Brazilian real struggles to recover despite easing uncertainties

Arnaud Masset Swissquote Bank Ltd

The Brazilian real was unable to recover completely from the panic sell-off that took place after the alleged corruption of President Michel Temer. After spiking USD/BRL to 3.40, the real stabilised at between 3.25-3.30, far above the 3.10 level prior to the revelations. However, several indicators suggest that the level of uncertainty has decreased substantially.

First, interest rates erased almost completely gains with the 2-year swaps rates easing to 9.22% compared to 11% on May 15th. On the longer end of the curve, the move is similar as the 10-year sovereign yields eased to 10.37% compared to 11.73%. However, the only black mark is on the CDS rates side. CDS rates on Brazilian sovereign debt have not return to their pre-revelation levels yet - the 5-year and 10-year are still higher by 40bps and 46bps, respectively - suggesting that investors are still worried about further turmoil in the political landscape. We believe it is just a matter of time.

Stay on top of the markets with Swissquote’s News & Analysis

Secondly, the level of implied volatility has been decreasing over the last few weeks. 1-month ATM implied volatility on USD/BRL has returned to 12.6% on Monday compared to more than 23.3% a month ago. Furthermore, the 1-month 25-delta risk reversal measure, which measures the difference between the price of a call and a put, has eased to 2.51% from more than 5% in mid-May, suggesting that the market is not anticipating further upside in USD/BRL.

Overall, it seems that the market still needs time to digest the latest political developments in Brazil. We believe that the real has room to appreciate against the greenback and we anticipate that USD/BRL has only one way to go: down.

Author

Arnaud Masset

Swissquote Bank Ltd

Arnaud Masset is a Market Analyst at Swissquote Bank. He has a strong technical background and also works in the development of quantitative trading strategies.

EUR/USD: US Dollar to remain pressured until uncertainty fog dissipates

Unimpressive European Central Bank left monetary policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting. The United States first-tier employment and inflation data is scheduled for the second week of February. EUR/USD battles to remain afloat above 1.1800, sellers moving to the sidelines.

GBP/USD softens to near 1.3600 as BoE hints further rate cuts

The GBP/USD pair loses ground to near 1.3610 during the early Asian session on Monday. The Pound Sterling softens against the Greenback amid growing expectations of the Bank of England’s interest-rate cut. Traders will take more cues from the Fedspeak later on Monday.

Gold eyes acceptance above $5,000, kicking off a big week

Gold is consolidating the latest uptick at around the $5,000 mark, with buyers gathering pace for a sustained uptrend as a critical week kicks off. All eyes remain on the delayed Nonfarm Payrolls and Consumer Price Index data from the United States due on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

Top Crypto Gainers: Aster, Decred, and Kaspa rise as selling pressure wanes

Altcoins such as Aster, Decred, and Kaspa are leading the broader cryptocurrency market recovery over the last 24 hours, as Bitcoin holds above $70,000 on Monday, up from the $60,000 dip on Thursday.

Weekly column: Saturn-Neptune and the end of the Dollar’s 15-year bull cycle

Tariffs are not only inflationary for a nation but also risk undermining the trust and credibility that go hand in hand with the responsibility of being the leading nation in the free world and controlling the world’s reserve currency.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.