Likely the Last Hike for a While: FOMC Meeting Insights

But it is likely the last hike for a while...

By the time of the next FOMC meeting on 20 September, we will have had two further job and inflation reports, a detailed update on the state of bank lending plus more time for the lagged effects of the already enacted Fed tightening to be felt.

In terms of inflation, the next couple of months have some tough comparisons with last year. Energy prices fell sharply last summer so headline year-on-year CPI could be a tenth or two of a percentage point higher than the current 3% rate at the September FOMC meeting, but core inflation looks set to slow further and could be down at around 4.2% versus the current 4.8% rate. If anything, the risks are that core inflation could be a little lower given decelerating housing rent inflation may materialise more quickly than we are currently conservatively forecasting. It is also the composition of inflation the Fed will be paying close attention to. Is the super core (non-energy services ex housing) slowing meaningfully? We think the answer will be 'yes' based on lead surveys such as the ISM prices paid, PPI trade services and the National Federation of Independent Business price intentions surveys.

 

Inflation pressures are fading

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As for activity, industrial activity is already struggling with the ISM manufacturing index in contraction territory for the past nine months, while consumer spending growth is slowing. Over the next two months, we think the headwinds for activity will intensify with outstanding stock of commercial bank lending set to fall further thanks to the combination of higher borrowing costs and tightening of lending standards. This is a hugely important story given the insatiable appetite for credit within the US economy. We may also see the spreading awareness of the financial implications of the restart of student loan repayments starting to impact the spending behaviour of tens of millions of Americans.

So, by the time of the 20 September FOMC meeting, we think the Fed will have evidence to be pretty confident that inflation is on the path to 2% and that activity is slowing to below trend rates and the jobs market is cooling. This is likely to be characterised as another pause and the Fed is likely to keep one additional rate hike in its forecast profile before year-end. However, our base case is that it will not carry through with it, and 5.25-5.5% marks the peak for US rates.

 

Market rates to edge towards 4% and money markets to slowly re-tighten post the FOMC

The US rates curve has been re-pricing in recent weeks to reflect the relative robustness of the economy, primarily by pricing out many of the rate cuts that had been discounted. The liquid portion of the strip out to early 2025 is now not tending to dip below 3.75%. Adding a 30bp term premium to this suggests that the US 10yr yield could easily be closer to 4%. It’s far from a perfect model, but it does help to explain why the 10yr yield has not collapsed lower, and in fact, we rationalise this as a factor that can force US yields higher as a tactical view. It goes against the consensus out there that the inflation story is behind us but is rationalised by the reality of relative contemporaneous macro robustness. For this reason, we maintain a moderate bearish stance on the directional view, expecting market rates to remain under moderate rising pressure. A hawkish Fed pushes in the same direction, preventing the strip from becoming too inverted.

The Fed may or may not choose to focus on liquidity circumstances at the press conference. If quizzed, it will likely note that the impact of ongoing quantitative tightening and resumed bills issuance by the US Treasury is largely showing up in reduced amounts going back to the Fed on the reverse repo facility. The Fed will generally be happy with this, as this facility is more of a balancing mechanism, one that can take in liquidity that is not flowing into bank reserves. Bank reserves themselves have not seen a material fall, which acts to keep the overall liquidity banks circumstance reasonably ample. It also coincides with money market funds balances still around record highs and bank deposits holding up very well, too. Many of these factors will, in fact, justify the Fed’s decision to maintain a tightening trajectory for policy, as at least the price of money continues to rise even if underlying liquidity volumes are slow to fall.