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NZD-USD

Possible trend shift in NZDUSD – going short | 25th FebSignal ID: 79543 Time Issued: Thursday, 24 February 2022 19:00:15 GMT Status: open Entry: 0.66558 - 0.66982 Limit: N/A Stop Loss: 0.67616 The Tidal Shift Strategy has just sold NZDUSD at 0.6677. The system recommends entering this trade at any price between 0.66558 and 0.66982. The signal was issued because our Speculative Sentiment Index has hit its most extreme positive level for the past 145 trading hours at 1.73721, which suggests that the NZDUSD could be trending downwards.The 14-period Average True Range on a daily chart is 0.00169, so the stop loss has been set at 0.67616. This stop loss order is a trailing stop that will move down as the market moves down. There is no profit target for this strategy. We expect to be closed by the stop loss.Tidal Shift is a trend trading strategy that aims to catch shifts in trend using trader sentiment as an indicator. The strategy looks to buy when the Speculative Sentiment Index reaches its lowest value for the past 145 trading hours, and looks to short when it reaches its highest value for the past 145 trading hours. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interest arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed on the website.
Short
by FXCM
Possible trend shift in NZDUSD – going short | 25th Feb Signal ID: 79543 Time Issued: Thursday, 24 February 2022 19:00:15 GMT Status: open Entry: 0.66558 - 0.66982 Limit: N/A Stop Loss: 0.67616 The Tidal Shift Strategy has just sold NZDUSD at 0.6677. The system recommends entering this trade at any price between 0.66558 and 0.66982. The signal was issued because our Speculative Sentiment Index has hit its most extreme positive level for the past 145 trading hours at 1.73721, which suggests that the NZDUSD could be trending downwards.The 14-period Average True Range on a daily chart is 0.00169, so the stop loss has been set at 0.67616. This stop loss order is a trailing stop that will move down as the market moves down. There is no profit target for this strategy. We expect to be closed by the stop loss.Tidal Shift is a trend trading strategy that aims to catch shifts in trend using trader sentiment as an indicator. The strategy looks to buy when the Speculative Sentiment Index reaches its lowest value for the past 145 trading hours, and looks to short when it reaches its highest value for the past 145 trading hours. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interest arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed on the website.
Short
by SCLOWs
NZDUSD MULTITIMEFRAME ANALYSISHello Traders, Price on NZDUSD Weekly Timeframe is approaching an important Resistance area to continue to sell trend. Our intention is to continue selling NZDUSD using Lower Timeframes. If all our entry rules are met we will be taking a SELL Entry from 1H timeframe. BIAS: SELL (If our entry rules are met) Timeframes for high precision entry: 60 Follow for Free Entry Signals on this trade and others from Professional Traders. IMPORTANT: Risk Management is integral in trading. Please make sure you're using safe risk management principles for your account for all trades.
Short
by AssociatedMarkets
Today’s Notable Sentiment ShiftsNZD – The New Zealand dollar jumped to five-week highs on Wednesday as the RBNZ hiked rates by 25 basis points and signalled a more aggressive path forward may be necessary. Commenting on the RBNZ’s February meeting, Westpac stated that “the biggest surprise was the extent of the lift in the projected OCR track – higher even than our top-of-the-market forecast of 3%... We continue to expect a series of 25bp hikes at upcoming policy reviews. However, given how much work the RBNZ believes it has ahead of it, the risk of a 50bp move at any given meeting remains live.”
