The bet is whether inflation rises

The U.S. inflation rate is closer to its low, than its high,

and so my portfolios will be positioned towards assets which will benefit from higher inflation.

In the meantime, there may a little lower travel for the #inflation rate in the coming month or two.

October 28, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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Watching Oil prices

Last week WTI Crude #Oil traded down to $64.04.

I’ve been calling $64 for sometime as its first stop.

While its downtrend needs to be respected for now, it is not yet exhibiting the required strength to send it lower.

No action for now.

Pause and Watching before I call $46.

September 19, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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Chile’s yield curve is more important

Forget the U.S. yield curve, I’m watching the Chilean one.

When the Chilean yield curve inverts, an equities advance is stifled.

It hasn’t yet but it’s making its way there.

In the interim, this move towards zero percent should pause mainly because weekly streaks exhaust themselves.

The yield of the Chilean 2’s have risen for 9 consecutive weeks.

The 10 year yield has fallen for 7 straight weeks.

Inversely, while the streaks take a break, ‘risk’ could rip a little more.

by Rob Zdravevski

August 15, 2024

rob@karriasset.com.au

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For now, bonds profits looking good enough

In the near-term, I think that the decline in U.S. bond yields should take a little pause.

They are now trading 2.5 standard deviations below their rolling 20 week moving average.

This will be mentioned in this week’s edition of my Macro Extremes newsletter.

In the April 19, 2024 edition of Macro Extremes, the U.S. 20 year bond yield appeared in the overbought extreme list and inversely, the iShares 20+ year treasury bond ETF (TLT) was in the oversold category.

The mid point for trading in the TLT around the last 2 weeks of April 2024 was ~ $88.46.

This week, the TLT is trading at 2.5 standard deviations above its 20 week moving average.

This week’s mid point price is $97.92.

Over the past 4 months……………that represents a capital return of 10.7% and when adding $1.22 per share of dividends received, the total return is a handsome 12%.

Who said bonds are boring.

Over the mid-term, I think bond yields will continue to fall.

August 8, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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Cheaper corn is good for tortilla sales

See how declining #corn and #wheat prices are good for the share price of Mexican based food company, Gruma.

They are negatively correlated.

Cheaper ‘inputs’ equates to lower ‘cost of goods sold’ for Gruma.

#Gruma makes corn flour, both wheat and corn tortillas, snacks along with flatbreads and pitas.

Mission is one of their most known brands.

Today, Corn and Wheat are ‘troughing’ while Gruma’s stock price is approaching overbought levels.

Readers may also be interested to note the correlation which the #inflation rate has with price of corn and wheat.

August 8, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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The Loonie, inflation and commodity prices

The Canadian Dollar will appear in some ‘extreme’ categories in tomorrows edition of Macro Extremes.

The study below shows the CAD/USD dancing with the Bloomberg Commodity Index and the Canadian Inflation Rate.

Incidentally, that Canadian inflation rate has eased from 8% to its current 2.7%.

July 27, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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Macro Extremes (week ending July 12, 2024)

A weekly Macro, Cross Asset review of prices trading at extremes which may generate future investment ideas and opportunities.

The following assets (on a weekly timeframe) either registered an Overbought or Oversold reading and/or have traded more than 2.5 standard deviations above or below its rolling mean.

* denotes multiple week inclusion

Extremes above the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

U.S. 10 year minus U.S. 5 year government bond yield spread *

U.S. 10 year bond yield minus U.S. inflation rate (YoY)

GBP/EUR

GBP/USD

KOSPI *

Nikkei 225

Russell 2000

Toronto’s TSX

And the Israel’s Tel Aviv 35 index

Overbought (RSI > 70)

Russian 10 year government bond yields

Coffee – both Arabica and Robusta *

GBP/JPY

Netherlands AEX *

Hungary’s BUX *

Pakistan’s KSE *

Nasdaq Composite * 

Nasdaq 100 *

NIFTY *

SENSEX *

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) *

S&P 500 *

U.S. Regional Banks Index

Turkiye’s BIST 100 *

and Taiwan’s TAEIX *

The Overbought Quinella (Both Overbought and Traded at > 2.5 standard deviations above the weekly mean)

Nasdaq Biotech Index

Singapore’s Strait Times Index *

Extremes below the Mean (at least 2.5 standard deviations)

South Korean 10 year government bond yield 

Soybeans 

CAD/GBP

Shanghai Composite Index *

China’s CSI 300 Index *

Oversold (RSI < 30)

North European Hot Rolled Coil Steel *

U.S. Midwest Hot Rolled Coil Steel *

Lumber *

Lithium Hydroxide *

And the Chinese RMB *

The Oversold Quinella (Both Oversold and Traded at < 2.5 standard deviations below the weekly mean)

Corn *

Russia’s MOEX equity index

Notes & Ideas:

Government bond yields fell. Most of them for the 2nd consecutive week.

Except for the Belgium, Danish and Finnish 10’s.

The Australian 10 year minus U.S. 10 year bond yield spread has risen for 5 consecutive weeks.

Inversely, the U.S.10Y minus Aussie 10’s spread have fallen for 5 weeks.

