Dollar rallies as hope for a Fed pivot proves short-lived

The huge upside surprise in US payrolls data pushed the greenback higher against most major currencies today in an otherwise quiet week for FX markets. The continued strength of the labour market in the US adds to our conviction that the Fed remains some way off from taking its foot off the brakes, a message echoed by several Fed officials earlier in the week. By contrast, many other central banks face more difficult trade-offs: the latest labour market data from New Zealand and Canada showed falls in employment; the BoE and RBA both hiked by 50bp but revised their forecasts to reflect higher inflation and lower growth; and some emerging market central banks appear to be at or near the end of their tightening cycles. Next week’s US CPI data, which we expect will show continued strong core price pressures even if headline inflation slows, could put another nail in the coffin of the ‘pivot’ narrative. Even in the absence of further divergence in monetary policy, we expect slowing global activity and worsening risk sentiment to, underpin further strength in the greenback over the rest of the year.