As BASF sounds the alarm on global demand, the Fed can still cut despite strong jobs

Eleanor Creagh
Australian Market Strategist, Saxo
Summary: Monthly update covering the US/China trade dispute, the US job report and the FED.
Bullet summary:
- Trade disputes delayed not resolved
- Strong jobs nullify 50BP rate cut
- A 25BP cut can still come on the basis of:
- low inflation,
- drag on US growth from global forces,
- trade uncertainties hit manufacturing – slowdown risks permeating the service sector and consumption,
- inverted yield curve, and NY Fed recession probability rising
- drive a weaker dollar
- Powell testifies to congress on a tightrope of market expectations
Main Text:
The week has kickstarted with a risk-off tone after Non-farm payroll numbers on Friday set off renewed caution amidst repricing of an aggressive 50BP June rate cut.
The hype of the US/China resuming talks has faded quickly as market participants remain cognisant that the Trump/Xi meeting in Osaka and agreement to continue talks represents ongoing trade disputes that are delayed not resolved, providing merely a short-term sentiment boost. Uncertainty still reigns large as there is nothing predictable about the current US administration and trade deal with China, or not, trade and protectionism will be a persistent theme. Trump's recent attack on Vietnam, a supposed trade war winner, whom he dubbed “almost the single worst abuser” of trade is proof enough of this.
And just this morning newswires confirmed the US plan to impose duties on structural steel from China and Mexico, confirmation of omnipresent trade tensions. The US Trade Policy Uncertainty Index is surging.
On the prospect of central bank stimulus, bad news is good news. The worse the outlook for the economy the more likely central banks will step in with aggressive easing measures. So, the bounce back US non-farm payrolls report has thrown a spanner in the works. The NFP headline jobs number increased 224,000 in June, beating expectations (160,000). Unemployment crept up to 3.7%, but this was driven by increased participation, and is still hovering around 50-year lows. But despite the robust headline number, wage growth was just 3.1% YoY, below market expectations.
The sharp rebound in job creation from just 72,000 (revised down from 75,000) in May means a 50BP cut is off the table, especially considering that according to the dot plot at the June FOMC meeting 9/17 members didn’t forecast even 1 rate cut this year. Even Perma-Dove Bullard, President of the St. Louis Fed, prior to the NFP didn’t sound ready to cut 50BP. However, a 25BP cut is still in play the market remains 100% priced for a cut at the July 31st FOMC meeting. At this stage, if the Fed decided not to move, the reaction in equity markets and cost of not delivering would be violent. The Fed is trapped as equity markets have been propelled to fresh all-time highs off the promise of stimulus rather than healthy corporate earnings. Fed members have dictated their end goal is to “sustain the expansion,” this means a financial market meltdown must be avoided and is one reason why a July rate cut is incoming.
There is also the issue of trade uncertainty, the implications for manufacturing have already shown themselves. Already damage has been done to the global economy and a resumption in US/China trade negotiations won’t change that. The manufacturing bite is prevalent particularly in Asia and Europe which will create a drag on US growth.
At the micro-level trade uncertainty and weaker global demand is visible in a multitude of industries and companies. Chemical maker BASF, the world’s largest chemicals company by sales, overnight cut their 2019 forecasts citing a weaker auto market and the ongoing trade spat. Earnings before interest, taxes and special items will be as much as 30% lower this year than in 2018. Chemical makers are positively correlated to global economic activity and global demand, chemicals are used in a wide variety of industries and applications so encompass a variety of end markets.
Despite all the dovish cooing to date, the dollar has failed to weaken. Dollar strength has been a significant hinderance to reflation, and it will be difficult to achieve a sustainable reflation without a weaker dollar so another reason why the Fed will cut, is to drive a weaker dollar. Comments from Trump indicate he and his administration will pursue a lower-dollar policy, either directly through verbal intervention or by forcing the Fed to cut deeper.
Another reason the Fed will move to cut rates stems from the yield curve inversion which historically signals that the risk of a recession is increasing, an indicator which the Fed should heed. The yield curve is the best forecasting tool for recessions, having inverted before each of the last seven recessions according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Based on the past 7 decades, the lag between the inversion of the yield curve and the start of the recession is on average 22 months. In terms of monetary policy, an inverted yield curve has deep implications as it led all the past 6 Fed easing cycles of the past 3 decades and is likely to lead this Fed easing cycle as well.
Finally, the New York Fed recession indicator, as measured by the 3m/10s spread is placing the odds of a recession within the next year at 33%.