UK published Brexit white paper titled “The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union”

    UK finally published the long awaited Brexit White Paper titled “The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union“.

    Brexit Minister Dominic Raab said in the forward of the document that “leaving the European Union involves challenge and opportunity. We need to rise to the challenge and grasp the opportunities.” And, “this is the right approach – for both the UK and for the EU. The White Paper sets out in detail how it would work.”

    EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that “We will now analyze the #Brexit White Paper (with) Member States & EP, in light of #EUCO guidelines,” he tweeted, referring to the European Parliament and his own negotiating team from the European Council . He added that “EU offer = ambitious FTA + effective cooperation on wide range of issues, including a strong security partnership.” And he looked forward to negotiations with the UK next week.

    Eurozone Sentix fell to -17, Germany the biggest problem child

      Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence dropped from -13.1 to -17 in June, well below expectation of -9.2. Current Situation index dropped from -7.0 to -15.8. But Expectations index ticked up from -19.0 to -18.3.

      Sentix noted: “The biggest problem child in the Eurozone remains Germany, which plummets dramatically in the sentix economic indices. The situation collapses to -22 points, expectations fall again slightly to -20.3 points. The overall index plunges to -21.1 points. All lows since Nov/Dec 2022.”

      Sentix also said, “Eurozone economy continues to send weak signals at the beginning of June”, and “the clear slump in the assessment of the economic situation is particularly striking”.

      Meanwhile, inflation expectations rose to -6, comparing to -44.25 a year ago. “Thus, positive inflation surprises are on the horizon,” Sentix said.

       

      Full Eurozone Sentix release here.

      PBoC cuts two key lending rates

        China’s PBoC executed cuts to two of its pivotal lending rates today, marking the first time such adjustments have been made in 10 months since last August.

        The Chinese central bank opted to reduce one-year loan prime rate by -10 bps, taking it down from 3.65% to 3.55%. Concurrently, it also implemented a -10 bps cut to five-year loan prime rate, adjusting it from 4.3% to 4.2%.

        These measures follow other recent actions aimed at easing monetary policy. Only last Thursday, PBOC made its first cut to one-year medium-term loan facility in 10 months. Furthermore, the bank reduced its seven-day reverse repurchase rate on the preceding Monday.

        China Caixin PMI composite dropped to 54.5, economy remained in recovery phase

          China Caixin PMI Services rose to 54.8 in September, up fro August’s 54.0, above expectation of 54.5. PMI Composite dropped to 54.5, down from 55.1.

          Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group said: “Overall, the economy remained in a post-epidemic recovery phase and improved at a faster pace. Supply and demand both expanded in the manufacturing and services sectors…. In the near term, there will still be uncertainties from Covid-19 overseas and the U.S. election, and the development of “dual circulation” in the domestic and international markets will continue to face challenges.”

          Full release here.

          US oil inventories rose 0.5m barrels, WTI crude recovers back above 50

            US commercial crude oil inventories rose 0.5m barrels in the week ending February 21, below expectation of 2.3m barrels. At 443.3 barrels, crude oil inventories are about 3% below the five year average for this time of year.

            WTI crude oil dipped to as low as 48.98 earlier today but recovered after the release, back above 50 handle. Prior rejection by falling 55 day EMA is a sign of near term bearishness. Further fall is now in favor as long as 54.59 resistance holds. Decline from 65.38 could target a test on 42.05 low.

            German Merkel: Pressure from outside is not the right instrument to convince UK parliament

              German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “clear, far-reaching proposals have been made that take into account the concerns of Britain and that seek to find answers to them.” She wanted an orderly Brexit but the UK parliament now had to decide. But she noted that “pressure from outside is not the right instrument to convince people”. And, “we expressly support this step. But this is not about pressure, it is about partnership where one tries to protect one’s own interests and others’ interests to find a solution”.

              Yesterday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that “there will be no third chance, there will be no further interpretations of the interpretations, no further assurances of the re-assurances – if the meaningful vote tomorrow fails.” “The choice is clear: it is this deal, or Brexit may not happen at all. Let’s bring the UK’s withdrawal to an orderly end. We owe it to history,” Juncker added.

              Fed still sees three cuts this year, but slower easing thereafter

                Fed left interest rate unchanged at 5.25-5.50% as widely expected. The new economic projections and dot plots are clearly more hawkish than December’s. Yet, Dollar dips initially after the announcement, perhaps because they’re not as hawkish as feared.

