Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Aug.) & Final PMIs (Sep.) The drop in retail sales in August and weakness in the final PMIs for September are consistent with our view that the euro-zone economy will fall into recession in the second half of 2023. 4th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Swiss CPI (September.) The rise in Switzerland’s headline inflation rate in September was largely due to the increase in oil prices in recent months, which caused energy inflation to rise sharply. In contrast, core... 3rd October 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone HICP (September) September’s sharp drop in euro-zone inflation was largely due to base effects, but core inflation also came in below expectations. This reinforces our view that the ECB has finished raising interest... 29th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response EC Survey (September) The weak outturn for the euro-zone’s EC Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in September supports our view that the economy will contract in Q3. But the rise in the employment expectations and firms’... 28th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Germany State CPI and Spain HICP (Sep.) The big drop in CPI inflation across German states in September all but confirms that German and euro-zone HICP inflation also fell sharply this month. While this mainly reflects base effects related... 28th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response German Ifo Business Climate Indicator (Sep.) The Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) confirmed that the German economy remained in the doldrums in September. We continue to expect contractions in GDP in both Q3 and Q4 of this year. 25th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Sep.) The small increase in the euro-zone Composite PMI in September left it still in contractionary territory. We think a further contraction in activity lies ahead in the remainder of this year. 22nd September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Riksbank & Norges Bank Policy Announcements (September 2023) Following today’s rate hikes, the Riksbank and Norges Bank are now at, or close to, the end of their tightening cycles. Both central banks’ new projections suggest that they are more likely than not... 21st September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Swiss National Bank Policy Meeting (Sep. 2023) The SNB’s decision to keep rates unchanged at 1.75% was a big surprise, although it left the door open for further hikes. We do not expect any further increases in the policy rate as we expect... 21st September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response ECB Policy Announcement (September 2023) The ECB’s decision to raise interest rates by a further 25bp today probably brings the current tightening cycle to an end. But given the strength of underlying inflation, we expect rates to remain at... 14th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Sweden Consumer Prices (August) Although the drop in the Riksbank’s target measure of inflation in August was bigger than the consensus had anticipated, it will not prevent policymakers from raising its key policy rate by another... 14th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Jul.) Euro-zone industrial production fell in July and we think it will continue to do so over the remainder of the year in the face of weakening demand. 13th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Norway Consumer Prices (Aug.) Norway’s inflation rate came in broadly in line with the Norges Bank’s expectations in August, suggesting that policymakers will go ahead with their plan to raise rates from 4.0% to 4.25% next week... 11th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone GDP and Employment (Q2) The downward revision to the euro-zone’s second-quarter GDP data means the economy is now thought to have essentially flat-lined since the fourth quarter of last year. With business surveys having... 7th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response German Industrial Production (July) Aggregate German industrial output fell sharply again in July and the fall was even larger if the construction and energy sectors are excluded. We expect production to drop further in the rest of the... 7th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (July 2023) Euro-zone retail sales fell in July and, in our view, will keep declining over the rest of the year as the effects of tighter monetary policy continue to feed through to consumers. 6th September 2023 · 2 mins read