The US dollar turned in a mixed
performance last week, which given the softer than expected inflation, retail
sales data, and industrial output
figures, coupled with the poor technical
backdrop, could be a signal that its decline in recent months has run its
course.
The dollar-bloc continued its advance, led
by the Australian dollar's nearly 2% gain. Higher commodity prices (the sixth weekly
advance for the CRB Index in the last eight week) may have helped. The
persistent strength of the Australian and Canadian dollars has frustrated our
attempt to pick a top. Both currencies made new multi-month highs.
We continue to believe that both
currencies are over-extended. The Australian dollar's technical condition appears
stronger than that for the Canadian dollar. However, we note that the new highs have not been confirmed by the RSI or
MACDs. This bearish divergence warns against chasing the market,
even if one is not prepared to short them
yet.
The Australian dollar recorded its high on
April 14 near $0.7740.
It consolidated ahead of the weekend. A break of the $0.7600 area could
signal the beginning of the topping process, but a break of the $0.7470 area is
probably needed to be convincing.
The Canadian dollar set its high a day
before the Aussie. The US dollar has to resurface the
CAD1.3050 area to confirm a low is being carved out. Instead, if its
weakness continues, a break of CAD1.2745 warns of a move toward CAD1.26.
The euro fell to $1.1235 last week, its lowest level since Yellen spoke at the NY
Economic Club at the end of March. It is not clear from a technical
perspective if this pullback is the beginning of a more sustained move or
whether it’s simply a short bout of
profit-taking before the uptrend resumes. A move above $1.1350-$1.1380
would suggest the euro's uptrend remains
intact.
The ECB will not unveil new initiatives
next week, but will likely some more details of its new stimulative measures. There is some risk that Draghi may
note that the euro's strength is counter-productive, which would also lend
credence to our understanding that 1) there was no secret agreement to drive
the dollar down in Shanghai and 2) policymakers in Europe and Japan are as
surprised and frustrated with their currencies' strength.
The dollar recovered against the yen from
a multi-year low near JPY107.65 at the start of the week to JPY109.75 at the
end of the week.
However, before the weekend, the dollar
posted a reversal by trading on both sides of the previous day's range and then
settled below the low recorded then. The close before the weekend was poor; on the lows of the day. A break of
JPY108.40 would suggest a return to the recent lows. After such a sharp
move, it seems more reasonable to expect the bottoming process to be process
rather than a "V."
Sterling remains range-bound as it has
since the beginning of March between $1.40 and $1.45. Reactionary highs have been lower since the middle
of March. Volatility continues to be elevated,
and the skew in the risk reversals (call and puts) is near historical
extremes. Brexit fears and ideas that the UK economy has lost momentum
keeps bias of selling into upticks rather than buying dip.
US 10-year yields rose 10 bp at their most last week. The fact that yields rose despite
the economic data is notable, but momentum was
lost before the weekend and the earlier gains were halved. The
1.80% area marks the nearby ceiling and the 1.65%-1.68% area seems to denote
the floor. Basis the June futures contract, the 130-00, which
corresponds to a 38.2% retracement of the rally
over the past month, marks support and another run toward 131-00 to 131-10
cannot be ruled out.
Open interest has moved to the June light
sweet crude oil futures.
The June contract drifted toward $41 after reaching $43.70 in the middle of the
week. We expressed concern that the market seemed to be exaggerating the
significance of freeze in output that 1) that will be difficult to verify and
2) that leaves output still at elevated
levels. The $40 level is psychologically important and corresponds to a 50% retracement of the rally since
the $36.60 low on April 5. The 61.8% retracement is found near $39.30. The RSI has rolled over, and the MACD's did not confirm the
mid-week high.
We suggested last week that the S&P
500 looked technically vulnerable, but a new high was recorded in the second half of the week after a gap higher
opening on April 13.
A small gap remains open between 2065.05 and 2065.92. The RSI and MACDs
have not confirmed the new high. Given the proximity of the technical objective
of the double bottom in February and March (~2100) and the record high
(~2116.50), risk-reward considerations suggest caution still.
Disclaimer
The Dollar's Technical Condition Remains Vulnerable
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
April 16, 2016
Rating: