Därför kommer inte negativa räntor att fungera Det bästa sättet att avgöra om negativa räntor kommer att fungera som en lösning för de ekonomiska problem som världen tampas med är att se hur det har fungerat i de länder som faktiskt har infört dem. För närvarande har centralbankerna infört negativa räntor i Danmark, Euroområdet, Schweiz, Japan och Sverige. Målet att bygga ut negativa räntor är att stimulera ekonomisk tillväxt genom att uppmuntra utlåning och investeringar. Men fungerar det på lång sikt? Här är de problem vi har sett med att ingå negativ ränta territorium.
Påverkan av negativa räntor
Japan är den tredje största ekonomin i världen; Därför är det bästa exemplet vi kan få när det gäller hur priserna skulle påverka de globala marknaderna. BOJ sänkte sin styrränta till -0,1 procent den 29 januari 2016. Syftet med att införa negativa räntor var att tvinga konsumenterna att spendera pengar, vilket skulle sedan leda till inflation.
Detta i sig visar vad centralbanker verkligen kämpar mot i dagsläget: deflation. Det andra syftet att införa negativa räntor är att få banker att minska sina stora reserver. Ingetdera av dessa två mål har uppnåtts ännu.
Vi ser hur de japanska konsumenterna köper kassaskåp, vilket är goda nyheter för Shimachu, ett järnhandelsföretag som sett hur försäljningen av kassaskåp har fördubblat under det senaste året.
I Schweiz är kunderna hos Alternative Bank Schweiz inte alls glada över att de tvingas betala för att pengar på sina konton, men det mest slående är att de som mer pengar på sina konton tvingas betala högre avgifter. Hur skulle detta hjälpa konsumtionen? Om något, kommer det att skada bankerna eftersom deras kundbas sinar.
I Sverige sjönk priserna i december med 1,3 procent jämfört med året innan. I Danmark har de negativa räntorna inte haft någon varaktig inverkan under en längre tid.
Det är för tidigt att bedöma effekten av negativa räntor i euroområdet på grund av Mario Draghi ordförande i ECB-förmodligen kommer att inta vårdslös inställning, vilket innebär att han kommer att skicka ned räntorna ännu längre i negativt territorium. Överväga några andra åsikter om negativa räntor i allmänhet.
Centralbankerna
Även John Maynard Keynes, den största förespråkaren för monetära stimulanser från regeringen, sade redan på 1930-talet att penningpolitiken blir mindre effektiv ju närmare du flyttar räntorna till noll. I mer modern tid har efterföljare som den amerikanska investmentbanken Morgan Stanley sagt att negativa räntor är att betrakta som ett ”farligt experiment.” Det är intressanta uttalanden, men det mest profetiska citatet kommer från en osannolik källa-Mises Institute, som undervisar i den österrikiska skolan:
“The real pity is that the busts and crackups could all have been avoided if central bankers recognized that falling prices eventually create the conditions for a normal economic revival. Deflation is not a death spiral as the Keynesians believe. In a functioning market, the public’s demand to hold money will be satisfied when their reserves of money balances are sufficient in relation to the price level, when they are once again confident of the future, and when they are willing to invest for the long term.”
Det citatet är rätt vad gäller pengarna, men vilken centralbankschef kommer vilja att ha hans eller hennes arv att förknippas med deflation? De vill inte att deras fartyg att gå ner på deras vakt. Vad de inte inser är att de kommer att hamna där då de styr sina skepp längre in i avgrunden. Så småningom kommer smarta ekonomer inse att endast centralbanker som offrade de nuvarande ekonomiska förutsättningarna för den framtida ekonomiska hälsan var de verkliga hjältarna.
Yellens chans
Den enda som fortfarande har en chans är Federal Reserves ordförande Janet Yellen. Om hon höjer räntorna i en miljö som kännetecknas av global deflation kommer det sannolikt att svida under flera år, men det kommer samtidigt att signalera att ekonomin i USA på väg att återhämta sig snabbare än resten av världen.
