AUD/JPY: A head and shoulder bottom failure in the making?

    AUD/JPY could be a very interesting pair to watch this week. From the hourly chart, there’s clearly a beautiful head and shoulder bottom pattern (ls:79.97, h: 79.69, rs: 80.09). Bullish convergence condition is also seen in hourly MACD. So, is AUD/JPY ready for a powerful upside move?

    We’re quite skeptical on it. First of all, we’d like to reiterate that head and shoulder is a classic “reversal” pattern. Believe nobody would disagree to that. But we’d like to clarify that meaning of “reversal”. It means both a) ending the prior trend to start a new trend in the opposite direction, OR b) halting the current trend, starting a counter trend move to correct the prior move. In case of b) the subsequent move could be in form of any corrective pattern, a rectangle, a wedge, a triangle, etc.

    To assess the chance a) for AUD/JPY, we’ll have to see if the pair has completed a down trend that’s in a larger degree of the head and shoulder pattern. That is, we’ll have to look at the bigger picture to see if the conditions are in place for a larger reversal.

    Firstly, AUD/JPY has just resumed the down trend from 2017 high at 90.29, by breaking 80.48 key support level, with solid downside momentum. From the daily MACD, we see that downside momentum is increasing, rather than decreasing.

    Fall from 90.29 is either correcting the up trend from 72.39 to 90.29, or starting a new long term down trend. But even for the former case (less bearish), it hasn’t matched target of 61.8% retracement of 72.39 to 90.29 at 79.22 yet. So, we don’t think conditions are in place to reverse the trend from 90.29 yet.

    Looking a bit closer, if the above view is correct, then fall from 83.92, which started the downside breakout, should be a five-wave sequence. Having a look at the 4 hour chart, 79.69 should be, at worst the end of the third wave from 83.92. Hence, rebound from there is not even reversing the fall from 83.92.

    So in our view, the rebound from 79.69 is likely just a counter trend move that corrects the fall from 82.78. That is, the above mentioned case b). With that in mind, 4 hour 55 EMA (now at 80.99) is the first hurdle. But more importantly, an important cluster resistance zone lies ahead. That is, 100% projection of 76.69 to 80.82 from 80.09 at 81.22, 50% retracement of 82.78 to 79.69 at 81.23, 38.2% retracement of 83.92 to 76.69 at 81.30. We do not expect, as a corrective move, the rise from 79.69 to pass through this 81.22/30 resistance zone.

    For head and should pattern, the target is usually calculated by adding the depth of the head to the neck line. That is, in this case, depth of the head is 80.82-79.69= 1.13. The target is thus 80.82+3.13=81.98. It’s “substantially” higher than the above mentioned 81.22/30 resistance zone. Hence, we’d believe it’s going to be a head and shoulder pattern failure.

    As usual, we could be wrong. Let’s see.

    Tell us your views too.

     

    U of Michigan dropped to 95.3, 11-month low, consumers have little tolerance for overshooting inflation

      US University of Michigan consumer sentiment dropped sharply to 95.3 in August, down from 97.9 and missed expectation of 98.1. That’s also the lowest level since last September.

      Some quotes from Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin:

      • Decline concentrated among households in the bottom third of the income distribution
      • The dominating weakness reflected much less favorable assessments of buying conditions, mainly due to less favorable perceptions of market prices.
      • Consumers have become much more sensitive to even relatively low inflation rates than in past decades.
      • Some price resistance has been neutralized by rising wages
      • Falloff in favorable price perceptions has been much larger than ever before recorded.
      • Overall, the data indicate that consumers have little tolerance for overshooting inflation targets, and to the benefit of the Fed, interest rates now play a more decisive role in purchase decisions.

      Full release here.

      Canadian Dollar soars as CPI hit 3%

        Canadian consumer inflation data comes in much stronger than expected. And the Loonie soars.

        Headline CPI rose 0.5% mom, 3.0% yoy versus expectation of -0.1% mom, 2.4% yoy. It’s also much stronger than June’s reading of 0.1% mom, 2.5% yoy.

