We have seen a slight reversal in bullish dollar bets this week. These had previously been building on evidence the US economy was holding up and divergences versus the rest of the world became clearer.
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Responses were collected on 6 October 2023.
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We have seen a slight reversal in bullish dollar bets this week. These had previously been building on evidence the US economy was holding up and divergences versus the rest of the world became clearer.
After 12 straight weeks of gains, it looks like participants have begun to take profits. Participant 15 cut their short GBP/USD, which was part of a broader sterling basket. Meanwhile, Participant 16 added long AUD/USD, which they believe is oversold in the short run and should have priced in Chinese weakness.
On the other side, Participant 7 added long USD/JPY given US rates keep rising while Japanese core inflation data could be rolling over. This fits our view: we remain bullish on the USD over the medium term but think the rally may have gone too far in the short run.
The yen remains a topic of contention. Participant 13 remains short USD/JPY as they feel pressure on the BoJ is increasing, while Participant 16 just closed the same bet after the sharp move this week.
Elsewhere, Participant 10 looks to receive Brazilian DI after the BCB cut interest rates by 50bps recently. They also suggested the bar is now higher for further tightness, which lends itself well to the trade.
Bilal’s Trades and Views
We made four changes to our trades this week.
- Closed long 1m USD/TWD NDF.
- Closed long US 5Y TIPS.
- Closed 2s5s Gilt steepener.
- Closed short 10Y UK Inflation swap.
Current Trades
DM
- 5s10s UST steepener (target 15bps) – read here.
- Long EUR/CHF (target 1.02) – read here.
- Long USD vs. European Basket – read here.
- Pay 1y1y US OIS (target 5%) – read here.
- Short US10Y vs. USD Hedged 10Y JGBs – read here.
- Short RBA Nov-23 vs. Long RBA Sep-24 (target 20bps) – read here.
- Long 1yx1y receiver swaption with a 1yx1y pay fixed swap positions – read here.
EM
- Long 3m USD/INR (target: 85.50; stop: 82.0) – read here.