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Sharp fall in mortgage rates lifts applications The impact of lower mortgage rates was finally evident in mortgage applications in September, with applications for home purchase rebounding to a three-month high. With mortgage rates falling to little more …
2nd October 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Consumer rebound not as strong as it seems The solid pickup in retail sales in August was driven in part by temporary factors, meaning that the underlying momentum behind …
1st October 2024
Tankan points to continued recovery This website has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The slight rise in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest Tankan suggests that the robust rebound in activity in Q2 will …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Fading drag on credit from higher interest rates is supporting the economy August’s money and lending data provide further evidence that the gradual improvement in credit demand …
30th September 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Softer rebound in activity, but another major downturn unlikely Q2 GDP growth of 0.5% q/q was a bit weaker than the previous estimate of 0.6% q/q, but the ONS also confirmed …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. House prices rise in Q3 and will rise further next year September’s 0.7% m/m rise in Nationwide house prices suggests that August’s 0.2% m/m fall was just a blip and that the …
Economic recovery lost some pace in Q3 While the plunge in industrial production in August creates some downside risks to our forecasts, the continued strength in consumer spending is encouraging. According to the preliminary estimate, industrial …
Core price pressures easing; Q3 consumption growth solid As we calculated based on the earlier price data releases, the core PCE deflator increased by a muted 0.13% m/m in August, with the headline deflator up by 0.09% m/m. Admittedly, although the …
27th September 2024
Stronger monthly GDP growth will be short lived Although the rise in GDP in July was stronger than expected, the preliminary estimate of unchanged GDP in August suggests that the momentum was short lived and puts third-quarter growth on track to surprise …
GDP revision shows stronger income growth; core orders rally At first glance the annual revision to the national accounts doesn’t appear to have had much of an impact – with second-quarter GDP growth left unchanged at 3.0% and core PCE inflation unchanged …
26th September 2024
Small fall in new home sales not a worry New home sales dropped back slightly in August, which always seemed likely after the 10% surge in transactions the month before, driven by pent-up buyers responding to lower borrowing costs. Still, new home demand …
25th September 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Disinflation gathers pace The Reserve Bank of Australia will look past the sharp fall in headline inflation in August, given that the plunge was driven in large part government …
House prices lose further momentum Another muted 0.2% rise in house prices in July adds to the sense that the housing market is cooling amid weak buyer demand and growing supply. As price growth continues to moderate quickly with no signs of a turnaround …
24th September 2024
RBA will only cut in first half of next year The RBA sounded marginally less hawkish today but we still expect the Bank to only lower interest rates in Q2 2025. As widely anticipated, the Bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.35%. The key elements of …
Flash PMI suggests continued rebound in activity The composite PMI remained at healthy level in September which suggests that the strong rebound in activity that started last quarter will continue across the second half of the year. Today’s flash estimate …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Growth slowing, not collapsing The fall in September’s composite flash PMI is probably not a sign that the economy is on the cusp of another downturn, but instead is further …
23rd September 2024
Stronger third quarter consumption The rebound in retail sales volumes in July will be welcome news to the Bank of Canada, which has been concerned about the downside risks to the economy. With the outlook for sales positive, there is a better chance …
20th September 2024
Retail sector on track to support consumer spending in Q3 The unexpected large rise in retail sales volumes in August came on the back of a 0.7% m/m increase in July (revised up from 0.5% m/m) and lends some support to our view that the recent stagnation …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Borrowing disappoints but backdrop not as dire as Chancellor suggests August’s public finances figures continued the recent run of bad news on the fiscal position, with public …
The Bank of Japan kept policy unchanged today as widely anticipated and we’re sticking to our forecast that it will deliver another 25bp rate hike at its October meeting. As correctly anticipated by all analysts polled by Reuters, including ourselves, the …
Underlying inflation will hover around 2% until early-2025 Underlying inflation rebounded in August and will remain close to the BoJ’s 2% target until early-2025, triggering another rate hike by the Bank at its October meeting. The 2.8% annual rise in …
Sales slump, but signs of life emerging The slump in existing home sales in August shows that the sharp fall in mortgage rates since late-July is yet to stimulate the market, although the signs of life in last week’s purchase mortgage applications data …
19th September 2024
For our more detailed analysis of the Bank's September policy announcement, see here . BoE underlines that interest rates will be reduced gradually By leaving interest rates at 5.00% the Bank of England showed it is more like the ECB than the Fed and is …
Unemployment rate will approach 5% next year The labour market and population data released today are consistent with our view that the Reserve Bank of Australia will only lower interest rates in Q2 2025. For a start, the 47,500 rise in employment in …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBNZ still on course to loosen policy aggressively Economic activity in New Zealand last quarter wasn’t quite as weak as most had anticipated. However, we still think there’s a …
