Europe Economics Weekly Higher ECB rate forecast, Riksbank eyes stronger SEK We are nudging up our peak ECB rate forecast in light of communications from ECB officials at Sintra and the latest economic data. We now see 25bp rate hikes in both July and September, taking the... 30th June 2023 · 8 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly More EZ stagflation ahead; hawkish central banks We think the euro-zone will experience a more severe case of stagflation than most expect, and inflation and survey data due next week are likely to support that view. Elsewhere, the SNB and Norges... 23rd June 2023 · 9 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Hawkish ECB, weak economy The ECB’s messaging this week was hawkish and suggests that the risks are skewed towards the ECB’s deposit rate rising above our forecast to a peak of 3.75%. Recent data support the Bank’s view that... 16th June 2023 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Employment will not defy gravity forever We learnt this week that the euro-zone fell into recession but Eurostat confirmed that employment rose sharply in Q1. The labour market seems to have remained quite strong in April and May but we... 9th June 2023 · 7 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Euro-zone inflation falling; Sweden set for recession Data published this week showed that euro-zone core inflation fell for the second consecutive month in May, but it still looks likely that the ECB will raise interest rates again in June and probably... 2nd June 2023 · 12 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Germany leads euro-zone into recession The downward revision to Germany’s first-quarter GDP data means its economy contracted by 0.8ppts during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, leaving it much smaller than it was before the pandemic. What’s more, the... 26th May 2023 · 11 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Inflation down in Sweden, euro-zone stagnating As of this week, coverage of Switzerland and the Nordic economies will be incorporated, along with the euro-zone, in our expanded Europe Economics service. Among the Nordics, the key data release this... 19th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly France’s improving labour market There is no sign yet that the remarkable improvement in France’s labour market is going into reverse. But we suspect it will do later this year as monetary policy tightening takes effect. Meanwhile... 12th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Sweden’s property issues flare up again The fragility of Sweden’s property sector hit the headlines again this week as commercial real estate firm SBB suffered a downgrade of its credit rating to “junk” status and cancelled its dividend... 12th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Signs of economic weakness, rates to peak at 3.75% Hard data and surveys released this week suggests to us that although the euro-zone economy may again avoid a contraction in Q2, it will remain very weak. Otherwise, we have lowered our forecast for... 5th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Sweden struggling, Norges Bank hiking Business surveys published this week suggest that Sweden's economy began Q2 on the back foot and is not seeing the increase in services sector activity that is taking place in the euro-zone. We still... 5th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Economy stagnant; new fiscal rules some way off Data released on Friday confirmed that the euro-zone economy was broadly stagnant in Q4 and Q1. Meanwhile, the European Commission’s proposed new fiscal rules will need further changes before member... 28th April 2023 · 9 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank’s dovish hike, Credit Suisse Q1 results Credit Suisse's Q1 results revealed the scale of the crisis that led to its demise, with CHF67bn of deposit outflows during the quarter. The quantum of SNB lending to Credit Suisse during the quarter... 28th April 2023 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Krona versus Krone, Switzerland outperforming We expect the Norwegian krone and the Swedish Krone to appreciate against the euro this year. The krone looks significantly undervalued to us, whereas the krona is likely to benefit from the Riksbank... 21st April 2023 · 6 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Strong start to Q2, 50bp May hike still on the cards The latest surveys suggest that the euro-zone economy started Q2 on a strong footing. With underlying price pressures also still strong, we think a 50bp hike at the ECB meeting in May remains the most... 21st April 2023 · 9 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly Easing supply constraints supporting activity The latest official activity data suggest that the euro-zone economy posted a small expansion in Q1, and we expect April’s PMIs, published next week, to be consistent with continued growth. The... 14th April 2023 · 6 mins read
