Group 1: Economic Cycle and Currency Performance - The economic cycle consists of four phases: recovery, overheating, stagflation, and recession, each affecting currency performance differently [1][2][3] - In the recovery phase, commodity currencies like AUD and CAD benefit from increased demand for resources, exemplified by China's infrastructure stimulus leading to an 18% rise in iron ore prices [1] - During the overheating phase, high-interest currencies such as USD and BRL gain from aggressive central bank rate hikes, with Brazil's rate reaching 13.75% and BRL yielding an annualized return of 21% [2] - Stagflation sees safe-haven currencies like JPY and CHF perform well due to capital flight to safer assets, with EUR/CHF hitting a ten-year low of 0.94 [3] - In recession, sovereign currencies like USD and SGD strengthen as global deleveraging occurs, with the DXY index rising amid a U.S. tech recession [3] Group 2: Impact of Cycle Transitions on Forex Market - Structural reshaping of interest rate expectations occurs, where USD may depreciate initially during a recession but often rebounds later due to safe-haven demand, with an average increase of 6.2% during recessions from 1970 to 2025 [4] - Cross-market volatility transmission is evident, with significant impacts on JPY and CHF during high VIX periods and a strong correlation between AUD and oil prices during oil price fluctuations [5] - Sovereign currency credit differentiation is highlighted, with strong currencies like USD and CHF attracting capital inflows, while weaker currencies like GBP and TRY face sell-offs when debt-to-GDP exceeds 100% [6] Group 3: Trading Strategies for Economic Cycles - A combination of leading, synchronous, and lagging indicators can be used to capture phases, such as a copper-to-gold ratio below 0.25 indicating a potential recession [7] - Arbitrage strategies can be designed based on mismatched cycles, such as going long on USD/JPY and USD/EUR during U.S. overheating against European and Japanese recession, with a projected annual return of 23% [7] - Tail risk hedging involves buying USD call options and gold futures if recession or stagflation probabilities exceed 65% [8] Group 4: Future Outlook and Currency Dynamics - New variables like digital currency interest rates and supply chain regionalization are expected to impact traditional models, with the digital dollar rate reaching 5% attracting capital back [9] - Climate inflation factors, such as El Niño affecting agricultural output, may increase food CPI and pressure the Australian central bank to raise rates, leading to increased AUD volatility [9] Group 5: Trading Principles for Cycle Strategies - Maintain a low position (<15%) during phase ambiguity, such as fluctuating PMI around the threshold [10] - Focus on policy discrepancies rather than economic discrepancies, as seen with the European Central Bank lagging behind the Federal Reserve by an average of four months [10] - Utilize options to create asymmetric risk profiles, such as buying deep out-of-the-money USD call options at low premiums for high potential returns [10] - Market misjudgments regarding cycle phases can significantly influence currency movements, as demonstrated by the EUR's 7% drop followed by a sharp rebound in June 2025 [10] Group 6: Conclusion - The influence of economic cycles on forex is complex, driven by policy expectations, capital flows, and market reflexivity [11] - Identifying early signals and utilizing a "volatility prism" can lead to sustained profitability in the evolving landscape of sovereign credit shaped by digital currencies [11]

Group 1 - The demand for USD put options is strong amid a weakening dollar, with prices for these options exceeding those for call options, particularly in the euro to USD risk reversal options, where the premium for USD puts reached a five-year high in May [1] - Two main factors supporting the dollar are the extreme divergence between the dollar and interest rates, and geopolitical tensions leading to rising oil prices, which may favor the dollar due to liquidity advantages [1] - The Swiss franc has seen the largest fluctuations against the dollar across all time frames, particularly a -1.12% change over one week, while the dollar index has remained relatively stable [2] Group 2 - The GBP/USD exchange rate rose from 1.3525 to 1.3598, reaching a high since June 5, driven by USD selling pressure, despite previous declines due to weak UK GDP data [5] - Analysts expect the UK economy to contract more than anticipated in Q2, with a 0.3% contraction in April, leading to increased expectations for interest rate cuts later this year [5] - The Japanese yen's appeal as a safe-haven currency has been bolstered by the Japanese government's cautious stance on trade negotiations with the US, with expectations that the Bank of Japan will maintain its current interest rate policy [6] Group 3 - The euro to USD exchange rate surpassed 1.1600, reaching a three-year high, with the options market prepared for this rise through risk reversal options and direct purchases of euro call options [7] - The European Central Bank's interest rates are expected to remain unchanged in the foreseeable future, although there may be policy adjustments in upcoming meetings [8]