From the Research Desk –
· On the geopolitical front, Trump says the US has total control over the Strait of Hormuz, but vessel flows and Iran’s denial show that this does not fully reflect the truth – mixed messaging once again. Pakistan recently noted that the path towards peace in the Gulf remains possible, as negotiations continue. However, while positive news, these are simply words for the time being; we have to go by what we see, with oil prices still elevated. Brent crude is comfortably above both the 50-day and 200-day SMAs, recently clipping highs of US$90/barrel.
· Chip stocks fuelled a rally in regional indices in Asia overnight. South Korea’s KOSPI added 3.8%, with Samsung and SK Hynix both catching a solid bid. In US markets, we saw modest losses across key benchmarks; the S&P 500 ended down 0.3%, led by real estate and communication services.
· In the FX space, the JPY remains in focus, with USD/JPY on the doorstep of ¥160, despite the US and Japan recently intervening to buy yen. ¥160 appears to be the line in the sand for further yen intervention, though daily resistance between ¥160.93 and ¥160.04 is calling for attention. Ultimately, while intervention certainly got the markets talking and pushed USD/JPY down by around 600 pips, it is not enough to halt USD/JPY’s upside as long as the cost of money in Japan remains cheap, and dip-buyers are demonstrating this after recoiling from ¥155.
· US Treasury yields fell modestly across the curve on Tuesday, finishing the session off best levels amid developments (or lack of) in the Middle East and ahead of today’s US inflation report. Oil prices are clearly dominating sentiment right now; if you know where oil is likely to trade, you can get a fairly good idea of where CPI inflation is headed.
· It is all about the July US CPI inflation report today, landing at 12:30 pm GMT. It is also perceived as more important than the US jobs release, and is one of two reports we get before the September Fed meeting. Expectations are for the YY headline and core measures to come in slightly lower at 3.4% (from 3.5%) and 2.5% (from 2.6%), respectively. Ultimately, a downside surprise could add volatility to yields and the USD, particularly following last week’s US jobs data, and the USD being overstretched to the upside. A broad miss would also see an unwind in rate pricing; Fed hikes remain priced into the curve, with around 20 bps implied by year-end and nearly 50 bps by mid-2027.
Written by FP Markets Chief Market Analyst, Aaron Hill
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