Chilean 2’s are in a 4 week winning streak.

Czech 10’s have fallen fro 5 of the past 6 weeks.

Brazilian 10 year bond yields are not overbought anymore

And IEF is in the early stages of an upward trend.

Equities were mostly higher, again !

For example, the Nasdaq Composite has risen for 11 out of the past 12 weeks.

The S&P 500 has climbed higher for 5 of the past 6 weeks.

There was a stunning rotation late in the week, from large caps into the smaller and mid cap companies.

China’s CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite rose and broke their 7 week losing streak and the KOSPI broke its 5 straight weeks of advance.

The DAX is in a 4 week winning streak as is Indonesia’s IDX 30.

Indonesia’s main index has climbed 9.5% over the past 4 weeks.

The Developed World equities index ex USA along with the FTSE 250 have risen 4.4% over the past fortnight.

And Sweden’s OMX30 along with the Dow Jones Transports and Nasdaq Transports Index had bullish outside reversal weeks.

Commodities were mixed, although the bias was towards weakness, again.

Again, Cocoa, Coffee, Tin, Orange Juice and Urea were the prominent winners for the week.

Aluminium, Coal, Oil, Gases, Grains, PGM’s, Nickel and Cattle were the largest losers.

WTI Crude, Brent Crude, gasoline and Heating Oil both broke their 4 week winning streaks.

Cotton moved out of oversold territory.

Lean Hogs have slumped for 10 of the past 12 weeks, falling 15% over that time.

Natural Gas broke its 4 week losing streak, by rising 0.4% for the week. Natural Gas has posted a 26% loss during the previous 4 weeks.

Palladium fell 7%, shaving half off the 15% advance seen in the previous 3 weeks.

Lumber showed some spirit although it has fallen for 11 weeks of the past 16 weeks.

And Lithium Hydroxide has now spent 52 consecutive weeks in weekly oversold territory.

Currencies continue to provide action, again and again.

The Yen bounced and the extremes seen amongst its pairs are not there this week.

The AUD has risen for 4 consecutive weeks against the CAD, INR, NZD and USD, 

While it broke its trending streaks against the JPY, EUR, SGD and THB.

The Canadian Dollar was mostly weaker.

The CAD/AUD has fallen for 5 weeks, while the Loonie against the USD has climbed for 5 straight weeks.

And strength in the British Pound continue. 

The larger advancers over the past week comprised of;

Baltic Dry Index 1.6%, Cocoa 6%, Arabica Coffee 8.7%, Tin 4.5%, Orange Juice 3.8%, Robusta Coffee 10.3%, Urea Middle East 1.7%, Developed World equities index ex USA 2.3%, KBW Bank Index 4.3%, DAX 1.5%, DJ Industrials 1.7%, DJ Transports 1.6%, MIB 1.7%, HSCEI 2.4%, Hang Seng 2.8%, IBEX 2.1%, BOVESPA 2.1%, S&P SmallCap 600 5.5%, Russell 2000 6.1%, KRE Regional Banks 8.7%, FTSE 250 2%, S&P MidCap 4.4%, Mexico 5%, Nasdaq Biotech 6.8%, Stockholm 2.9%, Philippines PSE 2.4%, SET 1.5%, SMI 3%, SOX 2,1%, STI 2.6%, TAEIX 1.5%, TSX 2.8%, ASX 200 1.8%, ASX Industrials 1.9%, ASX Small Caps 2.6%, BIST 2.2% and Israel’s TA35 rose 2.6%.

The group of largest decliners from the week included;

Aluminium (2.8%), Bloomberg Commodity Index (1.7%), China Coking Coal (3%), Heating Oil (3.6%), HRC (1.5%), Cattle (2.2%), JKM in Yen (5.2%), Nickel (3.1%), Palladium (6.5%), Platinum (3.1%), Gasoline (1.7%), Biodiesel (3.4%), Sugar (4.7%), S&P GSCI (2.5%), Dutch TTF Gas (4.1%), Brent Crude (2.2%), Gasoil (3.1%), Silver in AUD (1.9%), MOEX (5.6%), Corn (2.1%), Soybean (5.7%) and Wheat fell 6.7%.

July 14, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

more cheaper calories

cheaper corn tortillas and cereal….

the price of Corn has nearly halved since the moment Russia invaded Ukraine.

Remember all the headlines about export bottlenecks, food inflation and a pending calorie crisis?

Today, “nobody” is taking about #Corn 🌽.


July 13, 2024

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Soybeans are oversold

…..cheaper protein

Would you like to see how the price of soybeans dances with the U.S. inflation rate?

#tofu

July 13, 2024

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Inflation has abated, interest rates next?

U.S. inflation has nearly reverted back to its 200 week moving average.

Whether it sees 2% or not, is mute. It has abated and mean reverted.

Such mean reversions are honoured more so after such parabolas.

The bet is now whether interest rates follow……and what that means for various asset classes and business sectors.

The U.S. 2 year government bond yield is the orange line.

July 12, 2024

by Rob Zdravevski

rob@karriasset.com.au

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