Euro Area
Europe is hampered by a lower trend growth rate, but has room to grow faster than the US over the next two years. How can investors profit from this outlook?
This week’s report examines the state of the global monetary tightening cycle and addresses some frequently asked questions about the Fed’s QT program. New yield curve trades are recommended for the US and German yield curves.
Stay short Greater China assets. Stay long Japanese yen. Hold back on Brazil for now but look forward to opportunities in future.
The ECB increased interest rates and announced the start of its balance sheet wind down; yet, markets took the news as a dovish outcome. Are we really getting close to the end of the ECB’s tightening campaign? How asset prices will react?
Despite uncertainty and intrusive government policy, natural gas and oil markets have managed to direct much-needed supplies to Europe going into winter. Natgas markets attracted massive LNG inflows – at a cost of record-high prices – that now leave the continent’s on-land storage close to full. A floating LNG market now exists on Europe’s Atlantic Coast – made possible by spot prices at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility trading ~ 40% below 1Q23 futures. The TTF futures contango market structure allows unsold cargoes to be stored on vessels off the coast of Europe until needed this winter via hedging (e.g., buy spot, sell 2- to 3-month-forward futures to lock in storage costs). This expands storage for the continent, leaving the EU in much better shape to weather the loss of Russian pipeline gas.
The ECB will continue to lift rates due to sticky inflation and a tight labor market. Will it be enough to push long-term German yields higher?
The G7’s attempt to insert itself in the oil-price-formation process performed by global trading markets will distort markets and the signals driving production, consumption and investment. The G7 will need a face-saving off-ramp to ditch this planner-based proposal. We expect Brent prices to move toward our expectations of $105/bbl in 4Q22 and $118/bbl in 2023, and remain long the XOP ETF.
Sentiment toward stocks is depressed and European valuations have declined substantially. However, the earnings outlook remains poor. Which side will win?
Russia’s conflict with the West will escalate and trigger more bad news for risky assets this fall. Beyond that, stalemate looms. Latin American equities present a potential opportunity once the macro and geopolitical backdrop improve.
The BoE is the key to arrest the meltdown in UK assets, but will the malaise engulfing London only end up traveling to Rome?