within the broad estimates speculated upon over the last week. The lack of EUR bounce despite the fact that going into this week the CFTC Commitment of Traders report revealed record net short speculative positioning in EUR/USD, reveals the extent of pessimism towards the currency.

The EUR may benefit from a likely narrowing in bond spreads between Greece and Germany. Given that sovereign risk is being increasingly transferred from the periphery to the core, the net impact on bond markets may not be so positive for the EUR. Over the short-term there will be strong technical resistance on the upside around EUR/USD 1.3417 but more likely the currency pair will target support at around 1.3114.

The Herculean task ahead for the Greek government suggests that markets will not rest easy until there are credible signs of progress. Investors would be forgiven for having a high degree of scepticism given the degree of “fudging” involved in the past, whilst Greek unions will undoubtedly not make the government’s task an easy one by any means. Such scepticism will prevent a sustained EUR recovery and more likely keep the EUR under pressure.

As noted above the divergence in growth for the eurozone economy between Northern and Southern Europe will make policy very difficult. Moreover, the EUR is set to suffer from an overall weak trajectory for the eurozone economy, relative to the US and other major economies. The widening growth gap with the US will also fuel a widening in bond yield differentials, a key reason for EUR/USD to continue to decline to around or below 1.25 by the end of the year.

Posted in Bond markets, central banks, Currencies, Economics, Economy, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, Financial crisis, Fiscal/Budget, FX, Germany, Greece, IMF, Interest rates, Monetary Policy. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Greek Aid Boosts Euro

April 12, 2010 — Mitul Kotecha

Greece is never far from the headlines and the big news over the weekend was once again centred on this small (in terms of economy size) eurozone Country, with the agreement by Eurozone members to provide up to EUR 30 billion in loans to Greece. This will be supplemented by additional contributions from the IMF to the tune of around EUR 15 billion. The rate of around 5% for the three-year fixed loan is well below that yielding on Greek debt but above the International Monetary Fund (IMF) standard lending rate. In other words, the terms of the loan are far more favourable than they would currently face in the market.

After weeks of haggling the decision to detail the amount and terms of a loan for Greece will help reassure markets and likely result in a narrowing in Greek spreads over the near term. Further details will be finalised early in the week including conditions imposed on Greece as well as the exact amount of the IMF contribution but the real test of confidence will be the reception to Greece’s EUR 1.2 billion sale of 3 and 6-month paper at the beginning of the week.

Markets were already embarking on a short covering exercise in EUR/USD early last week according to the latest CFTC IMM report which showed a reduction in net EUR short speculative positions. As a result of the weekend’s agreement the EUR looks set to consolidate its gains into the beginning of this week. Further out, there are still plenty of risks ahead and sellers are likely to emerge around EUR/USD resistance at 1.3696.


Data releases this week will be conducive to maintaining further support for risk appetite whilst shoring up recovery expectations. In particular US March retail sales are set to jump on the back of strong autos spending (consensus 1.2% monthly gain). March industrial production is also likely to record a healthy reading (consensus 0.7% month-on-month), whilst gains in both manufacturing (Empire manufacturing and Philadelphia Fed) and consumer confidence (Michigan confidence) for April are likely.

There will also be plenty of attention on Chinese data this week with a plethora of releases over coming days including FX reserves, GDP, loans data, inflation, retail sales and industrial production. In short, the data will continue to reveal a robust economic performance, which will be good for risk appetite and Asian currencies, but will also add to the pressure to revalue the Chinese currency, CNY, soon.

The USD impact will depend on whether the market reacts to firmer risk appetite or signs of stronger US growth. I suspect the former will apply for now, likely keeping the USD on the back foot early in the week. The main beneficiaries include risk currencies such as AUD, NZD and CAD as well as most Asian currencies. AUD/USD is set to target technical resistance around 0.9407 whilst NZD/USD will set its sights on resistance around 0.7252 over the next few days.

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Better Levels To Sell

March 1, 2010 — Mitul Kotecha

It is questionable how long the slight improvement in risk appetite at the beginning of this week lasts given the fickle nature of market sentiment at present and propensity for more disappointment. More than likely any relief will be short-lived given 1) there are still major concerns about fiscal/debt problems in Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc 2) the sharp decline in economic activity that various austerity plans will lead to and 3) rising social/labour unrest due to cuts in spending and hikes in taxes that need to be implemented.

Attention remains firmly fixed on Greece’s woes whilst global growth concerns have reappeared following some disappointing data releases in the US last week as well the decline in China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in February, released overnight, which although obscured by the timing of Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, suggests that China’s economy is losing some of its recent strong momentum.

Speculation of a rescue plan for Greece will likely give some support to the beleaguered EUR though it may only end up providing better levels to sell the currency. EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Rehn is scheduled to meet with Greek Prime Minister Papandreou today against the background of talks about the possibility of EUR 25 billion in aid to Greece using state owned lenders to buy Greek debt. Any aid will likely come with demands for more action to reduce Greece’s yawning budget deficit which will fuel further weakness in economic activity.

A key test of sentiment towards Greece’s austerity plans will be the market reception to an upcoming sale of as much as EUR 5 billion in 10-year Greek bonds. Given the reassurances given by the EU the sale of bonds will likely not be too problematic. As an indication, Greek 10-year bond yields dropped sharply on Friday as sentiment improved.

The bounce in Greek debt was accompanied by a firmer EUR/USD which rebounded to a high of around 1.3667 as markets covered short positions. It’s probably way too early to suggest that the EUR has began a sustainable rally however, and more likely it has settled into a new range, with support around the 2010 low of 1.3444. The latest CFTC Commitment of Traders’ (IMM) data revealed a further increase in net short EUR positioning to a new record low in the week to 23rd February. This highlights both the weight of pessimism on the currency as well as significant potential to rebound.

Conversely, the IMM data reveals that net USD positions are at their highest in almost a year and well above their three-month average, suggesting that USD positioning is looking a bit stretched though its worth noting that positioning is still well off its record high. Nonetheless, with a bailout for Greece in the offing, risk appetite could gain a stronger foothold this week, in turn keeping the USD capped.

As for the EUR, although a lot of bad news is in the price, for the currency to rebound on a sustainable basis it will require fiscal/growth worries to recede. Despite talk of Greek aid, there is a long way to go before Europe’s fiscal/debt problems are resolved.

Posted in China, Currencies, Economics, Economy, Europe, Financial crisis, Fiscal/Budget, FX, Germany, Greece, Interest rates. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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