by thunderpips
2
NZD USD - FUNDAMENTAL DRIVERSNZD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: NEUTRAL 1. Monetary Policy The RBNZ underwhelmed some market participants who were looking for a 50bsp hike at their last policy meeting and the bank delivered a 25bsp hike as consensus was expecting. Even though the NZD took a plunge after the meeting, we don’t think markets are really giving NZD the upside it deserves after the Nov RBNZ decision. Not referring to the knee-jerk lower after the 25bsp hike of course as that was fully priced in and always ran the risk of underwhelming the bulls, but the outlook in the MPR justifies more NZD strength. The upgrades to the economic outlook between Aug and Nov were a lot more positive than expected, with growth seen lower in 2022 but much higher in 2023, CPI seen higher throughout 2022 and 2023, Unemployment seen lower throughout the forecast horizon, and of course the big upgrade to the OCR which is now seen at 2.6% by 2024. The bank also brought forward their expectation of reaching the 2.0% neutral rate by 5 quarters. For now, incoming data will be very important and any new developments with the new Omicron variant will be closely watched. Any major deterioration can see markets pricing out some of the hikes that has been priced in and is a risk to the outlook. However, if data stays solid, the recent sell off in the NZD does seem at odds with the fundamental, policy and economic outlook. 2. Economic and health developments Even though the NZ government has abandoned a covid-zero strategy, the recent rise in Omicron cases as well as well as the PM going into self-isolation is worth keeping on the radar. Turning to the econ data, the recent macro data, including Q4 CPI data has surpassed both market and RBNZ expectations. But markets have not been too bothered with the incoming data and have not given the NZD the upside it deserves. For now, based on the economic and policy outlook the NZD still seems undervalued at current prices, but we need to keep close track of the overall risk sentiment. 3. Global Risk Outlook As a high-beta currency, the NZD usually benefits from overall positive risk sentiment as well as environments that benefit pro-cyclical assets. Thus, both short-term (immediate) and med-term (underlying) risk sentiment will always be a key consideration for the NZD. 4. CFTC Analysis Positioning changes has been very limited for the NZD in the past few weeks and with the flush out of net-longs among Leveraged Funds in Dec we can see that positioning is close to neutral for large specs, asset managers and leveraged funds. We are still more patient on the NZD until we hear from the RBNZ this week. 5. The Week Ahead It’s batter up for the RBNZ this week. The price action for the NZD has finally started to look more constructive after weeks and weeks of continuous downside, which was surprising given the hawkish outlook for the RBNZ as well as the solid economic outlook. After last week’s solid inflation expectations prints it was quite a surprise to see markets stick to expectations of a 25bsp hike, as usually that type of print should have seen markets at least opening up the possibility of a bigger move like 50bsp. Keep in mind that the last time the bank met for a policy decision was in November, so with solid CPI data, much higher house prices and inflation expectations data the bank could decide to make up for some lost time and push through a 50bsp hike. This past week has seen more constructive price action for the NZD though and might suggest that some participants are trying to pre-position for a 50bsp move and provides us with a clear scenario for the RBNZ meeting, where the question won’t be whether the bank hikes, but whether they hike in line with the 25bsp expected or whether they strut their stuff and show the Fed how it’s done by raising the OCR by another 0.50%. Whether they hike by 0.25% or 0.50%, at the current cash rate of 0.75% that would open up a very attractive carry attractiveness versus the low yielders, but as markets have been unwilling to give the NZD the upside it deserves, we’ll be approaching the currency with a lot of caution next week. The focus for the NZD like most risk sentiment assets is the geopolitical risks, where escalation between Russia and Ukraine is expected to be negative for risk sentiment (negative for the NZD) and any de-escalation is expected to be positive for risk sentiment (positive for the NZD). USD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BULLISH 1. Monetary Policy The Jan FOMC decision was hawkish on multiple fronts. The statement signalled a March hike as expected, but Chair Powell portrayed a very hawkish tone. Even though Powell said they can’t predict the rate path with certainty, he stressed the economy is in much better shape compared to the 2015 cycle and that will have implications for the pace of hikes (more and faster). Furthermore, he explained that there is ‘quite a bit of room’ to raise rates without damaging employment, which suggests upside risks to the rate path. A big question going into the meeting was how concerned the Fed was about recent equity market volatility . But the Chair explained that markets and financial conditions are reflecting policy changes in advance and that in aggregate the measures they look at isn’t showing red lights. Thus, any ‘Fed Put’ is much further away and inflation is the Fed’s biggest concern right now. The Chair also didn’t rule out the possibility of a 50bsp hike in March or possibly hiking at every meeting this year, which was hawkish as it means the Fed wants optionality to move more aggressive if they need to. We didn’t get new info on the balance sheet and Powell reiterated that they’re contemplating a start of QT after hiking has begun and they’ll discuss this in coming meetings. Overall, the tone and language were a lot more hawkish than the Dec meeting and more hawkish than consensus was expecting. 