Japan Suzuki: Will take appropriate action on excessive Yen moves

    Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated today, “we will take appropriate action if there are any excessive moves” in Yen’s exchange rate. The comment came as Yen threatens to decline further towards the lowest level since 1998 again.

    Suzuki also said, Japan is closely watching current FX moves with a “strong sene of urgency”. He planned to explain the stance on intervention at G20 meeting. He said that Japan have gained “certain understanding” from the US regarding intervention.

    Fed Brainard: Monetary policy will be restrictive for some time

      Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said in a speech, “monetary policy will be restrictive for some time to ensure that inflation moves back to target over time.”

      “It will take time for the cumulative effect of tighter monetary policy to work through the economy broadly and to bring inflation down.”

      “In light of elevated global economic and financial uncertainty, moving forward deliberately and in a data-dependent manner will enable us to learn how economic activity, employment, and inflation are adjusting to cumulative tightening in order to inform our assessments of the path of the policy rate.” She said.

      Full speech here.

      Fed Evans sees interest rate above 4.5% early next year

        Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said, “we can bring inflation down relatively quickly while also avoiding a recession.” He pointed to Fed’s projections that unemployment rate will rise form current 3.5% to 4.4% by the end of next year. Core inflation will dropped from August’s 6.2 to 2.8% then.

        That’s a “pretty good looking soft landing,” he said. “While this does represent a noticeably softer labor market when compared with today’s, these certainly are not recession-like numbers.”

        Evans saw federal funds rising to “a bit above 4.5%” early next year, then “remaining at this level for some time.”

        ECB Villeroy: Takes 2 to 3 years to bring inflation back to target

          ECB Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the central bank is engaged in bringing down inflation to 2% target in “two to three years” time. “It is a very strong signal the central bank sends to all economic players that we will bring down inflation to the target”, he said.

          Another Governing Council member Mario Centeno said, “normalization of monetary policy is absolutely necessary and desired.” But he added, that “policy normalization must be gradual… A policymaker cannot become a factor of instability”.

          Eurozone Sentix dropped to -38.3, Germany in catastrophic state

            Eurozone Sentix investor confidence dropped from -31.8 to -38.3 in October, lowest since May 2020. Current situation index dropped from -26.5 to -35.3, worst since August 2020. Expectations index dropped from -37.0 to -41.0, lowest since December 2008.

            Sentix said: “The ongoing uncertainties about the gas and energy situation in winter have not diminished due to the attack on the Nordstream pipelines. In addition to the economic worries, there is now also an increasing probability of an escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine.”

            Germany investor confidence dropped from -29.9 to -37.4, lowest since March 2009. Current situation index dropped from -23.5 to -33.5, lowest since July 2020. Expectations index dropped from -36.0 to -41.3, an all-time low. Sentix said the data signaled a “catastrophic state of the economic condition” in Germany.

            Full release here.

            AUD/JPY downside breakout, targets 90

              Australian Dollar falls broadly in Asian session, after release of poor service sector data, and on the back of risk aversion. AUD/JPY’s break of 92.11 temporary low confirms down resumption of decline from 99.32. Near term outlook will stay bearish as long as 94.52 resistance holds, even in case of recovery. Next target is 90.51 support first.

              For now, it’s unsure whether fall from 99.32 is corrective the up trend from 78.77 only, or that from 59.85. Reaction to 55 week EMA (now at 89.60) should reveal which case it is. In the bearish case, AUD/JPY could fall further to 38.2% retracement of 59.85 to 99.32 at 84.24 before bottoming.

              Australia AiG services dropped to contraction at 48

                Australia AiG Performance of Services Index dropped sharply by -5.3 pts to 48.0 in September, back in contraction. Looking at some details, sales tumbled by -10.1 to 41.8. Employment edged down by -0.6 to 52.6. New orders dropped -7.1 to 50.2. Input prices rose 4.7 to 73.4. Selling prices dropped -2.9 to 58.3. Average wages dropped -1.7 to 65.9.

                Innes Willox, Chief Executive of Ai Group, said: “The increasingly uncertain economic environment is dragging on service industries. The sector has fallen into contraction in September, and all services activity indicators have worsened in the last month. Low consumer and business confidence – following repeated interest rate rises and persistent inflation – were major factors in this decline. The indicators for sales, new orders, and selling prices all fell, while input prices continued their upward march adding to inflationary pressures.

                Full release here.

