GDP
Pound & easing global monetary policyYesterday, quite unexpectedly, a block of economic data on GDP and industrial production, instead of already traditional disappointment, provided an occasion for optimism.
In July UK GDP grew by 0.3% (expected to grow at 0.1%), while industrial production instead of a decline by 0.3% (expert forecasts) went to the positive zone ( + 0.1% ).
Monday following Johnson’s next parliamentary defeat in a few days. His next attempt to initiate an early election failed. come into effect Law against "no-deal" Brexit came into effect.
Not surprisingly, the pound continued to grow against such a background. Our position on the pound is unchanged: we are looking for points for purchases. But with small stops, because the situation with Brexit can develop quite dynamically.
Meanwhile, the markets are preparing for a wave of rate cuts by leading central banks of the world. On Friday, the Bank of China lowered the rate by 0.5% to the lowest level since 2007. In this light, the decision of the ECB on Thursday is becoming more significant and significant. Recall next week the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of Switzerland will announce their decisions. So the upcoming two weeks promise to be full of news.
Strengthening of the Russian ruble in the foreign exchange market is a good opportunity to begin the formation of a medium-term purchase cycle with USDRUB. Current prices are the starting point of the cycle. The next one is 63.60 and the final one is about 62.50.
And finally, buying gold from current prices seems to be a very good trading opportunity. Recall it is worth buying with stops.
AFTER the fact trade : GBPCHF 8 Sept 2019Refering to this trade (also linked below the post)
I exited the trade when the GDP number came out. The probability was against me when that number came out so I cut my loss immediately. I risked 0.8% for this trade and ended losing approx 0.4%.
The takeaways that I would like my readers to get from this post are as follows :
1) Trading isn't about being right, it is about managing risk when you are wrong
2) Don't over-leverage
3) Apply discretion around a very well thought out trading plan/strategy (i.e the GDP number came out and I did not see the value to stay in the trade as the probability was severely against me)
4) It is okay to take a loss
5) Be wary of risk-events even if you don't include fundamental analysis in your trading methodolgies
GBP/AUDTimeframe: Week
Direction: Sell
With Brexit uncertainty and overall bearish price action over last week and this week, shorts should be looked for over the coming weeks.
-Stochastic is curling up and potentially crossing over..give it some time
-trend meter has 3 red bars
Follow my free telegram for trading ideas: t.me
Arrangements, collapse in Germany and data from the USAThe China-United States Trade War is an ongoing economic conflict between the world's two largest economies. Two countries cannot even agree if they are talking. According to Trump, he got a call from Chinese officials, however, China did not confirm that yet. Well, quite possible that there was no call. this means that we are in a situation where the parties are in the active phase of the confrontation. In the light, we will continue to look for points to buy for safe-haven assets (the Japanese yen in the foreign exchange market and gold in the commodity market).
Yesterday extremely weak data on the business climate in the largest economy of the Eurozone came out, today German GDP in the second quarter fell by 0.1%. Another quarter with a minus mark and the recession will be announced officially. Recall recession is a period of general economic decline, defined usually as a contraction in the GDP for six months (two consecutive quarters) or longer. An extremely alarming signal was the decline in German GDP mainly due to a sharp drop in the country's exports (it took 0.5% of GDP growth, actually leading it into the negative zone). This is an example of how the trade war could hurt.
This news confirmed our recommendation to avoid buying euros. Instead, we suggest selling the euro against the Japanese yen and the British pound. This trading idea this week works just great.
As for the dollar, not everything is that simple. Yesterday's data on orders for durable goods, consumer confidence and business activity in the US came out better than expected, which suggests that the US economy is getting better. But, our position on the dollar is unchanged - we are looking for points for its sales. First of all, against the pound and the Japanese yen. Also, on Thursday, revised data on US GDP for the second quarter will be published. Weak data may trigger a short dollar.
EUR/USD Short Still Struggling to break Key Support levelWe currently still see EUR/USD dropping but there has not been much price action as the currency pair struggles to break the key support level at 1.10962. Therefore we are awaiting German unemployment and CPI data as well as US GDP data on Thursday but still see EUR/USD moving towards 1.09 in the coming months.
Pause in trade war shifts market focus on another dataA temporary truce in the trade war was announced. Well, of course, a “truce” is not the right word we prefer a “pause”. The appreciation of the renminbi, as well as the decline in the VIX Index, are further evidence of tensions easing in the financial markets.