2. Global & Domestic Economy As the reserve currency, the USD’s global usage means it’s usually inversely correlated to the global economy and global trade. Thus, USD usually appreciates when growth & inflation slow (disinflation) and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates (reflation). With expectations that growth and inflation will decelerate this year that should be a positive input for the USD. However, incoming data will also be important in relation to the ‘Fed Put’. There are many similarities between now and 4Q18, where the Fed were also tightening aggressively going into an economic slowdown. As long as growth data slows and the Fed stays aggressive that is a positive for the USD, but if it causes a dovish Fed pivot and lower rate repricing it would be a negative input for the USD. 3. CFTC Analysis With the USD still sitting on the biggest net-long position for large specs and leveraged funds, the odds of mean reversion are always higher, especially with more than 6 hikes priced in for the Fed. However, if there is enough demand for safe havens due to further Russia/Ukraine challenges then positioning might not matter too much. 4. The Week Ahead It’s a relatively quiet week for the US on the data front. Tuesday kicks off with Markit Flash PMI’s where focus will be on whether the recovery in Retail Sales and Industrial Production was also felt in the forward-looking and sentiment-based PMI’s. In terms of USD reaction, as both are growth measures, there is the chance the USD sees a similar inverse reaction like we’ve seen with other growth measures in recent weeks. On the inflation side we do have the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation (Core PCE ) on the schedule for Friday. As the Fed has tunnel vision for inflation right now the print will be important for us to watch. After a solid beat in CPI and PPI the market is skewed towards an upward surprise, which means it will arguably take a very sizable move above maximum expectations to see a meaningful bullish reaction in the USD and US10Y , while it also means that a surprise miss, especially after CPI and PPI can have an outsized reaction to the downside for both. Fed speak will also be watched to see whether appetite for a 50bsp hike has grown. Keep in mind the Fed’s blackout period for the March meeting starts next week Friday (5 March), so any prep of a potential 50bsp move needs to be communicated clearly by the Fed before then in order to avoid jumping that type of surprise on markets when they don’t expect it. Risk sentiment will once again be a key potential driver for the USD given the heightened geopolitical risks around Russia and Ukraine. Any risk off flows from further fears of invasion or actual escalations should be supportive for the USD as the world’s reserve currency and a safe haven, while strong de-escalation is expected to be negative driver in the short-term.
by thunderpips
NZDUSD Weekly Forecast Welcome back! Here's an analysis of this pair! **NZDUSD - listen to video analysis. We recommend that you keep this pair on your watchlist and enter when the entry criteria of your strategy is met. Please support this idea with a LIKE and COMMENT if you find it useful and Click "Follow" on our profile if you'd like these trade ideas delivered straight to your email in the future. Thanks for your continued support! Brian & Kenya Horton, BK Forex Academy
by BKTradingAcademy
2
Possible trend shift in NZDUSD – going long | 17th Feb Signal ID: 79402 Time Issued: Thursday, 17 February 2022 03:00:15 GMT Status: open Entry: 0.66851 - 0.67111 Limit: N/A Stop Loss: 0.66462 The Tidal Shift Strategy has just bought NZDUSD at 0.66981. The system recommends entering this trade at any price between 0.66851 and 0.67111. The signal was issued because our Speculative Sentiment Index has hit its most extreme negative level for the past 145 trading hours at 1.57917, which suggests that the NZDUSD could be trending upwards.The 14-period Average True Range on a daily chart is 0.00104, so the stop loss has been set at 0.66462. This stop loss order is a trailing stop that will move up as the market moves up. There is no profit target for this strategy. We expect to be closed by the stop loss.Tidal Shift is a trend trading strategy that aims to catch shifts in trend using trader sentiment as an indicator. The strategy looks to buy when the Speculative Sentiment Index reaches its lowest value for the past 145 trading hours, and looks to short when it reaches its highest value for the past 145 trading hours. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interest arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed on the website.