Sett över tiden är deflation hälsosamt och en nödvändig del av den långsiktiga ekonomiska cykeln. Problemet är att vi hade en så lång bom utan en deflationscykel, och nu är det ingen som uppleva det längre. Deflation är nödvändigt eftersom det är oundvikligt. Det kommer alltid att besegra centralbanker i slutet. Därför finns det ingen mening med att addera ännu mer skuld och framtida problem genom att försöka bekämpa den.
Centralbankerna har sänkt räntorna 637 gånger sedan finanskrisen för nästan ett decennium sedan. I början var detta mycket effektivt. Varje ytterligare ökning har varit mindre och mindre effektiv. Detta kommer inte att förändras. Om Janet Yellen inför negativa räntor, då är hon inte smartare än någon annan centralbankschef. Det har redan visat att negativa räntor misslyckas att höja inflationsförväntningarna. Negativa räntor skulle inte leda till ökad konsumtion, skulle det skicka ett meddelande till investerare att något är mycket fel med ekonomin. De skulle fungera som en skatt på banker, vilket skulle minska bankernas vinster.
Slutsats
Negativa räntor skulle skapa fler problem än de löser. Förhoppningsvis kommer Yellen lära sig av andras misstag. Hon kommer att pressas att delta i en globalt samordnad insats för att ”återuppliva den globala ekonomin.” Om hon faller för trycket kommer hon sannolikt att leda sin egen nations ekonomi djupare ner i avgrunden.
Van Eck Global’s gold specialist Joe Foster shares his monthly perspective on the gold market, this one is named Gold Shines as a Safe Haven in January
Please note that the information herein represents the opinion of the author and these opinions may change at any time and from time to time.
It has been a very eventful start to the year. On January 4, the first trading day of 2016, the Chinese equity market fell drastically, with the Shanghai Composite Stock Index2 down 6.9% during the session. The equity slide continued, repeatedly triggering the recently instituted circuit breakers, which have subsequently been suspended. The Shanghai Composite Stock Index ended the month of January down 22.6%. The Chinese selloff spread to global equity markets with the S&P 500® Index3 having one of its worse starts to any year, falling almost 9% three weeks into January. By month end, however, the Index had recouped some losses to end January down 5%. The MSCI All-Country World Index4, which includes both emerging and developed world equity markets, fell 8% during the month. Commodities also took a hit, with oil and copper down 9% and 3%, respectively. Even the Japanese yen ended the month weaker, down 0.8% relative to the U.S. dollar, after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) surprisingly announced on January 29 its adoption of negative interest rates, which drove the yen down 2% that day.
Except for a stronger than expected employment report, most major U.S. economic data released during the month was disappointing, including the Empire State Manufacturing Index5, retail sales ex-autos, industrial output growth, capacity utilization, durable goods orders, pending December home sales, and Q4 2015 real GDP growth. It was no surprise that the Federal Reserve (Fed) left rates unchanged on January 27, but revised messaging in the Fed’s statement raised many questions in the market. The Fed softened its assessment of its growth and inflation outlooks, and indicated that it is “closely monitoring” global economic and financial developments, signaling that it is uncertain about their potential impact on the U.S. economy. Consequently market expectations for the Fed’s next rate hike have been delayed to November, with less than one full 25 bps hike priced in for 2016. We have been saying that, in our opinion, there is a good possibility that the Fed will not be as aggressive as previous guidance suggests, and that the U.S. economy is vulnerable, making rising rates a significant impediment in 2016. It appears that the market and even the Fed are increasingly adopting a similar view for 2016.
The U.S. dollar held up during January, with the U.S. Dollar Index6 (DXY) down slightly before the BOJ’s announcement on January 29, but rising later in the day to finish the month with a 1% gain. Gold bullion was, however, the true winner in January The gold price not only managed to gain in a month when the U.S. dollar also finished higher, but it outperformed significantly, benefiting from its safe haven7 status to close at $1,118.17 per ounce, a gain of $56.75 per ounce or 5.35%. Notably, holdings of global gold bullion exchange-traded products (ETPs) rose by 1.8 million ounces or 3.8% during January.
