28 February, 2020
Mounting concerns that the coronavirus could spread further have sent markets into a tailspin. Major equity indices in the US and Europe lost between 3.1% and 4.6% on Thursday, with the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index recording their largest respective declines in more than eight years1Â . In this note, our macroeconomic strategy team, led by Chief Economist Frances Donald, explains why the outbreak could nudge the US Federal Reserve (Fed) into lowering interest rates sooner than expected. Indeed, the team thinks that a March rate cut isnât entirely unthinkable.
In summary, we see:Â
Over the past two months, weâve emphasised that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak would be more pronounced and more global than markets had anticipated. We also noted that while a US recession isnât in the cards, the first quarter would be a pain point for US growth, with economic data likely to disappoint. Crucially, until recently, the markets had severely underpriced the odds of a rate cut.
An escalation in the outbreak has increased our conviction on these three themes, but itâs also led to violent price movements this week. The market is now pricing in a full 25 basis points rate cut from the Fed by June,2Â which has been our view for the past six months. Critically, we believe the Fed could act at its next meeting on 18 March, and that the likelihood of more than one rate cut by June is quickly rising.
What will a Fed rate cut accomplish? For a start, a rate cut is necessary to prevent a disorderly rise in the US dollar (USD), an abrupt mover higher in US Treasury yieldsâevents that could lead to a sizable tightening of financial conditions. Naturally, a rate cut could also potentially soften the decline in equities.
Clearly, the challenge facing the US economy isnât about access to capital or the cost of capital. However, the downside risks to growthâcombined with disinflationary pressures and the need for the Fed to act quickly and decisively while rates are close to the âzero lower boundââimply rate cuts are fast becoming a necessity. Indeed, what weâve experienced in the past six weeks could very easily qualify as a âmaterial reassessmentâ of the economic outlook for the Fed.
Here's why.
Weâve written extensively about the coronavirus outbreak over the past two months. In summary, we believe that:
From a growth perspective, we believe a âconsumer confidence and spendingâ shock would represent the most problematic aspect of the escalation in the coronavirus outbreak. Itâs also worth noting that unlike supply-side shocks, demand-side shocks arenât always recouped (i.e., if you didnât buy a latte one day, you donât necessarily buy two the next).
And yet, what particularly irks us is that the global economy is facing this shock not from a place of strength but from a place of weaknessâfollowing a fairly pronounced global manufacturing recession. Instead of a recovery, weâre now likely to see a double-dip of economic weakness. In other words, we believe itâs time to throw out the âV-shapedâ recovery narrative and start thinking more about a âW-shapedâ track.
Meanwhile, economic data suggests Japan and Germany (the third- and fourth-biggest economies in the world, respectively) were already underperforming before the coronavirus outbreak. While not our base case, we believe both Germany and Japan are at serious risk of slipping into recession in the first half of 2020.
Apart from the disinflationary pressures of a global economic slowdown, the inflation picture for 2020Â looks worse now than it did at the start of the year. Within the context of a US central bank thatâs attempting to create an inflationary overshoot and a more âsymmetricâ inflation target, the following developments support further monetary easing:
Arguably, an inverted yield curve is a funding problem, but itâs also an issue that could have important implications for growth if the Fed doesnât cut rates soon. We could be looking at a disorderly rally in the USD, a tightening of financial conditions, and a further equity sell-off (as a result of the first two factors)ânone of which is constructive to growth. Does that mean that the bond market can bully the Fed into cutting? From a market perspectiveâyup, pretty much.
The US economy has more or less decoupled from the rest of the world and thereâs no doubt itâs likely to be the most resilient to the coronavirus; itâs a relatively closed economy and domestic demand has remained strong. However, that decoupling has also created a conundrum for the Fed as it strengthens the USD: A stronger greenback weighs on US manufacturing activity, tightens global financial conditions, and, as mentioned, is deflationary.
While itâs in most central banksâ interest to dismiss suggestions that they could be trying to influence exchange rates, we believe a great deal of central bank activity in the coming years will be fueled by adjusting rates to stimulate foreign exchange channels. In our view, thatâs probably the only major mechanism through which monetary policy is still effective at stimulating growth.
As mentioned, we continue to believe that the first quarter of 2020 will be a pain point for US growth. In fact, weâve already identified some budding issues that could lead to economic disappointment in the coming months:
Under normal circumstances, these data points would certainly not be sufficient to nudge the Fed into cutting rates, particularly when the US housing sector is displaying signs of health. But at this point, weâre inclined to believe that these pockets of weakness will provide the Fed with the cover it needs to potentially introduce âinsurance cuts.â
Finally, the upcoming election could also influence the timing of the Fedâs rate cut. While the Fed will never admit that itâs at all swayed by the election, the desire to steer clear of any suggestionsâeven the perceptionâof political meddling will, at the margin, encourage the central bank to cut sooner rather than later. After all, this is also consistent with the Fedâs own research that emphasises cutting fast and early as an economy approaches the zero lower bound.
Broadly speaking, from a longer-term perspective, we still believe that the coronavirus outbreak could lead to buying opportunities. However, the events of the past two weeks have led us to think that the âdipâ may be deeper and longer than most have initially expected, and we may still be some distance away from putting risk back on the table. In other words, the market has yet to find a bottom. However, further monetary easing from global central banks and the introduction growthfriendly fiscal measures as a result of the outbreak could support a rebound in the second half of the year and we still believe equities will end the calendar year higher than where they are today.
Â
1Â Bloomberg, as of 28 February, 2020.
2Â Bloomberg, as of 26 February, 2020.
3Â âFinancial Markets and Monetary Policy: Is There a Hall of Mirrors Problem?â Federal Reserve Board, 21 February, 2020.
4 IHS Markit, 21 February, 2020.
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