EUR and JPY outlook

February 28, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

EUR/USD took some advantage of a softer USD tone, with the currency pair breaking above 1.37 once again. However, the release of flash Eurozone HICP inflation readings today will take the shine off the EUR given that it will likely support the case for further policy easing at the 6 March European Central Bank policy meeting.

Benign readings for both headline and core inflation estimates are expected to be revealed today, consistent with small cuts in the ECB’s refi rate and strengthened forward guidance. EUR/USD will find strong resistance around its 2014 high at 1.3776.

Japan’s data slate released this morning came in better than expected. The jobless rate held at low level at 3.7% while the jobs to applicants’ ratio increased to 1.04 in a further sign of strengthening job conditions. CPI inflation marked its 8th straight month of gains while industrial production, retail sales and overall household spending beat expectations.

The main take away is that inflation is close to peaking and the risks of further Bank of Japan policy action is rising. This will limit the downside for USD/JPY but further slippage in US yields overnight mean that USD/JPY upside remains restrained. 101.67 – 102.85 is likely to hold as a near term range for the currency pair.

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USD undermined, GBP supported for now

February 27, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

Despite its overnight bounce the USD index is trading close to its lowest levels this year undermined by a series of weaker economic data and related to this a failure of US bond yields to push higher. Alongside this relatively soft USD tone is a generally subdued and range bound tone to FX markets in general.

Even my quantitative models suggest little impetus for big moves in EUR/USD and USD/JPY. However, I expect this to change over coming weeks. Once the US economy shakes off the shackles of poor weather conditions the USD will be in a better position to recoup its recent losses.

In the near term Fed Chairman Yellen’s testimony today will garner some attention but the speech is unlikely to break the USD or FX markets out of their malaise.

GBP is holding up well, taking advantage of a subdued USD tone. As a consequence of firmer data the market appears to be gearing up for an eventual rate hike, with Bank of England members sounding more upbeat, even if it is unlikely to occur anytime soon.

Consequently over the near term GBP looks well supported although eventually we expect the currency to settle back to earth. In particular 3 month interest rate differentials with the USD appear to suggest that GBP/USD gains are overdone.

This doesn’t mean that its time to sell now but market positioning has turned more positive over recent weeks, above its 3-month average, suggesting further short term gains will be more gradual, with strong GBP/USD resistance around 1.6745.

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China worries inflicting damage globally

February 26, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

A combination of worries on both sides of the pond has inflicted damage on risk assets globally. US equities closed lower, Treasury yields dropped, USD was weaker while gold prices rose. In Asia, China growth concerns, overexpansion of credit, and currency weakness are increasingly infiltrating markets globally.

Meanwhile in the US, consumer confidence surprisingly slipped in February, albeit from a high level while the annual pace of house price gains slowed slightly in December. The data added a further layer of pressure on stock markets and US January new home sales data will not help matters as it is likely to give further evidence of slowing housing momentum.

While it is now easy to blame much of the weakness in US economic data on adverse weather conditions hopes / expectations that US data will improve going forward will be tested soon. In the absence of first tier data today, attention will remain firmly fixed on events in China and in particular whether the CNY and CNH registers further declines.

Given all the attention on the Chinese currency, major currency markets have been lulled into tight ranges, with our measure of composite implied G3 FX volatility declining further. Our implied volatility index has now dropped to the lowest levels since the end of October last year.

USD/JPY is likely to face some downward pressure in the short term given the rise in risk aversion and lower US yields overnight. EUR/USD remains supported but remains susceptible to downside risks given the potential for easier monetary policy at the upcoming European Central Bank meeting next week.

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AUD resilient, JPY downside risks

February 25, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

Against the backdrop of concerns about Chinese growth and a weaker path for China’s currency, the AUD has failed to make any headway over recent days. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that AUD remains one of the best performing currencies despite such concerns. From a positioning perspective the market is still net short AUD, albeit less so over recent weeks, implying that there is still scope for short covering.

The rally in commodity prices over recent days will likely have helped the AUD but notably it’s the wrong commodities that are rallying. For instance, iron ore prices have dropped sharply. Nonetheless, improving risk appetite is giving AUD some relief and downside risks to the currency remain limited, with its resilience set to continue. Consequently AUD/USD is set to see strong buying interest on any dip to technical support around 0.927.

USD/JPY has been range bound over recent sessions failing to make any significant headway above the 102.50 level. The consolidation in US Treasury yields is a factor capping gains in USD/JPY but an improvement in risk appetite and gains in Japanese equity markets will likely help fuel some downside risks for JPY over the near term.

There are also signs that after several weeks of net inflows, Japan is finally beginning to register renewed outflows of portfolio capital which ought to add further downward pressure on the JPY. The fact that the speculative market remains net short JPY may limit the pace of JPY depreciation, however. It is difficult to see JPY volatility decline further from already very low levels but a break of current ranges may require a bigger move in US Treasury yields. We remain long USD/JPY at 102.39.

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What to watch in Europe and Japan this week

February 24, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

European equuty markets ended higher last week shrugging off some disappointing manufacturing and service sector survey readings. The highlight of the Eurozone calendar this week is today’s release of the February German IFO business confidence survey which is expected to register a small increase from the 110.6 reading in January, supporting the message that German growth is consolidating over Q1 14.

Eurozone inflation readings will be important too, with the flash reading of February HICP inflation released at the end of the week set to record another soft reading of 0.7% YoY, supporting the case for further policy easing from the European Central Bank soon.

While the EUR may benefit from a firm IFO reading any gains will be short lived. Soft inflation will help cap gains in the currency especially given the renewed warning this weekend by ECB President Draghi of more policy action if needed.

Elsewhere, data this week will reveal that the main measure of Japanese inflation appears to be peaking around 1%, with core inflation set to decline over coming months. After last week’s softer than expected Q4 GDP reading the pressure on the Bank of Japan for monetary action and in turn a weaker JPY will continue.

Meanwhile, Japan’s job data is expected to reveal that the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% in January. USD/JPY will remain support around its 100 day moving average at 101.65.

Posted in Bank of Japan, Germany, Japan. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »
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