EUR
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK: WEAK BEARISH
BASELINE
In recent weeks, the persistently high inflation has seen the ECB take a more hawkish turn with the bank confirming at least a 25bsp hike for July and possibility of a 50bsp hike in September. Despite the hawkish policy shift, the concerns over fragmentation in bond spreads (BTP\Bund) as well as fears of growing stagflation risks has seen the EUR struggle to hold onto any hawkish ECB momentum. The ECB did try to comfort spread concerns with promises of a new fragmentation tool, and even though it has kept spreads from widening further, concerns remain. If the bank can convince markets that their new spread tool(s) can stop fragmentation it should be supportive for the EUR. However, with a material energy crisis facing the EZ due to the war in Ukraine, the economic prospects look bleak. Even though growth data was surprisingly resilient in Q2, fresh recession fears ramped up as recent forward-looking growth data surprised materially lower for key members like Germany and France. Based on the forward-looking signals from leading indicators we think recession is likely in the EZ and that the narrative has turned more bearish for the EUR until that improves.
POSSIBLE BULLISH SURPRISES
Geopolitics remains a focus, and any possible de-escalation or cease fire in Ukraine would open up a lot of EUR upside. Also keep Italian politics in mind where any successful attempt by PM Draghi to stay in power should ease spread concerns. Stagflation fears are high, with growth expected to slow while inflation stays high. Recent PMI data has invigorated recession fears, which means any materially better-than-expected growth data (Flash PMIs this week) could spark upside. Even though the ECB’s recent communication has been enough to push BTP/ Bund spreads from their recent highs the concerns remain, especially with Italian politics further exacerbating the problem. Thus, any insights or clarity regarding their new tool that convinces markets it can solve fragmentation should be supportive for the EUR. Energy concerns are still in focus, which means watching the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closely, if Russia resumes gas flows after maintenance ends this week it could see EUR upside.
POSSIBLE BEARISH SURPRISES
Geopolitics remain in focus, any escalation in the Ukraine war that risks including NATO would be big negative risks. Also keep Italian politics in mind, where any triggers of general elections risk further spread concerns & pressure the EUR. Spread fragmentation remains in focus, and if the ECB fail to calm fears or even walks back on recent hawkish comments it could trigger bearish reactions in the EUR. Growth concerns continue weighing on the EUR and means incoming growth data (Flash PMIs this week) will be in focus, where any major negative surprises could trigger downside. We've seen a chunky repricing in hike expectations over the past three weeks, and any further lower repricing is expected to weigh on the EUR. Energy concerns are still in focus, which means watching the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closely, if Russia keeps gas flows closed after maintenance ends this week it could see EUR downside.
BIGGER PICTURE
The fundamental outlook for the EUR has shifted to bearish with recent leading indicators pointing to a much faster economic slowdown than markets had previously expected. There are bearish and bullish factors in play right now though. On the bearish side we have geopolitics, stagflation, spread fragmentation and energy concerns acting as negative drivers. But we also have hawkish ECB policy as a possible supportive driver. Recession risks does open up a narrative change for the EUR which will require markets to change their forecasts to reflect higher recession risks which should continue to weigh on the EUR.
USD
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK: BULLISH
BASELINE
Hawkish Fed policy remains a key driver for Dollar strength. With headline inflation >9%, the Fed has been pressured to tighten policy aggressively, hiking rates by 75bsp at their June meeting, and continuing with Quantitative Tightening. However, as a result of increasing fears of a growth slowdown (as evidenced by recent econ data), STIR markets have repriced lower, and now expects a terminal rate of 3.5% (versus >4% before the June FOMC meeting). Even though lower STIR pricing should be negative for the USD, the growth concerns has sparked further risk off concerns and have seen safe haven flows into the USD. The USD is usually inversely correlated to the global economy and trade, appreciating when growth & inflation slows and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates. Further expectations of a cyclical slowdown and continued tight monetary policy expectations has seen investors shun risk assets and even bonds (usually considered a safe haven), and the USD has been a key benefactor of the rush to safety in recent weeks. The current high inflation has meant that bonds have not been sought as a safe haven with a strong stock-to-bond correlation, and this has caused big bond outflows. With bonds not fulfilling its usual save haven role the USD has been the haven of choice. The bias remains bullish , but with stretched tactical and CFTC positioning we don’t want to chase the USD higher right now.
