CANADA: CIBC See Small Window For CAD Steepeners vs US Flatteners

Jan-06 13:52
  • CIBC write on the “meaningful” repricing in the Canadian front-end over the holiday season, with terminal rate expectations declining nearly 30bps to just below 2.75%, the mid-point of the Bank’s estimated neutral rate range.
  • “But even with front-end levels now looking more consistent with our own expectation for the Bank, the distribution getting to that end-point looks unrealistic. For example, markets expect the Bank to reach this policy level by the middle of 2026, with no attendant curvature to speak of”
  • When BoC terminal is priced in either 1y1y or 2y1y vs FOMC terminal pricing in 3y1y, they see two implications: “CAD steepeners versus U.S. flatteners have a small ‘window’ for success, and that window is now – our favourite expression of this dynamic is the 5s10s box.”
  • “Once we get deeper into Q1 and through the inauguration, we see more risk that Fed pricing is pulled forward. To eventually fade cross-market richness we like being short CAD 2s versus U.S. 5s, but will need to get past the January BoC meeting.”

Historical bullets

MNI UST Issuance Deep Dive: Dec 2024 (2/2)

Dec-06 21:53

Throughout November’s policy and market volatility, though, Treasury auctions largely impressed, with 5 of 7 nominal coupon sales trading through.

  • Auction Results: November’s nominal coupon auctions were generally strong, with five out of seven auctions trading-through, of which four saw a positive reading on MNI’s Relative Strength Indicator (RSI). The remaining two auctions; 3 and 20-year auctions tailed. See page 2.
  • Upcoming Supply: Issuance resumes next week with sales of $58B in 3Y Note, $39B in 10Y Note (reopen), and $22B in 30Y Bond (reopen). December is set to see $15B in nominal Treasury coupon sales, in addition to $22B in 5Y TIPS and $28B FRN for a total of $365B – slightly below the Oct and Nov totals of $369B which were joint-highest since Oct 2021.
  • MNI's review includes a calendar of upcoming auctions and buyback operations.

US TSYS/SUPPLY: MNI UST Issuance Deep Dive: Dec 2024 (1/2)

Dec-06 21:51

MNI's latest US Treasury Issuance Deep Dive has just been published (PDF link here):

November proved a dramatic month for Treasuries. Yields were volatile before and after the Nov 5 election - after ending October at 4.28%, 10Y yields peaked at five-and-a-half-month high just above 4.50% mid-month before closing November just below 4.18%, as markets attempted to price in the implications of a Republican “sweep”. 

  • Also buffeting rates was speculation over the would-be successor to Treasury Secretary Yellen. President-elect Trump’s selection of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent was greeted with bull flattening in the curve, implying perhaps that he’s seen as more cautious on fiscal deficits than some of the alternatives (he has expressed support for halving the annual budget shortfall to 3% of GDP).
  • The first quarterly Refunding process of Bessent’s Treasury is in early February, by which point we may start to have a better sense of the incoming administration’s approach to both fiscal policy and to more issuance-specific considerations such as duration management.
  • Bessent for instance has argued that Yellen’s Treasury erred from a risk management perspective by boosting short-duration issuance, and there are suggestions he would be in favor of reversing course, telling Bloomberg in June “When rates are very low, you should extend duration…I think it’s very unfortunate what Secretary Yellen’s doing. She’s financing at the front end, and she’s making a bet on the carry trade, which is not good risk management.”

US LABOR MARKET: MNI US Employment Insight: Soft Enough To Keep Fed Cutting

Dec-06 21:05

Our latest Employment Insight has just been published and emailed to subscribers.