Currency and market analytics by Tickmill UK

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What to expect from the Fed meeting this week? Technical setup in EURUSD



Despite the shocks associated with local Covid-19 outbreaks and calm summer season, stock markets find the strength to reach fresh peaks. On Friday, SPX broke through resistance at 4400 as the US economic data and expectations regarding the Fed meeting favored the risk-on move. On Monday, there was a slight pullback that affected all major asset classes. Longer-maturity bonds saw increased demand while risk appetite somewhat eased. Emerging market and commodity currencies stayed under pressure while oil price failed to score additional gains. Gold rebounded. USD stayed offered which is somewhat unusual when combined with broad weak equity performance, however the sell-off could be due to the uncertainty about upcoming Fed meeting, where Powell may disappoint fans of tight monetary policy if he again focuses on employment challenges in the US.

The correction last week failed to gain momentum as the key selling trigger - local Covid-19 outbreaks and associated potential economic setback - quickly proved to be unsustainable. Markets were fast to discount the gloom as several data sources indicated growing evidence that correlation between growth of daily cases and deaths weakened, especially in countries with high vaccination rates:

The decision of the UK to announce complete lifting of restrictions, despite the surge in incidence, did not seem very far-sighted and even provoked a negative reaction in the GBP, but now the authorities' calculation is clear.

What we need to know before the July Fed meeting? According to the new concept of monetary policy, the Fed will do its utmost to strengthen employment, more precisely to increase its inclusiveness - to involve in work as many people as possible, including people from vulnerable groups. Willy-nilly, the Fed will have to sacrifice price stability, i.e. let inflation fly over the 2% target in this economic cycle. With 6 million fewer employed compared to the pre-crisis period, despite an impressive rebound, the Fed has very little incentive to respond by raising rates to increased inflation rates provided it is seen as temporary. Any, even the slightest hint of a faster monetary policy tightening is likely to lead to a sell-off of risk assets, large USD and Treasury gains as additional hawkish Fed shifts after very hawkish dot plot update in June seem unlikely.

In case of a dovish stance of the Fed at the meeting on Wednesday, the divergence of policies of the Fed and the ECB should weaken a little and EURUSD may have a chance to recoup losses in August. From the point of view of technical analysis, on the daily EURUSD chart, one can consider the falling wedge pattern, which in the classical literature is considered as a reversal formation. Possible entry points for a long can be 1.17 (1) and 1.175 (2):

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

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Cautious Fed tone fuels risk taking. What’s next for EURUSD, GBPUSD?



The Fed took another timid step towards tightening monetary policy at yesterday's meeting. The Central Bank also acknowledged that increased inflation may linger longer than originally anticipated. However, judging by the reaction of the dollar and bonds, the markets expected more aggressive rhetoric.

The Fed noted yesterday that the economy is heading in a direction that implies a move towards tighter credit conditions, but Powell said it will take a little more time to be convinced of the success of employment growth. Clearly, the debate over when to start cutting the $120bn QE is heating up, but it is unlikely that the Fed will formally announce it before December. Also, yesterday's meeting revealed a few details about how the QE cut will take place. By all appearances, the sale of MBS from the balance sheet will be carried out last, however, the monthly rate of purchase of Treasuries will decrease faster than MBS. However, market interest rates have been wary of the Fed's seemingly hawkish communication:

In addition, comments on inflation and the third wave of covid were more optimistic than anticipated. Powell reiterated its view that current high inflation is temporary however he also noted that there are risks of its acceleration. The increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19, according to Powell, calls for caution, but there is still no consensus on the economic damage from the third wave. The balance of optimism and caution in the Fed's communication leaves room for the regulator to shift to expectations that the federal funds rate hike will begin in 2022. Market expectations price in the first rate hike no earlier than 2023.

The dollar continued to decline after the Fed meeting in line with the idea discussed yesterday. Markets were obviously expecting a more hawkish stance from the Fed in view of the latest developments in US inflation, but instead they saw an extension of the wait-and-see attitude. The dollar index fell to a monthly low of 92 points, EURUSD rose to a two-week high, and GBPUSD was at a one-month high, due to increasing divergence of the policies of the Bank of England and the Fed. Recall that the Bank of England continues to lean towards the need to start raising rates, since the risks of economic damage from the third wave of covid, even after the complete removal of social restrictions, are decreasing. This is indicated by the growing gap in the rate of daily growth of new cases of Covid-19 after the lifting of restrictions and the rate of hospitalisation:

German inflation and US GDP data for the second quarter are due later today. Moderate pressure on the US dollar is expected to develop if the data exceeds expectations, as it will show that the Fed's dovish stance continues to be coupled with strong economic expansion in key developed economies, resulting in increased demand for risk.



Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

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US yields are about to bottom out




The dollar starts off the week on a weaker footing, however there is a great chance that bearish pressure will ease as we get closer to Friday. At the meeting last week the Fed left the door open for rumours about a hawkish policy shift in August and the key missing piece that may boost the odds of such an outcome is an upside surprise in the NFP report this Friday.

The number of new jobs created in the economy (aka Payrolls) has taken center stage in the post-pandemic period in terms of impact on the Fed decisions. It is expected to post decent 900K gain. Stronger-than-expected Payrolls reading will likely fuel speculations that the Fed will hint about QE tapering during Jackson Hole Conference in August. In this case, the market will start to price in decreasing demand in the Treasury market (as a result of slowing Fed purchases) and given the passage of Biden infrastructure plan, which will be financed with new debt, investors may start to quit Treasuries en masse.

