Sluggish economic growth in the euro-zone’s trading partners and a deterioration in competitiveness caused an extremely rare absolute decline in euro-zone export volumes last year. Poor competitiveness will remain a perennial problem, but global growth …
11th June 2024
The granular data on mortgage lending in Q1 contained some signs of relief following the dip in mortgage rates at the end of last year. But given that decline in rates has since reversed, we don’t think it signals a further improvement in activity to …
Rise in services inflation takes rate cuts off the table The rise in inflation in Brazil to 3.9% y/y in May and, more importantly, the re-acceleration in underlying core services inflation means we no longer expect a rate cut at the Copom meeting next …
Net capital inflows into EMs have climbed back into positive territory in recent weeks, driven by a sharp rise in foreign investors’ purchases of Turkish government debt. This strength could continue if investor confidence in the country’s policy shift is …
The ramp-up in public capital expenditure in the last five years has helped to ease some of the bottlenecks that had previously acted as a constraint on India’s economy. Despite the Modi government’s weakened electoral mandate, there are good reasons to …
RBA to stay put at its June meeting Inflation remains high, but spare capacity is starting to open up in the economy Forthcoming easing cycle will be modest in scope, with rates returning to neutral We expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave rates …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. S ticky wage growth a lingering concern for the BoE The stickiness of wage growth in April will be a lingering concern for the Bank of England. But with employment falling …
The latest data has been a bit stronger than we had anticipated and suggests that the recovery in euro-zone activity may continue at a moderate pace. The labour market remains tight, with unemployment falling to a fresh record low and wage growth picking …
10th June 2024
French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call for snap elections has triggered a negative reaction in markets, not only in France but also in the rest of the EU. Even though the far-right National Rally has abandoned its most extreme economic …
O ur Canada Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. As the economy is set for a sustained period of below potential growth and core inflation is on track to return to the 2% target by the end of the year, …
Although we expect equities in general to fare well over the next year or so, we think that falls in most commodity prices will weigh on the energy and materials sectors. That would be bad news for stock markets with big energy/materials exposure and …
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s strong environmental credentials mean that a shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewables is likely during her tenure. We doubt that she’ll fully open up the energy sector to private investment and think …
An interactive guide to the future of global macro and markets leadership. This content was last updated on 10th June 2024. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in the top right …
Capital Economics clients can download a complete pdf version of this report by clicking the download button top right. If you can't see a download option, please speak to your account manager. You can also explore the individual Spotlight chapters below: …
US economic dominance has not always translated into stock market outperformance. Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), however, US equities have largely outperformed those in the rest of the world. The main driver for this has been higher growth in …
The US’s economic leadership is partly related to its sheer size, but its population also works more than other countries and it fares better on productivity. While the US economy faces various threats, from fracturing to regulation, we doubt that it will …
For all its flaws, the US has long been a world-leading economy in a number of important respects. It has been an economic leader as the largest economy in the world since the late 1870s. While GDP growth has sometimes been faster elsewhere, none of its …
We expect the US to remain the world’s pre-eminent global economy for the foreseeable future. Not only will its own economic performance remain comparatively strong – not least as the advent of AI plays to its advantages – but the other key contenders for …
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kicked off its easing cycle today with a 150bps rate cut, and while further cuts are likely, ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a new long-term loan deal mean that the pace of further loosening is likely to be …
The elections that have concluded in major emerging economies over the past couple of weeks have been notable for several reasons: Mexico elected its first female president, Narendra Modi secured an historic third term as Prime Minister of India, albeit …
The shock results of Europe’s parliament elections have roiled markets as investors respond harshly to news of President Macron’s surprise decision to dissolve France’s National Assembly and hold early elections. What will Macron’s gamble mean for the …
Inflation hits slowest pace in over a year Egypt’s headline inflation dropped back from 32.5% y/y in April to 28.1% y/y, the lowest outturn since the start of 2023. Inflation is likely to rise again in June and July due to government price hikes, …
Macron’s gamble adds to risks for public finances Support for the centrists has held up quite well in European elections but this was overshadowed by the jump in votes for the far-right in France and President Macron’s surprise decision to dissolve …
Rising car prices explain why US import prices from Japan haven’t fallen despite the sharp weakening of the yen. While growth in car prices has slowed as supply shortages have unwound, this hasn’t boosted export volumes so far and we think that the weak …
