Experienced traders call the bond market the “smartest” of all the asset-level markets and based on the moves we’re seeing in US bonds, the smart traders have definitely picked up on something this week.
Yesterday, Fed Chair Powell noted that the central bank was “a long way” from neutral interest rates and it may raise rates “past neutral,” suggesting that the Fed could remain in a hawkish posture for longer than many market participants had expected. As a result, we’ve seen the yield on all treasuries with five-years-to-maturity or less surge to their highest level since 2008, the yield on the 10-year bond rise to its highest level since 2011 at 3.23% and the 30-year long bond yield rise to a peak of 3.39% so far – its highest level since 2014.
As a result, the greenback is the second strongest major currency on the week to date, trailing only the loonie, which has found support from rising oil prices. The US dollar’s gains have been particularly pronounced against emerging-market currencies and while Singapore is definitively a developed market, given its elevated GDP per capita of nearly $53,000, its currency can still serve as a more liquid proxy for traders’ risk appetite to riskier bets like emerging markets.
Technically speaking, USD/SGD has been in a clear uptrend for the majority of the year. This week’s big rally has pushed the pair up to test the top of its two-month, 200-pip range between 1.3615 and 1.3815. Rates are showing signs of pausing, but a strong Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday (especially if we see average hourly earnings rise a 3%+ annualized rate for the first time since 2009), the greenback could power through that key resistance level. In that scenario, a "measured move” objective would project a 200-pip rally in the pair up toward 1.40.
On the other hand, a disappointing NFP report could prompt bulls to take profits on the pair after this week’s rally. In that case, a pullback toward the middle or lower end of the range below 1.3700 could develop heading into next week. Longer-term, though, buyers are unlikely to question their bullish stance as long as support in the 1.3615 area holds. With rates testing a critical level heading into a marquee data release, FX traders should keep a close eye on the oft-overlooked USD/SGD pair.
Source: TradingView, FOREX.com
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