Against this background, we again pay attention to the sale of gold. But we note that sales with the random points may turn out to be unprofitable, so we select the entry points carefully, taking into account at least an hour overbought and along daily maximum.
Recall that the dollar is still very strong, which is bothers Trump. And in itself, it is an opportunity for its sales in the foreign exchange market. But the markets are more interested in the Fed’s further actions - will the Central Bank cut the rate again&? What could spur the Fed on easing monetary policy? First of all, weak macroeconomic data. So today's retail sales data may well give rise to dollar sales.
Retail sales report is a monthly measurement of the retail industry. Monthly retail sales data is a chain indicator. That is, The report shows the total sales for the prior month. This specificity leads to the fact that chain indicators tend to fluctuate around the zero and after a strong growth period a decline period follows, and vice versa. So, over the last two months, US retail sales have been growing. To show better results this time too, the indicator must rise quite significantly concerning the three months periods. The US economy has been weak recently, there is a reason to expect weak data on retail sales. Since markets react not to the essence, but to the gossips, the outcome of the indicator in the negative zone (although this may be an increase relative the period of two months ) can trigger dollar sales. In this regard, today we will sell the dollar. First of all, against the pound.
Eurozone GDP grew by 0.2 %, however, industrial production decreased, and quite significantly (-1.6% m / m), which is the worst result over the last 3 years. China also showed weak industrial production data: plus 4.8% expected plus 5.8% (the minimum growth rate since 2002). Retail sales in Sino are also worse than expected.
Markets recovering, and we sell almost everythingThis summer can not be called calm. Nonetheless, increased volatility and uncertainty are advantages. There are excellent trading opportunities every day, of course, if you understand what happens in the financial markets.
Recall China lowered the value of the Yuan below its 7 to 1 peg against the dollar in response to a new series of U.S. tariffs. China Halts U.S. Agriculture Purchases. China has chosen the most painful points for Trump. The result was a sharp increase in demand for safe-haven assets, so those of our readers who heed our recommendations should have made good money buying gold and the Japanese yen.
However, the value of gold and the Japanese yen, in our opinion, is too high. Yes, and the VIX Fear index dynamics. (decreased by more than 20% of the maximum marks achieved after Trump's decision to raise tariffs) suggests that the worst is over so far. So this week we will sell both gold and the Japanese yen. Since such a decision runs counter to the current the market will, we fix each position with hard stops.
Friday appeared extremely “bad day” for the pound. Last week, the pound was consolidating in the region of 1.21-1.22 ( GBPUSD), gradually “compressing the spring”. As a result, UK GDP growth for the second quarter decreased (expected zero growth), as industrial production in June. The UK GDP growth rate has not crossed the negative zone since 2012. So when the GBPUSD is lower than 1.21 is a trend. Our trading position on the pound has not changed much - we continue to keep its medium-term purchases, but on the intraday basis go against the market and take extra minutes is not worth it. So for now, GBPUSD is below 1.21 so its short-term purchases you should probably wait with. A return above 1.21 will be a signal for its purchases.
As for the upcoming week, on Tuesday, we pay attention to statistics on the UK labor market and consumer inflation in the United States, on Wednesday to the Eurozone GDP and inflation in the UK, on Thursday we monitor data on retail sales in the US and the UK, and on Friday we fix profit. So it won’t be boring. We continue to work and earn.
Our trading activity for today will be exclusively bearish: we sell gold and the Japanese yen; We sell the Russian ruble and oil.
Getting ready for a pound move and earning with USDCADThis week is not that much eventful for the financial market however there is an exception - Friday. A block of statistics from the UK, including data on GDP and industrial production. The general slowdown in the global economy, not positive expectations of experts may well come true. The current forecast for UK GDP growth in the second quarter is 0%. That is, too close to the negative zone. The decline in GDP will be a significant and negative signal for the pound. So, we are not sure about its purchase today. Especially when you consider the extremely aggressive rhetoric from the current British authorities regarding Brexit. The thesis "Brexit at any cost" continues to dominate.
In general, today for the pound may well be the day of the start of a big move. The fact is that the consolidation at the bottom is clearly delayed. For more than a week, GBPUSD has been fluctuating in a range of 100 pips. This is extremely atypical for a quite volatile couple and, as a rule, is a sign of big movement. The spring is compressed to its limit, and today's data could straighten it, causing a sharp increase in the pound.
