EUR
FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: NEUTRAL
1. Monetary Policy
Hawkish! This sums up the Feb ECB policy meeting. The initial statement was in line with Dec guidance and offered very little surprises (which was initially seen as dovish). However, during the press conference President Lagarde explained that the upside surprises in CPI in Dec and Jan saw unanimous concern around the GC in the near-term and surprised markets by not repeating Dec language which said a 2022 rate hike was unlikely (which immediately saw STIR markets price in a 10bsp hike as soon as June). The president also made the March meeting live, by stating that they’ll use the March meeting to decide what the APP will look like for the rest of 2022 (which markets took as a signal that the APP could conclude somewhere in 2H22. After the meeting we had the customary sources comments which stated that the ECB is preparing for a potential policy recalibration in March (with some members wanting to change policy at today’s meeting already) and added that it is sensible not to exclude a 2022 hike as a possibility and also stated that the ECB is considering possibly ending the APP at the end of Q3 (which would put a Q4 hike in play). Furthermore, sources stated that if inflation does not ease, they’ll consider adjusting policy in March (which means incoming inflation data will be critical). The shift is stance and tone were significant for us to change the bank’s overall policy stance to neutral and to adjust the EUR’s fundamental bias from dovish to neutral as well. Incoming inflation data will be key from here.
2. Economic & Health Developments
Even though the recent activity data suggests the hit to the economy from previous lockdowns weren’t as bad as feared, the additional lockdown measures across Europe has weighed on incoming data. Growth differentials still favour places like the US and UK above that of the EZ and alongside the clear monetary policy divergence means the bearish bias is firmly in place. On the fiscal front, attention is on ongoing discussions to potentially allow purchases of ‘green bonds’ NOT to count against budget deficits. If approved, this could drastically change the fiscal landscape for the EZ and would be seen as a big positive for the EUR and EU equities.
3. Funding Characteristics
As a low yielder (like JPY & CHF), the EUR has been a funding choice among carry trades, especially during 2019 where it was a favourite against high yielding EM. As such, part of the EUR’s upside after the initial risk-off scare in March 2020 was attributed to a major unwind of large carry trades. As more central banks start normalizing policy and rate differentials widen, the EUR’s use as a funding currency could add additional pressure in the med-term , but keep in mind it could also spark risk off upside if some of those trades unwind.
4. CFTC Analysis
Remember that the ECB meeting this past week took place on Thursday, that means that the most recent CFTC update will not include the big jolt higher in the EUR across the board. We would expect next week’s data to show a sizeable increase in large spec net-longs as well as a very big reduction in leveraged fund net-shorts. With so many negatives priced in for the EUR in recent weeks, the unwind could be punchy.
5. The Week Ahead
In the week ahead we have a very light economic calendar coming up for the Eurozone, but we do have quite a few ECB speakers lined up and that will take centre stage for markets. Looking at the moves in both bund yields and the EUR, the ECB members will no doubt have quite a few questions they’ll need to answer and will want to give their own views and opinions. If the ECB thinks the markets overreacted to the message conveyed by President Lagarde, they will want to use this week to get on the wires as much as possible to correct any misplaced expectations. That means President Lagarde’s testimony before the EU Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will be scrutinized for any additional details and info, especially with markets now pricing in over 50 basis points of tightening by year-end as well as a Q2 end to QE . Without any strong push back from the ECB in the week ahead will likely lead to a further unwind in short-positioning and should continue to be supportive for the EUR in the very short-term.
USD
FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BULLISH
1. Monetary Policy
The Jan FOMC decision was hawkish on multiple fronts. The statement signalled a March hike as expected, but Chair Powell portrayed a very hawkish tone. Even though Powell said they can’t predict the rate path with certainty, he stressed the economy is in much better shape compared to the 2015 cycle and that will have implications for the pace of hikes (more and faster). Furthermore, he explained that there is ‘quite a bit of room’ to raise rates without damaging employment, which suggests upside risks to the rate path. A big question going into the meeting was how concerned the Fed was about recent equity market volatility . But the Chair explained that markets and financial conditions are reflecting policy changes in advance and that in aggregate the measures they look at isn’t showing red lights. Thus, any ‘Fed Put’ is much further away and inflation is the Fed’s biggest concern right now. The Chair also didn’t rule out the possibility of a 50bsp hike in March or possibly hiking at every meeting this year, which was hawkish as it means the Fed wants optionality to move more aggressive if they need to. We didn’t get new info on the balance sheet and Powell reiterated that they’re contemplating a start of QT after hiking has begun and they’ll discuss this in coming meetings. Overall, the tone and language was lot more hawkish than the Dec meeting and more hawkish than consensus was expecting.
2. Global & Domestic Economy
As the reserve currency, the USD’s global usage means it’s usually inversely correlated to the global economy and global trade. Thus, USD usually appreciates when growth & inflation slow (disinflation) and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates (reflation). With expectations that growth and inflation will decelerate this year that should be a positive input for the USD. However, incoming data will also be important in relation to the ‘Fed Put’. There are many similarities between now and 4Q18, where the Fed were also tightening aggressively going into an economic slowdown. As long as growth data slows and the Fed stays aggressive that is a positive for the USD, but if it causes a dovish Fed pivot and lower rate repricing it would be a negative input for the USD.
3. CFTC Analysis
The USD came under some pressure this week, mainly due to overdue mean reversion, recovery in risk assets and of course the surprise hawkish actions by the BoE and more specifically the ECB. Keep in mind that half of the USD’s drop this week occurred outside the CFTC reference period which would explain more limited unwinding in net-longs, and we would expect this number to be much bigger next week. With positioning still in net-long territory for leveraged funds and large specs, and with leveraged funds sitting on a sizeable net-short in the EUR the recent hawkish pivot from the ECB could see some further damage for the USD in the short-term.
4. The Week Ahead
After last week’s much better than expected Average Hourly Earnings data out of the US, the main event for the USD as well as markets in general will be the January CPI print for the US scheduled for Wednesday. With another month of upside surprises for inflation data in other global economies, the markets will be watching the US CPI for Jan very closely. Right now, Fed policy has tunnel vision for inflation , and with the surprise beat in Friday’s NFP as well as the surprise punchy upward revisions, the labour market won’t deter the Fed from going all-in to fight inflation . The big dynamic to watch for is wages. Friday’s Average Hourly Earnings print of 5.7% was much higher than expected and saw an immediate jolt higher in US bond yields, with Fed Fund Futures now comfortably pricing in well over 5 hikes by the end of the year. Starting the new year, the biggest reason for expecting a deceleration in inflation was firstly due to base effects, secondly due to expectations that supply chain disruptions ease, and very importantly that commodity prices being cooling down. Out of these three, the last one has not happened yet with oil prices continuing their grind higher (which adds upside risks to headline numbers). Two important components to keep on the radar is wages and shelter prices, which for some means there is very little downside risk to this week’s CPI . How will the USD likely react? Recently the USD has reaction cyclically towards inflation data, which means a solid beat should be supportive, but at the same time a miss would be a far more attractive shorting opportunity, especially against the EUR after the ECB’s pivot .
FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: NEUTRAL
1. Monetary Policy
Hawkish! This sums up the Feb ECB policy meeting. The initial statement was in line with Dec guidance and offered very little surprises (which was initially seen as dovish). However, during the press conference President Lagarde explained that the upside surprises in CPI in Dec and Jan saw unanimous concern around the GC in the near-term and surprised markets by not repeating Dec language which said a 2022 rate hike was unlikely (which immediately saw STIR markets price in a 10bsp hike as soon as June). The president also made the March meeting live, by stating that they’ll use the March meeting to decide what the APP will look like for the rest of 2022 (which markets took as a signal that the APP could conclude somewhere in 2H22. After the meeting we had the customary sources comments which stated that the ECB is preparing for a potential policy recalibration in March (with some members wanting to change policy at today’s meeting already) and added that it is sensible not to exclude a 2022 hike as a possibility and also stated that the ECB is considering possibly ending the APP at the end of Q3 (which would put a Q4 hike in play). Furthermore, sources stated that if inflation does not ease, they’ll consider adjusting policy in March (which means incoming inflation data will be critical). The shift is stance and tone were significant for us to change the bank’s overall policy stance to neutral and to adjust the EUR’s fundamental bias from dovish to neutral as well. Incoming inflation data will be key from here.
2. Economic & Health Developments
Even though the recent activity data suggests the hit to the economy from previous lockdowns weren’t as bad as feared, the additional lockdown measures across Europe has weighed on incoming data. Growth differentials still favour places like the US and UK above that of the EZ and alongside the clear monetary policy divergence means the bearish bias is firmly in place. On the fiscal front, attention is on ongoing discussions to potentially allow purchases of ‘green bonds’ NOT to count against budget deficits. If approved, this could drastically change the fiscal landscape for the EZ and would be seen as a big positive for the EUR and EU equities.
3. Funding Characteristics
As a low yielder (like JPY & CHF), the EUR has been a funding choice among carry trades, especially during 2019 where it was a favourite against high yielding EM. As such, part of the EUR’s upside after the initial risk-off scare in March 2020 was attributed to a major unwind of large carry trades. As more central banks start normalizing policy and rate differentials widen, the EUR’s use as a funding currency could add additional pressure in the med-term , but keep in mind it could also spark risk off upside if some of those trades unwind.
