The Weekly Macro Review and Outlook for w/c 21 October 2019

The weekly macro review for w/c 14 October 2019 – Brexit was the main highlight during the week. The vote for the alternative backstop was defeated in the UK parliament until the legislation required to implement the bill is passed by the parliament. This situation will continue to unfold throughout next week. A decision on an extension will likely follow once that legislation has been passed/defeated.

There was little further detail on regarding phase one of the US-China trade deal. With the details yet to be put into writing and fully agreed to (we were here back in May), the situation will likely remain tenuous. Even this week, China continued to advocate that agriculture purchases would be made based on market requirements rather than agreeing to a set purchase amount.

US data this week was little changed. Manufacturing has been a weaker part of the US economy and the industrial production report this week indicated that manufacturing output declined in Sep – in line with weaker readings across PMI’s. The decline in manufacturing was led by both durables (GM strike affecting auto production in Sep) and non-durables led by lower output of petroleum products.

US retail sales were weaker in Sep – the first monthly decline since Feb 2019. The annual growth in retail sales has recovered to above 4% since the slowdown in late 2018. Consumer sentiment data has strengthened in the prelim Oct release, indicating that sales likely remain solid in the near term.

Manufacturing has also been a weak for Europe and the industrial production release for Aug indicated that output growth remained subdued. Despite slight growth in the month in the Euro area, production remains below the levels from a year ago. The Eurozone headline CPI growth slowed further – led by lower growth in energy prices. Energy prices have affected most CPI reports this week. Core CPI growth increased slightly as services prices continued to grow at a faster pace.

Growth in the BoJ preferred measure of CPI ex-fresh food continued to slow this month, down to +0.3% and remaining well below the 2% target. Again, energy prices continue to influence these CPI figures – ex fresh food & energy, CPI was slightly higher at +0.5%. The introduction of the consumption tax will be incorporated into the CPI data next month.

As the Brexit process continues to unfold, the UK labour market survey indicated worsening trends in employment and unemployment – the deterioration visible in the latest 3-month reading. Annual UK CPI growth was unchanged at 1.7% and retail sales growth steadied.

Trends in the Australian labour market remained weaker. Employment growth slowed, while the supply of labour increased (via participation growth) resulting in an increase in the total number of unemployed persons. These developments will be closely watched by the RBA as it looks to further easing to reduce this spare labour market capacity (which it sees as a key drag on the CPI via lower wage growth pressure). The RBA minutes on the labour market outlook were less encouraging;

It was also possible that participation was rising partly in response to weak growth in incomes. Moreover, employment growth was forecast to slow over the period ahead.

Data out of China was mixed. Trade data deteriorated further with both exports and imports declining. The fall in imports especially, reflecting further weaker domestic demand and weaker demand for regional exporters into China.

Retail sales indicated that consumer demand remained steady. Domestic retail sales increased at a similar pace month on month with a small acceleration over the year. Consumer price growth accelerated as meat prices, especially pork, have increased markedly.

Industrial production lifted – led by faster growth in manufacturing and mining while output growth for utilities remained steady. Producer prices declined at a faster annual pace, suggesting weaker demand conditions persisted. The largest annual declines in producer prices continued to be driven by chemicals and petroleum.

There are more data releases covered in last weeks review. Use the links on the contents page to navigate to different country sections. Download the review here;

The outlook for w/c 21 October 2019 – There are several key events and data releases this week.

The process to complete Brexit continues this week. The legislation required to implement the alternative Brexit deal is expected to be introduced into the UK parliament early this week. If this legislation passes, then it is possible that the Brexit deal will be approved by the UK parliament.   

The ECB meets this week and it will be President Draghi’s final meeting as President.

Important data out this week;

Prelim PMI’s for Oct will be released across the US, Europe, Asia and Australia this week.

US durable goods orders, regional manufacturing surveys, existing home sales and final consumer sentiment readings for Oct will be released.

Japan merchandise trade.

