Towards a hawkish pause

Comments by Franck Dixmier, Global CIO Fixed Income, AllianzGI, ahead of the FOMC meeting on 13 and 14 June.

The Fed is likely to hold rates at its June meeting, while leaving the door open to further tightening in the coming months ahead.

Key Takeaways:

• We expect the US Federal Reserve to announce a pause in rate hikes at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday.
• But we believe the Fed should maintain a hawkish stance to leave all options open, including the possibility of a further rate hike in the coming months.
• Recent market adjustments offer investors opportunities to build longer-term positions on the US yield curve.

After ten consecutive rate hikes since March 2022, totaling 500 basis points, investors have two key questions heading into the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting: what is the terminal rate – the interest rate level the Fed believes is consistent with a balanced economy – and when will the central bank pivot to a new cycle of rate cuts. These questions have been reflected in recent volatility in market expectations.

We expect the Fed to announce a pause in rate hikes at the FOMC meeting on 13 and 14 June. Despite core inflation remaining too high in relation to the central bank’s price stability objective, we expect the Fed to give itself time to assess the impact of significantly tightening monetary conditions, particularly against the backdrop of a latent regional banking crisis.

Indeed, the recessionary effects of the biggest rate hike in 40 years are beginning to show. Resilient for a long time, US growth is now weakening, as shown by the latest Institute for Supply Management indicators[1] , particularly in services (50.3 in May compared with 52.4 expected and 51.9 in April).

In addition, tensions in the US banking sector persist. After the second, third and fourth largest bank failures in US history in recent weeks, the Fed's latest report[2] indicates that banks are increasingly tapping financing from the Bank Term Funding Program. Liquidity drawn from the scheme has risen for the fifth week in a row to reach a new peak of USD 100.2 billion. Refinancing conditions in the commercial real estate sector are also a source of concern.

Given this backdrop and the 12–18-month lag generally associated with the full impact of rate hikes on the economy, the Fed can justify a pause. But it is likely to maintain a hawkish stance, leaving all options open, including the possibility of a further hike in the coming months. It will be interesting to see how the Fed updates its growth and inflation scenarios, as well as its projected interest rate outlook. Investors may have to reassess their expectations accordingly

Given the recent market adjustments, we do not expect any significant impact from the FOMC meeting.?The correction in two-year yields (from 3.80% in mid-May to 4.62% on 12 June[3] ) and 10-year yields (from 3.33% in mid-May to 3.76% on 12 June[4] ) in recent weeks has pushed the pivot back. This environment offers investors opportunities to build long positions in the US yield market.

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The ECB sticks to its current path

After a significant round of rate hikes over the past year, the ECB is fine-tuning its monetary policy, but we still expect further rises in the months to come.

Key Takeaways:?

The ECB is expected to announce a further rate hike at its meeting on 15 June, with a 25 basis points increase likely to be followed by another 25 basis points increase in July.

• Despite the euro zone’s technical entry into recession, inflationary pressures are still persistent, and the ECB must continue its monetary tightening to maintain its credibility and anchor inflation expectations in the market.
• It is too early for investors to build long duration positions in the euro zone yield market.

After 375 basis points of rate hikes since July 2022, the European Central Bank is fine-tuning its monetary policy. The eurozone economy is slowing, as confirmed by the latest activity figures. In fact, the euro zone has technically entered recession. However, inflationary pressures are still persistent. Although year-on-year price rises slowed at the end of May, with headline inflation at +6.1%[5] compared with +7% in April, the level of core inflation, at +5.3% compared with +5.6% in April, remains too high for the ECB to lower its guard.

In fact, the ECB incorporates three key factors into its reaction function:

- The level of core inflation – changes in the costs of goods and services minus those from the food and energy sectors.

- The trend in core inflation

- The correct transmission of monetary policy. In other words, how the central bank’s changes to monetary policy flow through to economic activity and inflation.

On this last point, the ECB has received some good news: demand is slowing, as shown by the weakness of retail sales[6] in the euro zone in April (+0% month-on-month and -2.6% year-on-year). However, the upward pressure on wages fuelled by a robust labour market, combined with companies' still high pricing power, suggest that the deceleration in underlying inflation will be very gradual.

Consequently, we expect the ECB to continue raising rates, with a 25 basis points increase at the meeting on 15 June, probably followed by a further 25 basis points in July. Markets anticipate this scenario.

In the longer term, the ECB can be satisfied with two indicators: three-year consumer inflation expectations in the euro zone [7] remain very moderate (at +2.5% compared with +2.9% previously), and inflation expectations in the market are solidly anchored (with a 5y5y inflation swap at 2.48%[8] ). The ECB’s credibility has not been undermined in the fight against rising prices. However, this long-term credibility is the result of its short-term determination to continue monetary tightening. On this monetary tightening point there is no room for compromise.

Given the persistence of core inflation, we believe that market expectations are not taking sufficient account of the potential for further rate rises in this cycle of monetary tightening.?Therefore, it is too early for investors to build long duration positions in the euro zone yield market.

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[1] https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/services/may/ , May 2023

[2] Factors Affecting Reserves Balances H.4.1, 8 June 2023

[3] Bloomberg, 12 June 2023

[4] Bloomberg, 12 June 2023

[5] Eurostat, 1 June 2023

[6] Eurostat, 6 June 2023

[7] ECB, Consumer expectations survey, April 2023

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[8] Bloomberg, 9 June 2023

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