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Despite strong payrolls, wage growth continues to slow The surprisingly strong 336,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in September adds to the evidence on real activity that the economy is holding up well despite the headwind from higher interest rates. …
6th October 2023
Near-term momentum in house prices is downwards The sixth consecutive monthly decline in the Halifax House Price Index in September leaves it significantly more downbeat than the Nationwide figures about near-term momentum in house prices. Given the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Regular wage growth set to remain strong Regular earnings growth remained strong in August and with the labour market set to tighten, it could yet accelerate further. Growth in …
Q3 exports rebound, but outlook remains weak The trade deficit narrowed to a three-year low of $58.3bn in August, from $64.7bn, as exports increased by $4.1bn or (+1.6% m/m) and imports declined by $2.3bn (-0.7% m/m). The gain in exports was driven by a …
5th October 2023
Surge in exports an upside risk to preliminary GDP estimate Exports rose by far more than imports in August, even as the latter benefited more from the fading disruption from the earlier BC port strikes. That suggests there are upside risks to the …
Australian economy braces for weaker growth Data released today reaffirm our view that the Australian economy is on shaky ground. To start with, trade data suggest that net exports will have become a drag on GDP growth in Q3. The trade surplus widened …
Surveys consistent with moderate growth The small fall in the ISM services index to 53.6 in September, from 54.5, contradicted the rebound in the ISM manufacturing index. Nevertheless, the weighted average of the two ISM surveys are still consistent with …
4th October 2023
High mortgage rates crush home purchase demand Rising mortgage rates caused mortgage applications for home purchase to slip to a fresh 28-year low in September. With mortgage rates edging above 7.5% in the last week of the month as Treasury yields surged …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Euro-zone headed for recession The drop in retail sales in August and weakness in the final PMIs for September are consistent with our view that the euro-zone economy will fall …
RBNZ’s next move will be down Although the RBNZ will retain its tightening bias, we believe that the official cash rate is at its cyclical peak. All 27 of the analysts polled by Reuters, including ourselves, had expected the Bank to leave the OCR …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Japan’s Ministry of Finance may have intervened in support of the yen today after the USD/JPY rate rose through the symbolic 150 level in the wake of the upside surprise in US …
3rd October 2023
RBA will deliver final rate hike next month While new RBA Governor Michelle Bullock didn’t spring any surprises at her first monetary policy decision today, we think that the Bank will hike interest rates to a peak of 4.35% at its next meeting in …
ISM hits 10-month high; construction boosted by lack of homes for sale The ISM manufacturing index rallied to a 10-month high of 49.0 in September, from 47.6, but that still leaves the index at a level that, historically, has been consistent with GDP …
2nd October 2023
Pause in price falls unlikely to mark the trough The stabilisation of house prices in September was a surprise given mortgage rates are still well above the level which allowed the first leg down in house prices to bottom out. But leading indicators of …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Price pressures remain strong as economy is running hot The stronger-than-expected improvement in the latest Tankan survey suggests that the economy will continue to expand at …
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 …
29th September 2023
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
28th September 2023
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 …
Equipment investment growth still set to slow The 0.2% m/m rise in durable goods orders in August was, at first glance, better than expected, but the outperformance was mainly due to a surge in defence aircraft orders. Admittedly, gains in core orders and …
27th September 2023
New York and LA see a decline in office jobs Total employment growth slowed slightly in August to 0.4% 3m/3m across the 30 metros we cover, once seasonally-adjusted. But office jobs in western cities have continued to decline as layoffs in the technology …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Resurgent price pressures raise risk of tighter policy With Australia’s disinflationary process stalling, there’s a growing risk that the Reserve Bank of Australia will resume …
Softening demand proves a tipping point for new home sales The 8.7% m/m drop in New Home Sales in August was the largest monthly decline since September 2022 and suggests that the renewed rise in mortgage rates has caused home purchase demand to decline …
26th September 2023
Another dip in house prices this year unlikely after sixth consecutive rise The sixth consecutive rise in house prices in July showed that very tight supply is causing home prices to continue to rise despite sales volumes remaining weak, and suggests a …
