Daily Forex Brief London: Wednesday 23rd May 2012

Dollar dominance returns

The dollar index made a new high for the year yesterday, 3.8% higher than the level seen at the start of the month. This follows on from two sessions of downward pressure on the dollar, which was more down to the extent of short positioning on some of currencies under pressure for most of the month. As we start the European session, EUR/USD itself is not that far off the lows for the year at 1.2624 as EU leaders meet for an informal summit in Brussels. Germany is looking increasingly isolated with its austerity - with no Plan B stance - and continues to rule out any sort of common debt for the eurozone. This summit is designed to shape the plans around the next formal summit at the end of June, so don't expect any major statements, but the surrounding comments will be key in shaping the debate ahead of that meeting. For now, currencies look set to reflect the theme of dollar dominance once again, with stock markets seen heading lower in Europe after the recent breather.

Daily Forex Brief London: Tuesday 22nd May 2012

All about positioning

The price action seen on both Friday and also yesterday reflects the fact that, it's all about positioning in the FX markets for the moment. This has been most evident on the euro, not only in the weekly CFTC data which is reflecting a record amount of speculative shorts, but also in the price action. The single currency has pulled away from a threatened break of the year's low, not that surprising after a run which saw EUR/USD up on only two of the last fourteen trading days. The Aussie has also corrected from the recent lows, partially reversing a downtrend of similar style as seen in EUR/USD. Even though the relationship between the two has broken down a little of late, stocks also look set for a second day of gains after the recent down-run. The underlying themes remain in place, namely continued concerns surrounding Greece and the other peripheral eurozone nations, so the current correction should not be aligned with a perception that things are improving underneath, because they are not.

Daily Forex Brief London: Monday 21st May 2012

Here we go again

It's Monday and the shifting sands of the European mindset are moving (not for the first time) towards the issuance of common bonds as a means of overcoming the sovereign crisis. This is one of the changes in momentum that has emerged from the weekend's meeting of G8 leaders, together with giving the EFSF the ability to re-capitalise banks. It's a sign that there is stronger desire to see an alternative to the hard-line German stance of austerity, with few after-thoughts. Furthermore, the German Chancellor will find it increasingly difficult to resist this shift, especially when it is being endorsed at the international level. The wider issue is that at no point have European leaders really seized the initiative on the crisis, compromising by doing just as much as they believe necessary to stop things getting worse, rather than going all in to turn things around. Imagine where we would be if Greece had restructured its debt back in May 2010, a decent firewall was set-up and a shift towards common bonds was put into train. Most likely, we'd be in a better place than we are now. The single currency recovered on Friday, despite the weaker tone to stocks. This is partly a function of the extent of the short-positioning that has built up in the single currency, which could mean that a push below the year's low at 1.2724 could prove a little tougher than some expect.

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 17th May 2012

Europe must decide urgently

Nearly five years into the global credit crunch, you get a feeling for when something has reached the point of no return, when no amount of reassurance, promises or policies will fight the tide of markets. This is not to define markets as pure 'speculators', rather rational individuals and entities that are removing deposits from Greek banks, reducing their exposures to all types of market risk and doing their best not to be crushed by a moving train that is Greece. As well as reports of large-scale withdrawals from Greek banks, we have had (unconfirmed and then denied) reports that the ECB is also refusing liquidity requests from Greek banks, pushing them to the Greek central bank because of the lack of recapitalisation undertaken. We've seen sharp increases in forward Libor-OIS spreads, the measure of interbank liquidity risk that was so watched during the early days of the crisis. From being taboo in official circles, a Greek exit is now more openly discussed rather than dismissed outright. At the same time, after two years of fire-fighting the Greek and wider sovereign crises, there are no policy responses that can credibly stem the tide. We've had two large scale EU/IMF rescue packages, a tortuous 'voluntary' private sector-restructuring and vast lending form the ECB (with ever lower collateral standards applied). The more credible response now from the authorities would be measures to stem contagion elsewhere, particularly with respect to bank deposits in other eurozone countries now that permitted cross-border lending between deposit-guarantee schemes will not be workable. Contagion remains the biggest single risk, given that a Greek exit will mean that what was previously presented as irreversible and unthinkable will have become reality. This is where efforts now need to be focused otherwise the single currency will be left horribly exposed by a Greek exit. Furthermore, all efforts to 'save' Greece from here on in will have been wasted and at the cost of failing to deal with the contagion issue. Policy-makers face a critical choice over coming days. Let's hope they choose the right track.

Daily Forex Brief London: Wednesday 16th May 2012

Dollar soars after Greek talks fail

News that ongoing talks amongst politicians in Greece have failed to come up with a coalition government and that new elections will need to be called, has triggered renewed fears that a Greek exit from the eurozone might not be too far away. In response, risk assets are again on the defensive with both traders and investors seeking sanctuary in the US dollar. Overnight, the dollar index stopped just short of its highest level for the year, reaching 81.45. The euro was singled out for especially harsh treatment, falling to 1.27; EUR/GBP dropped to 0.7960, a 3½ year low. Bond yields amongst Europe's southern fiscal miscreants surged once more; the Italian 10yr yield has reached 6.0% for the first time since the end of January. Latam currencies were also savaged; the Mexican peso for instance has dropped 6% against the dollar in just the past two weeks while the BRL is down more than 4%. Likewise, commodities fell hard – the gold price has opened up in London this morning down near USD 1,530 an ounce while WTI is close to USD 92 a barrel. Asian equities have been buffeted; the Kospi and Hang Seng fell 3%. There is very little prospect of the Greek uncertainty ending any time soon. The Greek President has been alerted by the head of the central bank that depositors are increasingly anxious about the safety of their savings and are pulling money out of local banks. Clearly, Greek citizens are not sufficiently reassured by the deposit guarantee scheme which exists in the country. It supposedly guarantees individual deposits with any bank or financial institution up to EUR 100K. The Greek deposit guarantee scheme can also (supposedly) borrow from other schemes around Europe in the event that it has insufficient available funding. No doubt the likes of Germany et al would be aghast if Greece were to put in such a request. Nevertheless, the risk of a significant bank run in Greece is now very real.