                In the new median economic projections interest rate is still seen at 4.625% by the end of 2024. But federal funds are are now projection to decline slower to 3.875% by the end of 2025 (vs prior 3.625%), and then 3.125% by the end of 2026 (vs prior 2.875%). The long run federal funds rate is seen slightly higher from 2.5% to 2.6%.

                Looking at the details of the dot plot for end of 2024, nine members see interest rate above 4.75%, and 10 below that level. That is one member has shifted the stance (the split was 8-11 in December). Also, only one member expects interest rate to be below 4.50%. That is, Fed isn’t likely to cut more than three times this year, with higher risk of cutting less.

                Other forecasts see:-

                GDP growth:

                • 2024 GDP growth at 2.1% (upgraded from 1.4%).
                • 2025 GDP growth at 2.0% (upgraded from 1.8%).
                • 2026 GDP growth at 2.0% (upgraded from 1.9%).

                Headline PCE:

                • 2024 PCE inflation at 2.4% (unchanged).
                • 2025 PCE inflation at 2.2% (raised from 2.1%).
                • 2026 PCE inflation at 2.0% (unchanged).

                Core PCE:

                • 2024 core PCE inflation at 2.6% (raised from 2.4).
                • 2025 core PCE inflation at 2.2% (unchanged).
                • 2026 core PCE inflation at 2.0% (unchanged).

                Full FOMC statement here.

                Full Summary of Economic Projections here.

                Eurozone PMI Composite finalized at 51.5, scale of manufacturing downturn starting to overwhelm

                  Eurozone PMI Services was finalized at 53.2, down from 53.3, and June’s 53.6. PMI Composite was finalized at 51.5, down from 52.2. Looking at the member states, Germany PMI Composite dropped to 50.9, 73-month low. Italy hit 51.0, 4 -month high. Spain dropped to 51.7, 68-month low. France hit 51.9, 2-month low.

                  Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit said:

                  “The service sector continued to sustain the expansion of the overall eurozone economy at the start of the third quarter, but there are signs that the scale of the manufacturing downturn is starting to overwhelm.

                  “Trade war worries, slower economic growth, falling demand for business equipment, slumping auto sales and geopolitical concerns such as Brexit led the list of business woes, dragging manufacturing production lower at its fastest rate for over six years. While the service sector has helped offset the manufacturing downturn, growth also edged lower among service providers in July, meaning the overall pace of expansion of GDP signalled by the PMI has slipped closer to 0.1%.

                  “The main source of expansion currently appears to be the consumer, in turn buoyed by the relative strength of the labour market. However, with the July survey indicating the weakest jobs gains in over three years, there are signs that this growth engine is also losing impetus, and adding another headwind to the economy for the coming months.”

                  Full release here.

                  Fed Brainard: Monetary policy will need to be restrictive for some time

                    Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said yesterday that “monetary policy will need to be restrictive for some time to provide confidence that inflation is moving down” to 2% target. She added Fed will need “several months of low monthly inflation readings to be confident that inflation is moving back down to 2%.”

                    “Our resolve is firm,” Brainard said. “If history is any guide, it is important to avoid the risk of pulling back too soon,” and easing interest rates before inflation is under control.

                    Boston Fed President Susan Collins said, “It’s really premature right now to be too specific about exactly what the right policy move will be in September… I will reiterate that we need to do more, we’ve not yet seen significant declines in prices, and that’s what we’re going to be looking for.”

                    US initial jobless claims fell to 237k, better than expectation

                      US initial jobless claims dropped -12k to 237k in the week ending July 8, below expectation of 250k. Four-week moving average of initial claims dropped -7k to -247k.

                      Continuing claims rose 11k to 1729k in the week ending July 1. Four-week moving average dropped -11k to -1735k.

                      Full US jobless claims release here.

                      UK PMI services finalized at 50.0, energy crisis hit business and consumer spending

                        UK PMI Services was finalized at 50.0 in September, down from August’s 50.9, weakest reading since February 2021. PMI Composite was finalized at 49.1, down from prior month’s 49.6, lowest since January 2021.

                        Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence: “September data highlighted an absence of growth in the UK service sector for the first time in 19 months as the energy crisis continued to hit business and consumer spending…. Service sector businesses trimmed their growth expectations to the lowest seen for nearly two-and-a-half years in September, which survey respondents linked to concerns about falling disposable income and the unfavourable global economic outlook.”

                        Full release here.