Recall that long-term Treasuries saw a strong rise in demand over the past two months (yield-to-maturity slid from 1.75% to 1.20%), however, neither weakening of global economic expansion, nor increased covid-10 risks, which were cited as primary catalysts of the move, didn’t started to materialise. According to JP Morgan, investors continue to fit bearish narratives into the Treasury bond rally similarly to the situation when they explained the Treasury sell-off caused by the actual rebalancing of Japanese investors before the end of the fiscal year (when the 10-year Treasury yields rose from 1.0% to 1.75% in 1Q) by sharply increased inflation expectations and growing risks of economy overheating. The investment bank points to the interesting fact that the latest slump in bond yields was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in open interest in Treasury futures, that is, investors did not make new bets on the deterioration of economic situation, but only adjusted the previous ones.

The sell-off in long-dated Treasuries earlier this year was accompanied by rebound in the dollar index from 89.5 to 93 points. The new wave of Treasury bond sales will most likely also provide strong support to the dollar.

Preparations for this week's NFP report kicks off with today's ISM and Markit Manufacturing indices of activity. It is especially interesting to look at the dynamics of the sub-indices of employment and prices - the first will tell you what to expect from the NFP in the production sector, the second - whether the effect of delays and supply bottlenecks, as well as excessive strong demand, which slow down the economy, are disappearing. The key indicators of the report are expected to extend rise, i. e. the rate of expansion of activity in the sector remained positive in July. A weak report, in my opinion, will have a material impact on the market and will likely fuel more USD downside.

The ADP report and non-manufacturing PMI from ISM are due Wednesday. This time ADP lays down a more conservative estimate of job growth - only 700K (versus 900K NFP). Also pay attention to the hiring component of the ISM index - last month it was in the depressed zone and it is essential to see a rebound to expect strong NFP figure. The greenback are risk assets are expected to post pronounced reaction on release of the reports.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

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What does ISM Manufacturing data tell us about July NFP?



The latest CFTC data showed that investors continued to build up USD longs ahead of the Fed meeting in August. Given the downside in USD last week, this dynamic was quite unexpected. It can be assumed though that by selling dollars after the Fed, market participants were either taking profits or pursuing short-term speculative goals. The data also showed that more long positions of speculators were closed in CAD and NZD futures, i.e., in currencies that have a relatively high correlation with the recession-recovery cycle of the world economy. This fact, of course, does not inspire optimism.

Aggregated data on the currencies of the G10 countries showed that net long position on the dollar increased in the week ending July 27 from 1.5% to 3.0% of open interest. The dollar increased its advantage against all G10 currencies with the exception of the CHF.

The changes in the CFTC positioning data indicate an increase in bullish sentiment for the dollar, despite the negative reaction of the US currency to the July Fed meeting. This may indicate that underlying drivers of the weakness could be short-lived as Fed tightening is in cards despite relatively dovish message last week, which should offer broad support to USD.

The July ISM Manufacturing Activity Report showed improvements in two key components - prices and employment. The purchasing managers said that hiring of workers increased compared to the previous month while the situation with high prices for raw materials also changed for the better. The hiring sub-index rose from 49.9 to 52.9 points:

At the same time, the prices sub-index fell from an extremely high reading of 92.1 to 85.7 points:

Despite the fact that the broad indicator fell short of forecasts, the details of the report pointed to the dynamics favorable for a strong NFP report on Friday, and hence the stronger dollar. Recall that the major constraint in the expansion of US jobs was the labor shortage. It is clear from the ISM report that the manufacturing sector has begun to see positive shifts for job growth.

The leading ISM new orders declined for the first time in several months (from 66 to 64.9), which may be an early sign that activity in the sector will soon plateau.






Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

What to expect on ADP report today? Medium-term analysis of NZUSD

The NZD rose nearly half a percent against greenback after data released Wednesday showed that New Zealand's unemployment rate returned to the record low level that was before the virus outbreak. The share of unemployed fell from 4.6% to 4.0% in July, well ahead of the modestly positive forecast of 4.4%. Wage growth rate advanced to the highest level in 13 years, which indicates a strong increase in pro-inflationary risks and will likely prompt a hawkish intervention of the Central Bank. The RBNZ is expected to raise the rate at the upcoming meeting, however, the upside potential of the NZD is far from being exhausted, given that there is a risk of a large rate hike by 50 bp at once, as well as the risk that the Central Bank will not rule out the possibility of more rate hikes, which could form sustainable bullish sentiment on the NZD.
From the point of view of technical analysis, the bullish scenario for the NZD can be supported by the following observations. On the weekly NZDUSD chart, we can see a wedge pattern, the formation of which began at the end of last year and continues to this day. The wedge has a negative slope relative to the main bullish trend, therefore it can be considered as a trend continuation formation. On a larger scale, the idea of a trend continuation looks even more plausible because the multi-year peaks are still far away:

In the past few weeks, NZDUSD has been in indecision, which can be concluded from the shape of weekly candlesticks that had long tails and small bottoms - intra-week fluctuations were characterized by both up and down movements with a slight advantage for sellers:

The bounce from the lower bound of the pattern two weeks ago and expectations regarding RBNZ decision which warrant sustainable upside sentiment suggest that bulls may venture a test of the upper bound of the pattern in the area of 0.7150-0.7170 in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, the dollar is trying to maintain the edge ahead of release of the first batch of labor market data for July - ADP report and ISM report on activity in the services sector. The situation in the manufacturing sector, as shown by a series of data earlier this week (ISM, factory orders, equipment spending) suggests contribution of the sector to the growth of payrolls in July likely beat forecast. However, the share of employed in mfg. sector in the total employment is relatively small, so the ISM report in non-manufacturing sector is much more important in preparing for the NFP. Employment in services sector is now highly subject to fluctuations induced by swings in consumer mobility and social restrictions. Let’s be careful here, since it was in July that the incidence of Covid-19 began to rise in the United States:

Correlation of covid daily cases growth with severity social restrictions is gradually weakening, but this process is slow, so rising incidence in the US in July could still have a drag on creation of jobs due to the pressure on services sector. A negative surprise in ADP and ISM is likely to trigger a wave of dollar sales as it would become more difficult to expect a strong NFP, which is the key report for predicting the Fed's policy move in August.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

EURUSD may break 1.17 if the US July CPI indicates persistence in price growth

The dollar started the week on a positive note and on Tuesday continues to consolidate around the resistance at 93 points on DXY. Technically, there is a second retest in three weeks of the upper bound of the medium-term wedge pattern, which began to form about a year ago:

Most likely, this signals that buyers are gradually ramping up pressure ahead of the release of the US CPI in July, the upcoming conference in Jackson Hole, as well as against the background of an increase in the number of defensive deals due to the onset of the delta strain in certain regions. Also yesterday, the Fed representatives Rafael Bostic and Eric Rosengren made positive comments for the dollar. Their rhetoric came at a time when the market is quite certain that the Fed will begin to tighten policy this year, but they added a sense of urgency as they said they would prefer a fast approach. This means that the Fed may begin to wind down QE as early as September, if the employment recovery maintains the pace at about the same rate as in July (~1 million new jobs).

The speculation that the Fed may begin to wind down QE in September will definitely provide strong support to the dollar, since the scenario is far from the main one and yet to be factored in asset prices, including USD rate. Today's comments by Fed spokesman Loretta Mester on inflation risks may further clarify the possibility that the Fed will make a sharp hawkish shift in policy in September.

The only economic calendar report that deserves attention today is the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index. Therefore, the risk appetite in the market may now be driven by price movements in the commodity markets, which this week turned out to be significantly worried about demand outlooks. Oil began the week with a decline of more than 3% amid negative news from China related to the spread of the coronavirus. Industrial metal prices also reacted negatively to the heightened risks of new restrictions in China that could affect production. Nevertheless, we observe recovery in commodity prices on Tuesday as newsflow gradually improves.

In addition, the release of the ZEW report on Germany is due today. It is unlikely that the positive surprise will be able to stop the downtrend in EURUSD, as investors are focused on the factor of the Fed's policy. The potential test of 1.17 level in EURUSD will coincide with a breakout of medium-term pattern in DXY, which looks logical, but development of this move will depend on whether the DXY price can gain a foothold above the boundary line:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

July US inflation failed to surprise markets as temporary drivers fade

Inflation in the US rose by 0.5% in July in monthly terms, which was in line with expectations, however, core inflation rose by 0.3%, which was less than the forecast of 0.4%. Annual inflation remained unchanged compared to June and amounted to 5.4%.
The data for the first time in several months indicated a sharp slowdown in the growth of used car prices. This CPI component showed an average growth of 10% MoM for three months in a row, making a significant contribution to the rise in overall inflation. In June, used cars rose in price by only 0.2%. In addition, prices for air tickets interrupted growth, sliding by 0.1% MoM. These two components were the main reason why core inflation fell short of forecasts:

It can also be noted that the coverage of inflation has become broader - the number of categories of goods where the monthly price increase was zero or positive has increased. For example, prices in recreation category rose by 0.6% MoM, in housing services by 0.4% MoM. Price growth of medical services amounted to 0.3% MoM.

Judging by the behavior of the key CPI drivers (cars, air tickets, fuel), the annual inflation has most likely passed its peak and is now going to decline. Nevertheless, return to the comfortable for the Fed inflation range with an average of 2% may be delayed. The main reason is the stimulus-driven boom in the US economy. Demand continues to recover faster than supply and with the scars the pandemic has left on the economy, adjustment will take longer than the policymakers expect. This also applies to the labor market, where the demand for labor also exceeds supply, which is why inflationary pressure on wages persists. The latest US NFIB report indicated that a record high proportion of small businesses have unfilled vacancies. JOLTS data for June showed that the number of posted vacancies was 3.4 million more than the number of people hired. On the side of production, ISM data still point to record low levels of inventories, and delays in the supply of goods and raw materials are also near extreme levels.

All this leads to the fact that price pressures in the economy continue to be high. Thanks to strong stimulus-fueled demand, companies feel that their price power is increasing. According to the same NFIB report, the number of companies that have raised or are about to raise final prices are at their peak for 40 years. Therefore, the prospects for inflation persistence in the United States remain very high, even though its peak may have already passed.



Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Weak US consumer sentiment data hints at weak July Retail Sales print


Risk appetite in equity markets eased on Monday after release of disappointing data on Chinese economy. Industrial production rose 6.4%, missing expectations of 7.8%. Fixed capital investments also grew at a slower pace than expected (10.3% versus 11.3% expected). Manufacturing in China is also one of the key barometers of global recovery, so weaker-than-expected growth could be an early signal that either the global recovery is peaking or expansion of manufacturing continues to be constrained by rising commodity prices, supply disruptions and bottlenecks. By the way, not only China has faced this problem during current phase of the business cycle.