The World Gold Council published its latest World Official Gold Reserves for 2015. The figures rank China (1,762 tonnes, representing 1.7% of total foreign reserves) and Russia (1,393 tonnes, 13%), respectively, as the sixth and seventh largest holders of gold reserves in the world, behind the U.S., Germany, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Italy, and France. The central banks of China and Russia were both significant buyers of gold in 2015. After announcing its updated gold holdings in June 2015, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) purchased an additional 104 tonnes of gold in the six months from July to December. This equates to an annualized rate of purchase exceeding 200 tonnes of gold, which is double the average annual rate estimated from the PBOC’s June 2015 update. This suggests China may be stepping up its gold reserves purchases. Russia’s net purchases were estimated at about 185 tonnes of gold in 2015 (not including data for December), representing an increase of about 15% from 2014.
In its latest report Thomson Reuters GFMS Gold Survey estimates that in Q4 2015 total gold physical demand increased by 2.2% year over year, driven primarily by strong growth (23.2%) in official sector net purchases (dominated by Russia and China as explained above) and a 7.0% increase in retail investment in gold bars (driven by strong demand from China and India.) While jewelry demand in China dropped by 4%, demand out of India continued to recover, increasing 3% in Q4. The world’s total supply of gold dropped by 7.3% with mine production declining 3.8%.
The performance of gold stocks was mixed in January. The NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (GDMNTR) gained 3.35%, while Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index8 (MVGDXJTR) dropped 0.79%. While the underperformance of gold stocks relative to gold is atypical when the price of gold is on the rise, the end-of-year performance of gold stocks was also somewhat out of character. In December, while gold fell to a new cycle low, gold stocks did not follow to new long-term lows, and in fact, the GDMNTR Index and the MVGDXJTR Index advanced 0.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Perhaps the reversal of that uncharacteristic December outperformance helps explains some of the underperformance in January, along with general weakness in the broader equity market that can also drag down gold equities.
Additional factors affected gold stocks and likely contributed to negative sentiment towards equities during the month. Some companies reported preliminary operating results for 2015 and provided guidance for 2016. While 2015 results were broadly in-line and costs continued to trend down, 2016 production guidance seems slightly below current expectations. Furthermore, base metals and silver underperformed gold in January, affecting valuations of companies with exposure to those metals. Finally, there was company-specific news that had significant negative impact on share prices, which we didn’t always deem as justified. This news included: Eldorado’s planned suspension of its projects in Greece; a material mineral resource revision of Rubicon’s Phoenix project and its impact on Royal Gold’s stream on that project; and the potential fundraising B2Gold may require, given current gold prices, to finance its Fekola project.
The performance gap between gold bullion and gold equities was widest on January 19. Since then the stocks have materially outperformed, closing the gap. As of February 1, the GDMNTR Index and gold were both up 6.3% year-to-date.
Market Outlook
Financial markets in January helped to remind investors around the globe why perhaps every portfolio should have an allocation to gold. It is our opinion that gold should be used mainly as a portfolio diversifier and as a hedge against tail risk9; a form of portfolio insurance that attempts to preserve value when tail risk becomes a reality. Gold has little correlation to other financial assets (Figure 1 below).
(Click to enlarge)
Figure 1: Correlation of Gold to other asset classes during expan¬sions and contractions since 1987*
*As of December 2015. Expansion and contraction as per the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Source: Bloomberg, NBER, World Gold Council. Historical information is not indicative of future results; current data may differ from data quoted.
When most other investments are performing poorly, gold is expected to do well, and vice versa. Worsening financial conditions, escalating geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, recurring issues with European sovereign debt, currency issues and slow growth in China, Russian aggression, and failure of Japan and the U.S. to reach their economic potential are all risks that threaten growth and economic development globally. Gold can act as a financial hedge against these risks.
Many investors use gold stocks to gain leveraged exposure to gold, however, we just finished a one-month period during which the expected outperformance of gold stocks relative to gold did not materialize. We do not expect this trend to continue.