                        Fed’s Williams: Monetary policy in a good place, no need to tighten today

                          In a Reuters interview, New York Fed President John Williams expressed confidence in the current state of monetary policy, stating that it is “in a good place.” He highlighted the positive mix of economic data, noting strong consumer spending, business investment, and GDP growth. He emphasized that the economy is “not really at a near-term risk” and remains robust, supported by a strong labor market.

                          Williams indicated that he does not see any immediate need to tighten monetary policy, as current indicators do not suggest that the Fed’s actions are harming the economy or interfering with its goals. “So I don’t see any need to tighten monetary policy today,” he added.

                          Looking ahead, Williams acknowledged that lower interest rates would be necessary as inflation approaches 2% target. He explained that once inflation is sustainably at this level, Fed would need to reduce its “restrictive influence” on the economy, and move to a “more neutral kind of position.”

                          AUD/JPY: A head and shoulder bottom failure in the making?

                            AUD/JPY could be a very interesting pair to watch this week. From the hourly chart, there’s clearly a beautiful head and shoulder bottom pattern (ls:79.97, h: 79.69, rs: 80.09). Bullish convergence condition is also seen in hourly MACD. So, is AUD/JPY ready for a powerful upside move?

                            We’re quite skeptical on it. First of all, we’d like to reiterate that head and shoulder is a classic “reversal” pattern. Believe nobody would disagree to that. But we’d like to clarify that meaning of “reversal”. It means both a) ending the prior trend to start a new trend in the opposite direction, OR b) halting the current trend, starting a counter trend move to correct the prior move. In case of b) the subsequent move could be in form of any corrective pattern, a rectangle, a wedge, a triangle, etc.

                            To assess the chance a) for AUD/JPY, we’ll have to see if the pair has completed a down trend that’s in a larger degree of the head and shoulder pattern. That is, we’ll have to look at the bigger picture to see if the conditions are in place for a larger reversal.

                            Firstly, AUD/JPY has just resumed the down trend from 2017 high at 90.29, by breaking 80.48 key support level, with solid downside momentum. From the daily MACD, we see that downside momentum is increasing, rather than decreasing.

                            Fall from 90.29 is either correcting the up trend from 72.39 to 90.29, or starting a new long term down trend. But even for the former case (less bearish), it hasn’t matched target of 61.8% retracement of 72.39 to 90.29 at 79.22 yet. So, we don’t think conditions are in place to reverse the trend from 90.29 yet.

                            Looking a bit closer, if the above view is correct, then fall from 83.92, which started the downside breakout, should be a five-wave sequence. Having a look at the 4 hour chart, 79.69 should be, at worst the end of the third wave from 83.92. Hence, rebound from there is not even reversing the fall from 83.92.

                            So in our view, the rebound from 79.69 is likely just a counter trend move that corrects the fall from 82.78. That is, the above mentioned case b). With that in mind, 4 hour 55 EMA (now at 80.99) is the first hurdle. But more importantly, an important cluster resistance zone lies ahead. That is, 100% projection of 76.69 to 80.82 from 80.09 at 81.22, 50% retracement of 82.78 to 79.69 at 81.23, 38.2% retracement of 83.92 to 76.69 at 81.30. We do not expect, as a corrective move, the rise from 79.69 to pass through this 81.22/30 resistance zone.

                            For head and should pattern, the target is usually calculated by adding the depth of the head to the neck line. That is, in this case, depth of the head is 80.82-79.69= 1.13. The target is thus 80.82+3.13=81.98. It’s “substantially” higher than the above mentioned 81.22/30 resistance zone. Hence, we’d believe it’s going to be a head and shoulder pattern failure.

                            As usual, we could be wrong. Let’s see.

                            Tell us your views too.

                             

                            ECB 2019 hike pricing is back as Italy worry faded and inflation jumped

                              Markets continued to stabilize further as Italian political turmoil is now a past. Italian 10 year bond yield dropped for another day, by 0.17 so far and is standing at 2.54. German 10 year bund yield, on the other hand, is rising 0.16 and is back above 0.40 at the time of writing. While the spread is still widener than 200, it’s much better than the worse day when it was over 300.

                              Money markets are back pricing in the chance of an ECB hike next year. This is additionally supported by the stronger than expected inflation reading released last week. Now, markets are pricing in around 50% chance of a hike in June 2019. They are also now fully pricing in a 10 bps hike by September 2019.

                              NIESR expects 0.9% UK GDP growth in June, 1.9% in Q3

                                NIESR said UK’s 0.8% GDP growth in May “disappointed”. It expected GDP growth of 0.9% in June, and 4.8% in Q2 overall. Nevertheless, “with catch-up potential still evident in hospitality, transport, business support and the arts, we forecast growth of 1.9 per cent in the third quarter, still notably above historical trend growth rates.” But, “much will depend on the roll-out and efficacy of the vaccines in the context of the Delta variant.”