POSSIBLE BULLISH SURPRISES
As aggressive Fed policy has been supporting the USD, any incoming data ( S&P Flash PMI this week) that sparks further aggressive hike expectations, or comments from FOMC members that signals even more aggressive policy could trigger bullish reactions in the USD. As the cyclical outlook for the global economy is very bleak, and the USD is considered a safe haven, it means incoming data that exacerbates fears of recession and triggers a big rush to safety could trigger bullish USD reactions. Further outflows in US bonds means more USD safe haven appeal. So, watching key triggers for further upside in bond yields like rising commodity prices, rising inflation expectations and upside surprises in inflation data could also trigger further USD bullish reactions.
POSSIBLE BEARISH SURPRISES
The USD has been reacting as a safe haven with recent US data, but the worse growth data gets, the higher likelihood of a ‘Fed Put’ in the months ahead. Thus, extremely bad growth data could trigger bearish reactions in the USD. Tactically the USD is trading at fresh cycle highs, and aggregate CFTC positioning is close to prior highs which acted as local tops. Thus, stretched positioning could make the USD vulnerable to mean reversion in the short-term, but finding strong enough bearish catalysts has been tricky recently. With a lot already priced for the Fed, it won’t take much for them to disappoint markets on the dovish side. Any FOMC comments that suggests more concern about the economy than inflation could trigger bearish reactions in the USD, but with inflation so high any dovish pivots seem unlikely for now.
BIGGER PICTURE
The fundamental outlook for the USD remains bullish as long as the Fed stays aggressive and cyclical concerns put pressure on risk assets. We do also want to be mindful that lots has been priced for the USD, and as growth deteriorates, it could start to weigh on the USD if markets start pricing in a ‘Fed Put’, but based on where inflation is sitting any pivot seems still a while away and as the safe haven of choice any further recession focused downside in risk assets will likely continue to prove supportive for the USD. In the short-term though, with positioning looking stretched, we prefer much deeper pullbacks for new med-term USD longs and would look for short-term catalysts that offer shorter bearish sentiment trades against the current strong bull trend.
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK: WEAK BEARISH
BASELINE
In recent weeks, the persistently high inflation has seen the ECB take a more hawkish turn with the bank confirming at least a 25bsp hike for July and possibility of a 50bsp hike in September. Despite the hawkish policy shift, the concerns over fragmentation in bond spreads (BTP\Bund) as well as fears of growing stagflation risks has seen the EUR struggle to hold onto any hawkish ECB momentum. The ECB did try to comfort spread concerns with promises of a new fragmentation tool, and even though it has kept spreads from widening further, concerns remain. If the bank can convince markets that their new spread tool(s) can stop fragmentation it should be supportive for the EUR. However, with a material energy crisis facing the EZ due to the war in Ukraine, the economic prospects look bleak. Even though growth data was surprisingly resilient in Q2, fresh recession fears ramped up as recent forward-looking growth data surprised materially lower for key members like Germany and France. Based on the forward-looking signals from leading indicators we think recession is likely in the EZ and that the narrative has turned more bearish for the EUR until that improves.
POSSIBLE BULLISH SURPRISES
Geopolitics remains a focus, and any possible de-escalation or cease fire in Ukraine would open up a lot of EUR upside. Also keep Italian politics in mind where any successful attempt by PM Draghi to stay in power should ease spread concerns. Stagflation fears are high, with growth expected to slow while inflation stays high. Recent PMI data has invigorated recession fears, which means any materially better-than-expected growth data (Flash PMIs this week) could spark upside. Even though the ECB’s recent communication has been enough to push BTP/ Bund spreads from their recent highs the concerns remain, especially with Italian politics further exacerbating the problem. Thus, any insights or clarity regarding their new tool that convinces markets it can solve fragmentation should be supportive for the EUR. Energy concerns are still in focus, which means watching the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closely, if Russia resumes gas flows after maintenance ends this week it could see EUR upside.
