MYR: Ringgit Down as US PMI Sees Some Dollar Softness.         

Dec-17 01:52
  • USD/MYR is down at 4.4480 in Kuala Lumpur this morning; versus yesterday's close of 4.4493.
  • The Ringgit has consolidated above the 20-day EMA of 4.4385 with next resistance being the 200-day EMA at 4.4923.
  • Bloomberg Asia dollar spot index is up by +0.04% and the Bloomberg Dollar spot index is -0.07% lower. Most USD pairs are within recent ranges as markets await the Fed outcome and guidance provided by the central bank.
  • USD/MYR one-month implied volatility is up at 5.80 from yesterdays close of 5.7625%  
  • Malaysia's 10-year bond yield is at 3.828%
  • Malaysia 5 yr USD CDS at 42bps (yesterday’s close 42bp, 5-year low 38bp in 2020).

Headlines

  • Ningbo Deye Technology Co., a Chinese inverter producer, plans to invest up to $150 million in building a solar equipment manufacturing base in Malaysia.
  • The Pengerang Energy Complex secured financing deals from credit agencies in the US, Europe and Malaysia as well as Islamic financing from entities of the Islamic Development Bank, according to a statement.
  • Malaysia’s Rubber Board and the Rubber Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding Monday in a joint bid to develop the rubber industry.

 Data This Week

18 DEC:

  • Exports YoY (survey +0.5%, prior +1.6%)
  • Imports YoY (survey +3.7%, prior +2.6%)
  • Trade Balance MYR (survey MYR8.8bn, prior MYR11.98bn)

20 DEC

  • CPI YoY
  • Foreign Reserves

Historical bullets

US OUTLOOK/OPINION: US Macro Weekly: Fed Shifts Hawkish As Disinflation Stalls

Nov-15 21:51

Our weekly US Macro publication is out (PDF):

  • US “Inflation Week” brought largely in-line results, with sequential core CPI coming in a little lower than expected, and headline CPI and core PPI a little higher than expected.
  • But overall the takeaway was that there was relatively little if any disinflationary progress in October, exacerbated by what looks like a small sequential acceleration in the core PCE reading for the month.
  • The cumulative effect of surprisingly hawkish Fed commentary combined with the slight upside in core PCE (with a helping hand from solid initial jobless claims among other data demonstrating continued resilience) saw a notable shift in rate cut pricing this week.
  • The December FOMC meeting appears to be "live", nearing 50/50 implied probability of a hold at one point Friday morning, versus closer to 20% at the start of the week.
  • At the end of this document we highlight two major shifts in FOMC tone this week: one is that a "pause" was introduced as a possibility by a senior FOMC member (Gov Kugler); the other is that there is growing concern over the implications of soaring longer-end rates.
  • Neutral rate-talk also dominated, and in a hawkish direction - Dallas Fed's Logan mused that the Fed had already perhaps already reached neutral rates.
  • It's probably still the case that the FOMC is still in the "thinking about thinking about slowing rate cuts" stage, which means a December cut is the default. But some of the groundwork for a less dovish rate cut path appears to have been laid since the US election (the potentially hawkish implications of which, FOMC members didn't venture into).
  • This week’s heavy data slate gives way to a quieter schedule Nov 18-22, with key macro highlights including flash November PMIs and housing market data, with FOMC speakers also of interest after this week’s shift (including Cleveland Fed Pres Hammack).

US OUTLOOK/OPINION: Atlanta Fed GDPNow Steady, PCE Upgraded Despite Control Miss

Nov-15 21:08

The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow estimate for Q4 remained steady at 2.5% Q/Q annualized in the Nov 15 update, reflecting higher personal consumption expenditures (now 2.8% vs 2.7% in the prior day's update), offset by downgrades to equipment/ nonresidential structure investment. 

  • The stronger PCE figure comes despite a softer-than-expected Retail Sales Control Group figure - we think this is a reflection of the higher revision to September's Control Group, which will statistically carry over into the Q4 growth rate.
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USDCAD TECHS: Bull Cycle Extension

Nov-15 21:00
  • RES 4: 1.4210 2.0% 10-dma envelope  
  • RES 3: 1.4140 1.500 proj of the Oct 17 - Nov 1 - 6 price swing
  • RES 2: 1.4122 3.0% Upper Bollinger Band
  • RES 1: 1.4106 High Nov 15
  • PRICE: 1.4077 @ 16:54 GMT Nov 15
  • SUP 1: 1.3959 High Nov 1 / 6
  • SUP 2: 1.3891/22 20-day EMA and a key S/T support / Low Nov 6
  • SUP 3: 1.3785 50-day EMA
  • SUP 4: 1.3611 Low Oct 8

A strong rally in USDCAD this week reinforces the current bullish condition. The pair has topped 1.3959, the Nov 1 / 6 high. This break confirms a resumption of the uptrend and has also resulted in a breach of 1.3977, the Oct 13 2022 high. 1.4140 marks the next upside level. Initial firm support to watch lies at 1.3891, the 20-day EMA. A short-term pullback would be considered corrective.