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The rise in the EM manufacturing PMI in July (to 51.4) should be treated with caution but, even so, it still suggests that conditions in EM manufacturing are improving. The recovery is likely to be fastest in China and Central & Eastern Europe. The …
3rd August 2020
Much of Latin America, South Africa, and parts of Asia – notably India and the Philippines – are still struggling to contain their first waves of coronavirus. And while policymakers in these countries have generally eased lockdowns over the past few …
31st July 2020
Our Mobility Trackers suggest that the EM recovery hit a snag in July, partly due to escalating coronavirus cases and tightening restrictions in some EMs (South Africa, Colombia, Hong Kong). This may form part of a broader trend across the emerging world, …
28th July 2020
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – An economic recovery is underway across emerging markets, but there are big differences in its speed and strength between regions and countries. China’s economy is making up lost ground rapidly and looks set to return to …
23rd July 2020
The recovery in EM capital flows stalled last month, but this is only a minor setback – net outflows were very small. The main culprit appears to have been softer foreign demand for EM equities, with appetite for bonds continuing to strengthen. If we’re …
20th July 2020
EM goods exports remained weak in May, but partial June data point to a fledgling recovery. This is likely to continue in the coming months, although a number of factors look set to constrain the uptick. EM trade data for May were relatively …
16th July 2020
A handful of frontier market governments have issued Eurobonds over the past few months, but these could create vulnerabilities further down the line, particularly in Egypt, Ukraine and Bahrain. Moreover, many frontiers remain locked out of global capital …
14th July 2020
Several EMs in Latin America, as well as South Africa, Nigeria, India and Turkey could use financial repression policies to deal with the legacy of higher public debt burdens resulting from the coronavirus crisis. This Update explains what form these …
9th July 2020
A combination of timely policy support and resilient cross-border banking sector flows appeared to alleviate a collapse in EM credit growth during height of the coronavirus crisis. These forces should continue to buoy credit growth in the coming months, …
8th July 2020
A rebound in fuel inflation will push up headline inflation in most EMs over the coming months, even as food and core price pressures moderate. Alongside the recovery in activity, this means that the broad-based EM monetary easing cycle is approaching its …
2nd July 2020
The strong rise in the EM manufacturing PMI from 45.4 in May to 49.6 in June suggests that EM manufacturing is firmly on the road to recovery. We think that the rebound in activity will probably be fastest in China and Emerging Europe. The headline EM …
1st July 2020
Governments in Brazil and South Africa have outlined plans for large multi-year fiscal squeezes from 2021, which will hold back their economic recoveries and are likely to be politically untenable over a sustained length of time. While a few other …
30th June 2020
It is by no means inevitable that the coronavirus crisis puts a big permanent hole in the supply capacity of economies (i.e. their ability to produce goods and services). With the right government policies, many economies should be able more or less to …
29th June 2020
Having suffered sizeable net capital outflows in March and April, our Tracker suggests that capital flows into and out of the emerging world were essentially balanced last month. And daily data suggest that EMs may have attracted net capital inflows this …
25th June 2020
The latest hard data, and our Covid Recovery Trackers , suggest that the downturn in EM GDP bottomed out in April and activity is now edging higher. But the recovery is uneven, with rebounds strong in parts of Emerging Asia and Emerging Europe, and much …
22nd June 2020
While the incoming economic data continue to point to a nascent recovery in aggregate EM activity, some countries are being left behind. Recent figures from parts of Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan) and Emerging Europe (notably Poland), where …
19th June 2020
EM goods exports have slumped during the coronavirus crisis but perhaps by less than might have been expected. Indeed, shipments from parts of Asia appear to have been boosted by a surge in demand for medical and electronics products. A rebound in overall …
18th June 2020
While much of the rebound in EM currencies is now probably behind us, we think that many of them will rise a bit further against the US dollar as risky assets generally continue to recover. (See Chart 1.) We have revised up our forecasts for many emerging …
17th June 2020
Policymakers in the likes of India, much of Latin America and parts of Africa are easing lockdowns even though the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly. This may be less economically damaging than keeping stringent restrictions in place for longer, but …
11th June 2020
Recently released government budget data for April suggest that fiscal deficits in many EMs, including in Brazil, Mexico, India and Turkey, may be running at 10-20% of GDP. This won’t cause a spate of acute fiscal crises, but it is yet another reason to …
10th June 2020
Financial conditions have eased substantially across major EMs over the past few months, but we doubt that this fading headwind will turn into a major tailwind for activity in the coming quarters. Financial conditions gauge the state of financial markets …
9th June 2020
The steepening of EM local currency government bond yield curves since the crisis began in mid-February largely reflects a fall in short-term rates, but in some cases, like Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, it also reflects persistently high long-term …
4th June 2020
While we would interpret the May PMIs with caution, the small rise in the EM manufacturing PMI last month tallies with high-frequency indicators and suggests that EM activity is probably past the worst. The increase in the EM manufacturing PMI to 45.4 in …
1st June 2020
Timely data suggest that April may have been the trough for EM GDP (see Chart 1), and activity at an aggregate level should recover – albeit slowly – in the coming months. But this is likely to mask a big divergence between regions. Large parts of …
29th May 2020
Large parts of Emerging Asia have controlled the virus exceptionally well, which should allow activity to recover quicker than in most other EMs. In contrast, many countries in Latin America are still struggling to contain their outbreaks. With lockdowns …