POSSIBLE BEARISH SURPRISES
Geopolitics remain in focus, any escalation in the Ukraine war that risks including NATO would be big negative risks. Also keep Italian politics in mind, where any triggers of general elections risk further spread concerns & pressure the EUR. Spread fragmentation remains in focus, and if the ECB fail to calm fears or even walks back on recent hawkish comments it could trigger bearish reactions in the EUR. Growth concerns continue weighing on the EUR and means incoming growth data (Flash PMIs this week) will be in focus, where any major negative surprises could trigger downside. We've seen a chunky repricing in hike expectations over the past three weeks, and any further lower repricing is expected to weigh on the EUR. Energy concerns are still in focus, which means watching the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closely, if Russia keeps gas flows closed after maintenance ends this week it could see EUR downside.
BIGGER PICTURE
The fundamental outlook for the EUR has shifted to bearish with recent leading indicators pointing to a much faster economic slowdown than markets had previously expected. There are bearish and bullish factors in play right now though. On the bearish side we have geopolitics, stagflation, spread fragmentation and energy concerns acting as negative drivers. But we also have hawkish ECB policy as a possible supportive driver. Recession risks does open up a narrative change for the EUR which will require markets to change their forecasts to reflect higher recession risks which should continue to weigh on the EUR.
USD
FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK: BULLISH
BASELINE
Hawkish Fed policy remains a key driver for Dollar strength. With headline inflation >9%, the Fed has been pressured to tighten policy aggressively, hiking rates by 75bsp at their June meeting, and continuing with Quantitative Tightening. However, as a result of increasing fears of a growth slowdown (as evidenced by recent econ data), STIR markets have repriced lower, and now expects a terminal rate of 3.5% (versus >4% before the June FOMC meeting). Even though lower STIR pricing should be negative for the USD, the growth concerns has sparked further risk off concerns and have seen safe haven flows into the USD. The USD is usually inversely correlated to the global economy and trade, appreciating when growth & inflation slows and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates. Further expectations of a cyclical slowdown and continued tight monetary policy expectations has seen investors shun risk assets and even bonds (usually considered a safe haven), and the USD has been a key benefactor of the rush to safety in recent weeks. The current high inflation has meant that bonds have not been sought as a safe haven with a strong stock-to-bond correlation, and this has caused big bond outflows. With bonds not fulfilling its usual save haven role the USD has been the haven of choice. The bias remains bullish , but with stretched tactical and CFTC positioning we don’t want to chase the USD higher right now.
POSSIBLE BULLISH SURPRISES
As aggressive Fed policy has been supporting the USD, any incoming data ( S&P Flash PMI this week) that sparks further aggressive hike expectations, or comments from FOMC members that signals even more aggressive policy could trigger bullish reactions in the USD. As the cyclical outlook for the global economy is very bleak, and the USD is considered a safe haven, it means incoming data that exacerbates fears of recession and triggers a big rush to safety could trigger bullish USD reactions. Further outflows in US bonds means more USD safe haven appeal. So, watching key triggers for further upside in bond yields like rising commodity prices, rising inflation expectations and upside surprises in inflation data could also trigger further USD bullish reactions.
POSSIBLE BEARISH SURPRISES
The USD has been reacting as a safe haven with recent US data, but the worse growth data gets, the higher likelihood of a ‘Fed Put’ in the months ahead. Thus, extremely bad growth data could trigger bearish reactions in the USD. Tactically the USD is trading at fresh cycle highs, and aggregate CFTC positioning is close to prior highs which acted as local tops. Thus, stretched positioning could make the USD vulnerable to mean reversion in the short-term, but finding strong enough bearish catalysts has been tricky recently. With a lot already priced for the Fed, it won’t take much for them to disappoint markets on the dovish side. Any FOMC comments that suggests more concern about the economy than inflation could trigger bearish reactions in the USD, but with inflation so high any dovish pivots seem unlikely for now.
BIGGER PICTURE
The fundamental outlook for the USD remains bullish as long as the Fed stays aggressive and cyclical concerns put pressure on risk assets. We do also want to be mindful that lots has been priced for the USD, and as growth deteriorates, it could start to weigh on the USD if markets start pricing in a ‘Fed Put’, but based on where inflation is sitting any pivot seems still a while away and as the safe haven of choice any further recession focused downside in risk assets will likely continue to prove supportive for the USD. In the short-term though, with positioning looking stretched, we prefer much deeper pullbacks for new med-term USD longs and would look for short-term catalysts that offer shorter bearish sentiment trades against the current strong bull trend.