Long
by Rockqet
NZDUSD awaiting bullish confirmation | 9th FebPrice is near buy entry level of 0.66836 which is also 38.2% Fibonacci retracement and 78.6% Fibonacci projection. Price can potentially go to the take profit level of 0.68041 which is also 78.6% Fibonacci retracement and 161.8% Fibonacci projection. Our bullish bias is supported by the ichimoku cloud indicator as price is trading above it. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an "as-is" basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and it is therefore not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of dissemination. Although this commentary is not produced by an independent source, FXCM takes all sufficient steps to eliminate or prevent any conflicts of interest arising out of the production and dissemination of this communication. The employees of FXCM commit to acting in the clients' best interests and represent their views without misleading, deceiving, or otherwise impairing the clients' ability to make informed investment decisions. For more information about the FXCM's internal organizational and administrative arrangements for the prevention of conflicts, please refer to the Firms' Managing Conflicts Policy. Please ensure that you read and understand our Full Disclaimer and Liability provision concerning the foregoing Information, which can be accessed on the website.
Long
by Rockqet
💡Don't miss the great sell opportunity in NZDUSDTrading suggestion: ". There is still a possibility of temporary retracement to the suggested resistance line (0.6653). if so, traders can set orders based on Price Action and expect to reach short-term targets." Technical analysis: . NZDUSD is in a range bound, and the beginning of a downtrend is expected. . The price is below the 21-Day WEMA, which acts as a dynamic resistance. . The RSI is at 51. Take Profits: TP1= @ 0.6614 TP2= @ 0.6589 TP3= @ 0.6560 TP4= @ 0.6532 TP5= @ 0.6503 SL: Break Above R2 ❤️ If you find this helpful and want more FREE forecasts in TradingView . . . . . Please show your support back, . . . . . . . . Hit the 👍 LIKE button, . . . . . . . . . . . Drop some feedback below in the comment! ❤️ Your Support is very much 🙏 appreciated!❤️ 💎 Want us to help you become a better Forex / Crypto trader? Now, It's your turn! Be sure to leave a comment; let us know how you see this opportunity and forecast. Trade well, ❤️ ForecastCity English Support Team ❤️
Short
by ForecastCity_World
6
💡Don't miss the great sell opportunity in NZDUSDTrading suggestion: ". There is still a possibility of temporary retracement to the suggested resistance line (0.6653). if so, traders can set orders based on Price Action and expect to reach short-term targets." Technical analysis: . NZDUSD is in a range bound, and the beginning of a downtrend is expected. . The price is below the 21-Day WEMA, which acts as a dynamic resistance. . The RSI is at 51. Take Profits: TP1= @ 0.6614 TP2= @ 0.6589 TP3= @ 0.6560 TP4= @ 0.6532 TP5= @ 0.6503 SL: Break Above R2 ❤️ If you find this helpful and want more FREE forecasts in TradingView . . . . . Please show your support back, . . . . . . . . Hit the 👍 LIKE button, . . . . . . . . . . . Drop some feedback below in the comment! ❤️ Your Support is very much 🙏 appreciated! ❤️ 💎 Want us to help you become a better Forex / Crypto trader ? Now, It's your turn ! Be sure to leave a comment; let us know how you see this opportunity and forecast. Trade well, ❤️ ForecastCity English Support Team ❤️
Short
by ForecastCity
4
NZD USD - FUNDAMENTAL DRIVERSNZD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: WEAK BULLISH 1. Monetary Policy The RBNZ underwhelmed some market participants who were looking for a 50bsp hike at their last policy meeting and the bank delivered a 25bsp hike as consensus was expecting. Even though the NZD took a plunge after the meeting, we don’t think markets are really giving NZD the upside it deserves after the Nov RBNZ decision. Not referring to the knee-jerk lower after the 25bsp hike of course as that was fully priced in and always ran the risk of underwhelming the bulls, but the outlook in the MPR justifies more NZD strength. The upgrades to the economic outlook between Aug and Nov were a lot more positive than expected, with growth seen lower in 2022 but much higher in 2023, CPI seen higher throughout 2022 and 2023, Unemployment seen lower throughout the forecast horizon, and of course the big upgrade to the OCR which is now seen at 2.6% by 2024. The bank also brought forward their expectation of reaching the 2.0% neutral rate by 5 quarters. For now, incoming data will be very important and any new developments with the new Omicron variant will be closely watched. Any major deterioration can see markets pricing out some of the hikes that has been priced in and is a risk to the outlook. However, if data stays solid, the recent sell off in the NZD does seem at odds with the fundamental, policy and economic outlook. 