Jackson Hole provides little in the way of monetary policy update
On the whole, the Jackson Hole symposium provided very little in the way of fresh indications on either the Fed or the ECB’s monetary policy, market experts say.
On the whole, the Jackson Hole symposium provided very little in the way of fresh indications on either the Fed or the ECB’s monetary policy, market experts say.
The markets are becoming increasingly sceptical about Trump’s ability to enforce any coherent economic policy mix. Even if his advisors in this field are seasoned bankers, the White House is rapidly losing its grip on critical decision-making areas, such as the budget stance.
There is not much in the way of major macro or corporate data due this week, but markets will be on the alert for any hints from regional Federal Reserve Chiefs’ as to what the US central bank’s next moves will be.
Pablo García Gómez (Carax Alphavalue) |Sector earnings from Europe for the second half of 2017 have been overall solid, with some positive surprises from “heavy cyclicals” like oil and metals and mining.
Kommer van Trigt (Robeco) | The markets are discounting that in the next few months there will be more certainty surrounding the central banks’ normalisation strategy. In its quarterly outlook, Robeco’s Global Fixed Income Macro team says it makes sense for the central banks to begin to normalise their policies.
José Luis M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | The markets are discounting that in the next few months we will see greater certainty in monetary normalisation strategy. The start of the Fed’s balance sheet adjustment can also provide the rest of the central banks with information on the reversion of quantitative measures.
Not everything is clear through a crystal ball. The Fed is in the process of “normalising” interest rates, but one has to ask whether anyone really believes this…In other words, it appears the market is not convinced that the economy is getting stronger, nor that the inflation rate is hugely threatening.
The communication released after the Fed’s June meeting, along with the publication of the system it will use to potentially reduce its balance sheet, shows there is strong support for continuing with the normalisation of US monetary policy.
José Luis M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | It’s been balance sheet adjustments and the worsening of the deliquency rate which have been mainly responsible for the deterioration in banking margins over the last few years. It’s important for the ECB to establish a clear strategy for monetary normalisation for the future.
The US economy has entered its ninth year of growth and the recovery could last over 10 years, clocking up a new record. At this stage the doubt surrounding an atypical recovery is whether the best thing is for the Fed to maintain its monetary policy of the last few months and continue to gradually raise interest rates, despite the absence of inflationary pressures.