EUR/USD takes a crack at 1.50, where now?

October 22, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

It seemed inevitable and finally after flirting with the 1.50 level, EUR/USD managed to break through although there seems to be little momentum in the move, with the currency pair dipping back below 1.50 in the Asian trading session. Contrary to expectations the break above 1.50 did not lead to a sharp stop loss driven move higher. 

Even the break through 1.50 only provoked a limited reaction in the FX options market where implied EUR/USD volatility only moved slightly higher. In fact despite the warnings by ECB President Trichet about “excessive currency volatility” FX options volatility for most currency pairs has been on a downward trajectory over the past few months, implying that the move in EUR/USD and the USD itself has been quite orderly. 

Trichet’s warning is more likely a veiled threat on the level of EUR/USD rather than its volatility, unless of course the ECB chief is seeing something that the FX options market is not. Assuming that EUR/USD closes above 1.50 this week it technically has plenty of open ground on the run up to the record high of 1.6038 hit in July 2008 but there will also be plenty of official resistance to limit its appreciation. Such resistance is limited to rhetoric but it will not be long before markets begin discussing the prospects of actual FX intervention.  

Perhaps the reason that EUR/USD did not move sharply higher following the break of 1.50 was the late sell off in US stocks on Wednesday which helped to fuel some USD short covering.  The USD index is holding just above the 75.00 level but it’s not a big stretch from here to move down to the March 2008 low around 70.698, with the overall tone of broad USD weakness remaining intact and ongoing. 

GBP was helped by relief that the minutes of the BoE meeting showed no inclination to increase the level of quantitative easing despite the ongoing debate within the MPC.   The minutes even sounded slightly upbeat about economic prospects. GBP/USD hit a high of 1.6638 in the wake of these developments due in large part to more short covering whilst EUR/GBP briefly dipped below 0.90.  GBP/USD may find it tough going to make much headway above 1.66 as has been the case over recent months, with strong resistance seen around 1.6661.

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US dollar and equity gyrations

October 21, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

Although there appears to be some consolidation at present the USD remains on a steady downward path and is likely to continue to face a combination of both cyclical and structural negative forces.  Cyclical pressure will come from the extremely easy monetary policy stance of the Fed as well as the ongoing improvement in risk appetite. The structural pressure on the USD continues to come from the diversification of new FX reserve flows (mainly from Asian central banks) as well as concerns about the reserve value of the USD in the wake of massive US fiscal and monetary stimulus.

Although risk aversion is no longer as correlated with the USD as it was a few months ago there is no doubt that the USD is still highly sensitive to equity market movements. Correlations between the USD index and the S&P 500 are consistently high (and negative) over 1M, 3M and 6M time periods. The relationship reveals just how closely the fortunes of the USD are tied to the gyrations in equity markets.  

Much will therefore depend on the shape of US Q3 earnings. The fact that the majority of earnings released so far have beaten expectations has provided equities with more fuel whilst the USD has come under greater pressure. Should as is likely the trend in earnings continue to beat forecasts the USD is likely to weaken further, pushing through key resistance levels.   In particular, a sustained break above EUR/USD 1.50 could see a swift move substantially higher, with little in the way of technical resistance on the way up to 1.60

The real test will come when the lofty expectations for economic recovery match the reality of only sub-par growth in the months ahead. In the meantime, the firmer tone to global equity markets may encourage capital outflows from the US into foreign markets by investors who had repatriated huge amounts of capital during the crisis.

As risk appetite improves, the hunt for yield will intensify. The USD has easily taken over the mantle from the JPY as funding currency of choice for investors, pointing to further pressure on the USD. The timing of monetary policy reversal in the US will be crucial for the USD but it is highly unlikely that the Fed will hike rates next year.

As would be expected in this hunt for yield interest rate differentials are beginning to show a growing influence in driving currencies as the influence of risk appetite begins to wane.  The prospect of US interest rates remaining at a low level for a long time does not bode well for the USD, at least until markets begin to price in higher US rates which is at least a few months away.

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Earnings in focus

October 19, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

The majority of US Q3 earnings have beaten market expectations resulting in a boost to risk appetite and further pressure on the US dollar. At the time of writing, 61 companies have reported earnings in the S&P 500 and an impressive 79% have beaten forecasts according to Thomson Reuters. This week there are plenty of earnings on tap and although a lot of positive news appears to be priced in the overall tone to risk appetite remains positive. This implies a weaker US dollar bias given the strong negative correlation between US equities and the USD index.

Aside from the plethora of earnings there are plenty of data releases on tap this week including housing data in the US in the form of building permits and starts as well as existing home sales. The data will likely maintain the message of housing market stabilisation and recovery in the US. There will also be plenty of Fed speakers this week and markets will once again scrutinize the speeches to determine the Fed’s exit strategy.

