The increase in euro-zone bond yields earlier this week was a function of shifting global sentiment rather than a response to news from Europe itself. But it is a reminder that there are still underlying concerns about euro-zone public finances. In a week …
29th September 2023
MNB and CNB continuing to toe a hawkish line The Hungarian and Czech central banks maintained fairly hawkish communications at their meetings this week, but we still think that interest rates will fall sharply in both countries by mid-2024. The Hungarian …
Infrastructure remains a major weakness Indonesia’s first high-speed train line is due to become operational this Sunday, when a WHOOSH bullet train departs the Indonesian capital of Jakarta for the provincial capital of Bandung, 88 miles away. Journey …
Core PCE inflation slowing rapidly despite resilient consumption The August income & spending data confirm that real consumption growth strengthened in the third quarter, but also cast doubt on the market narrative that resilient growth will see interest …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. On the cusp of recession The economy failed to make much headway in July and August and the latest business surveys suggest that GDP probably contracted in September, which would …
After the huge upward revisions to the level of GDP in Q4 2021 announced at the start of September, which resulted in the UK leapfrogging Germany to sixth place in the league table of best performing G7 economies since the pandemic (see here ), Friday’s …
Industrial policy isn't an offset for property downturn Can emerging new industries replace property as a driver of China’s economy? There has been a flurry of discussion in the past couple of weeks in China about whether “new-type industrialisation” …
The risks and opportunities from climate UK Prime Minister Sunak’s recent speech on climate policies was obviously a highly visible change in stance. But as we highlighted in last month’s Climate Economics Monthly , the rowing back on climate policies in …
The Italian government’s decision to raise its deficit targets suggests it is trying to get away with as little fiscal tightening as possible. With EU fiscal rules set to come back into force next year, that raises the risk of tensions escalating between …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Monetary policy to stay tight despite big fall in inflation September’s sharp drop in euro-zone inflation was largely due to base effects, but core inflation also came in below …
Approvals to remain weak for the next six months The further decline in mortgage approvals in August to their lowest level since the aftermath of last autumn's “mini” budget showed that high mortgage rates are keeping home purchase demand very weak. Our …
While net lending to commercial property increased for the sixth consecutive month in August, we think this resilience will wane as high interest rates and slower economic activity take a toll on investment over the remainder of the year. Net lending to …
Coal stocks already at their lowest levels this year Workers affiliated with five trade unions at the state-owned behemoth Coal India are due to go on strike for three days next week (3 rd –5 th October) in dispute over wages. There is still time for the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Higher interest rates weighing more heavily on lending The drag from higher interest rates on bank lending grew further in August, particularly in the housing market. Although …
Softer inflation print raises the chance of another rate cut The sharper-than-expected decline in Polish inflation to 8.2% y/y in September raises the chance of another interest rate cut by the central bank at its meeting next week but, at this point, we …
MPC to keep rates on hold next week as recent spike in vegetable prices fades But food inflation threat is not over yet Severe El Niño could push back start of easing cycle from early 2024 We agree with consensus expectations that the MPC will keep …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. GDP growth nudged up, but resilience won't last The final Q2 2023 GDP data release shows that the economy was a bit more resilient in the first half of this year than we …
Figures released today show that the worst for Vietnam’s economy is now over, but that growth remains subdued by past standards. With the economy on the mend, but inflation becoming a growing concern, we have taken out the rate cuts we originally had …
Sustainable 2% inflation coming into sight The minutes of the Bank of Japan’s July meeting revealed that Board members had a lively debate on the outlook for inflation and monetary policy. One member noted that “close attention was warranted on the risk …
Economic data flash mixed signals The big news out of Australia this week was the strong rise in consumer prices in August. Moreover, with underlying price pressures showing few signs of relenting, we’ve revised up our forecast for the RBA’s terminal cash …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Labour market set to tighten as GDP growth holding up While retail sales and industrial production were little changed in August, they point to another decent rise in GDP across …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Inflation will only fall below 2% by end-2024 While the Tokyo CPI suggests that underlying inflation has now peaked it will take until late next year for inflation to fall below …
Banxico turns up its hawkish rhetoric Mexico’s central bank, as widely expected, left its policy rate unchanged at 11.25% at today’s Board meeting and the accompanying statement remained very hawkish. We think Banxico will be the last major central bank …
