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Global FX volatility has fallen further in the past month to its lowest level since September 2014 according to our estimate (see Figure 1). Volatility in most major currencies has either fallen or only increased marginally in the past month and is now very low relative to the past 12 months. Sterling, the Brazilian Real and Turkish Lira have recorded
Read moreWe noted in “Renminbi depreciation true to form” (6 June 2019) that history was repeating itself, with the Renminbi NEER having weakened in April-June as it had done in May-July 2018, albeit at a more modest pace (see figure 1). This was a clear indication in our view that “Chinese policy-makers were once again using Renminbi depreciation as both a
Read moreThe Korean Won Nominal Effective Exchange Rate has appreciated 4.7% since the 41-month low recorded on 12th August to a six-month high, with the Won up against the currencies of Korea’s largest trading partners, namely the Yen, Euro, Renminbi and Dollar. A common view is that, with China accounting for about a third of Korea’s total trade, day-to-day speculative flows
Read moreIn US Consumer – From King to Prince (8 October 2019), we argued that “the recent fall in US consumer confidence, slowdown in income and wage growth and jitters in US equity markets suggest that Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) growth remained weak in September and thus slowed materially in Q3” (September data are due on 31st October). Weak September retail
Read moreIt is perhaps obvious that Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) – or consumer demand – is critical to US economic growth. PCE growth has accounted for over 80% of US real GDP growth since end-2013 (see Figure 7), thanks to its relative size (nearly 70% of GDP) and the fact that PCE is the only demand sub-component which has positively contributed
Read moreCentral banks across the world have been cutting their policy rates in unison since early May, in line with our forecast back in January that “policy rate cuts, which have all but disappeared since last Spring, may yet resurface in the second half of 2019 (see Forecast Update: Brexit, FX, central banks & GDP growth, 18 January 2019). Our measure
Read moreNot a day passes without the media and US President Trump pointing the finger at “currency wars” and “competitive devaluations”. The thrust of the argument is that central banks across the world, in a “race to the bottom”, are cutting policy rates and in the case of the ECB resuming QE, in order to weaken their currencies and boost export
Read moreWe have consistently and correctly forecast since October that the 60bp increase in the global central bank policy rate in 2018 would, with a lag, contribute to global GDP growth falling below 3% in 2019 and to lower inflation and that as a result “policy rate cuts, which had all but disappeared since Spring 2018, may resurface in the second
Read more4X Global Research (4XGR), a fully independent yet well connected London-based research consultancy, has since its inception in 2016 consistently posted a strong forecasting track record for currencies, rates as well as macroeconomic and political developments which is detailed below. This underscores its rigorous top-down approach, rooted in both a detailed qualitative assessment of emerging and G20 fixed income markets
Read moreA theme which has gained increasing traction is that the world economy could once again go into recession, with some reports that global growth is already in recessionary territory. At a country-level, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted (real) GDP growth. By this metrics Italy was in recession in H2 2018 while Germany avoided
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