                US NFP grew 263k in Sep, unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%

                  US non-farm payroll employment grew 263k in September, just slightly below expectation of 265k. Monthly job growth has averaged 420k in 2022, comparing with 562k in 2021.

                  Unemployment rate rose dropped from 3.7% to 3.5%, below expectation of 3.7%. Labor force participation rate dropped from 62.4% to 62.3%.

                  Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% mom, matched expectations.

                  Full release here.

                  BoE Ramsden: The central question is how forceful we need to be

                    BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said in a speech that before the November MPC meeting, policymakers will be seeking answers to “a range of questions” to assess how quickly inflation will return to target.

                    For him, the questions include: “is there any evidence that the tight labour market is easing; what is the revised outlook for demand in view of the Government’s fiscal announcements; are domestically generated inflation pressures consistent with returning inflation to the 2 per cent target; and what do financial market developments tell us.”

                    Meanwhile, the “central question” for all MPC members is “how forceful do we need to be, to ensure inflation does return sustainably to the 2% target”.

                    Full speech here.

                    ECB survey shows inflation expectations might have peaked

                      According to ECB’s Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) in August, inflation expectations were largely unchanged comparing with July. Nevertheless, mean inflation expectations for the 12 month ahead dropped slightly, and could have peaked. Growth expectations also improved.

                      On inflation:

                      • Mean expectations for 12 months ahead dropped from 7.1% to 6.9 (compares to 6.6% in June).
                      • Median expectations for 12 months ahead was unchanged at 5.0%.
                      • Mean expectations for 3 years ahead was unchanged at 4.7%.
                      • Median expectations for 3 years ahead was unchanged at 3.0%.

                      On growth:

                      • Mean growth expectations for next 12 months improved from -1.9% to -1.7%.
                      • Median growth expectations for next 12 months improved from -0.1% to 0.0%.

                      Full release here.

                      US and Canada employment awaited, USD/CAD ready for breakout

                        Focus turns to employment data from US and Canada today. US non-farm payroll report is expected to show 265k growth in September. Unemployment rate is expected to be unchanged at 3.7%. Average hourly earnings is expected to rise 0.3% mom in September.

                        Looking at related data, ISM manufacturing employment dropped from 54.2 to 48.7, back into contraction region. But ISM services employment rose from 50.2 to 53.0. ADP private employment grew a solid 208k, up from prior month’s 185k. Four-week moving average of initial claims dropped notably from 246k to 207.

                        Overall, the headline print and unemployment rate are unlikely to deviate much from expectations. The surprise factor is probably in wage growth.

                        Meanwhile, from Canada, employment is expected to rebound and grow 22.5k in September, with unemployment rate unchanged at 5.4%.

                        USD/CAD’s pull back from 1.3832 might have completed at 1.3501, after hitting 38.2% retracement of 1.2952 to 1.3832. An upside breakout looks ready after the above mentioned event risks are cleared. Nevertheless, even in case of another fall to extend the corrective pattern, downside should be contained by 1.3501.

                        Fed Waller and Mester not seeing case for slower rate hike

                          Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a speech yesterday, “Inflation is far from the FOMC’s goal and not likely to fall quickly. This is not the inflation outcome I am looking for to support a slower pace of rate hikes or a lower terminal policy rate”

                          Separately, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester echoed and said, “We have to bring interest rates up to a level that will get inflation on that 2% path, and I have not seen the compelling evidence that I need to see that would suggest that we could start reducing the pace at which we’re going,”

                          Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said, “We have to look at the momentum in sort of that central component of inflation, and that’s really the part that I believe has most of my colleagues and myself nervous about.” Be he declined to comment on whether Fed would continue with 75bps hike and noted, we “will have a discussion about that.”

                          BoC Macklem: Simply put, there is more to be done

                            BoC Governor Tiff Macklem said in a speech yesterday, “We know we are still a long way from the 2% (inflation) target. We know it will take some time to get there. We also know there could be setbacks along the way, and we can’t afford to let high inflation become entrenched.”

                            “Simply put, there is more to be done. We will need additional information before we consider moving to a more finely balanced decision-by-decision approach,” he noted.

                            “We can’t control global developments. But we can use monetary policy to influence the balance between demand and supply in the Canadian economy and therefore ease domestic inflationary pressures over time,” Macklem also said.

                            Full speech here.

                            Fed Kashkari: We’re quite a ways away from a pause

                              Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said, “Until I see some evidence that underlying inflation has solidly peaked and is hopefully headed back down, I’m not ready to declare a pause. I think we’re quite a ways away from a pause.”

