Russell Shor

The 10-year real yield, adjusted for inflation, continues to climb. It is trading close to 2% at 1.96%. The last time real yields were at these levels was back in June 2009. This post-inflation yield will be appealing to a significant number of investors, adding increased rivalry for stocks, particularly stocks with elevated valuations. The daily candles in Chart 1 show that the 10-year real yield has charted a higher…

The Peoples Bank of China has stepped up efforts to defend the renminbi. The Chinese currency has been declining off the back of poor economic data and woes in its property sector. This includes a weakening in exports and fragile consumer confidence.

The Federal Open Market Committee minutes for the July meeting were released yesterday and indicate that officials are still concerned about inflation. The minutes read that “most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy.”

A big Chinese trust company, Zhongrong International Trust Co., is causing concerns because they have not been making payments on their investments lately. This company is typically involved in real estate and has been having trouble with payments on many of their investment products. This, along with home prices going down, is making people worried that the ongoing property crisis in China is making the economy's slow growth even worse.

UK headline CPI came in at 6.8% y/y, which was lower than the previous print of 7.9% y/y. However, core CPI is 6.9% y/y, the same as the prior month. Inflation is down from current cycle highs but is still far above the Bank of England’s (BoE) target of 2%.

Real yields have an effect on the USDOLLAR, Gold and Risk Indexes.

The UK’s average earnings index 3m/y (including bonuses) printed at 8.2%. This is higher than the previous 7.2% and higher than the forecast of 7.3%. In fact, regular pay grew by 7.8%, which is the highest rate since records began in 2001. This suggests another rate hike by the BoE in September is a distinct possibility.

China unexpectedly cut the medium-term lending facility (MLF) by 15bps to 2.5%. This is the biggest cut since 2020. This action is to provide support to an economy that is currently grappling with renewed challenges stemming from a deteriorating property market and sluggish consumer expenditure.

USDJPY has hit a new high for 2023, trading near 145.15. Market participants are now looking for potential Japanese government intervention to support the yen. The dollar has been bolstered by higher US yields and concerns over the Chinese property market.

Some weakness is evident in the weekly gold chart. A lower peak has charted. If a lower trough follows, the yellow metal will be in a defined downtrend on a weekly basis. The RSI has dipped below 50, which does suggest that there is an underlying bearish momentum. The longer it maintains under 50, the more pressure will be applied to the gold price.

FXCM’s USDOLLAR has risen over the last four weeks, since reaching an intermediate low on 14 July of 12,626. This recent appreciation has breached the 12,934 level, which was the last lower peak. I.e., the latest higher peak (HP) has effectively ended USDOLLAR’s downtrend. An uptrend is yet to start; however, the dollar has started the week on a solid footing. Moreover, the weekly RSI has popped above 50 (blue…