Highlights this week also include interest rate decisions in Canada and Sweden. Both the BoC and Riksbank to leave policy unchanged and expect a further improvement in the German IFO in October though at a more gradual pace than in recent months. There will be plenty of interest in the UK MPC minutes given conflicting comments from officials about extending quantitative easing. RBA minutes will be looked at for the opposite reason, to determine how quickly the Bank will raise interest rates again.

The USD index managed a slight rebound at the end of last week but is likely to remain under pressure unless earnings disappoint over coming days. US dollar Speculative sentiment became more bearish last week according to the CFTC IMM data, with dollar bloc currencies including the AUD, NZD and CAD benefiting the most in terms of an increase in speculative appetite. GBP short positions increased to a new record but the rally towards the end of last week may have seen some of these short positions being covered. Overall any recovery in the USD this week may just provide better levels to go short.

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Economic reality check supports dollar

October 2, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

The US dollar appears to be making a tentative recovery of sorts at least when taking a look at the performance of the US dollar index.  Much of this can be attributable to a softer tone to equities. The S&P 500 registered its biggest back to back quarterly rally since 1975 over Q3 and either through profit taking or renewed economic doubts, stocks may be in for shakier ground into Q4. 

This increase in equity pressure/risk aversion is being triggered by weaker data. Since the Fed FOMC on 24th September the run of US data has generally disappointed expectations; in addition to the ISM survey, existing and new home sales, durable goods orders, consumer confidence and ADP jobs data all failed to match forecasts.   This list was joined by the September jobs data which revealed a bigger than expected 263k drop in payrolls.  Consequently doubts about the pace of recovery have intensified as markets face up to a reality check.

The dollar’s firmer tone is not just being helped by weaker stocks but also by plenty of official speakers discussing currency moves. Although this is potentially a dangerous game considering the recent turnaround in Japanese official comments on the Japanese yen the net effect is to support the dollar.  In particular, Treasury Secretary Geithner stressed the importance of a strong dollar, whilst European officials including Trichet, Almunia and Junker appear to have become more concerned with the strength of the euro. 

In the current environment such comments will contribute to putting further pressure on the euro which in any case has lagged the strengthening in other currencies against the dollar over recent months.   Although ECB President Trichet highlighted “excess volatility” in his comments about currencies overnight implied FX volatility is actually relatively low having dropped significantly over recent months.  The real reason for European official FX concerns is quite simply the fact that the eurozone remains highly export dependent and that recovery will be slower the stronger the euro becomes.  

It’s not just G10 officials that are becoming concerned about currency strength against the dollar as Asian central banks have not only been jawboning but also intervening to prevent their currencies from strengthening against the dollar.   A firmer dollar tone is likely to put Asian currencies on the back foot helping to alleviate some of the upward pressure over the short term but the overall direction for Asian FX is still upwards.

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Asian currencies on the up

September 30, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

The third quarter of 2009 has proven to be another negative one for the US dollar.  Over the period the dollar index fell by over 4%.  The only major currency to lose ground against the dollar over this period was the British pound.  Most other currencies, especially the so called “risk currencies” which had come under huge pressure at the height of the financial crisis, registered strong gains led by the New Zealand dollar, Swedish krona and Australian dollar.  Although the euro also strengthened against the dollar it lagged gains in other currencies over the quarter.

Asian currencies also registered gains against the dollar in Q3 but to a lesser extent than G10 currencies.  Asian currency appreciation was led by the Korean won, Indonesian rupiah and Singapore dollar, respectively.  The under performer over Q3 was the Indian rupee which actually depreciated against the US dollar slightly.  The reason for the smaller pace of appreciation for most Asian currencies was due mainly to intervention by Asian central banks to prevent their respective currencies from strengthening too rapidly, rather than due to any inherent weakness in sentiment.

In fact, Asian currencies would likely be much stronger if it wasn’t for such FX interventions.  A good indication of the upward pressure on Asian currencies can be found from looking at the strength of capital inflows into local stock markets over recent months.  South Korea has registered the most equity capital inflows so far this year, with close to $20 billion of flows into Korean equities year to date but in general most Asian stock markets have registered far stronger inflows compared with last year.   

For the most part, balance of payments positions are also strong.  For example, South Korea recorded a current account surplus of $28.15 billion so far this year, compared to a deficit of $12.58bn over the same period last year.  This is echoed across the region.  Although surpluses are expected to narrow over coming months due mainly to a deterioration in the terms of trade, the overall health of external positions across the region will remain strong and supportive of further currency appreciation.  

The outlook for the final quarter of 2009 is therefore likely to be positive for Asian currencies, with the US dollar set to weaken further against most currencies.  Some risk will come from a potential reversal in global equity market sentiment but overall, further improvements in risk appetite will support capital inflows into the region.  Capital will be attracted by the fact that growth in Asia will continue to out perform the rest of the world and yet again only interventions by central banks will prevent a more rapid appreciation of Asian currencies.

Posted in Asia, central banks, China, Currencies, Economics, Economy, equity markets, Financial crisis, India, US. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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