UBS Wealth Management on their their USD outlook this year and where to for EUR/USD (note is date Jan 25 and comes via Bloomberg))
Have revised their EUR/USD forecast to 1.30 in the next 12 months
- were previously at 1.25
The nine reasons from UBSWM:
- FX markets no longer buy into the "Trump Trade" ... combination of tax cuts, deregulation and fiscal measures hasn't given the economy the boost that traders once expected
- The potential for three to four Fed rate increases this year will probably result in a weaker dollar unless the terminal rate rises higher than 3.5%
- Tax cuts and government spending may promote short-term fiscal spending, but weaken U.S. finances in the long run, which may not be good for the USD
- Repatriation of corporate profits is "meaningless for the currency" because a lot of foreign earnings are already held in USD, and companies could take years to bring cash back, FX impact will be "close to zero"
- Stronger U.S. economic growth leads global growth, so other nations and their currencies will benefit from rising U.S. demand
- The dollar typically weakens during periods of strong global growth
- Investors are still looking for chances to unwind bullish dollar bets they built up during the 2014-2015 rally
- The USD's exclusive role as global reserve currency is a "myth" and the greenback has lost a lot of its appeal; many central banks have shifted reserves to a broader basket of currencies
- There's more upside for EUR/USD on a purchasing power parity basis, reinforced by the current account gap
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