Will the US continue to dominate the global economy in the coming years? Will China or Europe ever catch up? Is the US where investors will continue to see stronger stock market returns? The question of US outperformance runs to the heart of the global …
7th June 2024
Another strong reading on the US labour market has reversed much of the recent drop in US interest rate expectations but we continue to think Treasury yield are headed lower later this year. Today’s US non-farm payrolls report for May came in at a …
The strong nonfarm payrolls report released earlier today broke the recent streak of downward data surprises out of the US and has renewed strength in the dollar. Even so, the greenback looks set to end the week only somewhat stronger against most …
The Bank of Canada kicked off its loosened cycle this week and the accompanying communications left the door open for another cut in July, although still-strong wage pressures are one reason why the Bank may opt to take a more gradual approach. “Let’s …
ANC’s unity government talks likely to be fraught South Africa’s post-election uncertainty continued this week, with the ANC outlining its desire for a government of national unity with a broad range of opposition parties. This looks like a non-starter, …
We don’t think that the below-potential GDP growth implied by the recent activity data is a cause for concern yet, particularly while the labour market appears healthy. That will keep the Fed squarely focused on the inflation side of its mandate at its …
In the coming years, we expect Europe to raise barriers to trade and investment with China but to do so in a targeted and gradual manner. If so, there would be big implications for some sectors, including electric vehicles and renewable technologies, but …
Mexico: Morena supermajority spooks investors Investors have reacted negatively to Mexico’s election outcome, with the peso selling off sharply after the announcement of the election results. And while the currency has pared some of its losses, it’s still …
Elections in South Africa, India, and Mexico have generated sizeable reactions in their financial markets over the past week or so, highlighting the potential for electoral surprises to generate short-term volatility. This Update takes stock of the …
This week both the Conservative and Labour Party have been quick to tell us about ‘financial black holes’ in their opponent’s tax and spending plans. But there are two big things neither party is telling us. First, sticking to their fiscal rules means …
CBRT reserves on the rise The rebound in Turkey’s FX reserves in the past two months, alongside the sharp reduction in the central bank’s FX swap programme, has taken the CBRT’s net FX position into positive territory for the first time in four years. …
Payrolls outperform, but gap with household measure growing The bigger-than-expected 272,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in May will soothe recent fears that the bottom had suddenly dropped out of the economy. With average hourly earnings increasing by 0.4% …
Labour market conditions continue to loosen The further rise in the unemployment rate in May shows that the labour market continues to loosen, but the surprising pick-up in wage growth still provides reason to be cautious about the idea that the Bank of …
Mexico’s strong services inflation to concern hawkish Banxico Mexico’s headline inflation rate came in at a weaker-than-expected 4.7% y/y in May but the continued strength of core services inflation means that it is increasingly likely that Banxico will …
Data released this week confirmed that the euro-zone economy is out of recession, but that domestic demand is still quite weak. The second estimate of Q1 GDP showed that the economy expanded by 0.3% q/q. But the breakdown revealed that was fully explained …
The decision by OPEC+ last Sunday to increase output from October caught investors by surprise and sent oil prices sinking to below $78 per barrel early in the week. Ahead of the meeting, investors had expected that the cuts would be rolled over for the …
Trade barriers doing little to slow influx of goods Trade data published today showed that Chinese exports remained on a tear in May, rising 14.5% y/y in volume terms. This will add to concerns in Western countries about the influx of Chinese goods, which …
CBR sounds hawkish, rate hike becoming more likely Russia’s central bank (CBR) left its key policy rate on hold at 16.00% but delivered a much more hawkish message at today’s meeting. Inflation concerns are likely to persist for some time and we think the …
Equities up at the end of an extraordinary week The dust is settling on an extraordinary week for domestic politics and financial markets. Equities rallied on Monday (See Chart 1) following the release of election exit polls at the weekend pointing to a …
Weak growth to prompt Thailand rate cut We expect the Bank of Thailand to start its easing cycle on Wednesday. The economy is certainly in need of support. Although GDP returned to growth in the first quarter of the year, output was still only 1.7% above …
The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected but, notably, two of out of the six MPC members voted for a cut. With inflation likely to continue falling over the coming months, we maintain our long-held view that the easing cycle will …
Confirmation house prices are stagnant The slight decline in the Halifax house price index in May confirmed that the increase in mortgage rates since the start of the year has caused house prices to stall. Mortgage rates have continued to edge up, so …
RBI still on course for August rate cut The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected but, notably, two of out of the six MPC members voted for a cut. With inflation likely to continue falling over the coming months, we maintain our …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Exports set to remain robust in the near-term Export values rose y/y at the fastest pace since April 2023, with export volumes also picking up. We think exports will remain …
