Draghi’s Deflation Delirium Cannot Drown EUR

The lack of forex trading suggests that investors are not convinced by either market direction. The current predominant trade has more to do with reducing risk – paring of open decisions – rather than initiating new positions. Both the ECB rate decision and rhetoric that follows tomorrow, along with Friday’s “dirty data” employment numbers have the market obviously concerned. Investors require a clearer head and seek stronger conviction before taking on any further baggage at the moment. Let’s hope by this Friday afternoon the market will have gotten a green light, otherwise the last six-week of the calendar – historically a trending period – is in danger of being a non-starter.

Draghi’s is ‘drowning’ in deflation, while last months US partial government shutdown has yet to filter through on the job numbers front. At tomorrow’s ECB rate announcement Capital Market players are expecting Draghi to be fairly dovish. The weakness in the EUR over the past week suggests that the market had already begun to position for that, either by cutting the EUR longs or initiating new EUR short positions. The question that many are trying to answer is whether ‘this’ deep EUR loss witnessed is more than a corrective move in the dollar?

The Euro-zones current deflation woes has prompted speculation that the ECB will invoke policies from a reduction in its benchmark lending rate (+0.5%), to adding fresh liquidity to the financial system, or broad-based asset purchases similar to those by the Bernanke’s Fed this coming Thursday. The futures markets have since eased back on ‘pricing-in’ the ECB to ease this week; however, a refi rate cut of -25bps is still expected at next months meeting. Draghi will may have to follow the RBA’s Stevens and talk the EUR’s way out or down from the current situation.

Current Euro data is not making Euro policy makers jobs any easier. Economic releases this morning indicate that the ‘zones’ retail sales fell in September (-0.6%, m/m) and that a recovery in the regions business activity has lost momentum (PMI eased to 51.9 from 52.2) at the start of this quarter. For sales, consumer spending remains fragile in the face of high regional unemployment and slow wage growth. This too is not a Euro-zone regional phenomena, it’s a global issue. The retail sales dip is obviously strong proof that consumer demand remains anemic – but is this enough of an immediate impetus to push the ECB into proactive policy territory? Or does the ECB stick to the reactive “long” game plan? The regions austerity programs have left the Euro-zone economy highly dependent on exports as a source of demand. The street’s consensus is that the ECB will not make a move tomorrow, however, surprises are welcome.

The UK economy remains on a “hot streak.” The strong UK data just keeps on coming as more numbers this morning show that manufacturing production (+1.2%, m/m and +0.8%, y/y) and industrial output (+0.9%, m/m and +2.2%, y/y) both beating consensus. Yesterday, the European commission doubled its estimate for the UK’s economic growth for this year (+1.3%, y/y). Such predictions would make the UK the fastest growing of the main European economies. Tomorrow Governor Carney at the BoE gets to “show and tell” at the regular monetary policy meet – however the market expects no rate action from UK policy makers. Capital Markets are more interested in the Novembers inflation report, out on the 13th of this month. In its unemployment forecasts will lie the future of forward guidance, and therefor, policy settings. Investors are trying to figure out whether the UK’s QE is now officially buried? Currently, sterling remains invincible, plodding higher all week tripping weak stop-losses on the back of favorable data and an investor trying to ‘cap a top’ – the pound moves stateside straddling a one-week high of 1.6107. A dollar reprieve may come in the form of an “Old Lady.”

Employment numbers this week are not confined to the northern hemisphere. The Aussies get to report this evening while the Kiwi’s reported earlier this morning. New Zealand’s employment surged +1.2% q/q (Household Labor Force Survey-HLFS), against consensus of +0.5% and this after a couple of quarters of subdued growth. The unemployment rate dropped to +6.2%, despite a higher participation rate of +68.6% from +68.1% in Q2. For the NZD (0.8400), a stronger number had already been priced in; the currency price fluctuation has more to do with global dairy prices than the domestic current employment situation.

For now the stronger-than-expected US ISM readings are likely to try and keep the world’s reserve currency of choice somewhat supported against G10 and EM currencies for the time, until shown otherwise. The fixed income market believes that with US tens’ yield almost +20bp above the lows established ahead of the last FOMC meet that support for the dollar may run into some headwind, especially in the absence of new signs of strength from data. The market is anxious about Friday’s NFP print – a soft payroll print could give the thumbs up for a USD retracement to begin.

Forex heatmap

Other Links:
Central Banks Manhandle Their Currencies

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Dean Popplewell

Dean Popplewell

Vice-President of Market Analysis at MarketPulse
Dean Popplewell has nearly two decades of experience trading currencies and fixed income instruments. He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets. He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best serve clients and industry stakeholders.
Dean Popplewell