It will be a lighter week for US Fed speeches ahead of the FOMC meeting next week on 30 Oct. As of 21 Oct, the probability of a further rate cut next week is 89.3%. https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html?utm_source=cmegroup&utm_medium=friendly&utm_campaign=fedwatch&redirect=/fedwatch

Finally, it will be a lighter week for US Treasury supply. The US Treasury will settle $182bn in Treasury bills raising approx. $25bn in new money. Approx. $22.6bn in reserve management purchases will settle this week.

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net 

The Weekly Macro Review and Outlook for w/c 14 October 2019

The weekly macro review for w/c 7 October 2019 – Large announcements took center stage during the week.

A limited trade deal (or at least a truce) between the US and China was announced this week. This more limited agreement has little detail attached at this stage – but it likely means that China will purchase more US agriculture and the US will not go ahead with the increase in the tariff rate on imports from China from 15 Oct. It is expected that those details will be agreed to in time for the APEC Summit 16-17 Nov.

By the end of the week, there was a more positive tone on Brexit regarding an agreement on an alternative to the Irish border backstop. This has since been downplayed by both sides. With the important EU summit coming up, negotiations will again come down to the wire. The Benn act of the UK Parliament requires the UK PM to request an extension to the Brexit deadline (rather than ‘crash out’ with no deal) if there is no agreement with the EU27 and House of Commons backing by 11pm Sat 19 Oct. The UK PM continues to talk about exiting the EU on 31 Oct without a deal.

There was an announcement by the US Fed that it will commence purchasing ST Treasury Bills at a pace of $60bn per month in what it calls ‘reserve management purchases’. The US Fed Chairman had hinted at some intervention in his press conference at the last FOMC meeting, to ‘provide sufficient supply of reserves’ in the wake of liquidity issues in the repo market. The purchase of these ST T-bills will commence on 15 Oct and will continue into at least Q2 2020. This will be in addition to both the overnight repo operations of up to $75bn (daily) and term repo operations of up to $35bn (twice weekly) to ease funding pressures in the repo market.

Other important releases this week were the FOMC and ECB minutes. The FOMC minutes included detail regarding the funding issues in the repo market and the discussion on the size of policy easing at the meeting. The decision to reduce the FFR by 25bps was not unanimous – and the minutes outline the arguments for a 25bps cut, a 50bps cut and no cut to the FFR. All members agreed that downside risk had increased since the last meeting.

“…a clearer picture of protracted weakness in investment spending, manufacturing production, and exports had emerged.”

JOLTS data out this week indicated some further slower momentum in job hiring and openings. Although there was little to suggest any surge in layoffs/discharges, the growth of quits has slowed notably. The first read of consumer confidence for Oct showed a rebound in sentiment. The annual growth in consumer prices was unchanged in Aug at 1.7% and core CPI growth remained much higher on the back of shelter and medical services prices.  

The ECB minutes outlined the discussion, agreement and disagreement on the final suite of easing measures introduced at the last meeting. While members all agreed that a further easing in policy was warranted, there was some disagreement on the individual elements making up the package of measures. The key data out this week was Germany orders and industrial production for Aug (somewhat backward looking given the deterioration indicated by the Sep PMI’s). Weakness in orders was led by the German domestic market. Industrial production increased in the month, led by stronger growth in manufacturing and mining, but remains well below the near-term peak and below a year ago.

Aussie housing lending data continued to strengthen – although growing at a slower pace than the month prior. Softer data indicated slightly more ‘steady’ results with business confidence and conditions picking up slightly. The AiG performance of industry reports indicated some lift in momentum for manufacturing, weak growth for services and continued contraction in construction. Across all three sectors, selling prices continued to decline indicating that demand remains an issue.

There are more data releases covered in last weeks review. Use the links on the contents page to navigate to different country sections. Download the review here;

The outlook for w/c 14 October 2019 – A range of data, news events and US Fed speeches this week.

The emphasis will shift onto the substance of this first phase of the US-China trade agreement as the details are put into writing for the APEC meeting mid-Nov. The next round of tariff increases on imports from China into the US (which were initially postponed) will not go into effect this week.

