Major Currencies vs. US Dollar (% change)
01 Nov 2010 – 05 Nov 2010
General Comment: US Dollar and Fed QE – The Morning After
The hangover after last week’s dizzying surge in risk appetite has descended upon the markets, with the US Dollar rallying decisively against most major currencies having reached multi-year lows after the Federal Reserve rebooted its quantitative easing (QE) program. The key question now is whether current price action represents little more than a near-term correction or something bigger and more significant. Indeed, one can’t help but wonder if the sudden parade of QE skeptics across the wires – a group notably including three Fed officials, two of whom voted for its reinstatement – is starting to breed doubts about the policy’s merits or, worse yet, rekindling fears of competitive devaluation.
Regardless, a deeper US Dollar rebound seems likely going forward considering that even in the more modest correction scenario, the move to be retraced dates back not to last week but to August when the Fed began to publicly massage the idea of renewed stimulus at the central bank summit in Jackson Hole. Having deftly managed the markets’ expectations over the subsequent months, Ben Bernanke and company delivered just about what the markets had priced in, removing a good bit of uncertainty and opening the door profit-taking ahead of the year-end.
As for the threat of “currency war”, traders will be tuned in with bated breath for the outcome of the G20 leaders’ summit in Seoul this week, although expectations of some sort of paradigm-changing “grand bargain” seem remote. The most likely outcome is for a final communiqué thin on specifics but packed with vague commitments not to engage in competitive devaluation, which may boost risk appetite temporarily but ought not prove lasting considering it would amount to little more than a restatement of the status quo.
EURUSD: Euro Threatened as Risk Trends Shift Into Reverse
The Euro continues to track broad trends in risk appetite with prices still showing a strong correlation with the MSCI World Stock Index on 20-day percent change studies. Needless to say, this directly threatens the single currency as risky assets correct lower. However, pair may find support in preliminary Euro Zone Gross Domestic Product figures expected to put the annualized growth rate at 1.9 percent in the third quarter, matching the two-year high set in the three months through June, as well as the expiry of a 6-month ECB LTRO that may put upward pressure on yields.
Source: Bloomberg
GBPUSD: Dollar Trends, Inflation Report Vie for Influence
The British Pound has re-coupled with risk appetite after last week’s Bank of England rate decision proved to be a non-event, opening the door for the Dollar’s response to the Fed’s QE reboot to take over. While this bodes ill given the corrective nature of current price action, the publication of the central bank’s Quarterly Inflation Report adds a layer of uncertainty. Indeed, the document represents the first opportunity for BOE officials to weigh in on the implications of the government’s austerity program with in-depth knowledge of where deficit reduction will come from. To that effect, traders will be eager to see if this pushes the rat-setting MPC any further into dovish territory, perhaps even to consider following the Fed down the path of additional asset purchases.
Source: Bloomberg
USDJPY: G20 Summit May Interrupt Otherwise Quiet Trade
The short-term yield spread remains the paramount driver of Yen price action. It is small wonder then that prices have tracked sideways since mid-October as both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan pushed ahead of additional monetary easing. The economic calendar is lackluster for the remainder of the week but things may get choppy heading into the G20 summit on Thursday and Friday considering the topic of “currency war” threatens to resurface. Naturally, this subject is particularly touchy for USDJPY considering the US is now being internationally accused of intentionally depressing the greenback’s value with QE while Japanese officials explicitly intervened in FX markets just several months ago.
Source: Bloomberg
USDCAD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD:Weakness Likely if Risk Appetite Fades
Risk trends remain firmly in control of the commodity bloc, putting the spotlight on the correction underway since the beginning of the week. On the domestic data front, Australian Unemployment data is set to show the jobless rate fell to 5 percent – the lowest in 20 months – while Home Loans add 1 percent for the second consecutive month in September.
Source: Bloomberg
Source: Bloomberg
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