2. Economic and health developments Even though the NZ government has abandoned a covid-zero strategy, the recent rise in Omicron cases as well as well as the PM going into self-isolation is worth keeping on the radar. Turning to the econ data, the recent macro data, including Q4 CPI data has surpassed both market and RBNZ expectations. But markets have not been too bothered with the incoming data and have not given the NZD the upside it deserves. For now, based on the economic and policy outlook the NZD still seems undervalued at current prices, but we need to keep close track of the overall risk sentiment. 3. Global Risk Outlook As a high-beta currency, the NZD usually benefits from overall positive risk sentiment as well as environments that benefit pro-cyclical assets. Thus, both short-term (immediate) and med-term (underlying) risk sentiment will always be a key consideration for the NZD. 4. CFTC Analysis Positioning changes has been very limited for the NZD in the past few weeks and with the flush out of net-longs among Leveraged Funds in Dec we can see that positioning is close to neutral for both large specs and leveraged funds. The sentiment signal from the unwind in positioning means right now we are happy to wait for incoming econ data or strong risk sentiment impulses to give better sense of where the NZD goes next. 5. The Week Ahead Inflation expectations and a speech by Gov Orr is the only major scheduled events on the radar for the NZD this week. The real question is whether either of them will be enough to provide any meaningful volatility for the NZD? Over the past couple of weeks, the price action and momentum signals has continued to deteriorate for the NZD, which has kept us very patient and also saw us tilt our bias from bullish to neutral until markets wake up from their slumber and realize that the RBNZ remains the most hawkish central bank among the majors and the economic data still means the bank is set to out-hike all of their peers . The other factor to watch for the NZD in the week ahead is risk sentiment, with US CPI in the mix, as well as bond markets crashing hard, credit spreads starting to widen and real yields pushing higher across major economies, the uncertainty is starting to pile on for risk assets which means caution on that front will be important for the NZD and the other high betas in the week ahead. USD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BULLISH 1. Monetary Policy The Jan FOMC decision was hawkish on multiple fronts. The statement signalled a March hike as expected, but Chair Powell portrayed a very hawkish tone. Even though Powell said they can’t predict the rate path with certainty, he stressed the economy is in much better shape compared to the 2015 cycle and that will have implications for the pace of hikes (more and faster). Furthermore, he explained that there is ‘quite a bit of room’ to raise rates without damaging employment, which suggests upside risks to the rate path. A big question going into the meeting was how concerned the Fed was about recent equity market volatility . But the Chair explained that markets and financial conditions are reflecting policy changes in advance and that in aggregate the measures they look at isn’t showing red lights. Thus, any ‘Fed Put’ is much further away and inflation is the Fed’s biggest concern right now. The Chair also didn’t rule out the possibility of a 50bsp hike in March or possibly hiking at every meeting this year, which was hawkish as it means the Fed wants optionality to move more aggressive if they need to. We didn’t get new info on the balance sheet and Powell reiterated that they’re contemplating a start of QT after hiking has begun and they’ll discuss this in coming meetings. Overall, the tone and language was lot more hawkish than the Dec meeting and more hawkish than consensus was expecting. 2. Global & Domestic Economy As the reserve currency, the USD’s global usage means it’s usually inversely correlated to the global economy and global trade. Thus, USD usually appreciates when growth & inflation slow (disinflation) and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates (reflation). With expectations that growth and inflation will decelerate this year that should be a positive input for the USD. However, incoming data will also be important in relation to the ‘Fed Put’. There are many similarities between now and 4Q18, where the Fed were also tightening aggressively going into an economic slowdown. As long as growth data slows and the Fed stays aggressive that is a positive for the USD, but if it causes a dovish Fed pivot and lower rate repricing it would be a negative input for the USD. 3. CFTC Analysis The USD came under some pressure this week, mainly due to overdue mean reversion, recovery in risk assets and of course the surprise hawkish actions by the BoE and more specifically the ECB. Keep in mind that half of the USD’s drop this week occurred outside the CFTC reference period which would explain more limited unwinding in net-longs, and we would expect this number to be much bigger next week. With positioning still in net-long territory for leveraged funds and large specs, and with leveraged funds sitting on a sizeable net-short in the EUR the recent hawkish pivot from the