4. CFTC Analysis
Remember that the ECB meeting this past week took place on Thursday, that means that the most recent CFTC update will not include the big jolt higher in the EUR across the board. We would expect next week’s data to show a sizeable increase in large spec net-longs as well as a very big reduction in leveraged fund net-shorts. With so many negatives priced in for the EUR in recent weeks, the unwind could be punchy.
5. The Week Ahead
In the week ahead we have a very light economic calendar coming up for the Eurozone, but we do have quite a few ECB speakers lined up and that will take centre stage for markets. Looking at the moves in both bund yields and the EUR, the ECB members will no doubt have quite a few questions they’ll need to answer and will want to give their own views and opinions. If the ECB thinks the markets overreacted to the message conveyed by President Lagarde, they will want to use this week to get on the wires as much as possible to correct any misplaced expectations. That means President Lagarde’s testimony before the EU Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will be scrutinized for any additional details and info, especially with markets now pricing in over 50 basis points of tightening by year-end as well as a Q2 end to QE . Without any strong push back from the ECB in the week ahead will likely lead to a further unwind in short-positioning and should continue to be supportive for the EUR in the very short-term.
USD
FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BULLISH
1. Monetary Policy
The Jan FOMC decision was hawkish on multiple fronts. The statement signalled a March hike as expected, but Chair Powell portrayed a very hawkish tone. Even though Powell said they can’t predict the rate path with certainty, he stressed the economy is in much better shape compared to the 2015 cycle and that will have implications for the pace of hikes (more and faster). Furthermore, he explained that there is ‘quite a bit of room’ to raise rates without damaging employment, which suggests upside risks to the rate path. A big question going into the meeting was how concerned the Fed was about recent equity market volatility . But the Chair explained that markets and financial conditions are reflecting policy changes in advance and that in aggregate the measures they look at isn’t showing red lights. Thus, any ‘Fed Put’ is much further away and inflation is the Fed’s biggest concern right now. The Chair also didn’t rule out the possibility of a 50bsp hike in March or possibly hiking at every meeting this year, which was hawkish as it means the Fed wants optionality to move more aggressive if they need to. We didn’t get new info on the balance sheet and Powell reiterated that they’re contemplating a start of QT after hiking has begun and they’ll discuss this in coming meetings. Overall, the tone and language was lot more hawkish than the Dec meeting and more hawkish than consensus was expecting.
2. Global & Domestic Economy
As the reserve currency, the USD’s global usage means it’s usually inversely correlated to the global economy and global trade. Thus, USD usually appreciates when growth & inflation slow (disinflation) and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates (reflation). With expectations that growth and inflation will decelerate this year that should be a positive input for the USD. However, incoming data will also be important in relation to the ‘Fed Put’. There are many similarities between now and 4Q18, where the Fed were also tightening aggressively going into an economic slowdown. As long as growth data slows and the Fed stays aggressive that is a positive for the USD, but if it causes a dovish Fed pivot and lower rate repricing it would be a negative input for the USD.
3. CFTC Analysis
The USD came under some pressure this week, mainly due to overdue mean reversion, recovery in risk assets and of course the surprise hawkish actions by the BoE and more specifically the ECB. Keep in mind that half of the USD’s drop this week occurred outside the CFTC reference period which would explain more limited unwinding in net-longs, and we would expect this number to be much bigger next week. With positioning still in net-long territory for leveraged funds and large specs, and with leveraged funds sitting on a sizeable net-short in the EUR the recent hawkish pivot from the ECB could see some further damage for the USD in the short-term.
4. The Week Ahead
After last week’s much better than expected Average Hourly Earnings data out of the US, the main event for the USD as well as markets in general will be the January CPI print for the US scheduled for Wednesday. With another month of upside surprises for inflation data in other global economies, the markets will be watching the US CPI for Jan very closely. Right now, Fed policy has tunnel vision for inflation , and with the surprise beat in Friday’s NFP as well as the surprise punchy upward revisions, the labour market won’t deter the Fed from going all-in to fight inflation . The big dynamic to watch for is wages. Friday’s Average Hourly Earnings print of 5.7% was much higher than expected and saw an immediate jolt higher in US bond yields, with Fed Fund Futures now comfortably pricing in well over 5 hikes by the end of the year. Starting the new year, the biggest reason for expecting a deceleration in inflation was firstly due to base effects, secondly due to expectations that supply chain disruptions ease, and very importantly that commodity prices being cooling down. Out of these three, the last one has not happened yet with oil prices continuing their grind higher (which adds upside risks to headline numbers). Two important components to keep on the radar is wages and shelter prices, which for some means there is very little downside risk to this week’s CPI . How will the USD likely react? Recently the USD has reaction cyclically towards inflation data, which means a solid beat should be supportive, but at the same time a miss would be a far more attractive shorting opportunity, especially against the EUR after the ECB’s pivot .