Saturday, March 21, 2020

Norway Warns It May Intervene to Stop Historic Krone Slump

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/norway-krone-plunges-into-uncharted-territory-as-oil-sinks

economics

Norway Warns It May Intervene to Stop Historic Krone Slump

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Norway’s central bank said it’s ready to intervene in currency markets for the first time in more than two decades, after the krone became the victim of the worst sell-off in its history.
“In recent days, there has been an extraordinary situation in the market for Norwegian kroner and movements in the exchange rate have been historically large,” the central bank said on Thursday. “Against this background Norges Bank is continuously considering whether there is a need to intervene in the market by purchasing Norwegian kroner.”
With a slump in the price of oil pummeling western Europe’s biggest crude exporter, and liquidity getting sucked out of small markets, Norway’s currency appeared to have no buyers.
The krone sank as much as 7% against the euro, after slumping up to 12% in the previous session. Against the dollar, it plunged 7.5%, following declines as deep as 14% on Wednesday.
The fury of the sell-off is unprecedented, according to currency strategists. And the statement by Norges Bank appeared to do little to reassure the market. The krone was still down more than 3% against the euro and 4% versus the dollar after its announcement.
“The moves in markets are unleashing the whole tool kit of central banks and this is potentially the next round of measures high Beta/oil exporters may consider,” said Jordan Rochester, a strategist at Nomura.
The announcement by Norges Bank may take some steam out of the “relentless” decline in the krone, “but history shows that FX interventions can only slow, not stop, fundamental moves,” he said. Rochester also noted that Norway’s current stack of currency reserves is smaller than the daily trading turnover. “Good luck, Norges,” he wrote. It’s why the market did little more than “shrug.”
Not since the 1990s has Norway specifically used its monetary policy to steer the exchange rate. Back then, the central bank was ultimately forced to abandon the strategy after the Asian crisis of the late 1990s proved too intense to fight. The last time Norges Bank conducted an outright currency intervention was in 1999, according to a written response by the bank to Bloomberg.

The Oil Trap

It’s “all about the oil collapse,” said Kristoffer Kjaer Lomholt, a senior analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen. What we’re witnessing now is a “potentially evil fire-sale loop related to the funding of foreign assets.”
Norwegian policy makers have been fighting a crisis on two fronts, as the fallout of the coronavirus brings the domestic economy to a standstill while the oil-price crash destroys its main export.
The central bank has responded to the meltdown by delivering an emergency half-point rate cut earlier this month and pumping extra liquidity into the economy. The government, which is backed by the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, has stepped up stimulus pledges and said it’s willing to do more.


Crisis in oil, liquidity push krone into no-man's land
Lomholt said he sees “a case building that more NOK weakness and volatility raises financial risks instead of cushioning the negative impact from COVID-19.”
The Norwegian currency’s future “is anyone’s guess now,” said Robin Winkler, a strategist at Deutsche Bank. “It’s a broken market.”
Valentin Marinov, strategist at Credit Agricole in London, wrote that “at the moment everyone is selling everything to get their hands on USD cash. The less liquid the asset, the greater the price impact of these flows.”

— With assistance by Anooja Debnath



https://www.dailyfx.com/forex/market_alert/2020/03/20/Norwegian-Krone-Plunges-vs-US-Dollar-Euro-on-Covid-19-Outbreak.html

Norwegian Krone Plunges vs US Dollar, Euro on Covid-19 Outbreak



Mar 20, 2020 11:00 AM +08:00
Dimitri Zabelin, Analyst

Norwegian Krone, Euro, US Dollar, EUR/NOK, USD/NOK – TALKING POINTS

  • Norwegian Krone worst-performing G10 currency amid OPEC price war, coronavirus
  • USD/NOK continues to surge beyond its 1985 high amid a high demand for US Dollars
  • EUR/NOK continues to rise after it re-mounting a multi-month inflection channel

USD/NOK TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

On March 18, USD/NOK clocked in its biggest one-day gain on record and rose over 7.60 percent as it continues to trade above 1985 highs. Resistance may be forming around 11.2717 as the pair trades just on the cusp of a potentially new ceiling. Looking at recent wicks supports the notion that a small pullback may be in the if prices ultimately fail to close above 11.2717.
USD/NOK – Daily Chart
Chasrt showing USD/NOK
USD/NOK chart created using TradingView
A monthly chart puts USD/NOK price action into perspective, with the pair up over 19 percent just in March. Two factors have been driving this price dynamic. The first is the selloff in crude oil and growth-oriented assets like the Norwegian Krone, which is primarily used as a medium of exchange in a petroleum-based economy.
The second has to do with increased demand for liquidity, and in this regard, the US Dollar reigns supreme as the world’s reserve currency. Risk aversion from the panic-induced selloff in global equities pressured crude oil prices which were already under strain from the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war.
USD/NOK – Monthly Chart
1972 - 2020
Chart showing USD/NOK
USD/NOK chart created using TradingView