        CPI core Common was unchanged at 1.9% yoy. CPI core Median was unchanged at 2.0% yoy. CPI core Trim rose to 2.1% yoy, up from 2.0% yoy.

        “While continued strength in energy prices contributed most to the year-over-year increase, higher prices for various services, including air transportation and travel tours, also contributed to consumer price growth in July,” Statistics Canada said.

        Full release here.

        Also from Canada, international securities transactions rose to CAD 11.5B in June versus expectation of CAD 4.9B.

        So now, is an Oct BoC hike a done deal?

        Into US session: Yen strong again as Turkish Lira drops 5%, Chinese stocks hit new low

          Entering into US session, Yen is now back trading as the strongest one as markets seem to have turned back to risk off-mode. More time is needed to confirm this but sentiments are once again looking shaky.

          At the time of writing, FTSE is trading down -0.17%, DAX down -0.42% and CAC down -0.14%.

          Turkish Lira comes back to spotlight with another -5% decline. The trigger is concerns of mores sanction from the US if American pastor Andrew Brunson is not released. The question for us is, in today’s world, whether economic war is considered war. And if yes, then are tariffs and sanctions considered weapons? If the POTUS needs to go through a process, with check and balance, to hit the nuclear button, what does he need to go through to fire an “economic missile”? So far, it seems there is no mechanism to control a dictator in the US to attack another country, even a NATO ally, in the economic sense and cause massive damages and casualties. It’s a big threat to the world. Anyways.

          Weakness in Chinese stocks is another concerns for investors. Asian markets closed generally up today. Nikkei gained 0.35%, Hong Kong HSI rose 0.42%. However, the Shanghai SSE closed down -1.35% at 2668.97. The SSE has indeed broke July’s low at 2691.02, and it’s on course for 2638.30 (2016 low). There is no sign of bottoming by market force, nor there is any sign of government intervention. And more importantly, the selloff happened despite news of resumption of US-China trade talks. This highlights underlying vulnerable in the Chinese stocks markets. A break of 2638.30 could trigger some downside acceleration and spread to other parts markets, at least to Asia.

          Eurozone CPI finalized at 2.1%, core CPI at 1.1%

            Eurozone CPI was finalized at 2.1% in July, up from June’s 2.0% and compares with 1.3% a year earlier. EU CPI was finalized at 2.2% in July, up from June’s 2.1%, compares with 1.5% a year earlier. Core CPI was finalized at 1.1%.

            Geographically, CPI ranged from 0.8% in Greece, 0.9% in Denmark and 1.0% in Ireland, to Romania (4.3%), Bulgaria (3.6%), Hungary (3.4%) and Estonia (3.3%). CPI in Germany was at 2.1%, France at 2.6% and Italy at 1.9%.

            Composition-wise, highest contribution came from energy at 0.89%, services at 0.64%, food alcohol and tobacco at 0.49%.

            Full release here.

            Australia Trade Minister Ciobo: Countries double down on trade pacts due to protectionist Trump

              Australia’s Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said today that the country is going to conclude free trade agreement with Hong Kong and Indonesia by the end of the year. Hong Kong is Australia’s 12th largest trading partner with two-way trade at roughly AUD 16B. The two-way trade with Indonesia is at roughly the same size. And indeed, the FTA with Indonesia could come as soon as next month during Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s visit.

              Ciobo also said that he’s hopeful of signing FTA with Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc, this year. In addition, agreement with China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership could be in place too.

              Ciobo added that due to Trump’s protectionist rhetoric and policies, there has been a “desire from a number of countries to double down” on trade pacts. And that helps him seal deals.

              RBA Lowe warned of trade tension and highly unusual US fiscal stimulus

                RBA Governor Philip Lowe appeared before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today. He reiterated the three points in communications about monetary policy. Firstly, employment and inflation are “moving in the right direction”. Secondly, the next move is interest rates is “to be up”. Thirdly, progresses is expected to be “gradual” and there is “not a strong case for near term adjustment in interest rates.

