|

CEE: Closer to the election, more pressure on EM – ING

Once again the calendar has little to offer today except consumer confidence in the Czech Republic. However, the main driver remains the global story, which adds volatility to the entire emerging markets (EM) space. Yesterday the market again came under pressure and with today's focus on PMI data in Europe and the US, the markets may see more negative news and reasons for further weakness in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, ING’s Frantisek Taborsky notes.

More reasons for further CEE weakness

“The main focus will be on Hungary today which was closed yesterday for a local holiday. Rates had no chance to react but EUR/HUF is flirting with 403 levels in the meantime, a new local high. Today we will watch rates opening closely. The market has priced out almost all rate cuts, but we still see two cuts priced in for the second half of next year that may be priced out today as well, and if EUR/HUF continues to head higher, it would not be a surprise if the market starts to increase the odds for some central bank action.”

“PLN also came under pressure yesterday with the weakest levels since June. The last few days have brought some negative numbers from the Polish economy, which has frontloaded the National Bank of Poland (NBP) pricing of rate cuts. After some time, pricing has returned to the dovish side and we see the first cut priced for February next year, while our economists expect May.”

“At the same time, the market seems to be unwinding long-term PLN positions ahead of the US election and NBP cuts. Clearly, sentiment around the zloty is changing to the negative side. The CZK thus remains the only currency in the region without major losses and has outperformed the region in recent days and remains our currency of choice, while the rest of the region may see further losses at least until the outcome of the US election.”

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

More from FXStreet Insights Team
Share:

Editor's Picks

AUD/USD flirts with 0.7000, lowest since early August amid bullish USD

AUD/USD hits a fresh low since early August during the Asian session on Friday and looks vulnerable near 0.7000 after breaking below the 200-day SMA overnight. Against the backdrop of the hawkish Fed, a two-day rally in oil prices revives inflation fears and continues to push US bond yields to multi-year highs. Adding to this, geopolitical risks lift the US Dollar to a two-month high, overshadowing RBA rate hike bets and weighing on the pair.

USD/JPY pulls back from three-week high after failing near 159.00

USD/JPY edges lower during the Asian session on Friday, stalling its recent strong move to a three-week high of 159.00 as Japanese Yen bears turn cautious amid intervention fears. Meanwhile, the US Dollar retains a strong bullish undertone as the Fed's hawkish outlook and oil-driven inflation fears continue to push US bond yields to multi-year peaks. Furthermore, the BoJ's dovish rate hike last week might cap JPY and support spot prices.

Gold treads water below $4,300

Gold grabs some buying attention and advances marginally at the end of the week, partially retracing the weekly decline, although it is still navigating below the key $4,300 mark per troy ounce. The fresh selling bias on the Greenback and the modest decline in US Treasury yields appear to support the humble advance in the precious metal.

Week ahead: Rate hike bets face a crucial data week
Despite the solid drop from the mid-September high, oil prices remained in the driver’s seat for another week, setting the tone in financial markets. Six months have passed since the late-February start of the US-Iran conflict, and there is still no breakthrough in the stalled talks, despite pressure from regional leaders and the rest of the world.
CFTC Report: Defensive currency positioning takes hold
The week in one sentence: Sterling and Euro shorts deepened in the week to September 22, while Yen longs were cut sharply. Oil positioning improved despite a steep price decline, and Gold exposure remained crowded. The main signal was a more defensive currency positioning backdrop.
Fed vs BoJ: Both hiked. The market only believes one of them – and the chart shows which

The Fed and the BoJ have just done something remarkably similar. Both central banks raised interest rates by 25 bps last week, both are confronting inflation risks, and both signal that future decisions will depend on incoming economic data.