Today we see the following plan for working with GBPUSD. Weak data and sinking below 1.21 mark is a signal to sell the GBPUSD with minimum targets at a low of 1.20. But if the data turns out to be better than forecasts, the “spring” may straighten in the opposite direction. In this case, a full correction in GBPUSD is inevitable. Therefore, we consider the good data, along with the rising above 1.22, as a strong signal to buy with targets 1.2420.
As for other statistics, a large block of data on the Canadian labor market will be published. Our recommendation is to trade on the news. 2-3 minutes before its release, we place pending orders “buy stop” and “sell stop” at 15-20 points from the current price. We are waiting for the data and earn.
It is worth noting a certain yuan stabilization - China is trying to show that it was just a demonstration of power and not a currency war.
Rising tensions and concerns in global financial markets, demand has grown not only for gold and the Japanese yen but also for US Treasury bonds, traditionally the main object of interest from institutional investors and central banks from around the world. As a result of the growing demand for US treasury bonds, demand for the dollar naturally grows (inverters need dollars to buy bonds). So it seems Trump has outplayed himself. And instead of provoking the dollar devaluation, and increased demand for it and exacerbated the already unpleasant situation for the United States.
Nevertheless, we do not plan to change our position yet and recommend selling the dollar on the mid-term and intraday basis.
As for our other recommendations, we are still interested in selling the Russian ruble and oil, as well as buying the Japanese yen.
GBP/USD Long - Return to the Point of ControlGBP is currently a hot topic, with Boris Johnson just in and the uncertainty of Brexit fear is running high. Are there parallels to Trump? The general narrative then (beware the seduction of narratives), was that if he got in the USD would tank, but it did the opposite.
Will we see the same here? Let's have a look at the charts.
Timeframes
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DISCLAIMER: this is not financial advice, trade at your own risk.
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FOMC decision and dollar reaction, BoE and other newsThe main event of yesterday was undoubtedly the announcement of the outcome of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Operations Committee. The 0.25% cut has "symbolic importance" as one analyst puts it. data from the Fed funds futures market has suggested that for weeks 100% of investors already expected at least that much.
We still do believe that we have to sell the dollar. The reason is the same. We prefer to make decisions based on facts, rather than rumours and expectations. After the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would lower its basic interest rate that is a bearish signal for the dollar. Plus, the Fed announces a plan to end balance sheet runoff well ahead of schedule. Another fact and another signal in favor of dollar sales.
As well as market sentiment has not changed fundamentally even despite the rapid growth of the dollar. More than 80% of traders expect at least the second reduction in the Fed rate in 2019.
Data on GDP and consumer inflation in the Eurozone, which came out in line with our expectations. Note that Eurozone GDP Growth Confirmed at 0.2% So the Eurozone economy continues its unconvincing series of economic data. In this light, we find a very prospective position on the foreign exchange market - sales of EURGBP.
Also yesterday, data on employment in the US from ADP were published. Private payrolls rose 156,000 in July, better than economist estimates of 150,000. On Friday the NFP outlook will be published, so Friday will be an interesting day.
Bank of England meeting results that is what we are waiting for today. Markets do not expect any surprises, which is generally logical. Despite the fact that today the Bank of England will give support the pound, we continue to recommend its purchasing. The motivation is the same - the markets incorrectly assess Brexit situation and its outcome.
Also, pay attention to the data on business activity in the United States.
We sell Russian ruble and oil and buy the Japanese yen.
The Fed, the Banks of Japan and EnglandAt the last meeting, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided that the interest rate remain unchanged. Also, Mario Draghi said that officials had not discussed the rate cut. Accordingly, the euro has a good chance this week to rebound from the medium-term range lowest level. In this regard, our position on the euro - we buy primarily against the dollar.
Boris Johnson Became U.K. Prime Minister, Replacing Theresa May. Markets are frankly afraid of Johnson because of his aggressive position on Brexit. As a result, the pound is under strong downward pressure. But again, it is so far underwater right now given that there are no real reasons for this - market expectations are based on fears and rumours, not facts. We believe that common sense will eventually win and bet on the pound growth. Therefore, we recommend its purchase.
