Expect the Unexpected from the Fed

by
Stephen Flood
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It has been a rough week in most markets with both equities and bonds declining sharply. Tech stocks have been pummeled with many ‘big names’ plunging more than 50% (from their 52-week high). Some of the bigger names include Zoom Video -75%, PayPal -73%, Netflix -72%, Meta Platforms (Facebook), -53%.

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The equity market decline is coupled with announced layoffs. Robinhood, the popular online trading platform, announced a 9% reduction in full-time staff this week for example. Markets are expected to decline further as earnings continue to be announced. With U.S. equity markets on the verge of correction territory and the U.S. yield curve close to inversion the Fed’s predicament becomes even more precarious as they head into their meeting next week.

What Will Happen at the Next Fed Meeting?

Market expectations (97% probability according to the CME FedWatch Tool) are that the Fed will increase the fed funds rate by 50 basis points at the May 4^th meeting and many expect that the Fed will continue increasing rates each meeting for the rest of this year – pushing the Fed funds rate to over 3%.

We have been skeptical of the Fed’s ability to do this for quite some time – see “The ‘Fed put’ – Gone Until There’s Blood in the Streets” where we commented:

“We are still skeptical that the ‘Fed pivot’ to tighter policy faster is a one-way pivot and that the Fed will not back-track.

The Fed gets scared if stocks fall another 10%, if so, it will not tighten policy as quickly as the markets currently expect.

Remember all that government debt still exists; that the interest payment must be paid on that debt, and higher interest rates mean higher payments.

There is also the housing market to consider, yes it might be bloated but a housing crash is not something the U.S. administration would be pleased about heading into mid-term elections.”

Three things to keep in mind heading into next week’s meeting: 1. Gold and Silver continue to find support at higher levels than before mid-February despite rising interest rates. Both realized and expected a sharply higher U.S. dollar, and falling equity markets. Meaning that gold and silver are doing exactly what they should do in a selloff in stocks and bonds and heightened geopolitical risk. 2. The recent selloff in equities combined with the almost inverted yield curve which both points to the recession, and the destruction of the wealth effect. This will keep the Fed tentative and not as aggressive as some have predicted. The pattern of the U.S. yield curve inversion following a recession is seen in the chart below.

US Yield Curve Chart

3. Economic growth concerns still abound. Also, the resurgence of Covid-19 in China and the imposition of strict lockdowns have heightened the concerns for global economic growth. The escalation of the war in Ukraine is also a global geopolitical concern. The latest development is that Russia will cut gas supplies off for countries that do not meet its demand to pay in rubles. Currently, it is targeted at Poland and Bulgaria. That will push energy prices higher – European energy prices have already surged 17% in one day. The further disruption to the supply chain due to the lockdowns in China and Russia’s threats to cut gas supplies off will give the Fed more reason to “pivot” back to its message of inflation being transitory and will slow interest rate increases. Bottom line: Yes – the Fed will likely still increase interest rates by 50 basis points the markets expect next week. However, the messaging around the hike could look quite different in light of the equity market sell-off, declining bond yields, and heightened geopolitical risks. In other words, the “Fed Put” could be back on the table – which is positive for Gold and Silver Investors. Positivity for physical metals comes from the following idea; There are less than an infinite number of times that central bankers can pretend to fight inflation whilst also being the true cause of inflation. Someday everyone, and not just Goldcore customers, will see silver and gold as better tools to protect themselves versus owning cash or bonds.

From The Trading Desk

Market Update 

Equities markets fell hard yesterday, the Nasdaq closed down 4% and hitting a new low for 2022. The Dow closed down 2.4% and the S&P 2.8%.

Over the last 2 years, investors loved and cheered these trillion-dollar market caps on the way up and now we get to see what it looks like on the way down.

The sell-off in these indices is exacerbated due to the weighting these companies have on the overall index.

In the S&P you have 5 companies that makeup 20% of the index and 50% of the Nasdaq.

Further earnings this week include Amazon later today and Apple Thursday.

New home sales in the US fell hard too, analyst expected a small decline but the number came in at an 8.6% MoM, which pushed the YoY number down to 12.6% YoY.

Next week, the Fed meeting takes place on May 4th with the market pricing in a 50 basis point rate hike.

Gold has come under pressure from the stronger USD, rising rates, and falling equity prices but is finding support at higher levels than when rates started to rise in February.

Gold is just below the key support level at $1,900 this morning.

Stock Update 
Silver Britannia offer UK – We have just taken delivery of 10,000 Silver Britannia’s at our London depository.

Available for storage in London or immediate delivery within the UK.

These are available at the lowest premium in the market  (which includes VAT at 20%).

You can purchase these online or contact our trading desk for more information.

Excellent stock and availability on all gold coins and bars. Please contact our trading desk with any questions you may have.

Silver coins are now available for delivery or storage in Ireland and the EU with the lowest premium in the market.

Starting as low as Spot plus 37% for Silver Britannia’sSilver 100oz and 1000oz bars are also available VAT free in Zurich starting at 8% for the 1000oz bars and 12.5% for the 100oz bars.

About Stephen Flood

Stephen Flood is the CEO of GoldCore. He is a former Wall Street equity trader and FinTech expert. He has been involved in the precious metals markets since 2004 and has appeared as an expert contributor on CNBC, CNN, BBC, RTE & Bloomberg TV and has had articles published in the Irish Times, Irish Independent and The Sunday Business Post.

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