IC Markets Asia Fundamental Forecast | 24 July 2024
What happened in the U.S. session?
Existing home sales have been poor throughout 2023 and the trend is no different this year as sales fell from an annual rate of 4.11M in May to 3.89M in June – the lowest sales rate since last December. Meanwhile, the Richmond Manufacturing Index has deteriorated since mid-2022 and has remained weak ever since. Manufacturing activity crumbled as it fell from -10 in the previous month to -17 in July, much worse than the forecast of -7 points. These latest macroeconomic data points highlighted the ongoing weakness in the housing and manufacturing sectors but that did stop the dollar index (DXY) from making an overnight high of 104.53. This index remains elevated and looks set to edge higher as the day progresses.
What does it mean for the Asia Session?
The flash PMI report for Australia by S&P Global released this morning showed Composite PMI activity easing towards neutral. Services activity fell from 51.2 in June to 50.8 in July which was a 6-month low while manufacturing contracted for the sixth consecutive month. The stagnation in overall business activity added further downward pressure on the Aussie as it headed south toward the threshold of 0.6600.
The Dollar Index (DXY)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (1:45 pm GMT)
What can we expect from DXY today?
S&P Global will release the flash results for Composite PMI for the month of July where business activity is expected to remain relatively stable from the previous month. Output growth accelerated while employment saw a renewed rise in June. Should the flash results beat market expectations, it could function as a potential bullish catalyst for the dollar.
Central Bank Notes:
- The Federal Funds Rate target range remained unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50% for the seventh meeting in a row.
- The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals have moved toward better balance over the past year.
- The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks. Inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated and in recent months, there has been modest further progress toward the Committee’s 2% inflation objective.
- Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace while job gains have remained strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low.
- In considering any adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks and does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.
- In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals.
- In addition, the Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. Beginning in June, the Committee will slow the pace of decline of its securities holdings by reducing the monthly redemption cap on Treasury securities from $60 billion to $25 billion.
- The Committee will maintain the monthly redemption cap on agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at $35 billion and will reinvest any principal payments in excess of this cap into Treasury securities.
- Next meeting runs from 30 to 31 July 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Weak Bullish
Gold (XAU)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (1:45 pm GMT)
What can we expect from Gold today?
S&P Global will release the flash results for Composite PMI for the month of July where business activity is expected to remain relatively stable from the previous month. Output growth accelerated while employment saw a renewed rise in June. Should the flash results beat market expectations, it could function as a potential bullish catalyst for the dollar to push gold prices lower.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Weak Bullish
The Australian Dollar (AUD)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (11:00 pm GMT 23rd July)
What can we expect from AUD today?
The flash PMI report for Australia by S&P Global released this morning showed Composite PMI activity easing towards neutral. Services activity fell from 51.2 in June to 50.8 in July which was a 6-month low while manufacturing contracted for the sixth consecutive month. The stagnation in overall business activity added further downward pressure on the Aussie as it headed south toward the threshold of 0.6600.
Central Bank Notes:
- The RBA kept the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35%, marking the ninth pause out of the last ten board meetings.
- Over the year to April, the monthly CPI indicator rose by 3.6% in headline terms, and by 4.1% excluding volatile items and holiday travel, which was similar to its pace in December 2023.
- The central forecasts published in May were for inflation to return to the target range of 2–3% in the second half of 2025 and to the midpoint in 2026 while there have been indications that momentum in economic activity is weak, including slow growth in GDP, a rise in the unemployment rate and slower-than-expected wages growth.
- Inflation is easing but has been doing so more slowly than previously expected and it remains high and the Board expects that it will be some time yet before inflation is sustainably in the target range.
- The path of interest rates that will best ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe remains uncertain and the Board is not ruling anything in or out.
- Next meeting is on 6 August 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bearish
The Kiwi Dollar (NZD)
Key news events today
No major news events.
What can we expect from NZD today?
Stronger demand for the dollar drove the Kiwi under the threshold of 0.6000 overnight. This currency pair continued to slide lower towards 0.5950 at the beginning of the Asia session – these are the support and resistance levels for today.
Support: 0.5880
Resistance: 0.5980
Central Bank Notes:
- The Monetary Policy Committee kept the OCR unchanged at 5.50% for the eighth meeting in a row and agreed that restrictive monetary policy is reducing domestic demand and consumer price inflation.
- The Committee is confident that inflation will return to within its 1-3% target range over the second half of 2024.