The rise in retail sales in China was also a big negative surprise. In annual terms, it amounted to only 8.5%, which was significantly lower than the forecast of 11.5%. Oil prices weakened after release of the report, as did the AUD and NZD, which are also guided by consumption picture in China. However, the NZD is now being underpinned by expectations that the RBNZ's rate hike this week will also leave room for further policy tightening if price increases or the labor market continue to surprise.

Long positions in the dollar and pound rose, the latest CFTC data showed. Data for the week ending August 10 showed that speculators continued to build up their dollar longs. The aggregate long position on the dollar against the currencies of the G10 countries rose 3% from open interest.

Nevertheless, there was a pretty strong dollar sell-off on Friday. The index slipped from 93 to 92.5 points on Friday, amid very weak data from U. Michigan. According to the organization's report, consumer confidence in August fell from 81.2 to 70.2 points:

Weak data suggests that consumer momentum may have started to fade in July, which is likely to affect retail sales due tomorrow. The benchmark is expected to slow down by 0.2% on a monthly basis, a stronger negative surprise could lead to additional dollar sales, as in this case, the chances of the Fed's hawkish rhetoric should be noticeably reduced. This week the risks for the US dollar are shifted towards further easing:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Downbeat Retail Sales surprise could amplify negative impact of the Fed QT news, extending equity correction


Global equities are down for the second day in a row while USD stands firm ahead of release of the US retail sales report. Consumer optimism in the US dropped quite sharply in August, showed data from U. of Michigan on Friday laying the groundwork for downbeat surprises in US consumption while the latest Bank of America’s estimate of retail sales in July calls for a closer look at the possibility of further correction of risk assets. With market consensus of -0.2% MoM, the US bank did not skimp on pessimism, estimating that the monthly decline in retail sales could be as much as 2.3%:

At the same time, core retail sales, which more accurately reflect consumer optimism, may decline even more - by 2.7%. This is in line with the deterioration in consumer data from U. of Michigan.

One of the main reasons for a weak headline print may be decline in car sales. Inflation data for July showed that price growth for used cars fell from 10% to 0.2% MoM, so the decline in sales in this sector is already largely priced in. However, markets will likely react on surprising reading in core sales, i.e., retail sales which doesn’t include cars and fuel.

The risk of emerging slack of the key driver of economic pickup in the US - consumer boom, overlays expectations that the Fed this week and next will start to provide details on curtailment of monetary stimulus, in particular monthly bond purchases. Obviously, this will not be the right moment for this news as investors may start to price in a policy error from the Fed. In this case, we may observe an increased demand for long-term Treasuries, i.e., falling yields. So far, moderate sales of risk assets may be just an expression of these concerns.

Tomorrow, the minutes of the July Fed meeting are due, which will likely reveal some technical details on how the Fed can conduct QT and how long this process can take. Obviously, if these details appear in the data, it will be a hawkish signal for the markets, while weak economic statistics today are likely amplifying the negative market reaction to the Fed policy report tomorrow. The risk for equities especially US stocks are skewed towards further losses in the coming days as the data may reveal that the Fed picked wrong time for announcements regarding withdrawing monetary stimulus.



Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Dollars surges on equity correction, markets fear Fed tightening



July Fed Minutes released on Wednesday hit risk appetite despite lack of clear hawkish shift in the tone of wordings. Markets saw renewed selling pressure albeit with more vigor thanks to synergy of selling catalysts – lackluster July US retail sales, growing hawkish bias of the Fed, growing dollar’s appeal as ultimate safe heaven, as well as seasonal weakness. Amid a surge of risk-off, greenback index soared to a 10-month high (93.50 level in DXY).

Small-cap and value stocks led declines with Russell 2000 futures falling 1.7% at the time of writing and European equity indices, populated mostly by value stocks, erasing 2% on average. SPX futures tanked 1% today, extending 1% loss of S&P 500 during NY session on Wednesday. There is a clear market bias to short stocks which upside is positively correlated with expectations of economic recovery suggesting a repricing of economic growth prospects is underway. This bodes ill for potential depth of the current decline which may be the first serious market pullback after series of short-term dips earlier in the year whose depth was less than 5%.

Minutes of the July FOMC meeting showed that officials did discuss QE, but their opinions were divided over when to start phasing out stimulus. Some officials proposed to start this fall, others - at the beginning of next year. Nevertheless, the very fact that QE end is in sight and higher prospective interest rates on bonds will induce major equity-bond rotation dampened the mood in equities. After a brief upside bounce on the release of the Minutes, S&P 500 turned into decline:

But what’s really disturbing is that the Fed’s tapering story unfolds around the same time as US data started to show signs of fading growth momentum. Weak retail sales in July and consumer sentiment in August put a major dent on recovery hopes. There may be growing concern among investors that August data will extend the streak of downbeat US data surprises, which greatly adds to risk-off and makes current valuations fragile.

Today there will be data on applications for unemployment benefits, which can somewhat ease bearish pressure if it shows that positive labor market trend remains intact. In addition, markets will watch on the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook to see if US businesses are starting to feel any weakness of the economy.

Considering DXY positioning, it can be seen that price made decisive breach of the upper line of the pattern:

The previous idea of a false breakout appears to be defied by the latest price action as DXY has been given powerful boost by flagging support in equity which induced safe-haven flows. The prospects of further decline also imply additional upside potential of the US currency with EURUSD’s next closest target at 1.16 level.



Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

The rebound of EURUSD may be short-lived as Fed Powell speech is ahead



Oil prices escape the grip of sellers and stage rebound on Monday after spending almost entire last week in correction. Equity markets rebounded as well which drove sell-off in USD as risk-off flows ebbed. Long-dated bond demand eased in top economies as risk appetite appears to be on the mend.

Last Friday, Fed representative Robert Kaplan said he may reconsider his call to wind down QE early, as the delta variant has shifted the trajectory of the economic recovery to a less favorable one.

There is slight but growing risk that the Fed may disappoint market hawks this week signaling about prolonged QE. The RBNZ was unable to raise rates last week, citing a slowdown in the economy due to the new lockdown. Weak economic data for July, in particular inflation and retail sales, thwarted the Bank of England's plans to tighten policy. Other central banks have also softened their rhetoric somewhat in recent times.

Strong Korean data and Thailand's covid data have drawn investors into Asian equities. In addition, Chinese stocks have also gone up, which has not happened often lately. The Central Bank of China continues to set the USDCNY reference rate below 6.50, which indirectly supports other EM currencies.

The news that Yellen supported Powell's candidacy as head of the Fed for the next term could also have a positive impact on the markets. Given how Powell is smoothing out the position of fellow hawks in the shop, the extension of his term will definitely positively affect the chances of a longer withdrawal of the Fed from soft credit conditions.

Eurozone business activity has remained strong this month, although it has declined from its 20-year high in July. The data released on Monday came slightly worse than expected, which, however, did not prevent the euro from strengthening against the dollar. Markit noted that the economy maintained impressive momentum in the third quarter, with supply chain delays continuing to curb expansion. It also suggests that firms have not yet finished raising prices in response to rising costs, which bodes well for short-term inflation outlook.

The euro was encouraged by the dynamics of the employment sub-index, which remains at a record level for the second month in a row (56.1 points in August).

The main source of volatility this week should be Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming, USA. It is unlikely that equities will be able to develop today's rebound closer to the meeting, as the uncertainty about Powell's remarks is very high. The positions of other Central Banks also add contradictions. Dollar buyers are likely to be found with the dollar index (DXY) at 93.20 while EURUSD should face stiff resistance near 1.1750 this week as the pair develops rebound from a downtrend line as breach of April support level failed to sustain:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Swift oil recovery could be a trap for bulls


Oil prices posted one of the strongest daily gains on Monday since March, with Brent benchmark closing 5.5% higher. Part of the rally reflected a surge in demand for risk assets, as doubts that the Fed will rush with hawkish QE announcements mount. These doubts put a dent on brisk USD recovery, which in turn also underpinned commodity prices, which are nominated in USD. The news that China apparently won the battle against the virus announcing zero cases first time since the start of latest outbreak also propped up sentiment in oil market. This improved outlook for reopening of some key parts of the global supply chain, in particular, large seaports in China, which partial closure during the outbreak contributed to supply chain frictions.

Last week, the market was stormy and the weekly decline in prices was the strongest since last October. A technical rebound this week was also one of the ideas to buy oil.

Despite strong gains on Monday, futures spreads fluctuated in a narrow range. The difference between December and the nearest Brent contract even decreased slightly yesterday:

A fire on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico forced shutdown of 125 oil rigs, which together reduced production by 421K b/d. This is about one fourth of Mexico's production. The operator plans to restore production in the near future, however a delay in the recovery of production will likely to provide additional moderate support for heavy oil grades.

The US Department of Energy announced a sale of 20 million barrels of strategic reserves between October 1 and December 15 this year. While it was assumed that the decision to sell was made due to good market demand and overall tightness, it is actually based on the recently passed US oil reserves phase-out bill.

Markit report on activity in manufacturing and services sectors in the US in July released on Monday indicated that US expansion could slow in August. The index of activity in services sector eased from 59.9 to 55.2 (forecast 59.5), in the manufacturing sector - from 63.4 to 61.2. This is another argument in favor that the Fed may not rush to change the pace of asset-purchases. Also, this could be a wake-up call for the oil market, as PMIs of other top economies - Germany and the UK - also indicated that rebound of activity both in manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors eased, which together with US PMI data could worsen outlook for oil demand.

From a technical point of view, oil is in a downtrend and its rise this week should be seen as a rebound from the May support ($62 WTI level). The price recovery may run out of steam near the upper border of the current channel - this is the level of $68 - $68.5 in WTI, after which prices may again poke into intermediate support at $65 mark:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Demand for risk seems to hit ceiling before Powell's speech

The wave of risk-on that swept markets in the first two days of the week apparently ebbs. Dollar rebounded, commodities struggle to extend the bounce, bond yields ticked higher while equity markets stay range-bound after the biggest short squeeze in several months. Despite apparent persistence of “buy-the-dip” mood things could go sour quickly if Powell hints in Jackson Hole that the Fed inches closer to tapering as early in the week, we saw markets working hard to price in dovish bias in the Powell speech.

Richmond Fed report released yesterday showed that expansion in US manufacturing activity slowed in August. The index fell from 27 to 9 points missing the forecast of 25 points. The poll showed that firms increased hiring and wages in August as the pay index hit fresh record:

Firms reported that difficulties in finding workers persist and expect this to continue over the next six months.
The report basically shows that labor market shortages remained high in August and wage inflation is set to increase further, boosting hawkish outlook for August Non-Farm Payrolls report.