ECB could see some further damage for the USD in the short-term. 4. The Week Ahead After last week’s much better than expected Average Hourly Earnings data out of the US, the main event for the USD as well as markets in general will be the January CPI print for the US scheduled for Wednesday. With another month of upside surprises for inflation data in other global economies, the markets will be watching the US CPI for Jan very closely. Right now, Fed policy has tunnel vision for inflation , and with the surprise beat in Friday’s NFP as well as the surprise punchy upward revisions, the labour market won’t deter the Fed from going all-in to fight inflation . The big dynamic to watch for is wages. Friday’s Average Hourly Earnings print of 5.7% was much higher than expected and saw an immediate jolt higher in US bond yields, with Fed Fund Futures now comfortably pricing in well over 5 hikes by the end of the year. Starting the new year, the biggest reason for expecting a deceleration in inflation was firstly due to base effects, secondly due to expectations that supply chain disruptions ease, and very importantly that commodity prices being cooling down. Out of these three, the last one has not happened yet with oil prices continuing their grind higher (which adds upside risks to headline numbers). Two important components to keep on the radar is wages and shelter prices, which for some means there is very little downside risk to this week’s CPI . How will the USD likely react? Recently the USD has reaction cyclically towards inflation data, which means a solid beat should be supportive, but at the same time a miss would be a far more attractive shorting opportunity, especially against the EUR after the ECB’s pivot .
by thunderpips
4
NZD USD - FUNDAMENTAL DRIVERSNZD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: WEAK BULLISH 1. Monetary Policy The RBNZ underwhelmed some market participants who were looking for a 50bsp hike at their last policy meeting and the bank delivered a 25bsp hike as consensus was expecting. Even though the NZD took a plunge after the meeting, we don’t think markets are really giving NZD the upside it deserves after the Nov RBNZ decision. Not referring to the knee-jerk lower after the 25bsp hike of course as that was fully priced in and always ran the risk of underwhelming the bulls, but the outlook in the MPR justifies more NZD strength. The upgrades to the economic outlook between Aug and Nov were a lot more positive than expected, with growth seen lower in 2022 but much higher in 2023, CPI seen higher throughout 2022 and 2023, Unemployment seen lower throughout the forecast horizon, and of course the big upgrade to the OCR which is now seen at 2.6% by 2024. The bank also brought forward their expectation of reaching the 2.0% neutral rate by 5 quarters. For now, incoming data will be very important and any new developments with the new Omicron variant will be closely watched. Any major deterioration can see markets pricing out some of the hikes that has been priced in and is a risk to the outlook. However, if data stays solid, the recent sell off in the NZD does seem at odds with the fundamental, policy and economic outlook. 2. Economic and health developments Even though the NZ government has abandoned a covid-zero strategy, the recent rise in Omicron cases as well as well as the PM going into self-isolation is worth keeping on the radar. Turning to the econ data, the recent macro data, including Q4 CPI data has surpassed both market and RBNZ expectations. But markets have not been too bothered with the incoming data and have not given the NZD the upside it deserves. For now, based on the economic and policy outlook the NZD still seems undervalued at current prices, but we need to keep close track of the overall risk sentiment. 3. Global Risk Outlook As a high-beta currency, the NZD usually benefits from overall positive risk sentiment as well as environments that benefit pro-cyclical assets. Thus, both short-term (immediate) and med-term (underlying) risk sentiment will always be a key consideration for the NZD. 4. CFTC Analysis Positioning changes has been very limited for the NZD in the past few weeks and with the flush out of net-longs among Leveraged Funds in Dec we can see that positioning is close to neutral for both large specs and leveraged funds. The sentiment signal from the unwind in positioning means right now we are happy to wait for incoming econ data or strong risk sentiment impulses to give better sense of where the NZD goes next. 5. The Week Ahead Inflation expectations and a speech by Gov Orr is the only major scheduled events on the radar for the NZD this week. The real question is whether either of them will be enough to provide any meaningful volatility for the NZD? Over the past couple of weeks, the price action and momentum signals has continued to deteriorate for the NZD, which has kept us very patient and also saw us tilt our bias from bullish to neutral until markets wake up from their slumber and realize that the RBNZ remains the most hawkish central bank among the majors and the economic