Absorbing The Fed’s Message

June 1, 2021 — Mitul Kotecha

Markets absorbed a high inflation reading in the form of US core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index without flinching at the end of last week, further acknowledgement that the Fed’s “transitory” inflation message is belatedly sinking in to the market’s psyche.  Core PCE inflation exceeded expectations for April, surging 0.7% m/m after a 0.4% gain in March (consensus: 0.6%). On a y/y basis, core PCE inflation surged to 3.1%—its highest level in almost three decades. High inflation readings are likely to persist over the near-term, if for no other reason than base effect, but price pressures will likely ease by the end of the year. 

The market’s sanguine reaction has helped US Treasury yields to continue to consolidate.  Also helping to restrain yields is the fact that positive US economic surprises (data releases versus consensus expectations) are close to their lowest level since June 2020 and barely positive (according to the Citi index), in contrast to euro area economic surprises, a factor that is helping to support the euro.

Cross-asset volatility measures remain very low, with the glut of liquidity continuing to depress volatility across equities, interest rates and FX.  Given that markets’ inflation fears has eased, it is difficult to see what will provoke any spike in volatility in the near term.  All of this this does not bode well for the USD.  Sentiment as reflected in the latest CFTC IMM speculative data on net non-commercial futures USD positions, remains downbeat.  This is corroborated in FX options risk reversal skews (3m, 25d) of USD crosses. 

In particular, USDCNY will be closely watched after strong gains in the renminbi lately.  Chinese officials are trying to prevent or at least slow USD weakness vs. CNY. The latest measure came from China’s central bank, the PBoC instructing banks to increase their FX reserve requirements by 2% to 7% ie to hold more foreign currency as a means of reducing demand for the Chinese currency.  Expect official resistance to yuan appreciation pressures to grow.      

Data so far this week has been mixed. China’s May NBS manufacturing purchasing managers index released yesterday slipped marginally to 51.0 from 51.1 previously (consensus 51.1) while the non-manufacturing PMI increased to 55.2 from 54.9 previously. Both remained in expansion, however indicative of continued economic expansion. China’s exports are holding up particularly well and this is expected to continue to fuel manufacturing expansion while manufacturing imports are similarly strong. 

Today’s Reserve Bank of Australia decision on monetary policy delivered no surprises, with policy unchanged and attention shifting to the July meeting when the bond purchase program will be reviewed.  On Friday it’s the turn of the the Indian central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with an unchanged policy outcome likely despite the growth risks emanating from a 2nd wave COVID infections cross the country and attendant lockdowns.  Last but not least, is the May US jobs report for which consensus expectations are for 650,000 gain in non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate falling to 5.9% from 6.1% previously.

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What now for the CNY?

March 17, 2014 — Mitul Kotecha

News that China doubled its currency band (to 2% from 1% in relation to its daily mid point) will have reverberations across markets but the reality is that China has been building up to this for several weeks and now that it has happened there may be little incentive to push for more currency weakness.

The net result will probably be less volatility after an initial knee jerk reaction and some relief in markets that the China has actually gone ahead with the move after so much speculation. The reaction of the CNY is set to follow the same script as April 2012, with volatility set to ease once the initial reaction fades.

The weakness in the CNY had been engineered to incite more two way risk to a currency that for many months had been on a one way path of appreciation. China had been forcing the CNY weaker over recent weeks in order to deter speculators who had taken significant long positions in the currency playing for further currency strength.

CNY depreciation versus the USD (around 1.5%) since mid February may also have been a reflection of weaker economic data, with China releasing a series of data releases that had missed consensus forecasts, especially recent trade data.

Already both implied and realized USD/CNY volatility has been trading well in excess of past moves (as reflected in statistical significant readings in our Z-score analysis). Additionally risk reversal skews (3 month, 25 delta) have been flirting with its 2 standard deviation band indicative of the view that the options market holds an extreme view of CNY downside risks.

The main imponderable is what China does now. The band widening is clearly a further step along the road of freeing up the currency on the road to capital account convertibility. However, the reality is that the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) still sets the daily fixing and the movement in the CNY will still largely depend on where this fixing is set.

Ultimately a move towards a more market based currency will need to allow the market to determine the level and movements in USD/CNY. This may still be a long way off. In the meantime it seems unlikely that the authorities will intervene as aggressively to weaken the CNY as they have done in recent weeks, with a breach of USD/CNY 6.15 likely prove short lived.

China’s still healthy external position and likely resumption of capital inflows will mean that appreciation pressure on the CNY will return and a move back to around 6.00 by end 2014 remains on the cards.

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Is China about to revalue the Yuan?

November 15, 2009 — Mitul Kotecha

Speculation has intensified that China will allow the CNY to resume appreciation. As well as a move in USD/CNY NDFs, implied options volatility has also risen. Speculation of CNY revaluation follows a significant change by China’s central bank, the PBOC to its stated FX policy in its quarterly monetary policy report last week.

The timing of the change in rhetoric should come as little surprise as it coincides with greater international calls for a stronger CNY to help rebalance the global economy as well as an improvement in economic data domestically. China has so far resisted such calls but the time may now be right for China to play its part in the global rebalancing process.

Recall that China had allowed a close to 20% appreciation of the CNY between July 2005 and July 2008 but re-pegged to the USD as the financial crisis intensified. This policy proved to be the correct one during the crisis as a stable versus appreciating exchange rate not only helped exports but helped contribute to China’s economic resilience during the crisis.

Now however, this policy is no longer needed. The worst of the crisis is over and China’s economy is doing remarkably well. Keeping the CNY artificially undervalued may stoke potential inflationary problems and distort the recovery process, whilst limiting the shift to a more consumer based economy. Managing China’s massive $2 trillion + of exchange reserves is becoming a more complicated and difficult process too. Moreover, the undervalued CNY is proving to be a global problem and hindering the adjustment of global imbalances.

Will there be an imminent revaluation of the CNY? China is in no rush to see the CNY appreciate and is unlikely to act when US President Obama is visiting. If anything, the Chinese authorities will renew the CNY appreciation trend when there is less political pressure as the last thing they want to do is to appear to be bowing to US or international pressure.

Yes the CNY is undervalued and the Chinese know this well. What is different this time is that the rest of Asia wants China to move and this is sufficient for China to act eventually but not imminently. The Chinese authorities are concerned about hot money flows and do not want to give the impression that they are embarking on an aggressive revaluation path. Gradual is the way to go but there is still room for markets to price in more appreciation next year.

What will happen during Obama’s visit is that the Chinese delegation will push for the US not to implement policies that will undermine the value of the USD especially in relation to the US fiscal deficit and the burgeoning Fed balance sheet. In return the US will push China into allowing the CNY to strengthen.

China appears to be in a stronger bargaining position given that China remains the biggest buyer of US Treasuries and the US will do little to jeopardise these investment flows. Perhaps China has pre-empted the US calls for a stronger CNY by changing the language in its monetary policy statement and it was likely no coincidence that the change happened just ahead of the US visit.

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