ECB Hawkish Pushback and Key Inflation Test Await FX Markets

FX Daily: ECB hawkish pushback to face key inflation test

The ECB hawks have stepped in to revive depressed rate expectations, but markets are opting for data dependency, and EUR/USD is set to face two key risk events with eurozone inflation figures before the US payrolls this week. We expect core inflation will prove resilient enough to trigger another ECB hike, so see upside room for the pair.

 

USD: Things will get hectic this week

It has been a slow start to the week for FX markets. Yesterday’s closure of the UK’s markets for a national holiday meant much thinner trading volumes, and the key data calendar was quite light. In the US, the only release to note was the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, which dropped slightly more than expected into contraction territory, confirming the slack in the manufacturing territory already signalled by other surveys (ISM, PMIs).

Still, the slowdown in manufacturing activity is hardly a US-only story. We have seen a deterioration in global forward-looking economic indicators in many developed economies recently, especially in Europe. The difference now is how the US service sector is appearing more resilient than the eurozone’s, despite significantly tighter monetary policy in the US.

The relative strength in US activity indicators – compared to the rest of the world and to expectations – is what has kept the dollar in demand over the past few weeks, and should remain the number one driver of USD moves into year-end. That is because the disinflationary process appears to be cementing, allowing the Fed to halt hikes and focus on growth: until data turn for the worst, however, markets will not be pricing in more cuts, and a favourable real rate (the highest in the G10) will keep a floor under the dollar.

This week presents some important risk events for the dollar from this point of view. Today, the JOLTS job openings for July will be watched closely in search for signs that the labour market has started to cool off more drastically. The Conference Board consumer confidence index is also published, and expected to come in only marginally changed compared to July. Later in the week, we’ll see ADP jobs numbers (they move the market, but tend to be unreliable), and the official payrolls report. Remember that payrolls through March were revised lower (although that is a preliminary revision) by 306,000, which probably adds extra heat to this week’s release.

DXY is trading around the May-June 104.00 high area. Investors may want to wait for confirmation from jobs data to push the dollar significantly higher from these levels, and a wait-and-see, flat (or moderately offered) dollar environment could dominate FX markets into Friday’s payrolls.