                Lowe also highlighted a few global risks. Firstly, in some countries, businesses are delaying investment due to rising trade tensions. If it become a “more general story”, it’s the channel through which trade tensions would “sap the current positive momentum” in the global economy.

                Secondly, it’s “highly unusual” for the US to have “sizeable fiscal stimulus” at a time of “limited capacity”. Growth could “surprise on the upside. And Lowe is “less relaxed” than others on the implications on inflation. He warned that Fed could have to withdraw monetary accommodation “more quickly than currently projected”with possibly disruptive consequences in financial markets.

                A third set of global risks are from individual economies with “country-specific structural and/or institutional vulnerabilities”, including Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Turkey.

                His full opening remarks here.

                China State Council to boost private investments, remove obstacles

                  China’s official news agency Xinhua reported that the State Council decided on a host of measures to boost private investment, at a meeting yesterday. And, a number of projects should be identified for attracting private investments. Additionally, the State Council meeting called for lowering thresholds, shoring up the weak links, boosting domestic demand, promoting employment and strengthening the impetus for long-term development.

                  The measures will include tax and fee cutting for private businesses, VAT reforms, improvements in financing transmission mechanism, and risk compensation mechanism. In particular, obstacles in fields like healthcare and aged-care would be removed, including regulations on land use, funding support and personnel training.

                  Premier Li Keqiang was quoted saying that “the potential of consumption as a driver for growth need to be further unlocked. At the same time, more efforts need to be made to reduce business costs, support export, and make better use of foreign investment.”

                  Japan manufacturers sentiment hit 7-month high, but non-manufacturing at 1.5 year low

                    Reuters Tankan manufacturers index rose to 30 in August, up from 25. However, the non-manufacturers index dropped sharply to 25, down from 34.

                    With the sharp 5 pts rise in index, manufacturer’s sentiment, hit the highest level since January. Back then it was an 11-year high of 35. The index is expected to improve further in the new few months. It highlights the robustness of the manufacturing sector despite rising global trade tension and emerging markets risks.

                    On the other hand, services sentiments tumbled sharply by -9 to the lowest level since December 2016. It’s partly due to once-off factors including abnormal whether including flood rains and heat waves. But the deterioration still indicates fragility in the sector and thus casts doubt on domestic demand. Domestic weakness could amply should there be deterioration in global trade tensions.

                    USTR Lighthizer: A breakthrough in NAFTA talks in the next several days

                      US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said yesterday that he’s “hopeful” that there will be a “breakthrough” in NAFTA talks with Mexico in the “next several days”. But he didn’t offer any details. It’s reported that the two sides have largely agreed on the new rules regarding auto trade. And Lighthizer appeared to be willing to ease on the request of sunset clause in exchange for some concessions from Mexico.

                      On the other hand, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo urged that “everybody has got to show some flexibility. And he added that “we have everything on the table, there are no preconditions and we’ll see at the end how the whole thing falls into place.” Also, Guajardo said the sunset clause will be among the “very last times” to be dealt with.

                      While there appears to be some progresses, it should be noted that Canada is not involved in the bilateral talks between the US and Mexico. And is unsure how Canada would be reengaged.

                      Mid-US session update: DOW surges on Walmart, but no reversal for Yen yet

                        While risk appetite is strong in the first half of US session, Yen is actually not the weakest. Swiss is the biggest loser today, followed by Canadian Dollar. Australian Dollar and New Zealand Dollar remain the strongest ones. Yen and Dollar are just mixed only. We’d like to point out again that, despite recoveries in EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY, these four pairs are kept below near term resistance. The levels are 1.1430 in EUR/USD, 1.2826 in GBP/USD, 126.98 in EUR/JPY and 142.46 in GBP/JPY. There is no indicate of reversal yet and they stay bearish.

                        US equities are having a strong rally today. DOW’s rally is heavily driven by the stellar earnings report of Walmart, which shares also surged more than 9%. The retail giant reported Q2 same-store sales growth that reached a decade high. At the time of writing, DOW is gaining 1.57%. The strong rally negated yesterday’s sharp fall. And, with strong support seen at 55 day EMA, near term bullishness is retained. It’s now heading back to 25692.72. Nonetheless, we’re still expect strong resistance between 25800.35/26616.71 to limit upside. Meanwhile, S&P 500 is up 1.05%, NASDAQ is up 0.91%.

