LONDON (Reuters) – As anxiety prevails in the doldrums of the summer season, central bankers will gather next week for the traditional Federal Reserve (Fed) symposium in Jackson Hole, Texas.
There is no doubt that the meeting will be watched closely as investors worry about the astonishing resilience of the US economy, which could prompt the Fed to continue its restrictive monetary policy for longer than expected.
Also in the viewfinder, a possible new gesture from the People’s Bank of China (BPC) to support the economy and the publication of the “flash” PMI indices for the month of August.
Overview of the market agenda for the next few days.
1/ “SUMMER CAMP”
Fed officials, along with their colleagues from the European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England (BoE) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) will meet Aug. 24-26 in Jackson Hole for their appointment. you annual summer.
Last year, investors wondered whether aggressive tightening could overcome inflation without triggering an economic recession.
Here they are today reassured about the resistance of the American economy but worried that this will lead to a phase of high rates longer than expected.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries touched an eight-month high this week, approaching the peak of 4.338%, which, if exceeded, would bring it back to its 2007 levels.
2/ CAUTION ON CHINA
The recent tensions in the Chinese real estate market are exacerbating the feeling of crisis that is taking hold in the world’s second largest economy.
The surprise drop announced on Tuesday by the BPC on its MLF rate (medium-term loan facilities) failed to reassure market operators. Above all, it fueled expectations of a reduction in the prime loan rate – which means lower mortgage rates – as of Monday.
Investors are also calling for an easing of restrictions on buying homes in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Real estate accounts for about a quarter of the Chinese economy. The announcement of a drop in new housing prices in July – a first this year – was therefore considered worrying.
As well as the difficulties that accumulate for players in the sector, such as Country Garden or China Evergrande, which has placed itself under the protection of bankruptcy law in the United States.
3/ ECONOMY BAROMETER
The “flash” PMI activity indices, considered a leading indicator of the state of health of the economy, will be published on Wednesday in Europe and the United States for the month of August.
They should give a good idea of whether or not the global economy is holding up and provide clues for assessing the future path of interest rates before the meetings of the major central banks scheduled for September.
In July, the slowdown in the services sector pushed private sector activity in the United States to a five-month low, while in the euro zone it contracted for the second month in a row.
4/ GAME OF “BRICS”
The leaders of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will meet from Tuesday to Thursday in Johannesburg to try to make this informal bloc a global counterweight to the West.
Expansion will be the order of the day: some 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc, whether formally or informally, according to South Africa. Among the candidates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.
Brazil, however, could stand in the way for fear of seeing their influence wane. And Vladimir Putin, who will be present via videoconference because of the arrest warrant against him, is busy with internal issues, with the fall of the ruble fueling speculation about the introduction of strict new capital controls in Russia. .
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5/ TURKEY PLAYS BIG
The Turkish Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates again on Thursday, for the third time in a row since the appointment of Hafize Gaye Erkan as governor in early June.
Questions center on the magnitude of the rise as Turkey faces double-digit inflation.
Last month, Hafize Gaye Erkan indicated that the central bank would pursue a “gradual and steady hike” in rates after years of unorthodox monetary policy under pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Emerging market investors are unlikely to worry about a sharp rise in interest rates in Turkey. Russia has just increased its rates by 3.5 percentage points and Argentina by 21 percentage points.
(Ira Iosebashvili in New York, Li Gu in Shanghai, Yoruk Bahceli in Amsterdam, Jorgelina do Rosario and Marc Jones in London and Rachel Savage in Johannesburg, compiled by Dhara Ranasinghe; Blandine Hénault for the , edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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