Energy Update Europe able to weather any disruption in Russian gas supplies We do not expect the latest dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas to disrupt the supply to Western Europe. But even if did, the EU should still be able to cope reasonably well as warmer... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Electricity prices to remain high The recent plunge in the price of energy has reduced the cost advantage of nuclear relative to thermal electricity generation, and rendered a rapid restart of Japan’s nuclear reactors increasingly... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Falling energy prices push many EMs into deflation Concerns over deflation have started to resurface across the emerging world. But the latest deceleration in inflation has been driven by last year’s plunge in oil prices. Accordingly, we continue to... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian real hits weakest level in a decade The Brazilian real has tumbled to its weakest level against the dollar since 2005 in recent days. We suspect that this has more to do with deteriorating economic fundamentals and suggestions from... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Watch A rosy outlook for copper prices Copper has fallen dramatically out of favour since the start of 2015. Prices have dropped nearly 10% since the beginning of the year. Projections of strong growth in mine supply and concerns about... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Update Is OPEC likely to call an extraordinary meeting? We doubt that there will be an extraordinary meeting of OPEC anytime soon and, even if there is, policy is unlikely to change. The cartel’s current strategy of tolerating price falls to protect market... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Inflation pressures easing across the MENA region The past month has brought further evidence that inflation is slowing across the MENA region. In Saudi Arabia, inflation now stands at its lowest rate in more than eight years, while price pressures... 26th February 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report The latest data show that US oil stocks are climbing at an increasing rate as maintenance work at refineries means that even more oil is funnelled into storage. 25th February 2015 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Will US energy exports be a game-changer for global markets? A fast-changing regulatory background is becoming increasingly important to global energy markets. In this Energy Watch, we examine how the recent fall in oil prices has affected the outlook for US... 25th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update China Flash Manufacturing PMI (Feb.) Today’s February PMI data provide further evidence that China’s economy is stabilising. Fading fears of a “hard landing” should therefore support the prices of industrial commodities, especially... 25th February 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Time to worry about deflation? Emerging Asia has seen a sharp drop in inflationary pressures over the past few months. Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand are now experiencing deflation, while inflation is 1% y/y or below in Malaysia... 25th February 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Rebound in Brent fails to lift metals prices Even though industrial metals prices were dragged lower by the fall in the price of oil last year, they have yet to benefit from Brent’s recent recovery. Indeed, the futures curves for most industrial... 24th February 2015 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Election worries hit Nigeria Sentiment towards Nigeria has soured following news that presidential elections scheduled for earlier this month will be postponed until 28th March due to security concerns. We expect that the naira... 24th February 2015 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response ILZSG Data (2014) The preliminary 2014 data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) show another year of deficit in the global zinc market, while the lead market was effectively in balance. With... 24th February 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Markets brush off concerns over Greece Financial markets in Emerging Europe have brushed off renewed concerns over Greece – indeed, equity markets in most countries have rallied over the course of this month and currencies have generally... 23rd February 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: case for interest rate cuts building Interest rates in Colombia were left unchanged at 4.50% on Friday but a slightly more dovish tone in the accompanying statement, combined with the announcement of budget cuts over the weekend... 23rd February 2015 · 1 min read
