Will Yellen keep March rate hike alive? - ING

The Research Team at ING notes that Fed Chair Yellen may opt to play it cool at today’s semi-annual testimony to the Senate (1500 GMT).

Key Points:

With markets pricing in just a 30-35% chance of a March rate hike, we see limited downside risks to the dollar if the status quo is retained. The Fed chief may alternatively look to nudge expectations up to 50:50 in a bid to keep the option of a March hike on the table. Here’s our take on the hot topics:

Prospects of a March hike: She is most likely to keep her options open, reiterating that all meetings are “live” and decisions are “data-dependent”.

Working down the Fed’s Balance Sheet: The Fed has said that it would consider stopping reinvestment of maturing assets when tightening is “well underway”.

Trump and Fiscal policy: This is still very uncertain. Her easiest dodge would be to say that it is impossible to judge how the Fed would react without knowing the finer details, though Republicans may push back by saying this could be known in “2-3 weeks”. She could state that productivity-enhancing policies are better for the US.

Policy rules (eg, Taylor Rule): Favoured by some Republicans, but she’ll probably reference her latest speech which noted issues in estimating policy rule inputs.

Financial regulation – in particular Dodd-Frank: She typically says that Dodd Frank helped strengthen the financial system and should not be rolled back. She could repeat her sympathy with the notion that it is too onerous for smaller banks.

Foreign dumping of Treasuries: This is an old favourite and senators like to cite large overseas holdings of US Treasuries as a risk. Yellen will aim to stay apolitical.