China Volatility Increases

After previously weakening the Yuan in an event that sparked another round of turmoil in global currencies, the People’s Bank of China surprising moved to revalue the Yuan higher, with the USDCNH experiencing one of the biggest gains in months. Efforts to prop up stock market were not considered successful after the Shanghai Composite took out a major technical level and reentered bear market territory along with a host of other regional indices. Aside from the malaise in Asia, the FOMC Meeting Minutes showed that September liftoff is increasingly unlikely due to the worsening inflation outlook. Pressure on energy prices is keeping consumer prices subdued and preventing the Federal Reserve from acting quicker to normalize interest rate policies amid the challenging external picture. US housing data remains mixed but has seen some of the indicators substantially outperform analyst estimates in a sign of growing confidence in the economy. Meanwhile, the Greeks secured a third bailout package from creditors and managed to unlock funds ahead of crucial ECB repayment that was made just in time. The funds also pave the way for bank recapitalization and hopefully an eventual lifting of capital controls.