                        .

                        European indices also posted solid gains today. FTSE closed up 0.78% at 7556.38. DAX closed up 0.61% at 12237.17. CAC up 0.83% at 5349.02. However, all are kept below yesterday’s high at 7632, 12428.56 and 5417.18 respectively. Today’s recoveries are merely seen as a corrective move only.

                         

                        France and and Turkey reported to boost bilateral investment and trade ties

                          Reuters reported that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone today. And they talked about developing economic and trade ties and boosting bilateral investment. Macron also told Erdogan that stability in Turkey is important to France. Finance Ministers of the two countries will meet very soon.

                          Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak held a conference call with thousands of investors and economists. There he tried to assured that the government fully understood and recognized all its domestic challenges. And he insisted that the country’s bank were healthy and strong. And, the country would emerge stronger from the currency crisis. Albayrak is Erdogan’s son-in-law.

                          US initial jobless claims dropped to 212k, Philly Fed business outlook hit 21-month low

                            US initial jobless claims dropped -2k to 212k in the week ended August 11, slightly below expectation of 215k. Four-week moving average of initial claims rose 1k to 215.5k. Continuing claims dropped -38k to 1.721m in the week ended August 4. Four-week moving average dropped -8k to 1.7385m.

                            Full release here.

                            Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Current Activity indicator dropped sharply to 11.9 in August, down from 25.7 and missed expectation of 22.3. It’s also the lowest reading in 21 months. Nonetheless, the Six-Month Forecast indicator rose to 38.8, up from 29.0.

                            Full release here.

                            Also from the US, housing starts rose to 1.17m in July, building permits rose to 1.29m. From Canada, manufacturing sales rose 1.0% mom in June.

                            Into US session: Yen retreat continues, Gold recovers after hitting 1160

                              Entering into US session, Yen continues to trade as the weakest one as market sentiments improved. Swiss Franc follows as the second weakest. Meanwhile, Australian and New Zealand Dollar are the strongest ones. Apparently, both Aussie and Kiwi are lifted by news that US and China are going too resume trade talk later in the month. This can also be clearly reflected in the recovery in the Chinese Yuan, as USD/CNH (offshore Yuan) dipped to as low as 6.8694 so far today, and broke yesterday’s low. However optimism is indeed not seen in Asian equities.

                              In Asia, Nikkei closed slightly down by -0.05%, Hong Hong HSI dropped -0.82%, Singapore Strait Times lost -0.69%. China Shanghai SSE also fell -0.66% to 2705.19, barely defended 2700 handle.

                              The picture in Europe is slightly better. At the time of writing, FTSE is up 0.65% at 7546.92. DAX is up 0.51% at 12224.54, CAC is up 0.63% at 5338.71. However, all are kept below yesterday’s high at 7632, 12428.56 and 5417.18 respectively. Today’s recoveries are merely seen as a corrective move only.

                              Gold dropped to as low as 1160.37 and broke 1172.09 fibonacci level. But it rides on Dollar’s pull back to recover and is back pressing 1180. Some consolidations is likely in near term. But outlook stays bearish as long as 1217.20 resistance holds. We’d still expect further fall into 1046.54/1122.81 long term support zone before bottoming.

                              UK retail sales rose strongly by 0.7% in July, but Pound shows no reaction

                                July is a rather strong month in UK retail sales, thanks to World Cup and good whether.

                                Headline retail sales including fuel rose 0.7% mom, 3.5% yoy, well above expectation of 0.2% mom, 2.9% yoy.

                                Ex-auto and fuel sales jumped 0.9% mom, 3.7% yoy, also well above expectation of 0.0% mom, 2.7% yoy.

                                Full release here.

                                But just like employment and inflation data released earlier this week, the Pound basically has no reaction. It’s trading mixed today, digesting this week’s loss against Dollar and Yen.

