The RBNZ underwhelmed some market participants who were looking for a 50bsp hike as the bank only delivered on a 25bsp hike as consensus was expecting. Even though the NZD took a plunge after the meeting, we don’t think markets are really giving NZD the upside it deserves after the Nov RBNZ decision. Not referring to the knee-jerk lower after the 25bsp hike of course as that was fully priced in and always ran the risk of underwhelming the bulls, but the outlook in the MPR justifies more NZD strength. The upgrades to the economic outlook between Aug and Nov was positive, with growth seen lower in 2022 but much higher in 2023, CPI is seen higher throughout 2022 and 2023, the Unemployment rate seen lower throughout the forecast horizon, and of course the big upgrade to the OCR which is now seen at 2.6% by 2024, and the bank has brought forward their expectation of reaching the 2.0% neutral rate with 5 quarters. Of course, incoming data will be important (as always) and any new developments with the new Omicron variant will be watched but barring any major deterioration in the economic data the recent sell off in the NZD does seem at odds with the fundamental, policy and economic outlook.
2. Economic and health developments
We heard some good news two weeks with PM Ardern announcing that the whole country will be lifting lockdown restrictions from Nov 29th and that their domestic borders will open up from the middle of Dec, which was a positive move for businesses going into the festive season. The recent macro data has been much better than both the markets and the RBNZ had expected, but markets have not been too bothered with the incoming data. That might start to change as focus turns to the new variant and its potential impact on the global economy. For now, based on the economic and policy outlook the NZD seems undervalued at current prices.
3. Global Risk Outlook
As a high-beta currency, the NZD benefited from the market's improving risk outlook coming out of the pandemic as participants moved out of safe-havens. As a pro-cyclical currency, the CAD enjoyed upside alongside other cyclical assets supported by reflation and post-recession recovery best. If expectations for the global economy remains positive the overall positive outlook for risk sentiment should be supportive for the NZD in the med-term , but recent short-term jitters are a timely reminder that risk sentiment is also a very important short-term driver.
4. CFTC Analysis
Latest CFTC data showed a positioning change of -3309 with a net non-commercial position of +10630. Positioning is not stretched compared to historical net-long levels, but as the second largest net-long for large speculators and the biggest for leveraged funds there is always scope for unwinding if we see strong bouts of risk off sentiment like we had over the past two weeks. However, it’s very encouraging to see that leveraged funds have increased their net-long despite the recent underperformance from the NZD.
5. The Week Ahead
With the RBNZ out of the way until February, the main focus for the NZD in the med-term will be key quarterly economic data points going into the Fed meeting (none of them are expected this week), and of course overall risk sentiment will be in focus in the short-term. The recent Omicron and Fed-inspired risk off has hit the NZD really hard. Given the economic and policy outlook we still see scope to upside in the NZD, but timing will be very important given the amount of uncertainty sparked by Omicron and the Fed. Barring any major Omicron updates it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on cross-asset implied volatility for signals of when some calm might be restored.
JPY
FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BEARISH
1. Monetary Policy
At their Oct meeting the BoJ left policy settings unchanged with rates kept at -0.10% and the JGB yield target kept close to 0%. As usual we saw BoJ’s Kataoka as the only dissenter on YCC. In terms of the economic projections, the bank lowered both their growth and inflation targets as was previously reported prior to the meeting. The bank lowered FY2021 GDP to 3.4% from the prior 3.8%, and lower FY2021 Core CPI to 0.0% from the previous 0.6%. The bank’s outlook report once again explained that Japan’s consumer inflation is likely to gradually grind higher and noted that exports and output are currently weak due to the ongoing supply constraints. However, as with their prior meeting the bank explained that both exports and output is increasing as a trend. At the press conference, Governor Kuroda said that a soft JPY raises costs for households and imports but that he does not think current JPY weakness is a bad thing. He further added that it is desirable for FX to move in a stable manner, reflecting fundamentals and that he thinks the JPY’s current price action reflects the fundamentals. The Governor also added that YCC could lead to a weak JPY as it widens interest rate differentials.
2. Safe-haven status and overall risk outlook
As a safe-haven currency, the market's risk outlook is the primary driver of JPY. Economic data rarely proves market moving; and although monetary policy expectations can prove highly market-moving in the short-term, safe-haven flows are typically the more dominant factor. The market's overall risk tone has improved considerably following the pandemic with good news about successful vaccinations, and ongoing monetary and fiscal policy support paved the way for markets to expect a robust global economic recovery. Of course, there remains many uncertainties and many countries are continuing to fight virus waves, but as a whole the outlook has kept on improving over the past couple of months, which would expect safe-haven demand to diminish and result in a bearish outlook for the JPY.
3. Low-yielding currency with inverse correlation to US10Y
As a low yielding currency, the JPY usually shares an inverse correlation to strong moves in yield differentials, more specifically in strong moves in US10Y. However, like most correlations, the strength of the inverse correlation between the JPY and US10Y is not perfect and will ebb and flow depending on the type of market environment from a risk and cycle point of view. With the Fed tilting more aggressive, we think that opens up more room for curve flattening to take place with US02Y likely pushing higher while US10Y underperform. In this environment we do see some mild upside risks for the JPY, but we should not look at the influence from yields in isolation and also weigh it up alongside underlying risk sentiment.
4. CFTC Analysis
Latest CFTC data showed a positioning change of +18387 with a net non-commercial position of -78866. The risk off tones during the past two weeks and the subsequent gains in the JPY showed why stretched positioning is such an important consideration. Even though the JPY’s med-term outlook remains bearish, the big net-shorts for both large speculators and leveraged funds always increases the odds of mean reversion when risk sentiment deteriorates.
5. The Week Ahead
This week, the focus for the JPY will be on any further developments with the new Omicron variant with good news expecting to weaken the JPY and bad news expecting to support it. Apart from risk sentiment, keeping a close eye on US10Y and the US yield curve will also be important given the current take from various market participants that the Fed’s aggressive policy path runs the risk of materially denting the med-term growth and inflation outlook.