PBoC, Inflation and Jobless Claims – Week ahead

20 Jul 2020

The markets continue to grapple with the immediate effects of the Coronavirus. The second wave in pockets of the world has forced cities to take active measures to control the virus. Melbourne, Australia has gone into a secondary lockdown while Florida and Los Angeles see cases surge, with the Mayor of Los Angeles stating that the city is “on the brink” and a Democratic representative from Florida reports the outbreak is “totally out of control.” Here is your week ahead

Monday, 20 July – Peoples Bank of China Interest Rate decision
China’s Central Bank, the Peoples Bank of China has been wary of cutting interest rates, even during the peak of the pandemic. Ma Jun, a PBOC adviser, stated in early April, “The PBOC doesn’t use its bullets all at once. China has plenty of room in monetary policy.” The PBOC has kept interest rates at 3.85%, after dropping it 30 basis points from 4.05% in April. However, forecasts and estimates expect the PBoC to keep rates as is at 3.85% this week ahead.

Tuesday, 21 July – Inflation rate YoY Bank of Japan
With 660 new cases of the Coronavirus yesterday, Japan has struggled to keep ahead of the virus after the world praised it for its lighter approach to restrictions. However, that approach, as seen similarly from Australia, has not bode well for the country. Japan has seen triple-digit daily increases for the whole month of July. This has caused consumption and spending to decrease dramatically. Analysts predict an inflation rate of 0.1%; however, there is a high chance that this may be pushed to the downside, which may put downward pressure on the JPY.

Tuesday, 21 July – Reserve Bank of Australia minutes
Australia is continuing to grapple with the effects of the Coronavirus, with Melbourne being put back into lockdown and the state of Victoria imposing mandatory mask restrictions. With RBA minutes earlier in the year having a tone of optimism, likely, that tone will not continue here. The second lockdown is a massive blow to the country, socially and economically. The Trans-Tasman bubble between New Zealand and Australia has been delayed, with economic activity in the state of Victoria plummeting. We may see Aussie weakness against its New Zealand counterpart as Australia reels back their reopening.

Thursday 21st July – Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Canada continues to post double-digit daily Coronavirus cases as they, too, implemented a looser lockdown restriction like Japan and Australia. We saw a drop in the CPI from March to April as citizens decreased their spending. We saw a slight increase in the Month of May, however, analysts expect to stabilize around 137 for the month of June.

Thursday 23 July, US Initial Jobless Claims
With Initial Jobless Claims posting the smallest decline since March last week, the US jobs market is showing a slight rebound. However, we are all aware of the current situation with the Coronavirus cases in the US. Florida and Los Angeles are posting daily record numbers every week, while President Donald Trump focuses on reopening the economy and the US-China trade deals. I expect this number to slowly creep up as the full effects the second wave of the Coronavirus becomes evident. Analysts predict Jobless Claims to drop to 1.29m from 1.3m previously.

We have seen this mindset in the market, which discounts negative news and rallies on positive news. This is partially due to liquidity propping up many markets. Investors and traders must take this into account when placing trades.