Well, that was dramatic, but some significant levels on equity markets held on a closing basis, while the DXY rallied into the close. But in the end, it was all about cleaning the slate while living to fight another day.
Next week spotlight falls on the USD and the RMB complex, and following the likely publishing of the much talked about US Treasury FX report, it’s going to be another packed week on the economic front for these currencies.
China a Currency Manipulator: Yes or No
Whit the odds at 50-50 chance that the US will go so far as to outright name China a “manipulator.”, For no other reason than the usual chorus of mixed signals from the US administration, with the worrywarts leading the way. White House Economic Advisor Kudlow opined on CNBC that China’s response to US requests is “unsatisfactory.” In contrast, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said he’d had a “very productive” conversation with the PBoC but expressed his concerns about “the weakness in the currency.”
It all suggested that, while siding with no currency manipulator camp, the uncertainty around the report warranted at minimum a passive reduction in specific currency exposure, especially when risk off lead to unwinds last week of critical consensus short positions where the “funders” tended to outperform And at maximum, cleaning the slate entirely including trimming AUD shorts and USDCNH longs.
Last week the EUR, JPY and CHF all went bid against the USD as equities took a plunge and the rally accelerated when Trump reminded everyone that no one is safe from the wrath of Trump, even his nominated Fed Chairman Jay Powell.
Europe Risk
In Europe, there will be more political intrigue. Italy will present it budget draft to the EU, keeping in mind the EU Commission already said last week in a letter to the Italian government that its latest fiscal plans point to “a significant deviation” from the path recommended for Italy by the EU Council. And headline risk is massive as the UK and EU are due to discuss Brexit at the EU Summit. But flying under the radar is the first major electoral test for any new government – this vote is in Bavaria. on Sunday
Oil Market
Headwinds remain.
The S &P stabilised well and continued to roll with the punches, but Oil markets were not so eager to snap back. Oil prices were struggling to follow the equity market lead, after the International Energy Agency monthly Market Report adjusted demand lower by 110,000 bpd for both 2018 and 2019, reported an increase of 100,000 bpd in September OPEC production while pointing out OECD data suggests oil stocks are at the highest level since February. While advising that markets are adequately supplied, which again highlights uncertainty over supply once the US sanctions on Iran take effect. Lordy Lordy, it’s a noisy market.
Drillers added eight oil rigs in the week to Oct. 12 according to Baker Hughes. This is ahead of the Plains All American Pipeline Project which is set to start flowing on Nov 1 and should ease pipeline bottlenecks that have lower crude prices in the Permian Basin. The Sunrise Pipeline has a reported capacity of about 500,000 barrels per day.
Gold Markets
The current landscape remains exceptionally shaky if both stocks and US rates markets continue to recover significantly in the days ahead. As well there a plethora of tier one US economic data out next week, and given strength in the recent run of US economic data it has anchored the USD to fundamentals where the dollar has shown a tendency to appreciate. Without a significant break of the critical $1225 level its far to early to jump on the bullish gold bandwagon.
China Trade Data
Speaking of China data, I’m still perplexed why North American markets analysts were so enamoured about Beijing’s export data. Sure, it was surprisingly hardy versus market expectation, but it was impossible to factor in with any high degree accuracy ,the front-loading impact, which was more than evident to the local Singapore traders who were buying the USDCNH dip. Local’s tend to focus on electrical machinery exports which are Chinas biggest export, and given the surge in that sector, the data was not all that significant as exporters were fulfilling longer-term commitment before implementation of the latest tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese exports. Even the so-called ‘ hoarding effect” on the commodity imports components was evident given the newly announced 10 % trade tariffs in mid-September impacted the data.
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