26th May 2020
Our Tracker suggests that net capital outflows from EMs eased markedly last month. And daily data suggest that outflows have remained relatively modest so far in May. One country which is still experiencing major stress, however, is Turkey. With the …
20th May 2020
Recent reports suggest that governments of some low-income countries are reluctant to restructure debts owed to private creditors for fear of losing market access and pushing up future borrowing costs. But history suggest that the “defaulters’ premium” on …
18th May 2020
The broad-based decline in inflation across the emerging world since the pandemic struck has been driven in part by a dip in fuel inflation, but core inflation is softening in many countries too. We expect inflation to fall further, which should embolden …
13th May 2020
While EM assets, especially in Latin America and EMEA, have been among the worst hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, we think that they will regain some of the ground lost over the past few months. But even then, we expect that most will end …
With the incoming economic data likely to be less reliable than usual, we think that investors should focus more on the timely low-level activity data and the changing shape of infection curves to judge which EMs sit where in the crisis. Meanwhile, …
11th May 2020
The drop in the EM manufacturing PMI to 42.7 in April confirms that industry is collapsing in Q2. Even though industry will bounce back in the EMs starting to ease lockdown measures, the weakness of global demand means that any recovery will be very …
4th May 2020
In those EMs that were quick to control their coronavirus outbreaks (South Africa, Poland, Vietnam), lockdowns are being eased which will allow activity to gradually recover. But the damage from social distancing will last for longer in EMs which were …
The real-time economic and market disruption from the coronavirus means that much of the data released during the past month offers little insight into current developments in the emerging world. Accordingly, this publication will now focus on the most …
29th April 2020
While we expect to see a sharp rebound in global activity once coronavirus-related restrictions are eased, GDP in most economies will still be below its pre-crisis path even after two or three years. (See here .) In this Update , we discuss which …
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – We estimate that aggregate EM GDP will shrink by 4% this year, by far the worst outturn since reliable records began in 1960. The recovery will be fitful, with output at an aggregate level likely to remain below its …
28th April 2020
Remittances held up well during the Global Financial Crisis but the scale (and type) of job losses in the current crisis mean that they are likely to fall sharply in the coming months. A drop in remittances would dampen economic recoveries in the likes of …
24th April 2020
Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries should be able to weather the collapse in oil prices without abandoning dollar pegs, and Russia will still run looser fiscal policy this year than last. But the rout will cause major strains elsewhere. A debt …
22nd April 2020
While emerging markets suffered large net portfolio investment outflows in March, the very latest data suggest that the pace of outflows eased in the first half of April. Meanwhile, it appears that other forms of capital flows – notably FDI and banking …
21st April 2020
The agreement by the G20 to allow the world’s poorest nations to suspend bilateral debt servicing will help to ease short-term balance of payments strains in much of Africa, most notably Angola, but many countries will still need comprehensive debt …
17th April 2020
Lockdowns have proved successful at limiting the spread of coronavirus in the likes of China, Korea and the Czech Republic, but they are likely to be less effective in poorer countries – notably much of Africa, India and Bangladesh – where households are …
15th April 2020
Non-performing loans are likely to climb in many EMs as output and incomes collapse, potentially forcing policymakers in some countries to step in and recapitalise banks. The risks are greatest in Brazil, Mexico and India, where policymakers’ reluctance …
9th April 2020
We think that most EM governments will increase the size of their fiscal support packages, which will cause public debt ratios to jump. For many of the poorest EMs, this will be supported by concessional financing and/or offset by debt relief. Among the …
Many EMs are now turning to the IMF for help in dealing with the fallout from coronavirus, raising questions about whether the Fund will be able to cope with the increased in demands on its purse. While the Fund should have enough resources to bail out …
2nd April 2020
The rebound in the EM manufacturing PMI in March offers little comfort as the survey masks the true weakness of industry. What’s more, the services sector may fare worse during this downturn. The rebound in the EM manufacturing PMI to 49.1 last month, …
1st April 2020
EM central banks have acted swiftly in response to the coronavirus crisis, including adding bond purchases to their toolkit. These are aimed primarily at reducing credit spreads and stabilising the financial system rather than a QE-style loosening of …
In the face of rapid capital outflows, EMs may turn to capital controls to stabilise balance of payments positions. Such measures might help to stave off crises in some countries (particularly if they come alongside external support), but strains in the …
31st March 2020
The impact of global measures to contain the coronavirus will result in a steep fall in EM GDP this year. And the collapse in output, spike in capital outflows and plunge in commodity prices could trigger balance sheet problems that make the downturn much …
30th March 2020
The real-time economic and market disruption from the coronavirus means that much of the data released during the past month offers little insight into current developments in the emerging world. Accordingly, this Chart Book focuses on the most timely and …
27th March 2020
The dislocation in global financial markets has led to large capital outflows from EM debt and equity markets, which has caused financial conditions to tighten. And the economic effects could be much more damaging if major banks start to cut back exposure …
24th March 2020
A record number of sovereign dollar bonds are now trading at distressed levels, although these are mostly those of smaller EM governments. Among the most highly distressed sovereigns, Zambia and Ecuador are most likely to default in the very near term. …