The US House of Representatives approved a $ 3.5 trillion budget resolution which should help to push through the $ 550 billion infrastructure spending package. This is good news for US growth prospects. The news also triggered a 4bp increase in 10-year risk-free rate to 1.294% as bond traders priced in increasing pace of borrowing from the US Treasury.

Markets mood remains positive albeit vulnerable to sharp shifts. Earlier this week, investors were pricing in a dovish bias in Powell Jackson Hole speech, i.e., little information on the timing of policy tightening or rebuttal of market suggestions that transition to policy normalization will begin in September. This was primarily caused by the slack in soft US PMI data as well as deterioration in consumer figures - retail sales and consumer sentiment index from U. Michigan. By the way, the consumer survey also showed that high prices deter consumers from purchasing cars and houses - the index of those who do not plan to buy a car and real estate in the next 12 months because of excessive price growth reached a record level:

The risk of decline in demand for long-term consumer goods and real estate in the United States suggests that a price correction is looming, so this can be one of the reasons why the Fed has less incentive to taper QE fast.


Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

ECB Minutes triggered minor Euro sell-off as the central bank’s dovish bias increased

The ECB didn’t address QE tapering at its July meeting, showed the Minutes released on Thursday. Instead, the policymakers worked to clarify forward guidance on path of the interest rates - how inflation should develop so that market participants can expect changes in the ECB policy. In fact, the Minutes indicated that policy divergence between the ECB and the Fed is set to widen further which should have implications for sovereign debt markets of the two countries and may negatively affect the EURUSD rate.

The publication of the Minutes triggered minor Euro sell-off - EURUSD halted rise towards a two-week high of 1.18 with the intraday rally fizzling out near 1.1775 mark:

In addition, it can be seen that the pair met resistance near the upper border of the downward channel, in which the pair has been trading for about two months.

There is a growing risk of further Euro weakness especially if Powell speech in Jackson Hole turns out to be informative. If Powell speaks on the substance, then most likely he will drop some hints on reduction of monetary stimulus. In this case, the gap between the ECB and the Fed will widen even more, i.e., the differential of interest rates offered by bonds of both countries will potentially increase, and EURUSD may come under pressure due to the movement of investors into the instruments which offer higher yields i.e., Treasuries.


Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

NFP report will decide the fate of September Fed QE announcement



Powell stuck to the hawk line in Jackson Hole last week, but avoided specifics to allow himself room for maneuver at future meetings. The Fed chair hinted at the possibility of QE tapering start this year, which the markets apparently interpreted as sure event. The question is when the QE announcement will be made - in September or towards the end of the year. September shift in the Fed policy is likely to require a strong upside surprise in the August Non-Farm Payrolls report.

Majority of Powell peers at the Fed spoke in favor of making an announcement on QE in September and saying goodbye to the asset-purchase program already in the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2022. However, Powell opted for cautious stance saying that it "might" be appropriate to start trimming the Federal Reserve’s activity in the Treasury and MBS markets this year, with a decision based on incoming data and delta strain dynamics in the US in the fall.

Powell acknowledged that the recovery is happening faster than expected and that inflation in the United States has taken off. At the same time, there is no guarantee that its temporary nature cannot change to a permanent one.

What cheered the markets and hit the dollar is comments of the Fed chair on employment, interest rate path and risks of a premature policy change. Powell said that in a weak labor market, early tightening could hit economic activity and employment, undermining all the gains from stimulus policy. In addition, he said that changes in QE shouldn’t be viewed as a signal of the Fed intentions regarding the timing of a rate hike, which also greatly disappointed proponents of the Fed hawkish policy stance.

Relatively dovish position of the Powell last week led to broad dollar sell-off with EURUSD rising to two-week high of 1.18. The pair scored 8 winning days out of 9 as the liftoff began thanks to synergy of buyer interest as can be seen from the intersection of lower bound of the downside trend channel and strong annual support area 1.1650-1.17:

This week the Eurodollar is to challenge the upper border of the short-term trend channel. Considering vast of unused upside momentum on 1D timeframe with RSI at ~ 52 points, support of both short-term and medium-term buyers, there are high chances of a breakout before the NFP The nearest target for bulls resides in horizontal resistance zone of 1.1880 - 1.19. However, in the medium term, the pair remains in a downtrend. This can be seen from the downward slope of the annual trendline starting from 2021. It follows from this that holding gains above 1.19 will be difficult as ECB outlook remains pretty dovish. A negative NFP surprise is likely to fuel dollar sales boosting EURUSD recovery towards 1.20 as expectations for the announcement of QE tapering will move to the end of the year.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Record downturn in China's services sector could spark a new wave of risk-off


After spending a day in consolidation, greenback could find enough buying interest and continued to fall in price on Tuesday. The US currency index tests support at 92.50 level. Long-term US bond yields continue to pull back in disappointment after a slight surge ahead of Powell's speech, 10-year bonds offer 1.28% to maturity on Tuesday, compared to 1.35% at their peak last week. Fears of inflation, to which long-term bonds are particularly sensitive, appear to be weakening, and there is a growing risk that the Non-Farm Payrolls report will surprise this week from the negative side.

