Economy
The trading action of gold is currently sending a bearish message on the dollar as the price of the precious metal has broken above critical resistance. Though the causation between the dollar and gold usually runs from the former to the latter, gold also has a tendency to sniff out broad-based moves in the greenback. We remain broadly short USD in our portfolio.
Historically, carry trades have generated very large profits with limited volatility. Since 2008, this has not be the case. Going forward, carry trades should continue to underwhelm.
China's reflation policies have succeeded in reviving iron ore and steel prices, which are up 45.6% and 52.6% from their January lows, along with the profitability of domestic steelmakers.
It is widely perceived that China suffers from a massive capital misallocation problem. Our indicators defy this conventional wisdom.
Colombia's structural growth outlook is superior to many other developing economies. In the near-term, however, Colombia's economy is set to weaken materially. Upgrade Colombian equities and sovereign credit to neutral versus EM benchmarks. Continue betting on further yield curve flattening/inversion and buy 10-year domestic bonds on weakness. Go long Colombian bank stocks / short Peruvian banks, and stay short the peso.
The factors that drove the recent rally - Fed dovishness, China reflation, and a pickup in economic data - are largely over.
Profits are bottoming but the outlook is lackluster, even if further dollar weakness provides a temporary boost.
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Reflation continues to dictate short-term market moves. Behind this sugar-high, the global economic backdrop remains poor. Commodity currencies can rally for a few more weeks, but once markets refocus on Chinese and EM core weaknesses, commodity currencies will make new lows. Within the complex, favor the NOK and the CAD over the AUD and the NZD. Our portfolio remains positioned for additional yen strength.
The Fed's statement underscored its 'go slow' approach, with a June hike increasingly unlikely, but September and December still in play. The BoJ stood pat, reluctant to admit that NIRP was a flop soon after it was launched. Nevertheless, we expect fresh easing this summer. Chinese stimulus should last a few more months, but commodities will resume their structural downtrend thereafter. Remain tactically bullish risk assets; be prepared to turn more cautious in Q2.