Tag: markets

Caring for the ‘future’

David Glanville and Arif Merali

Short term interest rate (STIR) futures are the bedrock of interest rate markets, used to price expectations of central bank policy rates and other UK rate derivative markets such as swaps and options (see Figure 1). They are key for the transmission of monetary policy and provide an avenue for interest rate risk hedging which is important for financial stability. Financial market liquidity usually worsens when volatility rises, however liquidity in the UK’s STIR futures during 2022 was especially poor. Liquidity in some metrics such as open interest and volumes has since improved as volatility has reduced, however our extensive market intelligence conversations suggest that many still believe there is further to go when looking ‘under-the-bonnet’ at another key metric, market depth. Volatility continues to play a role, but a reversion to publishing key data releases within market hours may help to build liquidity further.

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Stirred, not shaken: how market interest rates have been reacting to economic data surprises

Jeremy Franklin, Scott Woldum, Oliver Wood and Alex Parsons

How do markets react to the release of economic data? We use a set of machine learning and statistical algorithms to try to find out.  In the period since the EU referendum, we find that UK data outturns have generally been more positive than market expectations immediately prior to their release. At the same time, the responsiveness of market interest rates to those data surprises fell below historic averages.  The sensitivity of market rates has also been below historic averages in the US and Euro area, suggesting international factors may also have played a role. But there are some signs that the sensitivity has increased over the past year in the UK.

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