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Budget Cuts!
By Mike Conlon | June 22, 2010
The British pound is lower this morning as the UK budget showed a commitment to a balanced budget and a reduction in spending of close to 30 billion pounds annually. This should come as no surprise to the market, yet the Pound is lower as the UK attempts to cut its deficit.
This coincides with some concerns in the market over European bank funding problems which are causing some risk aversion in the market this morning. In addition, yesterday’s enthusiastic response to the Chinese announcement to allow the Yuan to float was short-lived as the US stock market finished the session lower, and futures are pointing to a lower open this morning as well.
Consumer prices were higher in Canada, and there was a note out this morning saying that central banks around the globe are starting to diversify away from the Euro and into the Aussie and Loonie. This could potentially affect their status as “risk assets” as the market is starting to realize that these are strong economies.
So we could see some mixed trading going forward, as the risk-on, risk-off mentality works its way out of the market and these currencies begin to trade on their own fundamentals. Japanese yen will still see gains during risky times as it is still the primary funder of carry-trades, but it will be interesting to see if traders actually unwind the carry trades or add to them going forward.
In the forex market:
Aussie (AUD): The Aussie is mixed this morning on risk-aversion, though it appears to be bouncing off its lows from the Euro session. Demand for the Aussie is higher because of the news from its largest trading partner, China. In addition, the news about central banks diversifying away from the Euro to the Aussie have slightly out-weighed risk themes.
Kiwi (NZD): The Kiwi is affected more by risk aversion this morning than the Aussie, as the NZ economy is not deemed large or strong enough to receive diversified funds from central banks that are moving out of Euros.
Loonie (CAD): The Loonie is higher across the board as CPI figures came in .1% higher than expected to 1.4%. This shows that Canadian economy is still chugging along and that the potential for rate hikes is still on the table. This makes the Loonie a destination for funds from central banks diversifying away from the Euro, with the added benefit of potential rate hikes.
Euro (EUR): The Euro is lower this morning despite the fact that German business confidence was higher. An ECB council member said that some banks are facing funding problems. This comes in advance of the European bank stress tests which are due out sometime next month and could be the next landmine that sends the Euro lower. Banks in Spain may borrow 10 billion euro from its bank-rescue fund.
Pound (GBP): The Pound is also lower as the UK announced its emergency budget which showed a commitment to deficit reduction by reducing spending and setting the table for tax hikes down the road. This has heightened the fear of double-dip recession in the UK, but these announced measures have likely saved the UK top-credit rating from downgrades, which would make it more expensive for them to borrow.
Dollar (USD): The Dollar is mostly lower this morning despite some of the risk in the market. The Chinese decision to allow the Yuan to float more freely and be tied to a basket of currencies and not the US dollar alone is likely causing some selling. Existing home sales are due out later this morning and could provide a snapshot of the housing market ahead of the FOMC meeting.
Yen (JPY): The Yen is higher on risk aversion due largely in part to the Euro debt crisis. In addition, Prime Minister Kan pledged to balance the Japanese budget in 10 years and to reduce bond sales to gain investor confidence. This is quite the task as Japan has the world’s largest budget deficit, so reduced spending and tax changes may be seen as welcome by the markets.
Just when things start to quiet down, the Euro debt crisis comes screaming back into the room and reminds investors that the EU problems have not been solved. Bank funding problems and the upcoming stress tests may show an ugly picture of the financial health of the Euro zone.
Meanwhile, while everyone yesterday lauded the Chinese announcement to allow the Yuan to float more freely, the realization that they now want to use a basket of currencies to peg to (including the potentially sinking ship Euro) is just another way to manipulate their currency to attempt to keep it low.
Canada and Australia could be major beneficiaries of both the Chinese and Euro zone news. Commodity prices have pulled back this morning, but both of these countries have strong economies and that is reflected in their currency gains this morning.
Stay tuned, this may not be a lazy summer after all!
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