Daily Market Update by Daily FX (24th April 2008)

Source: Daily FX

USD
After hitting a record low against the Euro on Tuesday, there has been little follow through selling in the US dollar, leaving many traders wondering whether this may be a pause before further losses or a potential bottom. Although we are long term dollar bears, the break of 1.60 is far from impressive. This indicates that there isn't much speculative interest in taking the Euro higher in the near term, especially as economic data and official comments start to turn against the Euro and in favor of the US dollar. Earlier this week we had better than expected US housing market numbers. We would not be surprised to also see a recovery in new home sales. Even though US durable goods will be pressured by the sales of furniture and electronics, Boeing's incredibly solid end of quarter earnings and their expectations of another strong year suggests that sales of non-defense aircraft could be firm. As for the Eurozone, we expect German business confidence to deteriorate materially (discussed in Euro section). Fed fund futures are currently pricing in an 82 percent chance of a quarter point rate cut next week with the remaining 18 percent probability in favor of no rate cut at all. This is a sharp departure from just a week ago when the market was pricing in a 76 percent chance of a 25bp cut and a 24 percent chance of a 50bp cut. The only reason for this dramatic shift in expectations is the increased inflationary pressures. A week ago, oil prices were trading at $113 a barrel and yesterday it hit an intraday high of $119.90 a barrel. The dollar should continue to recover for the rest of the week, but the party may end the following week when we have the Federal Reserve interest rate decision and non-farm payrolls due for release. We believe that the market may be under pricing the degree of Fed rate cuts because the problems in the US economy are far from over. Non-farm payrolls should continue to drop while consumer spending will probably slow, leaving the Federal Reserve with a lot of work ahead of them.

EUR
The Euro has failed to extend its gains beyond 1.60 and we believe that another day of losses may be in store for the single currency. More signs of weakness in the Eurozone economy are beginning to reveal themselves. Even though service sector PMI improved in the month of April, manufacturing sector PMI deteriorated. This suggests that German business confidence could have also decreased this month as indicated by the ZEW survey. A little watched report called the Belgium Business Sentiment Index also tends to have a strong correlation with German IFO (chart). The index fell to a 2.5 year low in the month of April with the drop being the steepest on record. A large decline in German business confidence would be exactly what the Euro needs for a more meaningful turn. Meanwhile ECB member Noyer backtracked the comments that he made yesterday, which drove the EUR/USD to a record high. He said that the market misinterpreted his words and that the ECB is not looking to hike interest rates. For the time being, don't expect them to lower rates either.

GBP
Over the next 2 trading days, the big action should be in the British pound. We are expecting retail sales tomorrow followed by the first quarter GDP report on Friday. The deterioration in the UK housing market and the UK economy in general will weigh on consumer spending, while the GDP numbers may be partially dependent upon how bad retail sales fared in March. Unfortunately the minutes from the latest monetary policy meeting failed to provide any clarity on how the central bank may vote at the next meeting because the committee was split 3 ways. Six of the nine members voted in favor of the 25bp rate cut, 2 members voted for no cut at all while 1 member voted for a 50bp cut. As a group, they were concerned about everything from growth to credit markets to inflation. Looking ahead, the only things that will shed more light on where the BoE stands would be tomorrow's retail sales report.

JPY
The Japanese Yen crosses were mixed today with USD/JPY rallying but many of the other yen crosses dipping despite a 42 point rally in the Dow. After breaking higher last Friday, there has not been much follow through in US equities, which leaves many traders nervous about whether risk appetite is really here to stay. The latest merchandise trade balance report was weaker than expected, but the surplus still increased last month. The strength of the Japanese Yen is beginning to take a toll on exports, particularly in the electronic components and machinery sector. Imports on the other hand rose 11 percent, mainly due to the rise in oil prices.