Rob Waldner

Fixed income: Gauging the ripple effects of softening economic growth

Key takeaways

• In the US, we believe peak levels of growth are behind us and expect to see slowing in the second half of 2019.
• Outside the US, there are also signs of softening growth.
• Inflation is likely to increase somewhat, but we do not believe that wage inflation will be significantly passed through to consumer prices in 2019.

Global macro

In the US, we believe peak levels of growth are behind us, although we expect annual growth of around 2.75% to persist through the first half of 2019 before slowing.  Fiscal stimulus is still having a positive effect on growth, but will likely wane in the second half of 2019.  In addition, the positive financial tailwinds that have been driving the economy may turn more neutral as monetary policy continues to tighten.  Therefore, while consumer spending will likely be additive to growth in the first half, as the boost from tax cuts winds down, the question is how much will the consumer want to spend thereafter? Consumption has grown at an unsustainably high level, in our view, over the last several quarters, driven by stronger consumer confidence and tax cuts. A meaningful slowdown in consumption could have negative implications for broader growth.  These effects mean that risks to economic growth are higher in late 2019 than they have been in previous points in the cycle.

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Interest rate outlook: U.S. GDP of 2.8% expected in 2018

U.S.: Neutral

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Five risks that could affect fixed income markets

Invesco Fixed Income is positive on fundamentals for the rest of this year. Global growth is solid and inflation is tame. As central banks have pivoted away from stimulus, tighter financial conditions have hurt risky assets. But major central bank policies are still generally easy – we expect the Federal Reserve to tighten gradually, and the runway for other central banks to normalize policy is still long. Nevertheless, political uncertainty, trade tensions and a sell-off in emerging markets have challenged investors in recent months. We expect these factors to generate further volatility and believe caution is warranted. However, we believe greater volatility will generate new opportunities for fixed income investors against a backdrop of solid macro and credit fundamentals. Below are five risks we are monitoring.

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Interest rate outlook: U.S. inflation should peak this summer

U.S. growth remains strong, accelerating in the second quarter versus the first quarter’s lackluster 2.2% performance.¹ We expect 2018 growth of around 2.8%, with strong contributions from capital expenditures and consumption. Core inflation continues to be benign, and we see it peaking in the next two months at around 2.2%. After that, softer rental and service costs should drive it back below 2%. In our view, the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike one more time this year before pausing in response to declining inflation. Strong growth and lower-than-expected inflation point to a 10-year Treasury yield of around 3%. However, supply dynamics will likely begin to shift in the third quarter as the Treasury begins to issue more long-term debt. This may pressure the Treasury yield curve steeper.

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Rates outlook: Falling U.S. inflation may become a Fed concern by late 2018

Economic data have been mixed since the Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate 25 basis points in January.¹ Employment growth remains positive and consumer price inflation has been firm.

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Interest rate outlook: Weaker-than-expected data lower US inflation expectations

Invesco Fixed Income shares its views on rates around the world

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Above-trend growth could cause U.S. inflation later in 2018

Employment growth has been strong enough that the Bank of Canada (BOC) hiked its overnight target rate to 1.25% in January.¹ The BOC statement attempted to balance the view that growth was near capacity with concerns that raising rates too quickly could cause the economic expansion to stall. The 10-year yield has broken through its previous peak of 2.15% on the growth story and a modest pickup in inflation.² We believe yields should continue to move higher from these levels.

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What does market volatility mean for fixed income?

Market expectations of inflation have risen in recent days, after signs of wage growth – often seen as a harbinger of inflation – appeared in the January jobs report. We at Invesco Fixed Income believe investor concerns that inflation is finally showing signs of life have helped drive interest rates higher and impacted credit markets, where worries over higher interest rates (and their potential impact on companies) have caused declines in stock markets and other risky assets.¹

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2018 Investment Outlook: Global fixed income markets look well-supported by macro factors

Macro

The current investing environment seems daunting. Markets have had a strong couple of years and valuations are tight. At the same time, risks abound. Geopolitical risks including North Korea, terrorism, Brexit and unpredictable politics in Europe and the U.S. make for an uncomfortable investing environment. In such uncertain times, it is important to use an investing framework to help manage through the many risks in the markets, to remind us of the markets’ key driving forces and to help measure the impact of events or potential risks.

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Interest rate outlook: Bank of Canada to pause

After raising the target overnight rate 0.25 percentage points at each of the previous two meetings, the Bank of Canada (BoC) kept the rate unchanged at its meeting on October 25, 2017. While growth has remained strong, it has slowed from the second quarter and the BoC appears ready to give its two previous rate hikes time to filter through the economy before taking further action. Additional uncertainty around the breakdown in North American Free Trade Agreement trade negotiations leaves the BoC cautious regarding future hikes. The Canadian 10-year yield appears to have peaked for the moment and yields have several reasons to fall from current levels, in our view.

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Interest rate outlook: Bank of Canada likely to raise rate again

The Bank of Canada (BoC) has hiked interest rates at two consecutive meetings, bringing the overnight benchmark rate to 1.00%.¹ GDP growth and employment trends remain strong, while inflation has stayed below the BoC’s 2.0% target. The Canadian 10-year government bond yield has followed an upward trend after hitting its lows in the second quarter. We believe higher rates are likely.

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Why we are not afraid of the Fed

The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates in March and is likely to raise them again twice this year, yet the financial markets have taken this news in stride. Why is this? Simply put, the Fed is behaving dovishly, considering the positive growth pattern we are seeing.

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Outlook 2017: Fixed income under a Trump administration

Invesco Fixed Income’s 2017 macro outlook is likely to be significantly influenced by the policy direction of the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration. We believe there are a few key policy elements that will likely be implemented early in the Trump administration.

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What will drive markets after Trump’s victory?

In a surprising outcome, American voters elected Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. This result was viewed as unlikely by the market. In the short term, the market reaction may be driven by increased uncertainty. However, over the medium term, Invesco Fixed Income expects the economic impact of Trump’s policies to drive markets.

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