This is an important week for Brexit with the EC summit on 17-18 Oct. Negotiations will continue throughout the week in order to find some agreement on an alternative to the Irish border backstop. Both sides have stated that there is still a large distance to cover. The UK Parliament has an extraordinary sitting of the House of Commons planned for Sat 19 Oct in order to vote on any alternative that has been approved at the EC summit. If no agreement is in place by 11pm on Sat 19 Oct, the UK PM is required to request a further extension to the 31 Oct Brexit deadline.

The first of the tariffs on imports from the EU (related to the WTO-Airbus case) will likely take effect on 18 Oct.

Important data out this week;

US retail sales, housing data and industrial production. There is also a very heavy schedule of Fed speeches this week.

China data dump including trade, CPI, retail sales and industrial production.

Eurozone industrial production and CPI.

UK retail sales, employment and CPI.

Australia employment survey.

Finally, it will be a very heavy week for US Treasury supply. The US Treasury will settle $255bn in Treasury bills and coupons raising approx. $69bn in new money (a relatively large amount). This will also be the first week of ‘reserve management purchase’ operations.

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net 

The Weekly Macro Review and Outlook for w/c 7 October 2019

The weekly macro review for w/c 30 September 2019 – PMI’s out last week indicated that the global slowdown in activity continued into Sep. In many cases manufacturing activity contracted at a faster pace while there was also a notable slowdown in services activity in several countries/regions.

The US Markit manufacturing PMI was slightly more positive, but the ISM manufacturing PMI weakened, falling further into contraction and affecting a broader base of industries. The services PMI was mostly stable after a larger fall in the month prior and the ISM non-manufacturing PMI caught up this month indicating a larger degree slowdown in services growth. Regional activity was mixed. There was further deterioration in Chicago and NY business conditions while manufacturing growth in the Dallas Fed survey was only slightly slower.

Growth in non-farm payrolls slowed further and came in below consensus. This was partly offset by positive revisions in the two months prior, so the twelve-month average increased slightly.

From the household survey, the key feature was the decline in the unemployment rate. This occurred even though household employment growth had slowed in the month. The fall in the unemployment rate was mostly the function of slower growth in the labour force because there was no increase in labour force participation in the month.

Manufacturing activity weakened further in the Eurozone led by a further deterioration in German manufacturing conditions. Manufacturing in Germany recorded its worst performance since the GFC. Services activity, while remaining positive, also slowed markedly.

Across the broader Eurozone, the composite PMI slowed to just 50.1 – indicating virtually zero growth in private sector activity across the Eurozone. The EZ PPI growth for Aug slowed to zero but was led by sharper declines in energy prices. Weakness in producer prices is still evident for intermediate goods. Despite the gloomier picture painted by the PMI’s, Euro area retail sales still rebounded in Aug.

Manufacturing conditions in Japan remained weaker with industrial production declining again in Aug. The decline in the Sep PMI indicates that this is not likely to improve. The services PMI also slowed. This week, the increase in consumption tax was rolled out and this has been one of several issues weighing on business confidence. One bright spot in the Japanese data was the stronger rebound in retail sales for Aug after a sharper decline in Jul. It’s possible that retail purchases may have been/are being bought forward ahead of the tax increase.

The UK PMI’s painted a picture of an economy mired in Brexit uncertainty with services, manufacturing and construction activity all contracting in Sep. There appear to be little momentum behind preparations for the next Brexit deadline of 31 Oct. The process and path of Brexit remains unclear. Details of the negotiations on an alternative to the Irish border backstop indicate that a wide gap remains between the UK and the EU. The key date remains the next EU summit on the 17-18 Oct.

Finally, in Australia, the RBA lowered the cash rate again to 0.75% – mostly as a result of weaker employment data/stubbornly high spare labour market spare capacity leading to muted inflation pressure. There were several changes in the decision with a shift in focus from ‘lowering unemployment’ to a policy target of ‘full employment’. Total private sector outstanding credit continued to grow at a slower pace and building permits continued to decline. The number of permits on a moving annual total basis as of Aug was 26% below that of a year ago.  Retail sales rebounded in Aug after a small decline in Jul as tax cuts, tax refunds and interest rate cuts start to kick in.