Sharp slowdown of activity in the Chinese services sector in August puts a deep dent on global recovery expectations. The corresponding official PMI gauge suddenly fell from healthy 53-56 points, landing in the depression zone at 47.5 points:

The pace of MoM deceleration was only higher only in February 2020, when China hit the economy with the lockdown. The strong negative surprise will likely make investors doubt that global economy will be able to maintain current pace of expansion and market bets for extension of stimulus measures may rise. Strangely enough, the dollar's sell-off intensified after release of the Chinese data:

Activity in the manufacturing sector also fell short of expectations, albeit to a much lesser extent: PMI has been declining for the fifth month in a row and in August it barely remained in the expansion zone at 50.1 points. The forecast was 50.2 points. Continuing at this pace, the index may find itself in depression zone as early as next month.

Market participants associate the weak data with the dynamics of credit impulse in China, which has been weakening in the past few months entering contraction zone:

Other fundamental factors include government crackdown on the tech and private tuition sectors (which should obviously suppress services sector activity), severe government response to the covid outbreak and reduced travel between provinces due to fears of being locked down in a non-hometown.


High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Big negative surprise from the Conference Board. What are the takeaways for the NFP?

Greenback struggles to take off from 92.50 support level ahead of US labor data for August. DXY rallied on Tuesday thanks to the outflow from Treasuries market as distant bond yields apparently rose in response to hawkish remarks of some ECB officials. The 10-year yield rose from 1.27% to 1.35% as the ECB policymakers hinted that it may be appropriate to start tapering of special asset purchase programs (the so-called PEPP). Given that the major central banks try to keep up with each other in terms of policy easing and tightening, this were interpreted as a hint that the Fed may be more eager to taper than previously expected.

More specifically, here is a statement by the head of the Danish Central Bank, Knot: "The inflation forecast in the Eurozone has improved markedly and justifies an immediate reduction in PEPP, a complete curtailment of the program in March 2022 and a return to pre-crisis discipline in policy."

However, Nomura's latest forecast does not anticipate a shift in PEPP until at least March 2022:

The ECB is due to holding a meeting on Thursday, September 9 and based on emergence of hawkish rhetoric, there is growing risk that Lagarde will hint that PEPP cannot last forever. In anticipation of this surprise, the euro may extend gains against its peers, given that now the European currency has very low expectations for tightening, since the ECB until recently refrained from hawkish hints in every possible way.

Ahead of the NFP, markets are closely watching data that may indirectly indicate a change in employment in the reported month. Among important indicators, one can single out the consumer confidence indices, the dynamics of which is tied to income and income expectations of households. Yesterday was published a report on consumer confidence from the Conference Board, which decreased compared to the previous month (129.1 against 113.9 points). In addition, the index did not live up to expectations and also came below the most pessimistic forecast. We can recall the depressing dynamics of the index from U. of Michigan in August (drop by 10 points), which may also indicate a tipping point in consumer sentiment and expectations in August. In general, consumer sentiment is deteriorating and either this is the result of expectations of sharply increased inflation or worsening income outlook. By the way, one-year inflation expectations, calculated on the basis of the report, rose to 6.8% - this is the maximum since 2008:

Source: ZeroHedge

It is clear that high inflation starts to negatively affect consumer decisions, from this point of view, it is time for the Fed to curb stimulus measures, since it is more and more difficult to assert about the temporary nature of inflation and this may at some point result in a loss of confidence by market participants in the Fed's actions, which is fraught with increased policy costs.
The Conference Board report, together with the Michigan report, suggests that we will face moderate job growth in the United States. Nevertheless, inflation dynamics indicate that the Fed will not be profitable to deviate from its implicit QE promises made in Jackson Hole. The combination of these events - a weakening economic outlook and a course to cut stimulus from the Fed risk negatively affecting stock prices, inducing correction from ATH.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Key reasons why weak August NFP wasn’t a surprise. EURUSD weekly setup.


The odds of a September Fed shift in policy retreated further after release of August NFP report last Friday. The payrolls gain was a big miss as it was three times less than consensus of 725K. Judging by the greenback’s price action on Friday and Monday, there was no serious change in expectations: investors continue to expect that the Fed will taper QE this year, however expectations of the announcement completely shifted to November or December.

The US economy created 235K thousand jobs in August, against the forecast of 750K. If it had happened a month ago, traders would probably have crossed out the Fed's tightening from the list of expectations, but August was not easy for the economy due to the action of an exogenous factor - the delta strain of the coronavirus. Consumer mobility declined in early August, and the service sector in some states faced restrictions again. The peak of impact was just in the reporting week for the NFP. Therefore, with regard to the service sector, it is probably correct to say that job growth did not slow down, but was restrained.

Other aspects of the report also point to a temporary slowdown in job growth. For example, the growth of jobs over the previous month was revised up to 1.053 million, and wages rose surprisingly in both monthly and annual terms. For example, in August, the average hourly wages increased by 0.6% against the forecast of 0.3%:

It is unlikely that we would have seen such a dynamic if the demand for labor was weak. Also released on Friday, ISM's US service sector activity index exceeded forecast, with the hiring component only slightly changed from the previous month (53.7 vs. 53.8 points in July):

Again, weak labor demand would send the index below 50 points, which as we can see didn’t happen despite the fact that hiring slowed down.

The dollar index tested the level of 92 after release of the NFP. Despite the attempt to break through, the price failed to gain a foothold below despite the large downbeat surprise in the data. Today buyers are developing an upward rebound amid weak trading activity. The rise will most likely fizzle out in the area of 92.40:

The main risk event this week will be the ECB meeting. Last week, some of the ECB's monetary policymakers said publicly that they are ready to discuss cutting asset purchases. Considering EURUSD, it is clear that the main events on the side of the dollar have been priced in, therefore, for some time the pair may be influenced by events related, among other things, to the position of the ECB.

