Will FOMC Minutes Stop Today's EUR/USD Recovery?

 | Nov 18, 2015 06:43AM ET


GROWTHACES.COM Forex Trading Strategies
Taken Positions:
EUR/GBP: short at 0.7075, target 0.6950, profit locked in at 0.7035, risk factor ***
EUR/CAD: short at 1.4320, target 1.3950, profit locked in at 1.4265, risk factor **

EUR/USD Recovery Is Likely To Be Limited, Eyes On FOMC Minutes

  • The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production slipped 0.2% m/m in October, a disappointing move compared to the consensus call of 0.1% growth. Factory output, however, was up a respectable 0.4% vs. expected up just 0.2%, with mild weather pulling utility output down 2.5% and ongoing energy weakness leading to a 1.5% drop in mining output.
  • A rise in manufacturing output is a surprisingly good reading given how weak the factory surveys have been recently. All five regional Fed surveys were negative in both September and October, and the ISM national PMI eked out prints of just 50.2 and 50.1. Respondents to some surveys have continued to complain about the stronger USD, as they have nearly all year, while high levels of inventories throughout the supply chain have conspired to keep orders down.
  • Capacity utilization slipped again, to 77.5% from 77.7% (revised up from 77.5%). That's its lowest in 20 months, certainly providing no sign of supply-side inflation pressure.
  • Despite the decent manufacturing number this month, we do not expect great improvement there in the near future. The headwinds remain, with unplanned inventory accumulation having built up a very large overhang - September's 1.377 inventories / sales ratio was the highest since the end of the recession. Meanwhile, manufacturers are still having a hard time adapting to the currency environment.
  • In the 12 months through October US consumer price index advanced 0.2% after being unchanged in September. The market expected CPI edging up 0.1% from a year ago. Signs of stabilization in prices after a recent downward spiral is likely to be welcomed by Fed officials and give them some confidence that inflation will gradually move toward the central bank's 2.0% target.
  • The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy costs, increased 1.9% yoy after rising by the same margin in September.