- The decline in inflation reflects receding domestic pricing pressures, as well as lower inflation for goods and services imported into New Zealand while recent monthly Selected Price Indexes suggest weakening in some of the more volatile inflation components, while survey measures of cost pressures and pricing intentions have continued to decline.
- Non-performing bank loans and corporate insolvencies have increased from low levels in line with declining economic activity while bank credit growth also remains very subdued, in line with weakness in the domestic economy and low business and consumer confidence.
- Next meeting is on 14 August 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bearish
The Japanese Yen (JPY)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (8:30 am GMT)
What can we expect from JPY today?
The flash PMI report by S&P Global showed business activity returning to expansion in Japan as this index increased from 49.7 in the previous month to 52.6 in July. This flash report was indicative of solid growth with service providers leading the expansion as activity growth hit a 3-month high. The yen’s strength continues to increase this week, driving USD/JPY under 155.50 this morning.
Central Bank Notes:
- The Bank considers that the policy framework of Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing (QQE) with Yield Curve Control and the negative interest rate policy to date have fulfilled their roles. With the price stability target of 2%, it will conduct monetary policy as appropriate, guiding the short-term interest rate as a primary policy tool.
- The Bank of Japan decided on the following measures:
- The Bank will encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0 to 0.1% while continuing its Japanese government bonds (JGB) purchases in accordance with the decisions made at the March 2024 MPM.
- The Bank decided, by an 8-1 majority vote, that it would reduce its purchase amount of JGBs thereafter to ensure that long-term interest rates would be formed more freely in financial markets.
- Underlying CPI inflation is expected to increase gradually, since it is projected that the output gap will improve and that medium- to long-term inflation expectations will rise with a virtuous cycle between wages and prices continuing to intensify.
- In the second half of the projection period of the April 2024 Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices (Outlook Report), it is likely to be at a level that is generally consistent with the price stability target of 2%.
- The year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI (all items less fresh food), has been in the range of 2.0-2.5% recently, as services prices have continued to rise moderately, reflecting factors such as wage increases, although the effects of a pass-through to consumer prices of cost increases led by the past rise in import prices have waned. Inflation expectations have risen moderately.
- Japan’s economy has recovered moderately, although some weakness has been seen in part while is likely to keep growing at a pace above its potential growth rate, with overseas economies continuing to grow moderately and as a virtuous cycle from income to spending gradually intensifies against the background of factors such as accommodative financial conditions.
- Next meeting is on 31 July 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Weak Bearish
The Euro (EUR)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (8:00 am GMT)
What can we expect from EUR today?
S&P Global will release the flash results for Composite PMI for the month of July where business activity is expected to remain relatively stable from the previous month. Economic growth softened to three-month low in June and a further slowdown can not be ruled out for the Euro Area. Should the flash results disappoint market expectations, the Euro could face renewed overhead pressures.
Central Bank Notes:
- The Governing Council today decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged in July, following a 25 basis points cut in June.
- Accordingly, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 4.25%, 4.50% and 3.75% respectively.
- Monetary policy is keeping financing conditions restrictive but at the same time, domestic price pressures are still high, services inflation is elevated and headline inflation is likely to remain above the target well into next year.
- While some measures of underlying inflation ticked up in May owing to one-off factors, most measures were either stable or edged down in June.
- The incoming information indicates that the euro area economy grew in the second quarter, but likely at a slower pace than in the first quarter.
- Services continue to lead the recovery, while industrial production and goods exports have been weak – investment indicators point to muted growth in 2024, amid heightened uncertainty.
- The Eurosystem no longer reinvests all of the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP), reducing the PEPP portfolio by €7.5 billion per month on average and the Governing Council intends to discontinue reinvestments under the PEPP at the end of 2024.
- The Council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner and will keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary to achieve this aim and is not pre-committing to a particular rate path.
- Next meeting is on 12 September 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bearish
The Swiss Franc (CHF)
Key news events today
No major news events.
What can we expect from CHF today?
Stronger demand for the dollar lifted USD/CHF above the threshold of 0.8900 overnight. This currency pair was trading around 0.8920 as Asian markets came online and is expected to continue its ascend as the day progresses – these are the support and resistance levels for today.
Support: 0.8880
Resistance: 0.8930
Central Bank Notes:
- The SNB eased monetary policy by lowering its key policy rate by 25 basis points for the second consecutive meeting, going from 1.50% to 1.25% in June.
- The underlying inflationary pressure has decreased again compared to the previous quarter but inflation had risen slightly since the last monetary policy assessment, and stood at 1.4% in May.