There are more data releases covered in last weeks review. Use the links on the contents page to navigate to different country sections. Download the review here;

The outlook for w/c 7 October 2019 – A somewhat quieter week on the data front – the main features this week will be FOMC and ECB minutes, Fed Chairman Powell speeches, the US-China trade meeting and Germany factory orders and industrial production.

The focus in the US this week will be on the FOMC minutes and three (3) speeches by Chairman Powell throughout the week. On the data front, the key highlights will be prelim consumer confidence for Oct, PPI and CPI for Sep.

US-China trade negotiations will be in focus with Vice Premier Lui He meeting USTR Lighthizer in Washington this week 10-11 Oct.

ECB minutes and Germany factory orders and industrial production (Aug) will be in focus for Europe this week, especially after the much weaker PMI data for German manufacturing last week. Trade and tariff headlines regarding the WTO ruling on Airbus and US tariffs on EU imports may continue to feature this week.

We are now within ten days of the next key date of the EU Summit on 17/18 Oct. At this summit, the UK and EU would need to agree on an alternative to the current Irish border backstop. Negotiations are expected to continue this week.

In Australia, the important housing lending data will be out this week for Aug. Softer data will feature more this week with a final wrap up of the Aus Industry Group services, manufacturing and construction performance indexes for Sep and the NAB business conditions and confidence report for Sep.

Final wrap up of Sep manufacturing and services PMI’s for China and new loans data.

US Treasury issuance will be lighter this week. The US Treasury will settle $200bn in ST bills this week raising approx. $7bn in new money (much lighter than prior weeks). The US Treasury will also auction 3yr and 10yr notes and the 30yr bond this week which will settle next week on 15 Oct. These auctions will raise approx. $54bn in new money.

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net 

The Outlook for w/c 30 September 2019

The outlook for w/c 30 September 2019 – A full week of data, US Fed speeches and it’s also quarter end.

Important US data out this week; non-farm payrolls and employment, ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI’s for Sep and the final Markit PMI’s for Sep.

There is also a full week of Fed speeches. The highlight will be on Friday with a ‘Fed Listens’ event – “Fed Listens: Perspectives on Maximum Employment and Price Stability”. US Fed Chairman Powell will give the opening remarks at this event. Also speaking will be Board members Brainard and Quarles.

Other speeches of note will be; Board Vice Chairman Clarida (Thursday) – outlook for the economy and monetary policy at the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Global Markets event in New York.

Across Europe, the final PMI’s for Sep will be released as well as Euro Area and German CPI and retail sales data.

The final PMI’s for the UK in Sep and Q2 GDP will also be in focus this week. Brexit is now coming into the *final* four week stretch. Further alternative plans for the Irish border issue are expected to be tabled with the EU later this week.  

The focus on Australia will be on the RBA rates decision on Tuesday. The expectations are for a further cut in the overnight cash rate to 0.75% (at 27 Sep 2019 a 78% expectation https://www.asx.com.au/prices/targetratetracker.htm). The probability for a further rate cut increased after the labour market data in mid-Sep indicated unemployment had moved higher. Later in the week, Aus retail sales data will also be released.

On trade, the WTO is expected to announce this week the findings of its arbitration on the amount of US tariffs related to the Airbus case.

US Treasury issuance will be heavier this week and its quarter end. The US Treasury will settle $297bn in ST bills, notes and TIPS this week, raising approx. $51bn in new money.

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Several data releases from last week w/c 23 September will instead be included in the Weekly Macro Review for w/c 30 September 2019 (next week).

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net 

The Weekly Macro Review and Outlook for w/c 23 September 2019

The weekly macro review w/c 16 September 2019 – Policy easing by the US Federal Reserve followed the ECB easing measures announced last week. All three central banks this week indicated heightened concern for global growth and a weakening outlook.

The US Federal Reserve cut the FFR range target to 1.75-2.0%. The cut was based on the implication of global developments for the economic outlook and muted inflation pressure.  The future likely path will be determined based on incoming information.

Despite the cut in rates, US data has continued to improve, especially housing related data this week. The regional manufacturing surveys for Sep were mixed. Industrial production data in Aug improved, especially with manufacturing production returning to growth in the month.

