India Chart Pack Policymakers can breathe easier on inflation The past month has brought some encouraging news on the inflation front. Consumer price inflation dropped sharply in April to an 18-month low, keeping the headline rate comfortably within the RBI’s 2... 22nd May 2023 · 8 mins read
Canada Data Response Retail Sales (Mar.) The fall in retail sales in March was driven mainly by lower vehicle sales. Overall sales volumes still rose by 4.9% annualised last quarter, suggesting that a pick-up in consumption supported GDP... 19th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Recession and higher prices to sink spending in H2 Stubborn price pressures and a recession in the second half mean real disposable incomes are set to continue shrinking through year-end. With the savings rate now barely higher than it was pre... 19th May 2023 · 5 mins read
US Data Response Retail Sales & Industrial Production (Apr.) Solid gains in retail sales and manufacturing output in April indicate that the economy remains resilient to the impact of higher interest rates and tightening lending standards. That said, real... 16th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Housing downturn not over yet Australia’s house prices have rebounded over the last couple of months and most leading indicators suggest that the recovery has legs. However, we doubt that a sustained recovery is on the cards... 15th May 2023 · 11 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Bank of Japan kicking the can down the road Governor Ueda presided over his first policy meeting late last month and opted to keep all monetary policy settings, including Yield Curve Control (YCC), completely unchanged. To be sure, Mr Ueda also... 11th May 2023 · 11 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Economy Watchers Survey (Apr. 2023) The further rise in both the current and outlook readings point to continued upward momentum in services spending this quarter. Meanwhile, manufacturing conditions fell slightly but remained robust... 11th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi economy contracts in Q1, set for a weak 2023 Flash GDP figures showed that Saudi Arabia’s economy contracted in Q1 on the back of OPEC+-agreed oil output cuts, but growth in the non-oil economy remained strong. The “voluntary” oil production... 9th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Chart Pack Core inflation too high for ECB to stop hiking April’s inflation data provided little sign that underlying price pressures are easing. Admittedly, the core rate edged down from 5.7% y/y in March to 5.6%, which was the first decline in 15 months... 5th May 2023 · 10 mins read
China Rapid Response PMIs (Apr.) The latest survey data add to wider evidence that while China’s recovery remains robust, it is losing some momentum. In particular, the manufacturing PMIs fell below 50, suggesting that the reopening... 4th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Update Household spending squeeze to continue Policy tightening over the past year has pushed up euro-zone households’ interest costs substantially and is a key explanation for household consumption falling. With interest costs set to rise a lot... 3rd May 2023 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Retail Sales (Mar.) While retail sales values rose at a decent pace in March, we estimate that sales volumes fell the most since 2021’s lockdowns last quarter and that weakness has further to run. That in turn should... 3rd May 2023 · 2 mins read