Currencies
The Bull Case for the DollarBy Marc Chandler, TheStreet.com
1/27/2006 4:00 PM EST
The disappointing fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product report and subsequent decline in the dollar are unlikely to have a lasting impact on the market. In fact, there are good reasons to expect the U.S. dollar to strengthen in the days ahead.
The 1.1% pace of growth in the last quarter of 2005 was the slowest since the first quarter of 2003, and it breaks the string of 10 consecutive quarters of 3%-plus growth. Nevertheless, early indications suggest the U.S. economy has rebounded. When considering the outlook for the Federal Reserve and the dollar, keep in mind that this factor is more important than the fourth-quarter disappointment.
Three Dollar-Positive Developments
There will be three major economic developments next week in the U.S., and I believe that each will be dollar-friendly.
First, on Tuesday I expect the Federal Reserve will hike the fed funds target by 25 basis points to 4.5%. As is well appreciated, Fed officials use the news media to signal the market, i.e., help guide expectations. A couple such Fed-watchers have opined recently that the statement that accompanies the rate decision is likely to keep the door open to further rate hikes. That's consistent with my view that while the Fed's work is nearly done, there are a few more hikes likely. I believe the funds rate will peak at 5.0%-5.25%.
Market participants appear to have upgraded their assessment of the risk of a March hike. As recently as Jan. 17 and 18, the market was roughly evenly divided between those expecting a March hike and those taking the "one-and-done" stance. However, more recently the pendulum of market sentiment has swung toward the March hike. The odds rose from a little more than 50% to more than 75% and retreated to about 66% after the disappointing GDP data. If next week's data are as strong as the consensus currently expects, the market is likely to upgrade the odds of a March hike.
Second, although it might have been lost in the preliminary quarterly data, momentum in the U.S. economy probably improved at the end of 2005. Recall that the ISM Index: Manufacturing data were revised, showing a larger gain in December (55.6 from 54.2), while the October and November data were revised lower. The strength of the Philly and Richmond Fed surveys and the Empire State survey suggest the January manufacturing ISM should be firm. That would confirm continued strength in the manufacturing sector, which appears to be picking up some slack from the slowing of the housing market. This also touches on the issue raised by the Fed last month about resource utilization rates.
Third, the U.S. will report January jobs data on Friday, Feb. 3. The preliminary estimate is for a robust 240,000, following the disappointing 108,000 increase in December. Although the fit is imperfect, to be sure, the weekly initial jobless claims stand near their lowest level in five years, suggesting some improvement in the labor market. If, and admittedly this is a big "if," this turns out to be a fairly accurate forecast, the three-month average would move above 200,000 to sit at its best level since last April. Such a strong report also would be dollar-friendly and would reinforce ideas that economic growth is sufficiently robust to continue to absorb whatever slack remains in the economy. It also would seem to underscore the likelihood of additional Fed tightening.
Spreading Good Cheer
In addition to the data pipeline, another dollar-positive development has been interest rate differentials. The spread between the June Euribor and the June Eurodollar futures contract has gradually widened in recent days and has resurfaced above 200 basis points. On Jan. 3, the spread stood near 188 basis points. Of course, a 12 basis point shift is nothing to get excited about, but the direction is what matters here, and it's dollar-positive. Also, it's still not clear that the short-term interest rate differentials have peaked in the cycle. The high of the spread thus far was set in mid-August 2005, near 220 basis points.
The `10-year spread between the U.S. Treasuries and German bunds (a useful proxy for the euro zone) also has widened in recent sessions. The spread put in a recent high last October, near 123 bp, after finishing 2004 near 55 basis points. However, the spread narrowed to about 95 basis points in late November. As recently as Monday, Jan. 23, the spread stood at 97.4 and is now back above 102 basis points. Again, the magnitude of the move is more important than the actual amount of the spread.
Technical Advantages
There also are a number of technical indications that the dollar may come back into favor after beginning the year heavily. Looking at the euro, it is interesting to note that the magnitude of the bounce off the late November 2005 lows has been very much in line with the size of euro corrections seen during last year's dollar bull run.
In addition, the MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) is crossing to the downside for the euro from its highest level since last August. Just as important is the fact that the euro had moved above its 200-day moving average on Jan. 23 for the first time since last spring, and although it spent a few days above there, it was rebuffed, despite the soft U.S. GDP data. The euro spent most of the past month in the $1.2000-$1.2200 trading range. The breakout to the upside proved premature. Now we should anticipate a test on the lower end of that old range.
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