The Bank of England (BoE) kept rates on hold while forward guidance remains firmly focused on Brexit. UK CPI (H) slowed markedly in the latest Aug release and the BoE highlighted the potential shift to a lower demand environment the longer that Brexit uncertainties persist. Talks between the UK and the EU have sparked hopes for a revised Brexit deal – meetings this coming week at the UN General Assembly will be important. The crucial date remains 19 Oct 2019 – after which if there is no revised deal, the UK PM is now required to request another extension.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept rates on hold and there were no changes to policy settings. That said, the BoJ continued to upgrade its level of concern on growth which was reflected in changes to the wording in its statement. The BoJ has shifted its view to that of downside risks increasing. Last month the BoJ amended its statement indicating its willingness to take additional easing measures. This month the BoJ appears to be more explicit in opening the door to the possibility of further easing;

“…slowdowns in overseas economies have continued to be observed and their downside risks seem to be increasing, the Bank judges that it is becoming necessary to pay closer attention to the possibility that the momentum toward achieving the price stability target will be lost.”

Next month will be important for the BoJ as Japan implements the consumption tax hike.

Data out of Japan confirmed the continued weaker external trade in Aug with both merchandise exports and imports declining YoY. Of note was the weaker exports to its largest export market, China. This also highlighted that demand out of China does not appear to be improving. Japan National CPI ex fresh food growth slowed. There is some evidence to suggest that, removing both fresh food and energy price changes, there is some accelerating trend in underlying price growth – albeit at low levels and with the 2% target remaining elusive.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes indicated that rates remained on hold as there was no further deterioration in domestic conditions that warranted a further rate cut in Sep. Signs were emerging that the established housing market (sales and prices) in Syd & Melb had begun to stabilize and that employment growth had been maintained. The latest labour market report this week though, cited by the RBA as one of the more important datapoints (for its objective to reduce spare capacity of persistently high unemployment and underemployment), showed that unemployment increased as increased participation was not matched by gains in employment growth. The composition of employment growth also raised concerns as FT employment growth slowed markedly.

Chinese data was mostly weaker. Retail sales growth slowed slightly, and growth remains lower than at a year ago. The decline in Auto sales appears to be gathering pace as Auto retail sales declined by 8% in Aug (versus -0.1% for the YTD). Annual growth in industrial production also slowed to a new near-term low of only 4.4%. Growth across all three key industrial groups continued to slow in Aug.

There are more data releases covered in last weeks review. Use the links on the contents page to navigate to different country sections. Download the review here;

The outlook for w/c 23 September 2019 – Important datapoints this week will be the prelim PMI’s for Sep across the US, Japan and the Eurozone. Manufacturing has remained weak and/or in contraction across most regions with services activity helping to off-set some of the weakness.

In the US there will be more housing data – new home sales and Case-Shiller House Price Index for (Jul). More recent data indicates that activity in the housing sector appears to be picking up. Other important US data will be; durable goods and the monthly personal income, outlays and PCE price index for Aug. The US goods trade balance and the third est for GDP in Q2 will also be released this week.

It will be a full week of US Fed speeches. Of note will be speeches by; NY Fed President Williams speaking at the US Treasury Market Conference in New York, Vice Chairman Clarida speaking at the Fed Listens event in San Francisco and Vice Chairman Quarles speaking on macro-prudential regulation in Washington, DC.

The annual UN General Assembly will take place this week 23-27 Sep in New York. Sideline meetings on trade and Brexit will be important. Of particular interest is the US-Japan trade deal – a completed deal is expected to be signed at the meeting this week (possibly Wednesday). The UK PM and EU President are also expected to make the most of the meeting to further discussions on a Brexit backstop alternative.

Not all leaders will be present at the UN General Assembly; notable absences will be Chinese President Xi, PM Netanyahu and Russian President Putin.

US Treasury issuance will be somewhat lighter this week. The US Treasury will settle $190bn in ST bills and FRN’s this week, raising approx. $25bn in new money (relatively light given recent weeks).