EUR/NOK FORECAST

A similar dynamic is being expressed in EUR/NOK. After breaking above the August 2019 inflection area – red parallel channel – the pair has risen approximately 15 percent. From a technical perspective, the pair is showing signs of a desire to climb higher – as demonstrated by the long wick – but ultimately lacking resolve. Consequently, this could mark the start of either a small pullback or a more gradual ascent.
EUR/NOK – Daily Chart
Chart showing EUR/NOK
EUR/NOK chart created using TradingView
Much like with USD/NOK, EUR/NOK price action this month illustrates the decline of the Norwegian Krone as part of a broader market-wide selloff. Furthermore, the interest rates differential between NOK and EUR leaves considerably more room for the former to adjust downward than the other way around. Looking ahead, the selloff may be prolonged if Europe – the primary destination of Norway’s exports – continues to revise down its growth trajectory.
EUR/NOK – Monthly Chart
Chart showing EUR/NOK
EUR/NOK chart created using TradingView



https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/norways-krone-suffers-worst-drop-in-half-a-century-2115056

Norway’s Krone Suffers Worst Drop in Half a Century

ForexMar 19, 2020 05:53AM ET

Norway’s Krone Suffers Worst Drop in Half a Century Norway’s Krone Suffers Worst Drop in Half a Century
(Bloomberg) --
Norway’s central bank said it is ready to intervene after the bottom seemed to fall out of the krone market.
“In recent days, there has been an extraordinary situation in the market for Norwegian kroner and movements in the exchange rate have been historically large,” the central bank said on Thursday. “Against this background Norges Bank is continuously considering whether there is a need to intervene in the market by purchasing Norwegian kroner.”

With a slump in the price of oil pummeling western Europe’s biggest crude exporter, and liquidity getting sucked out of small markets, Norway’s currency appeared to have no buyers.


The krone sank as much as 7% against the euro, after slumping up to 12% in the previous session. Against the dollar, it plunged 7.5%, following declines as deep as 14% on Wednesday.

The fury of the sell-off is unprecedented, according to currency strategists.
It’s “all about the oil collapse,” said Kristoffer Kjaer Lomholt, a senior analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen. What we’re witnessing now is a “potentially evil fire-sale loop related to the funding of foreign assets.”
Norwegian policy makers have been fighting a crisis on two fronts, as the fallout of the coronavirus brings the domestic economy to a standstill while the oil-price crash destroys its main export.
The central bank has responded to the meltdown by delivering an emergency half-point rate cut earlier this month and pumping extra liquidity into the economy. The government, which is backed by the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, has stepped up stimulus pledges and said it’s willing to do more.
Lomholt said he sees “a case building that more NOK weakness and volatility raises financial risks instead of cushioning the negative impact from COVID-19.”
The Norwegian currency’s future “is anyone’s guess now,” said Robin Winkler, a strategist at Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn). “It’s a broken market.”
Valentin Marinov, strategist at Credit Agricole (PA:CAGR) in London, wrote that “at the moment everyone is selling everything to get their hands on USD cash. The less liquid the asset, the greater the price impact of these flows.”

https://www.investingcube.com/usdnok-norwegian-krone-gets-reprieve-after-rate-cut-by-norges-bank/

USDNOK: Norwegian Krone Gets Reprieve After Rate Cut By Norges Bank


The USDNOK retreated slightly from its record highs following the decision of the Norwegian central bank to cut interest rates, following examples of other central banks across the world. The Norges Bank delivered a 75 bps interest rate cut, sending the policy rate to a record low of 0.25% in an unscheduled emergency meeting today. This is the 2nd such cut delivered in a week, with last week’s 50bps interest rate cut being the first time the Norges Bank was cutting rates in 4 years.
This enabled the Norwegian Krone to gain some strength, having been on the back foot for the past three weeks on the back of falling crude oil prices. Prior to today’s price move, the USDNOK had exceeded the 12.000 mark to set a new record high price level of 12.1224, representing a nearly 20% gain in what has been an extraordinary week for this pair.
Today’s decision has allowed the USDNOK to pullback towards the 11.84693 price level, even though price bias for the day has favoured the bulls on the pair.
Read our Best Trading Ideas for 2020.

Technical Outlook for USDNOK

With no historical price to make reference to in terms of possible resistance areas, we have to look towards the indicators to show the way. The RSI is starting to show divergence from the price highs on the daily chart. The 4-hour chart shows that price had retraced to the 50% Fibonacci retracement (10.7995) of a trace from the swing low of 10 March 2020 to yesterday’s swing high.
I expect the immediate resistance to be registered at the 23.6% Fibonacci price level of 11.4641, which corresponds to the high of 18 March and the close of 19 March 2020. Below this level, today’s intraday low at 10.7995 could serve as the next downside target.
On the flip side, price could retest yesterday’s high and even surpass it if the prevailing strength in the USD and weakness in the crude oil markets persist.

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USDNOK 4-Hour Chart




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