                                 

                                Australia employment dropped -3.9k, but details solid

                                  Australian job market contracted -3.9k in July, worse than expectation of 15.3k growth. Nonetheless, that’s primarily due to -23.2k contraction in part time jobs. There was an impressive 19.3k growth in full-time jobs. Unemployment rate also dropped -0.1% to 5.3% while participation rate also dropped -0.1% to 65.5%. Monthly hours worked rose 0.2%. Overall, the set of data is rather solid despite the headline miss.

                                  Also from Australia, consumer inflation expectation rose to 4.0% in August, up from 3.9%.

                                  South Korea to increase fiscal spending amid weakened job growth and economic polarization

                                    South Korea Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said today that the government is going to raise fiscal spending to counter the weakening of the job market and economic polarization. 2019 budget spending will increase far more than the original plan of 5.7%. The spending will be on supporting research and development of advance artificial intelligence, big data and hydrogen vehicles.

                                    Kim described that the job market is “the worst since financial crisis”. And “the government’s big challenge is how to support the job market through fiscal policies.” Additionally. “Polarization issue is very perplexing”, and “economic growth and innovation would be difficult to sustain without addressing the issue”.

                                    Earlier, the government cut job growth forecast to 180k this year, down from 320k prior estimate.

                                    Turkey not asking for IMF aid, Qatar to inject $15B, USD/TRY drops through 6.0

                                      IMF said there is no indication that Turkey is considering to seek its financial assistance. But it urged in a statement that “in light of recent market volatility, the new administration will need to demonstrate a commitment to sound economic policies to promote macroeconomic stability and reduce imbalances.”

                                      Instead, Qatar has pledged USD 15B of direct investment in Turkey to help strengthen the Lira. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted: “Turkish-Qatari relations are based on solid foundations of true friendship and solidarity.”

                                      Turkish Lira’s rebound extended overnight and with USD/TRY hit as low as 5.8578. While downside momentum is diminishing mildly, it seems USD/TRY could now start to stabilize below 6.0 handle.

                                      US-China to resume low level trade talks, Asian equities pare losses

                                        Asian equities open broadly lower today following US markets, but reversed losses on news that US and China are going to resume trade talks.

                                        China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that accepting invitation by the US to resume trade discussions. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen will meet with US Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass in late August.

                                        In the statement, China reiterated that “it opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism and does not accept any unilateral trade restrictions”. And, “China welcomes dialogue and communication on the basis of reciprocity, equality and integrity.”

                                        Hong Kong HSI dipped sharply to as low as 26871.11 in initial trading by then rebounded to 27405.25 on the news. But it’s now back below 27200, down -0.5%. The news is certainly a positive. But such low level meeting shouldn’t carry much significance in the near term. The trade war is on and the meeting is more gestures than anything with substance.

                                        Mid-US session update: Yen surges on risk aversion, USD turns mixed, Gold extends slide

                                          Risk aversion is back as the dominate theme while Yen surges broadly today. However, Australian Dollar is surprisingly resistent as and it’s following Yen as the second strongest. Canadian is trading as the weakest one as WTI crude oil dives after larger than expected increase in oil inventories. Dollar is trading mixed for the day. Gold drops to as low as 1175.74 so far and looks set to take out 1172.06 fibonacci level with ease.

                                          At the time of writing, DOW is down -0.78%, S&P 500 down -0.84%, NASDAQ down -1.28%. NASDAQ is clearly affected by the poor earnings recent of Chinese tech giant Tencent. As noted before, DOW’s strong break of 25120.07 is a strong signal of near term reversal. Focus will now be on whether it can draw support on 55 day EMA (now at 25033.) Or DOW would just go straight to channel support (now at 24412).

                                          European indices also suffered steep selloff today. DAX closed down -1.58%, CAC down -1.82% and FTSE down -1.49%. CAC’s strong break of 5342.29 support confirms completion of corrective rebound from 5242.64, at 5539.41. Further decline should now be seen through 5242.64 to 100% projection of 5657.44 to 5246.24 from 5539.41 at 5124.62. But, the real test is in 5038.12 key support level.