US yields rise, Dollar gains on another US government gong show

The US yields rose, and the dollar extended gains yesterday as the looming US government shutdown drama got the only remaining big rating agency company Moody’s to sound cautious about the US’ AAA rating. ‘Debt service payments would not be impacted, and a short-lived shutdown would be unlikely to disrupt the economy’, they said, but ‘it would underscore the weakness of US constitutional and governance strength relative to other triple-A rated sovereigns.’ Both S&P and Fitch have downgraded the US credit rating this summer, over a potential US default in the context of debt ceiling drama.  

The US 10-year yield advanced past the 4.55% level and could advance even higher due to political tensions and an increased treasury issuance for long-dated papers. Rising US yields helped the US dollar gain more strength across the board. The US dollar index, which was already propelled into the bullish consolidation zone following the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) pledge last week to maintain rates higher for longer, hit a fresh high since last November. Even if it sounds funny, the dollar could profit from safe-haven inflows if the government shutdown drama doesn’t last long. During the last US government shutdown, in 2018 – which was, by the way the longest shutdown since 1970s - the US dollar gained against most major currencies. Of course, the longer a shutdown lasts, the bigger the impact would be on the economy, and potentially on the US’ credit rating. And the bigger the impact on the US growth and its credit worthiness, the more likely we see the US dollar get – at least a small – hit from another political gong show. For now, though, don’t pull all your eggs out of the US basket, because, the dollar could well strengthen despite the political shenanigans in the US, and the US stocks could see increased inflows, as well. The last time the US government was shut in 2018, the S&P500 rallied 13%.  

Yesterday’s renewed dollar rally pushed the EURUSD below a critical Fibonacci level yesterday. The EURUSD slipped below the major 38.2% Fibonacci retracement on last September to July rally, and was thrown into a medium term bearish consolidation zone. The expectation that inflation in the euro area may have eased significantly may have enhanced the euro selloff before investors had a glimpse of the latest update – due later this week. Cable tested the 1.22 support to the downside, in a move that could extend toward the 1.2080 level, which is the major 38.2% retracement on pound-dollar’s last year rally. The dollar-franc rises exponentially above the 200-DMA, after last week’s surprise Swiss National Bank (SNB) pause convinced traders that the end of a strong franc era could be coming to an end, as long as inflation in Switzerland remains under control. Gold fell, trend and momentum indicators turned negative, and the yellow metal is about to post a death cross formation where the 50-DMA is about to cross below the 200-DMA, which could further fuel some short-term selloff. And the USDJPY is flirting with the 149 level, with traders determined to defy the Japanese officials’ threats of direct FX intervention into the 150. Released this morning, the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) core CPI came in steady at 3.3%, higher than 3.2% expected by analysts. Normally, a stronger-than-expected inflation data would revive the BoJ hawks, and rate hike expectations and lead to a stronger yen. But, the BoJ isn’t much concerned about inflation when they decide on their rate policy, they are more concerned about how to keep an absurdly loose monetary policy without causing more bleeding in the yen. 

In energy, the barrel of US crude stabilizes around the $90pb, the daily MACD index fell to the negative territory for the first time since the beginning of September, and the impact of US shutdown drama on growth outlook, and the deepening real estate crisis in China, with Evergrande’s latest default on a 4 billion yuan onshore bond, could add another layer of uncertainty in global financial markets, and trigger a much-awaited correction in oil prices. The $86/87 range is a reasonable target for those looking for a minor downside correction in oil prices without having to bet on a dramatic trend change.