                              “I fully expect that there are going to be some losses and there are going to be some failures around the global economy as we transition to a higher-interest rate environment, and that’s the nature of capitalism,” Kashkari said.

                              “We need to keep our eyes open for risks that could be destabilizing for the American economy as a whole. But to me, the bar to actually shifting our stance on policy is very high,” he said. “It should not be up to the Federal Reserve or the American taxpayer to bail people out.”

                               

                              US initial jobless claims rose to 219k, above expectation

                                US initial jobless claims rose 29k to 219k in the week ending October 1, above expectation of 205k. Four-week moving average of initial claims rose 250 to 206.5k.

                                Continuing claims rose 15k to 1361k in the week ending September 24. Four-week moving average of continuing claims dropped 10k to 1371k.

                                Full release here.

                                ECB accounts: Some members preferred 50bps hike in Sep

                                  The accounts of ECB’s September 7-8 monetary policy meeting showed that a “very large number” of committee members expressed a preference for a 75bps hike, which was “a proportionate response” to upward revisions to inflation outlook and an important signal of the determination to bring inflation back to target in a “timely manner”.

                                  But “some members” preferred a 50bps hike as that would be “large enough to signal determination in proceeding with the interest rate normalization”. With the “looming risk of a recession”, a 50bps hike as part of a “sustained path towards more neutral rate levels” might prove “sufficient” to return inflation to target. “What needed to be addressed was the risk of the sharp rise in inflation, exacerbated by the war, destabilizing inflation expectations,” the account noted.

                                  But add the end, all members joined a consensus for the 75bps hike, while maintain that policy should “not follow a pre-set path”, and be set on a “meeting-by-meeting basis.

                                  Eurozone retail sales volume dropped -0.3% mom in Aug, EU down -0.2% mom

                                    Eurozone retail sales volume dropped -0.3% mom in August, matched expectations. Retail trade volume decreased by -0.8% for food, drinks and tobacco, while it increased by 0.2% for non-food products and by 3.2% for automotive fuels.

                                    EU retail sales volume dropped -0.2% mom. Among Member States for which data are available, the largest monthly decreases in the total retail trade volume were registered in the Netherlands (-2.2%), Germany (-1.3%) and Malta (-1.1%). The highest increases were observed in Slovenia (+7.0%), Luxembourg (+3.8%) and Ireland (+3.5%).

                                    Full release here.

                                    UK PMI construction rose to 52.3, but optimism sank

                                      UK PMI construction rose from 49.2 to 52.3 in September, above expectation of 48.1. S&P Global said total industry activity rose for the first time three months. Output growth was linked to work on delayed projects. Business optimism was the lowest since July 2020 as new orders stalled.

                                      Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Forward-looking survey indicators took another turn for the worse in September, with new business volumes stalling and output growth expectations for the year ahead now the lowest since July 2020. This reflected deepening concerns across the construction sector that rising interest rates, the energy crisis and UK recession risks are all set to dampen client demand in the coming months.”

                                      Full release here.

                                      NZ Robertson not concerned with NZD outlook, NZD/USD extending recovery

                                        New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said today that it’s going to be a “challenging year” with “global slowdown”. New Zealand would see “less demand and some slowdown”. But, “that doesn’t mean, to me, a recession. There is balance to struck here.”

                                        “Monetary and fiscal policies need to be coordinated, to work together,” he said. “As interest rates rise they’ll restrict demand.” He also said that he’s “not concerned on the long-term outlook for the New Zealand dollar.”

                                        NZD/USD is extending the recovery from 0.5563, but after all, that’s seen as a corrective move in a down trend. Upside should be limited by 38.2% retracement of 0.6467 to 0.5563 at 0.5908. Larger down trend is still expected to resume at a later stage to 2020 low at 0.5467.

                                        Fed Bostic: Lowering rates in 2023? Not so fast

                                          Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said yesterday, “I would like to reach a point where policy is moderately restrictive –between 4 and 4 1/2 percent by the end of this year — and then hold at that level and see how the economy and prices react,”

                                          There is “considerable speculation already that the Fed could begin lowering rates in 2023 if economic activity slows and the rate of inflation starts to fall,” Bostic said. “I would say: not so fast.”

                                          “We should not let the emergence of (economic) weakness deter our push to lower inflation,” he added. “We must remain vigilant because this inflation battle is likely still in early days.”