"Well, the one thing the US government might have had going forward was the strength of the dollar, which, despite America’s economic weakness, low rates and some evidence of Japan-style quantitative easing, was still going strong in recent weeks.
But there are now signs of slackening demand for the US currency, according to Bank of America’s Robert Sinche.
Specifically, one source of the the dollar’s recent rally has been the scarcity of USDs among G7 nations and emerging market countries. That’s now easing, according to BoA, with the provision of currency swaps, such as the $30bn for South Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore announced last week. Intuitively, a mass of dollars coming into the system would ease upward pressure on the USD and that easing can be seen through recent declines in the Libor-OIS spread, BoA says:
While there are many factors that influence the LIBOR-OIS spread, particularly the stability of prime money market fund balances, the spread does provide some measure of the offshore demand for USDs, as does the pricing behavior action in the NDF markets. There are signs that these pressures are beginning to moderate in recent weeks as USD funding liquidity has become available on a widespread basis, suggesting that the scarcity demand for USDs is lessening significantly.
The second factor affecting the USD in recent weeks, according to BoA, has been the repatriation by Americans of foreign assets. Data from the Treasury TIC report indicates that US residents had sold foreign equities for each of the three months ended August, with total net sales of $21.6bn. That, however, may be slowing:
It appears that repatriation accelerated in September/early October, with weekly data (from AMG) showing the sharpest redemptions in international mutual funds during the first half of October. However, those redemptions slowed sharply during 2H October, falling to only an estimated -$0.2bn (2 weeks ended October 29) from -$6.4bn in the 2 weeks ended October 15. With global equity prices stabilizing in recent days, the pace of USD-supportive redemption/repatriation is likely to slow further in the weeks ahead.
The final factor, according to BoA, has been the recent appetite for risk aversion, which drove investors to the safe-haven status of USDs, as well as the Japanese yen. Using the VIX as a measure of risk appetite, BoA thinks the VIX’s recent fall means a “significant correction” in USD gains is likely. As goes the VIX, goes the dollar.
Finally:
A strict reading of interest rate differentials would imply the potential for a further 10% fall in the USD Index during the weeks ahead, about three times the 3.5% correction in place from the October 28 recovery high. While that magnitude of correction appears unlikely in the immediate future, we do note the seasonal forces that often weaken the USD into yearend. Moreover, in a global financial system characterized by a scarcity of capital, it is rather ironic that the currency of the largest capital importer (largest current account deficit) has been so strong in recent months. In this context, the strength in the USD in recent weeks also appears unsustainable, with broad-based gains in both developed (ex-Japan) and select developing-country currencies expected during the final two months of the year.
While predicting a weaker dollar pits BoA against Deutsche Bank and a number of other investment houses (see for instance, this recent Bloomberg article on the dollar’s strength), the final nail in the USD coffin (at least in terms of short- to medium-future gains), may ironically be the election of Barack Obama as president on Tuesday night. From Forecast’s Ray Atrill, via Bloomberg:
The more people feel positive about the election outcome, ironically, the worse it may be for the dollar. An improvement in the stock market, for example, as a barometer of improved sentiment and perhaps improved risk appetite, given what we’ve been through in the last year, typically is associated with a weaker dollar.
During the heights of uncertainty, fear and risk aversion, the dollar has been the beneficiary. At the moment, I’d probably see a dollar sell-off as a positive sign in terms of the international financial community’s judgment on the election outcome.
Probably the next shoe to drop is how quickly Obama makes announcements
But there are now signs of slackening demand for the US currency, according to Bank of America’s Robert Sinche.
Specifically, one source of the the dollar’s recent rally has been the scarcity of USDs among G7 nations and emerging market countries. That’s now easing, according to BoA, with the provision of currency swaps, such as the $30bn for South Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore announced last week. Intuitively, a mass of dollars coming into the system would ease upward pressure on the USD and that easing can be seen through recent declines in the Libor-OIS spread, BoA says:
While there are many factors that influence the LIBOR-OIS spread, particularly the stability of prime money market fund balances, the spread does provide some measure of the offshore demand for USDs, as does the pricing behavior action in the NDF markets. There are signs that these pressures are beginning to moderate in recent weeks as USD funding liquidity has become available on a widespread basis, suggesting that the scarcity demand for USDs is lessening significantly.
The second factor affecting the USD in recent weeks, according to BoA, has been the repatriation by Americans of foreign assets. Data from the Treasury TIC report indicates that US residents had sold foreign equities for each of the three months ended August, with total net sales of $21.6bn. That, however, may be slowing:
It appears that repatriation accelerated in September/early October, with weekly data (from AMG) showing the sharpest redemptions in international mutual funds during the first half of October. However, those redemptions slowed sharply during 2H October, falling to only an estimated -$0.2bn (2 weeks ended October 29) from -$6.4bn in the 2 weeks ended October 15. With global equity prices stabilizing in recent days, the pace of USD-supportive redemption/repatriation is likely to slow further in the weeks ahead.
The final factor, according to BoA, has been the recent appetite for risk aversion, which drove investors to the safe-haven status of USDs, as well as the Japanese yen. Using the VIX as a measure of risk appetite, BoA thinks the VIX’s recent fall means a “significant correction” in USD gains is likely. As goes the VIX, goes the dollar.
Finally:
A strict reading of interest rate differentials would imply the potential for a further 10% fall in the USD Index during the weeks ahead, about three times the 3.5% correction in place from the October 28 recovery high. While that magnitude of correction appears unlikely in the immediate future, we do note the seasonal forces that often weaken the USD into yearend. Moreover, in a global financial system characterized by a scarcity of capital, it is rather ironic that the currency of the largest capital importer (largest current account deficit) has been so strong in recent months. In this context, the strength in the USD in recent weeks also appears unsustainable, with broad-based gains in both developed (ex-Japan) and select developing-country currencies expected during the final two months of the year.
While predicting a weaker dollar pits BoA against Deutsche Bank and a number of other investment houses (see for instance, this recent Bloomberg article on the dollar’s strength), the final nail in the USD coffin (at least in terms of short- to medium-future gains), may ironically be the election of Barack Obama as president on Tuesday night. From Forecast’s Ray Atrill, via Bloomberg:
The more people feel positive about the election outcome, ironically, the worse it may be for the dollar. An improvement in the stock market, for example, as a barometer of improved sentiment and perhaps improved risk appetite, given what we’ve been through in the last year, typically is associated with a weaker dollar.
During the heights of uncertainty, fear and risk aversion, the dollar has been the beneficiary. At the moment, I’d probably see a dollar sell-off as a positive sign in terms of the international financial community’s judgment on the election outcome.
Probably the next shoe to drop is how quickly Obama makes announcements
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/11/05/17851/dollar-danger-ahead/
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