data still means the bank is set to out-hike all of their peers. The other factor to watch for the NZD in the week ahead is risk sentiment, with US CPI in the mix, as well as bond markets crashing hard, credit spreads starting to widen and real yields pushing higher across major economies, the uncertainty is starting to pile on for risk assets which means caution on that front will be important for the NZD and the other high betas in the week ahead. USD FUNDAMENTAL BIAS: BULLISH 1. Monetary Policy The Jan FOMC decision was hawkish on multiple fronts. The statement signalled a March hike as expected, but Chair Powell portrayed a very hawkish tone. Even though Powell said they can’t predict the rate path with certainty, he stressed the economy is in much better shape compared to the 2015 cycle and that will have implications for the pace of hikes (more and faster). Furthermore, he explained that there is ‘quite a bit of room’ to raise rates without damaging employment, which suggests upside risks to the rate path. A big question going into the meeting was how concerned the Fed was about recent equity market volatility . But the Chair explained that markets and financial conditions are reflecting policy changes in advance and that in aggregate the measures they look at isn’t showing red lights. Thus, any ‘Fed Put’ is much further away and inflation is the Fed’s biggest concern right now. The Chair also didn’t rule out the possibility of a 50bsp hike in March or possibly hiking at every meeting this year, which was hawkish as it means the Fed wants optionality to move more aggressive if they need to. We didn’t get new info on the balance sheet and Powell reiterated that they’re contemplating a start of QT after hiking has begun and they’ll discuss this in coming meetings. Overall, the tone and language was lot more hawkish than the Dec meeting and more hawkish than consensus was expecting. 2. Global & Domestic Economy As the reserve currency, the USD’s global usage means it’s usually inversely correlated to the global economy and global trade. Thus, USD usually appreciates when growth & inflation slow (disinflation) and depreciates when growth & inflation accelerates (reflation). With expectations that growth and inflation will decelerate this year that should be a positive input for the USD. However, incoming data will also be important in relation to the ‘Fed Put’. There are many similarities between now and 4Q18, where the Fed were also tightening aggressively going into an economic slowdown. As long as growth data slows and the Fed stays aggressive that is a positive for the USD, but if it causes a dovish Fed pivot and lower rate repricing it would be a negative input for the USD. 3. CFTC Analysis The USD came under some pressure this week, mainly due to overdue mean reversion, recovery in risk assets and of course the surprise hawkish actions by the BoE and more specifically the ECB. Keep in mind that half of the USD’s drop this week occurred outside the CFTC reference period which would explain more limited unwinding in net-longs, and we would expect this number to be much bigger next week. With positioning still in net-long territory for leveraged funds and large specs, and with leveraged funds sitting on a sizeable net-short in the EUR the recent hawkish pivot from the ECB could see some further damage for the USD in the short-term. 4. The Week Ahead After last week’s much better than expected Average Hourly Earnings data out of the US, the main event for the USD as well as markets in general will be the January CPI print for the US scheduled for Wednesday. With another month of upside surprises for inflation data in other global economies, the markets will be watching the US CPI for Jan very closely. Right now, Fed policy has tunnel vision for inflation , and with the surprise beat in Friday’s NFP as well as the surprise punchy upward revisions, the labour market won’t deter the Fed from going all-in to fight inflation . The big dynamic to watch for is wages. Friday’s Average Hourly Earnings print of 5.7% was much higher than expected and saw an immediate jolt higher in US bond yields, with Fed Fund Futures now comfortably pricing in well over 5 hikes by the end of the year. Starting the new year, the biggest reason for expecting a deceleration in inflation was firstly due to base effects, secondly due to expectations that supply chain disruptions ease, and very importantly that commodity prices being cooling down. Out of these three, the last one has not happened yet with oil prices continuing their grind higher (which adds upside risks to headline numbers). Two important components to keep on the radar is wages and shelter prices, which for some means there is very little downside risk to this week’s CPI . How will the USD likely react? Recently the USD has reaction cyclically towards inflation data, which means a solid beat should be supportive, but at the same time a miss would be a far more attractive shorting opportunity, especially against the EUR after the ECB’s pivot .
by thunderpips
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