28th September 2023
The US dollar’s record run of 10 consecutive weekly gains has brought it to its strongest level since last December (see Chart 1), and prompted renewed talk of FX intervention in Asia. We think that market participants have now gone too far in discounting …
Both “safe” and “risky” assets have struggled during Q3 so far, as “risk-free” yields have risen. We expect the fortunes of safe assets to improve over the rest of this year, largely informed by our view that investors are underestimating how quickly …
Global goods trade fell at its fastest pace since the pandemic in July and the timelier trade and survey data point to further declines in August and September. What’s more, given that we still expect several advanced economies to fall into mild …
The drivers of Brazil’s recent period of rapid growth seem to be the subject of a heated debate at the central bank – and policymakers’ conclusions will play a big role in determining the pace and scale of the easing cycle. For our part, we think the key …
We think the “tech”-heavy sectors of the stock market, which have largely shrugged off the rout in Treasuries, will generally continue to do well. The Treasury market sell-off has continued in earnest this week. The 10-year Treasury and TIPS yields have …
We forecast a 170,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in September as employment growth continues to trend lower, but a government shutdown may disrupt the release of the data on Friday 6 th October. Recent downward revisions took three-month average …
We suspect the pound will fall from $1.22 now to $1.20 by the end of this year. That’s not due to lower interest rate expectations in the UK compared to the US or the euro-zone, as we think the UK will be the last to cut rates. Instead, it’s due to the …
The direct hit to the economy from even an extended government shutdown beginning next week would be modest. But it could also result in delays to key data releases, including the September employment and CPI reports due over the next couple of weeks. At …
We think the “higher-for-longer” narrative that has taken hold in the market won’t last through 2024. We suspect that central banks will generally cut faster than investors seem to expect and that, as a result, the bond market sell-off will turn into a …
Will December’s election pave way for EGP move? Egypt’s National Election Authority confirmed this week that the presidential election will take place in December. As we highlighted , this adds to reasons to think the shift to orthodoxy will remain on …
The narrowing in India’s current account deficit in the four quarters to Q2 was mainly due to the shrinking of the goods trade deficit. Looking ahead, the recent jump in oil prices won’t prevent the deficit narrowing to around 1.5% of GDP this year, and …
GDP revisions change little; recent gap with GDI remains The comprehensive benchmark revisions to the GDP data changed almost nothing of substance – the real economy was still 6.1% bigger in the second quarter of this year than it was pre-pandemic in the …
As we anticipated , housing starts in England spiked to their highest level on record in Q2 as builders began work early to avoid having to conform with the Future Homes Standard. More timely monthly data show that starts slumped in July and August in …
Click here to read the full report. Overview – Russia and Turkey have outperformed the rest of the region this year amid support from loose policy, but both economies look set for a slowdown in 2024 while recoveries take shape across Central and Eastern …
Brazil and Mexico will outperform others in the region this year, but that’s likely to flip on its head in 2024 as they slow – and by more than most expect – while the Andean economies recover. Central banks across the region will continue to lower …
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – Aggregate EM GDP held up better than we had expected over the first half of the year, but we think that a phase of softer growth lies in store over the coming quarters. Our near-term GDP growth forecasts lie below the …
Nigeria’s policy shift has stalled in recent weeks as officials have responded to a growing political backlash by reverting to the interventionist tendencies of the Buhari administration. The result is that the naira has plunged on the parallel market and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sentiment ticks down, but still consistent with recovery The European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicators for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were a mixed bag in …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Euro-zone sentiment weakens further The weak outturn for the euro-zone’s EC Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in September supports our view that the economy will contract in …
China’s economy is regaining some momentum after stalling during the summer. A step up in policy support looks set to deliver a modest cyclical recovery but trend growth remains under pressure. … China Chart Pack (Sep. …
German state figures point to big drop in euro-zone inflation 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 …
After a sharp slowdown this year, GDP growth across the Middle East and North Africa will improve in 2024 as OPEC+ starts to raise its output quotas and high oil prices allow the Gulf economies to keep fiscal policy supportive. Outside of the Gulf, …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBA will hike despite slower retail sales growth Retail sales lost some momentum in August. However, with sales volumes still running above their pre-pandemic trend, that …