The data on the US GDP for the second quarter will be published today. GDP probably expanded 1.8% in the second quarter, down from 3.1%. If the growth is 2.2-2.5%, then the dollar, perhaps, is not in danger until Wednesday. But if 1.8%, it cannot avoid sales.
This will be the main event not only of the week but of the summer. Wednesday may well lay the foundation for a dollar downtrend in upcoming months or even years.
We are still waiting for the Central Banks of Japan and England meetings, as well as the Eurozone GDP outcome and the US labor market data to come out. In general, it will not be boring.
Our trading recommendations for the week are as follows. We will continue to look for opportunities for selling the dollar across the entire spectrum of the foreign exchange market, buying the pound against the dollar as well as against the euro, selling oil and the Russian ruble, and also buying the Japanese yen against the dollar.
As for gold, in the oversold we buy and in the overbought area we sell gold.
Prepare for US GDP, ECB results and Fear IndexAt yesterdays' meeting, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. Nevertheless, the comments from the Central Bank turned out to be very dovish, opening the way to further monetary easing in September. For the euro, of course, this is not a positive sign.
However, we do not throw the euro under a bus yet, because next week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve will likely mark the beginning of a prolonged period of lower interest rates, in our opinion, this event is more important than words about future easing (in the battle of facts with expectations, we will give preference to facts). Also, the euro is supported by the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, who said that officials had not discussed the rate cut. Our position is unchanged - we buy EURUSD with current price with stops lower than 1.11.
The data on the US GDP for the second quarter will be published today. GDP probably expanded 1.8% in the second quarter, down from 3.1%. If the growth is 2.2-2.5%, then the dollar, perhaps, is not in danger until Wednesday. But if 1.8%, it cannot avoid sales.
So, dollar current price seems to us extremely attractive for its sales.
Meanwhile, the VIX Index ( it is also known by other names like "Fear Gauge" or "Fear Index) dropped to Multi-Year Lows. That is, traders and investors have calmed down. That calls into the question the safe-haven assets growth demand and explains yesterday's weakness of the yen and gold. Given then the level of volatility in gold has increased, we prefer to trade with the Japanese yen. Its purchase against the dollar is still relevant for us.
Our trading recommendations for today: We will continue to look for opportunities for selling the dollar across the foreign exchange market entire spectrum, buying the pound against the dollar as well as against the euro, selling oil and the Russian ruble, and also buying the Japanese yen against the dollar. As for gold, in the oversold we buy and in the overbought area we sell gold.
Preparing for ECB and UK Prime MinisterTrump said Thursday that a U.S. Navy ship had destroyed an Iranian drone in a “defensive action,” escalating already high tensions in the Gulf region. On the next day, Iran dismissed the report. So, investors’ reaction was expressed by rescuing in safe heaven assets and it is understandable. Later, the gold price was correlated with a decrease in the gold price. By the way, on Friday we recommended to sell gold, so those of our readers who followed our recommendation had to earn good money.
We have already recommended selling the oil (see our previous reviews) so, those of our readers had a chance to earn good money by selling oil (one of our main trading recommendation). So this week we continue to look for the opportunity to sell the asset, but be careful it is all about the unstable situation.
There was a lot of talk about a possible dollar intervention last week. It hadn't got to that part yet but the risk should be disregarded. The easiest and risk-free option to trade in such case is a short dollar. Moreover, at the end of the week, we are waiting for the outcome on US GDP. So this week we will continue to look for points to open short positions on the dollar. Primarily against the Japanese yen and the British pound.
This week (on July 24th ) a new prime minister should appear in the UK. Odds are about 100% that Boris Johnson is going to be. In this regard, attention to Brexit among participants of the foreign exchange market is increased sharply, which means pound volatility will increase significantly. Our midterm position - short-pound. But let us warn you, some days it is quite possible the pound could be sold out quite tough. Nevertheless, we do not doubt the final outlook for its growth.
We will buy a pound not only against the dollar but also against the euro. And against the euro, this can be done in double volumes. EURGBP has climbed very high, and its decline seems to us the most likely scenario. The reason for its sales may be the outcome of the ECB meeting, which will be announced this week on Thursday. If the Central Bank gives us a hint to easing monetary policy, sales in EURGBP cannot be avoided. So we took a medium-term short position in EURGBP and look forward to a jackpot.