A hawkish 50 The Fed did cut its policy rate by a bigger 50bp, to between 4.75% and 5.00%, but the vote was not unanimous and the new rate projections only shows an additional 50bp of cuts between now and the end of this year. Accordingly, today’s …
18th September 2024
Rebound in housing starts The large rise in housing starts in August was due to a rebound in starts in the south, confirming that the July slump was a temporary disruption caused by Hurricane Beryl. The increase in permits, particularly in the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Rise in services inflation makes September rate cut even less likely CPI inflation stayed at 2.2% in August (consensus & CE 2.2%, BoE 2.4%), but the rise in services inflation …
Drag from net trade will moderate Q3 GDP growth Even though the trade balance held up much better than most had anticipated in August, net trade will still provide a large drag on Q3 GDP growth. The 5.6% y/y rise in export values was much weaker than the …
Manufacturing output rebounds, but challenges remain Manufacturing output rebounded strongly in August as the temporary disruptions to production from the previous month were reversed. Together with last month’s solid gain in control group retail sales, …
17th September 2024
Consumers remain resilient The stronger-than-expected retail sales data for August suggest that, boosted by rapid wealth gains and falling energy prices, consumers continue to spend freely despite the labour market slowdown. With control group sales …
Mission almost accomplished The return of headline inflation to the 2.0% target in August was mainly due to favourable base effects and is likely to be short-lived, with inflation rebounding to as high as 2.5% by the turn of the year. Nonetheless, the …
A brief respite for the manufacturing sector The 0.9% m/m rise in manufacturing sales volumes in July implies there are upside risks to the flash estimate that total GDP was unchanged at the start of the third quarter, although the negative tone of the …
16th September 2024
Consumer mood improves, but remains sour Despite the small rise in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index in September, consumer confidence remains in a slump. At face value, weak sentiment points to softer consumer spending, but confidence …
13th September 2024
PPI also points to another muted gain in core PCE The August PPI data provide more encouragement for the Fed that inflation has been tamed. Together the CPI and PPI data point to a muted 0.14% m/m increase in the core PCE deflator last month, with the …
12th September 2024
Inflation tamed rather than vanquished The 0.28% m/m increase in core CPI in August appears to be consistent with a slightly below-target 0.15% m/m increase in the Fed’s preferred core PCE deflator measure. But we doubt that modest undershoot would be …
11th September 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. July’s stagnation unlikely to mark the start of a renewed downturn GDP stagnated in July (consensus and CE forecast 0.2%), but that doesn’t mean the UK is on the cusp of another …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Encouraging, but not enough for interest rates to be cut again in September The further easing in wage growth will be welcomed by the Bank of England as a sign that labour market …
10th September 2024
Labour market experiencing slowdown rather than collapse The 142,000 gain in non-farm payroll employment in August was probably just enough to tip the Fed in favour of a measured 25bp rate cut this month, rather than a more dramatic move, but the labour …
6th September 2024
Unemployment rate heading toward 7% The rebound in employment in August should soothe fears that the economy is taking a turn for the worse, although the 0.2%-point jump in the unemployment rate to 6.6% presents clear upside risks to our forecast that it …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Modest housing market recovery continues The second consecutive monthly rise in the Halifax house price index in August supports our view that the fall in the Nationwide house …
ISM services survey adds little to the 25bp vs 50bp debate Although the ISM services index was essentially unchanged in August, that is still something of a relief following the weak ISM manufacturing report earlier this week and the gloomy tone of the …
5th September 2024
Regular earnings growth will approach 3% While weaker growth in bonus payments weighed on overall wage growth, base pay rose by the most since 1992 in July and we think it will continue to surge in the coming months. The preliminary estimate released …
Another 25bp cut, but little sign the Bank considered a larger move Following its third consecutive 25bp interest rate cut today, the communications from the Bank of Canada reiterated that further interest rate cuts are likely. The tone of the …
4th September 2024
Net trade set to weigh on GDP again this quarter The July trade data suggest that net trade will weigh on third-quarter GDP growth, but that is hardly cause for concern when it reflects the continued strength of imports, painting a better picture of …
Trade balance improves, but for the wrong reasons The improvement in the goods trade balance in July was for the wrong reasons, with a fall in imports outpacing a decline in exports. The weakness was due to sharp declines in motor vehicle trade, which …
Recovery delayed The drop in home purchase mortgage applications in August is surprising given the sharp fall in mortgage rates the month before. Some would-be buyers may be delaying their purchases due to increased concerns about the economic outlook, …
Australian economy will soon turn a corner Although activity likely bottomed out last quarter, the ongoing weakness in private demand raises the risk that the RBA will cut rates sooner rather than later. The 0.2% q/q rise in real GDP last quarter was a …
Manufacturing stuck in a rut The ISM manufacturing index was essentially unchanged in August, leaving it consistent with manufacturing output and GDP growth losing momentum in the third quarter, and a sharp drop in the new orders index reduces the …
3rd September 2024
Price pressures well behaved despite strength of real economy The July income and spending report shows price pressures remaining muted despite the strength of real consumption. The latter suggests that third-quarter consumption growth will be 3.7%. Even …
30th August 2024