                                “Like April, May’s GDP growth was faster than usual but almost entirely driven by the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, with the hospitality sector accounting for 0.7 percentage points of May’s 0.8 per cent growth. Underlying growth is moderate outside the sectors being unlocked, with supply constraints contributing to the continuing recent stagnation in manufacturing. It remains to be seen whether the lifting of further restrictions in July contributes to a continuation of strong growth in the third quarter or – if cases of Covid-19 continue to rise – increased caution among consumers and even another national lockdown.”

                                Rory Macqueen Principal Economist – Macroeconomic Modelling and Forecasting

                                Full release here.

                                Japan yield curve distortion worsens, Nikkei down

                                  Japanese stocks, bonds and currency market remain rather nervous today, as traders are eyeing BoJ policy decision on Wednesday. The yield curve “distortion”, as described by the central bank, was getting more serious after 8- and 9-year yield surged past 0.6% handle last week. At the same time, 10-year JGB yield, closed at 0.514, is still firmly tied to the 0.5% cap. Both 8- and 9-year yield closed down but stayed above 10-year’s level at 0.624 and 0.632.

                                  As speculation on a YCC tweak to rectify the distortion intensified , Nikkei declined -1.14% to close at 25822.32. Technically speaking, while deeper decline is possibly for the near term, strong support should be seen around 24681.74 to contain downside. The level is close to 55 month EMA, which stands at 24754.15. Nikkei has been continuously supported by the EMA, as well as the long term channel, for a decade, barring the initial two months of the pandemic. But a firm break of 24681.74 will indicate something rather substantial is happening.

                                  France PMI manufacturing finalized at 55.7 in Apr, continues to churn out growth

                                    France PMI Manufacturing was finalized at 55.7 in April, up from March’s 54.7. S&P Global said manufacturing output growth was constrained by war in Ukraine. There were reports of automotive sector weakness, while supply issues persisted. Output price inflation accelerated to series high.

                                    Joe Hayes, Senior Economist at S&P Global, said:

                                    “France’s manufacturing sector continues to churn out growth in the face of an intensely challenging backdrop for goods producers. That said, some of the anecdotal evidence from panellists we received this month suggests production growth may be short-lived.

                                    “Advanced purchases from clients in anticipation of price hikes underpinned order book growth at some firms. This is worrying evidence that suggests inflation expectations have become de-anchored, but it also suggests that weaker demand conditions are in the horizon if clients are bringing forward their purchases and are hesitant to place orders at higher prices.

                                    “The supply situation also remains uncertain as bottlenecks in China due to COVID restrictions and the war in Ukraine have added to pressures. Firms continue to struggle to replenish their stock of finished goods, which have fallen in for the past six months.

                                    “If firms can secure inputs, this may help support output in the face of weak demand if firms choose to rebuild their stocks, but rampant inflation and a concerning outlook for demand is diminishing support for growth.”

                                    Full release here.

                                    Shanghai to stop operations until Feb 9, inter-city bus services suspended

                                      China’s Shanghai government announced that the city will not resume operations until February 9, due to coronavirus outbreak in the country. Government operations and private companies will remain closed during the period. Nevertheless, utilities companies and companies that provide medical equipment and pharmaceutical products will continue to work.

                                      Separately announced, the city’s Pudong International Airport will suspend long-distance inter-city bus services to-and-from the airport starting today.

                                      UK retail sales volume dropped -1.6% mom in Aug, sales value also down -1.7% mom

                                        UK retail sales volume dropped -1.6% mom, -5.4% yoy in August, worst than expectation of -0.6% mom, -4.2% yoy. Ex-fuel sales volume dropped -1.6% mom, -5.0% yoy, versus expectation of -0.7% mom, -3.4% yoy.

                                        Retail sales value also dropped -1.7% mom while ex-fuel sales value dropped -1.4% mom. On a year earlier, headline sales value rose 5.4% yoy while ex-fuel sales value rose 3.7% yoy.

                                        Full release here.

                                        US Q3 GDP growth revised slightly up to 2.1% annualized

                                          According to the second estimate, US real GDP grew at annualized rate of 2.1% in Q3, comparing to Q2’s 6.7%. The upward revision from advance estimate of 2.0% primarily reflects upward revisions to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and private inventory investment.

                                          Full release here.