Mexican peso holiday & central banks are preparing for the worstThe week started quite well for the financial markets and with a huge relief for Mexico in particular. The point is that Trump decided not to impose 5% tariff on Mexican goods. The Mexican peso showed maximum growth over the past year. The Canadian dollar is below 1.33. Therefore a sharp decline in gold and other safe-haven assets against this background can be considered logical and logical.
However, we would not advise relaxing. In fact, this is just one of the episodes. But in general, the picture continues to be rather precarious. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, heightened market optimism is a mistake of investors. Global economic data is likely to begin to deteriorate. Accordingly, Morgan Stanley recommends selling USDJPY with a target of 105. We will continue to look for points to buy gold and Japanese yen on the intraday basis.
About the Japanese yen. Yesterday, the head of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, contributed a lot to yen sales in the foreign exchange market. He said that the Central Bank is ready to expand the list of monetary incentives, if it is necessary. Panicking and selling off the yen is not worth it yet. Well, the Bank of Japan is satisfied with the content of the monetary policy and the general state of the country's economy.
Nevertheless, the general trend in the behavior of the leading central banks is pretty clear: all as one declare their readiness to act in response to trade war escalation. Recall, earlier "pigeon" comments were seen by the Fed and the ECB. And the Reserve Bank of Australia, so generally, lowered the rate last week.
We would like to note rather weak data from the UK in particular GDP dropped by 0.4% m / m, in April ( the analysts had been expected a declining by 0.1% m / m).In addition, industrial production collapsed by by -2.7% m / m (experts predicted a decline of -1.0% m / m). It is not surprising that the pound was under downward pressure yesterday. Today we are waiting for data on the UK labor market, which might finish the pound. Well, we will see.
Our trading preferences for today are as follows: we will continue to look for points for selling the US dollar against the Japanese yen, as well as the euro, oil sales and the Russian ruble, as well as buying gold.
Results of the week, 10 years of growth in US and plan for week
The publication of statistics on the US labor market was the top story. We warned that the data will come out much worse than forecasts and recommended selling the dollar before the data has been published. Those of our readers who followed the advice should have earned good money. But back to the data. With the forecast of + 175K, in fact, the number of NFP was only + 75K. In addition, wage growth was below the expectations of experts.
This is definitely bad news for the dollar, which is giving the Fed a reason to lower the rate at the meeting to be held next week. In this regard, our recommendations remain unchanged this week - we will look for points for its sales.
At the same time, we cannot but note an important for the US economy anniversary - 10 years in a row of economic growth. Also, this fact is remarkable by the fact that if growth continues for another month, it will be the longest period of economic growth in the United States since 1854 (!). But there was no particular joy among analysts and investors. The aggregate GDP growth for this period has not even grown by half from the growth that was recorded in the period 1991-2001. And investors' fears that growth will stop increasing with each passing day. China, Mexico, the EU and might be Japan. The economic data is a growing concern so far, recall the statistics from ADP or the data on the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index from Markit, that in ay dropped to the lowest values since September 2009. As a result, analysts JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased the likelihood of a recession in the United States from 25% to 40% in the second half of 2019.
There are no major events like NFP or announcements of the results of the leading Central Banks, but there will be plenty of statistics on China (trade balance, inflation, industrial production and retail sales), Great Britain (GDP, trade balance, labor market and industrial production) and the USA (inflation, industrial production and retail sales).
As for our trading preferences, they have not changed over the week. And what's the point of changing positions that make a profit? Almost all of our recommendations for last week turned out to be a good plus. So, we will continue to look for points for the sales of the US dollar primarily against the Japanese yen, as well as the euro and the British pound, sales of oil and the Russian ruble, as well as buying of gold.
Preparing for the NFP, ECB results & FedMonetary policy decisions. The announcement of the ECB’s decision on the parameters of monetary policy in the euro area was the main event. As expected, no changes followed. The most important thing, as usual, was concentrated in the comments of the Head of the ECB, Mario Draghi. The economic growth forecasts worsened again (the GDP growth rate for 2020 was lowered from 1.6% to 1.4%). In addition, according to Draghi, the ECB is serious about a return to quantitative easing and lower rates. Buying euros after such a speech of the head of the ECB is not worth it, even if you really want to sell a dollar.
