Head of Commodity Strategy
Summary: During the week to March 24 the US Federal Reserve rolled out some of its heaviest artillery to announce open ended QE. This lead to stocks hitting a through on March 23 while the dollar short rose for a second week despite general Greenback strength.
Saxo Bank publishes two weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial.
The below summary highlights futures positions and changes made by hedge funds across forex, bonds and stocks up until last Tuesday, March 24. A period that saw the US Federal Reserve rolled out some of its heaviest artillery to announce ‘open ended’ QE. It was a reminder of the moves they made in March 2009 which finally succeeded in stabilizing the global markets. During the reporting week stocks hit a through on March 23, the dollar continued to strengthen.
In forex speculators, with just a couple of exceptions, continued to cut both long and short positions across all ten IMM currency futures. Despite seeing the dollar rally extend into a second week the net position turned a bit more negative at -$6.6 billion.
While the Dollar Index was bought and JPY and CAD were both sold, the net dollar position still ended more negative due to continued strong buying of the euro. Four weeks of buying has taken the euro net-long to 61,290 lots ($8.3 billion equivalent), the highest since June 2018.
Bullish wagers on the Mexican Peso declined for an 8th week as the currency sank by more than 7% to hit a record low against the dollar. The net-long was cut by 35% to 21,979 lots.
Reductions of both long and short positions also continued in fixed income and equities. Substantial short-covering in the C’boe VIX contract reduced the net-short to just 18,708 lots, the least short in 14 months.
Bond. Long Bond(s)
With real rates being too positive, we see three scenarios: Opportunity to lock in rates at cycle high, government overreach to keep the economy afloat or a complete reset of the economy.
Steen Jakobsen,
Chief Investment Officer
Is a bond bull market ahead? Inflation still poses a risk for investors, but the moment for increasing duration to your portfolio may be approaching towards the end of the year, when central banks might be forced to cut interest rates.
Althea Spinozzi,
Senior Fixed Income Strategist
The furious rate hike cycle has brought gains in the US dollar, but with stagflation risks in Europe and the UK and weakness in the Chinese economy, USD may have more room to run. But a strong dollar could also have repercussions for US growth, emerging markets and commodity prices.
Charu Chanana,
Market Strategist
With the cost of capital rising painfully, stagflation fears are back, illuminating the fragile state of the green transformation, while giving a tailwind to nuclear power, and threatening the growth of AI-related stocks.
Peter Garnry,
Head of Equity Strategy
With supply tightness not only in energy but all commodities, the momentum in commodity prices may continue, pressuring central banks to lower real rates. That could be a good setup for precious metals, including gold, silver and potentially platinum as well.
Ole S. Hansen,
Head of Commodity Strategy
As the pandemic showed, even the US Treasury can experience seismic shifts. With the government increasing the pace of issuing bonds to support fiscal spending, the complex Treasury market and regulatory constraints could spark a liquidity event.
Redmond Wong,
Market Strategist
The tide has turned for bonds. Given the current yields, bonds have become an attractive investment, with added benefits including lower risk than stocks, increased diversification and a steady stream of income unaffected by economic changes.
Peter Siks,
Investment Coach