This week, a meeting of the European regulator will take place on Thursday, and if Lagarde speaks about the possibility that in the near future it is worth starting to discuss cuts in anti-crisis measures, the euro will receive additional support amid expectations of an increase in European bond rates due to a decrease in ECB activity in the debt market.

In my opinion, the risks for EURUSD are skewed towards more upside this week due to the upcoming ECB meeting, targets above 1.19 remain relevant, especially if the European Central Bank offers hawkish surprise this week.

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

The RBA gives green light to AUD decline, Euro waits for hawkish signals from the ECB

As market volatility continues to dwindle, investors are likely to favor currencies where central banks are raising interest rates. However, paths of monetary policy are still highly dependent on a country's success in the fight against the delta strain and the possible risks of a fresh autumn wave. Contrary to expectations, the Reserve Bank of Australia has become one of the first to indicate that it may be premature to scale back asset purchases.

FX liquidity continues to improve after Monday's Labor Day in the United States. Expectations that the Fed will postpone tightening the policy until the end of the year are holding back the development of corrective sentiment in US equity market. The Reserve Bank of Australia gave a positive signal regarding the prospect of keeping rates low in developed countries at its meeting today, deciding to extend QE by three months to mitigate the impact of lockdowns introduced in response to the delta strain outbreak. There are no broad expectations that other Central Banks will follow the case, but clearly RBA gave food for thoughts with its unexpected dovish move.

The prospect of developing the downside momentum in AUDUSD is becoming more realistic, given the fact that the RBA may start to lag behind the Fed in the tightening race after the US Central Bank meeting in mid-September. The nearest targets for the pair are the levels 0.735 and 0.73:

European markets struggle to sustain gains today while futures for US indices are also tending to decline. The cryptocurrency market turned out to be even less stable and turned into a full-fledged correction. The US dollar is holding up and it is obvious that the support is provided by the growing risk-off.

Interestingly, the dollar advance is not uniform. The American currency rose against all major opponents (including commodity currencies) except the euro. This can be explained by expectations of a hawkish shift in policy at the ECB meeting on Thursday. A hint of PEPP tapering will likely trigger Euro rally above 1.19, but if this does not happen, there may be pullback in hawkish expectations, which are priced in the euro.

It should be tough for greenback to develop upward momentum given the technical resistance - the upper border of downward channel, which is guiding USD decline currently:

Better-than-expected Chinese foreign trade data in August bolstered hopes that global expansion would not slow down much in the fourth quarter. At the same time, the index from ZEW on business sentiment in Germany came slightly worse than forecasted. Together with expectations that the ECB will make an announcement related to tighter monetary policy, this has led to a weak performance in European risk assets today, which is expected to continue until the ECB meeting.


Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

 

[tickmill-news]

Preview of the trading week: Watch out for FX and equity rotations before the Fed meeting

The beginning of the week turned out to be quite calm and measured for FX space as investors are making necessary rotations before a number of central bank meetings next week, including the Fed. The focus this week will be on US inflation and retail sales for August due out on Tuesday and Thursday. Strong prints could propel development of expectations that the Fed will follow in the footsteps of the Bank of England and the ECB, announcing that it is ending extraordinary support for the economy.

The dollar index retests last week's high (92.86) after a two-day downward correction with mixed success. Among the major currency pairs, the dollar shows the greatest gains against the euro, franc and yen, that is, where low interest rates prevail. This may indicate that investors are buying dollars in advance, on expectations of higher government bond rates in the United States. It is easy to guess that such expectations may be tied to the Fed meeting next week. Weak performance of the US technological sector this week may become another signal that the market undergoes rotation from long-duration stocks to its primary substitutes - long-term bonds (mainly influenced by the Fed's QE).

Since the beginning of August, the yield on the 10-year Treasury has consistently set lows above the previous ones, which may indicate a predominance of expectations for higher rates. However, the weakening of the US fundamental component still serves as an effective counterbalance to these expectations - the yield struggles to rise above 1.4%:

European markets and futures for US indices hover in positive territory within 1%.

In addition to preparing for the Fed, investors may also be preoccupied with a follow-through of infrastructure spending story in the United States. The Democrats said they plan to find means for the package by hiking corporate tax from 21 to 26.5% and the tax on capital gains from 20 to 25%. That's less than what was proposed earlier this year, but the Senate's push for the bill could once again spoil the mood of the stock market, as was the case with the initial tax hike announcements earlier in the year.

The rebound of the European currency after the ECB meeting proved to be short-lived, since deeply negative rates allow the euro to maintain its status as a popular funding currency and, all other things being equal, increased demand for risk leads to a weakening of the euro. In addition, as mentioned above, expectations that the rate differential between bonds of European countries and the United States will widen after the Fed may now increase the supply of the euro.

Strong inflation and retail sales in August may increase the flow to dollars, as the chances of a hawkish shift in the Fed's position in this case will be higher, although the US Central Bank is now "a fan of employment data". According to the dollar index, one can count on a test of the area where resistance has been concentrated for the last month and a half - the level of 93.20:

Disclaimer: The material provided is for information purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual or company.

High Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% and 72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd and Tickmill Europe Ltd respectively. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.