- by New Deal democrat
For the last month in my "Weekly Indicators" column, I have been writing about an intensified deflationary pulse in the US economy. For example, one month ago in my summary I wrote:
"Several intensified trends are emerging. The positive trend is increased spending by US consumers as imported deflation finally teams up with a little improvement in wage growth. The negative trends are increased downturns in rail, shipping, and steel - i.e., that part of the US economy most exposed to global weakness - which have been joined by intensified strength in the US$ and a nascent upturn in interest rates courtesy of an anticipated December rate hike by the Fed."
This renewed pulse has now shown up in the November ISM index, which fell to a 3 year low of 48.6. This is actual bad news, showing an economy that is near contraction. The silver lining is, we have seen plenty of times before where the ISM index fell to this level without the economy going into recession. In the below graphs I subtracted 48.6 from the reading, so that the November reading is at the 0 line. Here is 1948- 1980:
and here is 1981 - present:
A level between 48 and 50 way associated with an oncoming recession 10 times -- and just a mid cycle correction another 8 times.
The simple fact is, the US$ has been accomplishing a tightening without the Fed hiking rates at all. Here is the chart of the broad trade-weighted US$ since it began its ascent in July 2104:
In November it surged again to new highs.
At some point if the industrial recession becomes deep enough, it could overcome the still-growing consumer economy. The strengthening US$ was certainly a factor in the 2001 recession:
At present, however, unlike 2001, neither the yield curve nor housing nor real money supply are playing along.
But this is a potent reason for the Fed to pull back on their rate hike plans.