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net 

The Weekly Macro Review and Outlook for w/c 16 September 2019

The weekly macro review for w/c 9 September 2019 – The ECB eased this week due to the continued shortfall of inflation linked to the ‘more protracted weakness in the Euro area economy’. Easing measures included a further cut into negative territory for the deposit facility, the reintroduction of QE at €20bn a month, continued reinvestments and changes to TLRTO III operations. Guidance now is that low rates and QE will be applied indefinitely.

The other important news in the announcement/decision was the introduction of the two-tier system of remunerating bank excess liquidity holdings from 30 Oct. It’s been suggested that this was a somewhat ‘historic’ shift in the implementation of monetary policy – the following is worth a read; https://www.philosophyofmoney.net/draghis-historic-farewell/.

News leaked late last week that the WTO ruled in favour of the US regarding illegal EU subsidies for Airbus. The ruling has not yet been made public as both parties review the decision over the next few weeks. The WTO panel will then adopt the decision and make the ruling public. The US has been reviewing the possible list of tariffs in preparation of the ruling. Depending on the details of the ruling, tariffs in EU imports will most likely be implemented. The EU has a similar case outstanding regarding Boeing.

US consumer credit growth accelerated in Jul in line with the much stronger retail sales in that month. The Aug retail sales growth slowed, and, ex autos, growth was 0% versus the month prior. Consumer sentiment rebounded only slightly in the prelim Sep reading, after the larger drop in Aug (linked mostly to negative tariff news).  

JOLTs data indicated that while hiring continued to grow, job openings growth slowed further. Layoffs and discharges (involuntary separations) contributed to the increase in total separations. The number of quits (voluntary separations) increased at a faster pace, reaching a new all-time high number of quits, suggesting that workers were more confident in conditions to change jobs.

The growth in the headline all-items CPI slowed slightly on an annual basis to +1.7%. But the core CPI ex food and energy prices accelerated to +2.4%. Both core goods and services contributed to this acceleration. It will be important to see how the FOMC will view this at the upcoming meeting where rates are expected to be cut again.

There has been some optimism emerging regarding progress on an alternative to the current backstop agreement for Brexit. UK rolling GDP data for May-Jul was lackluster with growth at zero % after the prior three-month decline. The labour market remains resilient – somewhat slower annual employment growth was offset by a lower increase in participation which helped reduce total unemployment further.

Australian lending for housing increased at a much faster pace in Aug as easing of lending restrictions and rate cuts continued to take effect. Business confidence eased back again, and business conditions continued to decline in August. There is some indication that conditions may be firming across selected industries.

There are more data releases covered in last weeks review. Use the links on the contents page to navigate to different country sections. Download the review here;

The outlook for w/c 16 September 2019 – Central bank decisions will be the key focus this week. The FOMC, BoJ and BoE decisions are all scheduled this week. The FOMC is expected to cut rates – despite economic data remaining resilient. The current probability for the FOMC to cut rates to 175-200bps is 84% (as of 16 Sep) – https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html?utm_source=cmegroup&utm_medium=friendly&utm_campaign=fedwatch&redirect=/fedwatch).

In the US, we will get our first reading of Sep manufacturing conditions with two regional surveys released this week. Industrial production and housing data will also be published.

The Eurozone CPI and Zew economic sentiment survey will be released. The focus for Europe may start to shift more onto possible escalation of trade tensions with the US considering the (currently confidential) WTO ruling, possible subsequent tariffs and the transition to the new EU leadership taking over the negotiations.

In the UK, the focus will remain on Brexit and the emerging optimism for a deal on Brexit. Data of note this week will be retail sales and the CPI.

This will also be an important week for Aus data with Q2 house prices and the important labour market report for Aug. The RBA minutes for Sep will also be published.

US Treasury issuance will be somewhat heavier this week. The US Treasury will settle $255bn in ST bills, notes and bonds this week, raising approx. $66bn in new money. This may be somewhat offset by the paydown of the maturing 45-day CMB from back in Aug ($35bn).

More detail (including a calendar of key events) is provided in the briefing document – download the file here;

Comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me at kim.mofardin@marscapitalpartners.net