- The inflation forecast puts average annual inflation at 1.3% for 2024, 1.1% for 2025 and 1.0% for 2026, based on the assumption that the SNB policy rate is 1.25% over the entire forecast horizon.
- Swiss GDP growth was moderate in the first quarter of 2024 with the services sector continuing to expand, while manufacturing stagnated.
- Growth is likely to remain moderate in Switzerland in the coming quarters as the SNB anticipates GDP growth of around 1% this year while currently expecting growth of around 1.5% for 2025.
- Next meeting is on 26 September 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bullish
The Pound (GBP)
Key news events today
S&P Global Composite PMI (8:30 am GMT)
What can we expect from GBP today?
S&P Global will release the flash results for Composite PMI for the month of July where business activity is expected to remain relatively stable from the previous month. Private sector activity in the U.K, slowed to a year-to-date low in June as new orders lost momentum while employment eased further. Should the flash results disappoint market expectations, Cable could face renewed overhead pressures.
Central Bank Notes:
- The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 7-to-2 to maintain its Official Bank Rate at 5.25% for the seventh consecutive meeting.
- Two members preferred to reduce the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 5%, an increase of one from the previous meeting.
- Twelve-month CPI inflation fell to 2.0% in May from 3.2% in March, close to the May Monetary Policy Report projection. CPI inflation is expected to rise slightly in the second half of this year, as declines in energy prices last year fall out of the annual comparison.
- Reflecting a margin of slack in the economy, CPI inflation had been projected to be 1.9% in two years’ time and 1.6% in three years.
- UK GDP appears to have grown more strongly than expected during the first half of this year. Business surveys, however, remain consistent with a slower pace of underlying growth, of around 0.25% per quarter.
- UK real GDP had increased by 0.6% in 2024 Q1, 0.2% stronger than had been expected in the May Monetary Policy Report and Bank staff now expect GDP growth of 0.5% in 2024 Q2 as a whole, stronger than the 0.2% rate that had been incorporated in the May Report.
- The MPC remains prepared to adjust monetary policy as warranted by economic data to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably. It will therefore continue to monitor closely indications of persistent inflationary pressures and resilience in the economy as a whole, including a range of measures of the underlying tightness of labour market conditions, wage growth and services price inflation.
- Next meeting is on 1 August 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bearish
The Canadian Dollar (CAD)
Key news events today
BoC Monetary Policy Statement (1:45 pm GMT)
BoC Press Conference (2:30 pm GMT)
What can we expect from CAD today?
The Bank of Canada (BoC) is expected to cut its overnight rate for the second consecutive meeting by 25 basis points to bring it down to 4.50% while continuing to normalize its balance sheet. Should BoC Governor Tiff Macklem’s press conference also convey a dovish outlook on future monetary policy action, the Loonie is all but certain to come under intense selling pressures – a move that would boost USD/CAD later today.
Central Bank Notes:
- The Bank of Canada reduced its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% while continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization.
- Canada’s economic growth resumed in the first quarter of 2024 after stalling in the second half of last year. At 1.7%, first-quarter GDP growth was slower than forecast in the MPR but consumption growth was solid at about 3%, and business investment and housing activity also increased.
- Inflation remains above the 2% target and shelter price inflation is high but total CPI inflation has declined consistently over the course of this year, and indicators of underlying inflation increasingly point to a sustained easing.
- CPI inflation has eased from 3.4% in December to 2.7% in April while the preferred measures of core inflation have come down from about 3.5% last December to about 2.75% in April and the 3-month rate of core inflation slowed from about 3.5% in December to under 2% in March and April.
- In the labour market, businesses are continuing to hire workers as employment has been growing, but at a slower pace than the working-age population while elevated wage pressures look to be moderating gradually.
- The Governing Council is closely watching the evolution of core inflation and remains particularly focused on the balance between demand and supply in the economy, inflation expectations, wage growth, and corporate pricing behaviour.
- Recent data has increased the council’s confidence that inflation will continue to move towards the 2% target. Nonetheless, risks to the inflation outlook remain.
- Next meeting is on 24 July 2024.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bullish
Oil
Key news events today
EIA Crude Oil Inventories (2:30 pm GMT)
What can we expect from Oil today?
Despite a higher-than-anticipated draw of 3.9M barrels of crude in the API stockpiles, oil prices remain under intense overhead pressures. WTI oil tumbled under $78 per barrel overnight but recovered to retrace higher to trade around $78.50 as Asian markets came online. Should the EIA inventories also post a significant drawdown, it could function as a potential floor for oil prices later today.
Next 24 Hours Bias
Medium Bearish