As we mentioned, a day after month-end, on February 1, the year-to-date gap between the GDMNTR Index and gold had already closed, and we expect stocks to continue to outperform if the gold price continues to rise. In fact, gold shares should offer their highest leverage to gold when the gold price is close to the cost of production, as is now the case. The leverage comes from earnings leverage; as the gold price increases, the change in a company’s profitability significantly outpaces the change in the gold price. For example, say a gold producer realizes a $200 per ounce margin at current gold prices. At $1,100 gold, a $100 increase in the gold price would increase the producer’s margin by 50%, while representing only about a 9% increase in the gold price. The higher the cost of production, the smaller the margin, and the more leverage companies have to increasing gold prices.
It therefore makes sense that equities should outperform gold during rising gold prices, and underperform if gold falls, unless of course costs are increasing at the same time the gold price is increasing and margins are flat or shrinking. This was the main reason why gold equities underperformed gold in 2011 and 2012, two years during which the gold price increased. Since then positive changes have taken place in the gold mining industry, returning profitability to the sector.
We now see the industry in the best shape it has been in for a long time. Unfortunately, this positive transformation of the sector coincided with, and to some extent was intensified by, a period of falling gold prices. As Figure 2 below indicates, however, equities have consistently demonstrated their effectiveness as leverage plays on rising gold during these past years.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: Bloomberg. Past performance is no guarantee of future results; current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Gold equities are represented by NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (GDMNTR).
by Joe Foster, Portfolio Manager/Strategist
With more than 30 years of gold industry experience, Foster began his gold career as a boots on the ground geologist, evaluating mining exploration and development projects. Foster offers a unique perspective on gold and the precious metals asset class.
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Please note that Van Eck Securities Corporation offers actively managed and passively managed investment products that invest in the asset class(es) included in this material. Gold investments can be significantly affected by international economic, monetary and political developments. Gold equities may decline in value due to developments specific to the gold industry, and are subject to interest rate risk and market risk. Investments in foreign securities involve risks related to adverse political and economic developments unique to a country or a region, currency fluctuations or controls, and the possibility of arbitrary action by foreign governments, including the takeover of property without adequate compensation or imposition of prohibitive taxation.
Please note that Joe Foster is the Portfolio Manager of an actively managed gold strategy.
Any indices listed are unmanaged indices and include the reinvestment of all dividends, but do not reflect the payment of transaction costs, advisory fees or expenses that are associated with an investment in the Fund. An index’s performance is not illustrative of the Fund’s performance. Indices are not securities in which investments can be made.
1NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (GDMNTR) is a modified market capitalization-weighted index comprised of publicly traded companies involved primarily in the mining for gold. 2Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index (MVGDXJTR) is a rules-based, modified market capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted index comprised of a global universe of publicly traded small- and medium-capitalization companies that generate at least 50% of their revenues from gold and/or silver mining, hold real property that has the potential to produce at least 50% of the company’s revenue from gold or silver mining when developed, or primarily invest in gold or silver. 3Tail risk is the risk of an asset or portfolio of assets moving more than three standard deviations from its current price. 4S&P 500® Index (S&P 500) consists of 500 widely held common stocks covering industrial, utility, financial, and transportation sectors. 5Dot-com bubble grew out of a combination of the presence of speculative or fad-based investing, the abundance of venture capital funding for startups and the failure of dotcoms to turn a profit. Investors poured money into internet startups during the 1990s in the hope that those companies would one day become profitable, and many investors and venture capitalists abandoned a cautious approach for fear of not being able to cash in on the growing use of the internet. 6Source: Bloomberg.
After a violent crash in cyclical commodities and other risk assets, prices started to recover in the second half of the week.
In contrast to the futures market, ETP investors have been contrarian and have built long positions, particularly in oil.
Market malaise has maintained strong interest in gold as a haven asset.
