Wednesday, 21 January 2015

The ECB is Trying to Control QE Reaction

The ECB is Trying to Control QE Reaction

It is no secret that central banks hate volatility.  Whenever possible, they will go out their way to minimize the market's reaction to big changes in monetary policy. The European Central Bank is known for preparing the market for these changes by sending a consistent message to investors through speeches from policymakers.  We know that most ECB officials believe that it is time to send a strong signal to the market through large-scale asset purchases and today's leaked proposal will most likely turn out to be an attempt to prepare investors for the historic announcement by controlling their reaction. According to Bloomberg who cites "two euro-area central bank officials," the ECB plans to spend 50 billion euros a month on government bond purchases through December 2016 in a program that would exceed 1 trillion euros and if they are right, the program would be large enough to send stocks higher and the euro lower. The problem is that the Wall Street Journal, who cite "sources close to the matter" believe that the program will be more open-ended with the ECB pledging to buy EUR50 billion every month for at least the next year. This goes to show how complicated the decision really is and how many components the ECB needs to consider.  500 billion euros is the number to beat - anything smaller than that should lead to a short squeeze in EUR/USD. The larger the program the greater the pressure that it puts on the currency. Based on the latest CFTC report and the recent price action in EUR/USD, we know that most traders remain short going into the European Central Bank rate decision. Smart traders should consider covering part of their shorts ahead of the ECB announcement because with the bar set high, there is significant risk of disappointment. 

 

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