Rising oil prices and deteriorating US fundamentals vie for influence over euro-dollar exchange rates

23 mai 2018 par Véronique Riches-Flores

After losing virtually all influence over the euro-dollar exchange rate since the beginning of last year, interest rate differences seem to be making a comeback, in the wake of rising oil prices. If renewed sensitivity continues, it could have a profound impact on exchange rates. If the euro-dollar exchange rate pair normalized with respect to its long-term reaction function, the economic conditions currently prevailing in the United States and Europe would imply a euro below parity with the dollar.

Until recently, however, the reaction function did not hold sway. It was weakened by structural deterioration in the outlook for the US economy, and many economists who believed in these models were caught unawares all through last year. With this in mind, let’s examine whether rising oil prices could normalize the situation and push the dollar higher, and as a corollary, the euro lower.

Protectionism does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with inflation

3 avril 2018 par Véronique Riches-Flores

The aggressive protectionist measures announced by the US president over the past few days have generally been perceived as a prime inflationary threat. The reasoning is rather logical. An increase in import tariffs on non-substitutable goods that enter the production processes of key economic sectors or are purchased directly by US consumers will cause the price of those goods to rise. In addition, (i) the US balance of payments is likely to deteriorate and push down the dollar, and this might be exacerbated by potential difficulties in external financing, and (ii) the rest of the world might retaliate against the announced US measures, creating a domino effect. In theory, this combination is the perfect inflationary cocktail. How then can we explain that the markets have not shown greater expectations of inflation?

OMB February 2018 – Our barometers of activity and inflation collapse

5 mars 2018 par Véronique Riches-Flores

Our activity indicator fell into negative territory in February (-0.4), because of weaker economic indicators in all regions we cover, except for the USA. Barring investment, all components of our barometer saw declines of varying extents. Our inflation indicator fell sharply, from +1.1 in January to -0.3 in February, its lowest level since May 2017, partly due to lower oil prices.

A fall in the dollar could unleash a chain reaction

31 janvier 2018 par Véronique Riches-Flores

The trend in the US dollar’s exchange rate is becoming a source of concern. The dollar has lost nearly 15% of its value since the year-end 2016 high it reached following the election of Donald Trump, and it might now fall toward its 2011 and summer 2014 levels, i.e. 10-15% below its current value.

Confidence in the US administration is withering, and this is largely responsible for the exchange-rate situation. In addition, doubts are accumulating about how much latitude Jerome Powell, the future Fed chairman, will have to exercise his mandate, as he will be operating in the shadow of an invasive executive branch and increasingly demanding financial valuations. The risk of a dollar crash, which would consist of a significant, across-the-board fall in the currency’s value, is real.

What kind of impact could we expect if this were to occur?

The US dollar occupies such an important position in the international economic monetary and financial system that the consequences of a potential pronounced drop in the dollar are particularly complex to analyze. It is the number one reserve, payment and financing currency – both bank and non-bank – and it is used as a peg by more than 70 countries. The size and strength of the US economy as well as the accumulation of deficits vis-à-vis the rest of the world have made dollars abundant outside the United States and contributed to a level of supremacy that neither the euro nor the yuan can challenge. At the end of 2017, the US economy’s net external debt to the rest of the world was nearly $8 trillion, of which $6.4 trillion was financed by treasury bonds held by non-residents the world over. The presence of the US dollar in every nook and cranny of the world economy does not make the analysis any easier. What would be the net effect, for example, of a drop in the dollar on the Chinese economy? Chinese companies would become less competitive, but their debt, much of which has been contracted in dollars in recent years, would decline. At the same time, the country’s war chest of $3.1 trillion in currency reserves, half of which is invested in US treasury bonds, would erode fast... Lire la suite…