Inflows into oil ETPs reach highest level since March 2015 as investors bet on unsustainably low prices. By Wednesday last week, WTI and Brent were down 28.3% and 25.2% YTD respectively. Such low prices were clearly unsustainable and investors bought US$97.0mn of long oil ETPs and divested US$26.6mn of short oil ETPs to take advantage of a rebound. On Thursday WTI and Brent rebounded 11% and 5%, respectively. One of the catalysts behind the sharp decline in oil prices was news that sanctions on Iran will be lifted, paving the way for Iran to increase its oil exports. Unfortunately Iran has been guiding the market to think that it can raise exports by 1.1mn barrels, whereas in reality, we believe at most it will increase exports by 300,00o barrels. Even factoring in a generous rise in Iranian oil, the market would be in a supply deficit at end-2016 if demand increases to 96.71 mb/d by Q4 2016 from 95.28mb/d in Q4 2015, as the IEA predicts. We believe prices will end the year between the marginal cost of $40 and the fiscal break even cost $70 per barrel.
Physical gold receives highest inflows since August 2015 as investors hedge against market malaise. Gold has traditionally been the first port of call in times of market stress. While most people cannot understand why cyclical assets fell so hard so fast, many realised that gold performs well in times of panic and went long the yellow metal while waiting for an entry point back into other cyclicals. Gold rose 0.7% last week, 3.4% YTD. Inflows into physical gold ETPs rose to US$85.3mn.
Industrial metal basket ETPs see highest outflows since July 2015. Investor panic saw US$8.9mn redemptions from industrial metal baskets. That came even though most industrial metal prices were only marginally down by mid-week and ended the week higher after Chinese GDP data confirmed strong demand from the largest consumer of metals. Both long and short copper ETPs saw outflows of US$2.7mn and US$1.5mn respectively, highlighting polarised views on the metal. The International Copper Study Group forecasts a supply deficit of 0.5% this year, which will be the 6th consecutive year of a supply shortfall. We don’t think that the market can continue to ignore the increasing tightness in the metal and prices are likely to recover after having fallen 23.6% in the past year.
Key events to watch this week. The market will be keenly tuned into the Fed’s post-policy meeting statement and press conference to hear how the US central bank will react to the recent market volatility. The ECB has already hinted that it will offer more QE, but we expect the Fed to hold steady with its announced policy trajectory of continuing to increase rates to ward off inflationary pressures and keep a buoyant labour market in-check. Currently the market is only pricing in one rate increase this year, while the Fed has indicated it will move four times. We expect US dollar strength, which has been weighting on commodity market performance, to fall away when the market gets in line with Fed thinking. The BoJ and RBNZ will also host their policy meetings this week.
Video Presentation
Nitesh Shah, Research Analyst at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.
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Is correction territory a buying opportunity for China?
Swedish and Swiss central banks go on the currency war offensive.
Defensive assets are likely to benefit from the uncertainty in Greece. The ‘No’ vote in the referendum yesterday received more than 60% of votes. Failure to make progress in debt negotiations elevates the risk of a default on the €3.5bn that is owed to the ECB on 20th July. Another default would almost certainly lead to the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) being switched off and throw Greek banking system into an untenable position. While there is near term risk of greater volatility and downside equity risk, evidence of continued growth in the Eurozone and the US should help restore stability once the initial ‘event’ risk
Commodities
Grains post strong gains. Deteriorating growing conditions and lower acreage sown for corn and wheat saw the grains sector significantly outperform the broader commodities market. While Soybeans rode the grains momentum higher despite a record crop being planted in the US. Sugar also posted solid gains as the Indian monsoon season has begun to deteriorate. Compared to historical averages, rainfall was 14% lower than normal in June, potentially threatening the crop from the world’s second largest producer. An intensification of the El Niño could further exacerbate the disruption of crops, providing further price support. Soy is the likely exception, with an El Niño assisting growing conditions in South America. Meanwhile, the first increase in the US oil rig count has prompted crude price weakness, something that could gather momentum in the weeks ahead, if, as we expect oil production remains elevated and moves higher as rigs come back online.