And today we want to sell the dollar more than ever. In yesterday's review, we have already noted that the figures for the number of jobs in private US companies in May were just awful. + 27K - we have not seen such figures since the global financial crisis. After publishing NFP a couple of times over the past few years, frankly, weak numbers, from time to time, have been shown. But not in the case of data from ADP. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which the data from ADP showed + 27K with the forecast of 180K, and the figures for the NFP come out near + 185K. The level of correlation between these indicators is low, and the methodology for calculating indicators differs, but at the same time, they characterize the same market in the same coordinate system.
So today we are waiting for the NFP to lower its forecast. By lower we mean marks + 100K and below. The figure in the range of 30-50K will not surprise us much. But the markets definitely will, provoking massive dollar sales on the entire spectrum of the foreign exchange market. We recommend not waiting for the official figures to be realized, but selling the dollar, since it might be too late.
Let us explain why exactly today the weak NFP data is so critical for the dollar. The fact is that the markets are increasingly being discounted for the rate decrease by the Fed in 2019.
In particular, the probability that the rate by the end of 2019 will be unchanged is less than 2%. Accordingly, with a 98% probability, it can be argued that the rate in 2019 will be lowered. There is almost a 90% chance that the rate will be reduced twice. At the same time, more than 50% of traders believe that the rate will be reduced 3 times. Plus there is another 17% chance that the rate will be reduced 4 times (!). Note that the probability of this event did not exceed 4% last week. That is, the probability increased by more than 4 times (!).in less than a week.
Weak NFP Data will provoke a slowdown and problems in the US economy, but also the Fed will lower rates aggressively. Perhaps at the next meeting in mid-June. Perhaps not by 0.25%, but by 0.5%.
Our positions today without any changes: we will continue to look for points for sales of the US dollar, sales of oil and the Russian ruble, as well as buying of gold and the Japanese yen.
Fed U-turn, investors escape, catch-22 for RFMarkets actively discounted under the monetary policy turn in the United States. In this light, the current decline and weakness of the dollar are quite understandable. On the part of officials, comments about a possible rate cut sound more and more actively. In particular, recently the St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard, said that lowering the rate may be necessary to counter the risks of trade war. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said that the Central Bank is ready to lower rates. Well, and finally, yesterday Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the Central Bank is ready to "act in a suitable manner to support the expansion" of the economy.
Recall that the markets are confident that the rate will be reduced at least twice in 2019, while there is a non-zero probability that the rate will be reduced 4 (!) Times during the year.
Despite the formal reason for the optimism growth in the stock market, investors are escaping from the stock market. One of the reasons for the panic was the information from Reuters that the US Government might launch an antitrust investigation against Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Following the news, Facebook and Alphabet Inc shares fell by more than six percent, and Amazon shares fell by four and a half percent.
In this light, the behavior of Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the legendary Wall Street investors, seems quite logical. He sold all the shares from his portfolio (the proportion shares, in the portfolio structure, was over 90%).
Recall, the Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the interest rate to the lowest value in the history of 1.25%. Our recommendation for working with the Australian dollar against the background of such information is to look for points for its sales.
Yesterday was remembered by rather sad statistics on the UK. Retail sales literally collapsed by 3% at the end of May (the lowest value in the entire history of observations), and the index of business activity in the construction sector surely went below 50, indicating a decrease in economic activity.
Wednesday in terms of macroeconomic statistics will be more active. We are waiting for data on retail sales in the Eurozone, data on employment in the US from ADP (we recall, on Friday will be published official statistics on the US labor market, including data on the NFP), as well as data from a number of US business activity indices.
Bloomberg analysts recently published the results of a study which showed the unattainability of most plans of the Russian authorities in terms of economic growth and improvement of welfare in the country. The main conclusion is: Putin’s plans to double the GDP aren't meant to be. The Russian Federation in fact fell for the so-called "catch 22". In this case, it can be formulated as follows: to ensure economic growth above 3%, it is necessary to accomplish a number of smaller tasks, performance is possible only at a GDP growth rate above 3%. And the current growth rate equals 2%. That is, small goals will not be completed (the basic condition is not completed), which means that the main goal, growth above 3%, will not be achieved either.
In this regard, we recall the feasibility of selling the Russian ruble on any attempts to grow. Since the growth rate is below the world average - it is not even standing still, this is the lag and loss of competitive positions.
Our positions today: we are continuing to look for points for buying of the euro and the pound against the US dollar, sales of oil and the Russian ruble, as well as buying of gold and the Japanese yen. In addition, we will sell the Australian dollar against the US dollar.