Ifo points to renewed contraction in German GDP in Q3 The Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) confirmed that the German economy remained in the doldrums in September. We continue to expect contractions in GDP in both Q3 and Q4 of this year. The small fall in …
25th September 2023
Retail sales volumes weakening despite strong population growth Retail sales volumes edged down in July and the preliminary estimate implies they fell even more sharply in August. Given that population growth has accelerated in recent months, retail sales …
22nd September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Signs that recession has started all-but confirms interest rates have peaked The fall in the activity PMI further below the boom-bust level of 50.0 in September suggests the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Composite PMI edges up but still points to recession The small increase in the euro-zone Composite PMI in September left it still in contractionary territory. We think a further …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Not as good as it looks, sales likely to fall in Q3 The 0.4% m/m rebound in retail sales volumes in August isn’t as good as it looks as it partly reflected a pickup in sales …
Negative rates will end in early-2024 The Bank of Japan didn’t provide any hints that it will abandon loose monetary policy anytime soon when it kept policy settings unchanged today, but Governor Ueda may do so later today. We think the Bank will lift its …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Inflation on its way down but price pressures remain Headline inflation fell slightly in August. This was driven by a slowdown in fresh food inflation as well as a further …
Sales fall back to January lows The 0.7% m/m fall back in existing home sales in August reflects falling mortgage borrowing and took sales back close to the low levels recorded in January. Our view that mortgage rates will remain above 6% for the rest of …
21st September 2023
The Bank’s job is done The surprise decision by the Bank of England to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25% today probably means that rates are already at their peak. We think rates will stay at this peak of 5.25% for longer than the Fed, the ECB and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Note: We’ll be discussing September’s Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy decisions in a Drop-In at 3pm BST today. Register here to join. A bit more wiggle room for pre-election …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Strong pickup in growth puts rate hikes back on the table The unexpectedly strong rebound in activity last quarter means that the RBNZ may well judge it has more work to do. All …
Fed wants us to believe in “higher for longer” The Fed left its policy rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50% and, while the median forecast still shows one more 25bp rate hike this year, the FOMC appears to be more evenly split, with 12 in favour of that hike …
20th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Easing in services inflation may mean BoE halts rate hikes…after tomorrow Note: We’ll be discussing September’s Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy decisions in a Drop-In on …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Q3 GDP growth to slow sharply Net exports probably won’t support GDP growth in the third quarter, but export volumes should continue to rise over coming quarters. The 0.8% …
Sharp drop in housing starts suggest turning point Housing starts fell sharply across both the single-family and multifamily sectors in August, suggesting that construction has now reached a turning point. We expect this downward trend to continue for the …
19th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Jump in core inflation puts renewed pressure on the Bank The larger rise in core prices in August is bad news for the Bank of Canada although, with high interest rates now …
RBA’s pause to continue Although the RBA won’t be dropping its guard in the fight against inflation anytime soon, we still believe its tightening cycle is at an end. The minutes of the RBA’s September meeting showed that the Board did once again discuss …
Sharp rise in lending in August likely to be temporary The $29.0bn monthly rise in real estate debt held by US banks in August, now at $5.48trn outstanding, was the largest m/m increase in six months. However, we expect this spike to be short-lived, as …
18th September 2023
Easing inflation expectations an encouraging sign for Fed The small fall in the University of Michigan index suggests that consumers remain downbeat in September. But the bigger news was the fairly sharp drop-back in households’ inflation expectations – …
15th September 2023
Drop back in motor vehicle output not a concern The 0.1% m/m increase in manufacturing output in August was marginally better than we had expected, but doesn’t change the broader picture, which is that, with global manufacturing still struggling, the …
Easing supply shortages continue to support activity The continued strength of manufacturing sales in July suggests that GDP may be stronger than initially expected, as easing supply shortages continue to support the manufacturing sector. While there may …