Equities
Is correction territory a buying opportunity for China? Further stimulus by the People’s Bank of China last week was followed up by an easing in its crackdown on margin lending for equity market investments. The sharp slide in A-shares that the changes to margin lending rules has brought about has authorities concerned and policymakers are justifiably wary over excessive volatility and the potential threat to social stability. Policymakers are attempting to smooth the transition to market transparency and financial liberalisation and will likely continue to be supportive with fresh policy measures. The continuing Greek debt crisis prompted sharp losses across most European bourses last week and in early trading this week, as the Greek government defaulted on an IMF repayment and Greek Prime Minister continued to urge citizens to vote ‘No’ at last weekend’s referendum. Citizens duly responded, with 60% of the vote. Expect more downside risk and volatility or equity markets.
Currencies
Swedish and Swiss central banks go on the currency war offensive. Currency wars continue to be waged in the background, as the Greek crisis takes the headlines. The lack of clarity surrounding the fate of Greece has given investors no respite from currency volatility. The Swedish Riksbank cut rates further into negative territory (4th cut in 2015) and coupled with additions to its QE program, is keen to keep any currency gains in check (because long end rates remain elevated). The reason long-end rates are high is because of the lack of liquidity – a problem that larger central banks pursuing QE (the Fed, the ECB and BOJ) have not had to contend with. As a consequence, another issue is that the currency has strengthened more than expected, and hampers any benefit for the local economy. We expect the Riksbank will more closely target its currency in the future, as long as its QE program remains ineffective.
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China equity markets higher, but volatility reigns.
USD weakness unlikely to last.
Concern about Greek finances, alongside disappointing German growth data resulted in European equity benchmarks finishing the week in the red. In contrast, Chinese equities moved higher in choppy trade as soft data lifted expectations of further stimulus from policymakers. Defensive investors prompted a gold rally, with its perception as a hedge against lingering threats to the economic environment increasing its appeal. We expect the soft US economic data will fade and the growth divergence with the Eurozone will again become pronounced and pull forward expectations for a rate hike, in turn lifting the USD.
Commodities
Stars align for commodity markets. Natural gas surged following expectations of warmer US weather is boosting demand for natural gas to fuel additional demands for power. With storage remaining adequate and not far from the longer-term average level, we expect the duration of this rally to be short-lived. Rising bond market volatility and a weaker US Dollar buoyed precious metals markets, with silver leading the way. Gold was also buoyant as investors remain cautious and European equities traded choppy ranges. With silver remaining strongly tied to gold, the key for a sustainable rally in silver lies in rising industrial demand. A good indicator of whether this demand component is rising is stockpiles which unfortunately are not showing signs of decline yet. If sentiment improves, a correction could lie in wait.
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Equities
China equity markets higher, but volatility reigns. Chinese equities received a boost despite a string of poor economic data, as investors were optimistic that Chinese authorities will introduce additional stimulus measures to buoy the economy. Choppy trading has characterised Chinese equity markets and we expect that is unlikely to disappear in the near term, until investors see a more stable underlying economic environment. Certainly both the Reserve Requirement Ratio remains elevated and we expect that the RRR and official rates could be lowered in coming months. Meanwhile, European equity markets lost ground as weaker growth in Germany in Q1 added to the negative tone surrounding the lingering threat of Greek default. UK equity markets also struggled after the Bank of England downgraded its outlook for UK economic growth. Although we expect potential for further near term setbacks, in the medium term, equity valuations should be bolstered by rising demand on the back of low financing costs as a result of low policy rates and depressed energy prices.
Currencies
USD weakness unlikely to last. We expect the recent batch of soft US economic data to be an aberration rather than the beginning of a trend and this should gradually translate into USD strength. This week’s FOMC minutes will be balanced, in line with previous communications, but should keep rate hikes on the table. While the market has pushed back rate hike forecasts somewhat in recent weeks and is currently expecting the first increase in November, we expect a September move. Central banks will continue to be in the spotlight, with both the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan holding meetings. While there should be little change in UK policy, if Japanese industrial production and Q1 GDP growth disappoint, that could be the catalyst to provoke the BOJ to act, and in turn pushing the USD/JPY higher toward our year-end target of 125.
For more information contact:
ETF Securities Research team
ETF Securities (UK) Limited
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E info@etfsecurities.com
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