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Resurgence in activity unlikely to last The 0.2% m/m rise in real GDP in April will further raise hopes that the economy will escape a recession this year. But the rise in GDP is not as good as it seems. And with the full drag from high interest rates …
14th June 2023
Reacceleration in wage growth supports the case for further rate hikes The labour market became tighter in April and wage growth reaccelerated. That will only add to the heat already on the Bank of England to raise interest rates further at the policy …
13th June 2023
EZ already in recession, outlook still poor News that GDP contracted in Q1 after all means that the euro-zone has already fallen into a technical recession. We suspect that the economy will contract further over the rest of this year. Data released today …
8th June 2023
Pause in May will give way to renewed falls ahead House prices were unchanged in May according to Halifax. Given that lack of momentum, the increase in mortgage rates following the bad inflation data published on the 24th of the month is set to tip house …
7th June 2023
Weak demand to weigh on industry The 0.3% m/m rise in industrial production in April was much smaller than the 2% rebound we had anticipated and weaker than the consensus forecast (+0.6%). Although the decline in March was revised down to 2.1% (previously …
NBP remains on pause The National Bank of Poland (NBP) left its main policy rate on hold again today, at 6.75%, and we think that rates will remain unchanged for at least the next few meetings. While we maintain our forecast that interest rates will be …
6th June 2023
The renewed decline in mortgage approvals in April will have dashed hopes that the jump in March marked the start of a recovery. Moreover, with mortgage rates now on their way back up, lending is likely to remain weak throughout the second half of the …
1st June 2023
Higher interest rates start to weigh more heavily on bank lending While the £7.3bn rebound in total UK bank deposits in April followed the £16.1bn decline in March and suggests that concerns over the stability of UK banks have faded, the more interesting …
House prices flattened off in May after a rise in April. But with mortgage rates now on their way back up we suspect that the stabilisation in prices over the last couple of months will soon give way to renewed falls. The -0.1% m/m fall in house prices in …
Good news on inflation but core rate still high The fall in German headline inflation in May along with signs that core price pressures eased echoes the message from the inflation figures for France and Spain and supports the case for the ECB to limit …
31st May 2023
Improving outlook for retailers, but higher interest rates to weigh on spending before long The 0.5% m/m rise in retail sales volumes in April was better than we expected (consensus +0.2%, CE -0.5%) and reversed some of the 1.2% m/m fall in March (revised …
26th May 2023
Hopes for CBRT rate hikes are evaporating Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) left its key policy rate on hold at 8.50% again today and, with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in pole position to be re-elected as Turkey’s President this Sunday, the probability of much-needed …
25th May 2023
Germany in recession and outlook poor The downward revision to Germany’s Q1 GDP means that the country has fallen into a technical recession and that euro-zone GDP probably stagnated in Q1 rather than expanding by 0.1% q/q. We expect further economic …
Opposing messages from Ifo and PMIs Contradictory messages from the Ifo – which was very weak in May – and the Composite PMI mean the performance of the German economy in Q2 is very uncertain . But regardless of how well the economy held up this quarter, …
24th May 2023
Resurgence in core inflation means BoE to keep its foot on the interest rate brake Note: We’ll be discussing the UK April CPI report in a briefing at 10:00 BST/17:00 SGT on 24 th May. Register here. The smaller-than-expected fall in CPI inflation from …
MNB inching closer to an easing cycle Hungary’s central bank (MNB) left its base rate on hold at 13% as expected today and the post-meeting communications are likely to provide guidance on when the overnight daily deposit rate of 18% will be cut, which …
23rd May 2023
Stronger activity supporting price pressures May’s PMIs suggest that the economy is being supported by the services sector while manufacturing activity continues to struggle. The strength in services activity may be feeding into more persistent domestic …
Resilient services sector keeping growth and price pressures strong The fall in the euro-zone flash Composite PMI from 54.1 in April to 53.3 in May left it close to the consensus and our own forecast (both 53.5) and suggests at face value that the economy …
Shaky start to the new fiscal year April’s public finances figures got the new fiscal year off to a shaky start. But we doubt this will prevent the Chancellor from embarking on a fiscal splurge ahead of the next election, due to take place before January …
Cooling labour market eases some pressure on BoE to raise rates further The labour market loosened by a bit more than the Bank of England expected in March. That may alleviate some pressure on the Bank to raise rates further at the next policy meeting in …
16th May 2023
Slump in March to be followed by further weakness The 4.1% slump in euro-zone industrial production in March was much worse than expected and means that industry was a drag on GDP growth in Q1. While the fall seems to be partly driven by one-off factors …
15th May 2023
Still no recession, but economic growth soggy The news that the economy contracted by 0.3% m/m in March and grew by just 0.1% q/q in Q1 as a whole (consensus +0.1% q/q, Bank of England 0.0% q/q, CE +0.1% q/q) suggests that low real income and high …
12th May 2023
Rates may have peaked, but risks of one or two more hikes remain Today’s 25bps rise in interest rates from 4.25% to 4.50% takes rates to our long-held forecast and may be the last hike, although another hike or two is perfectly possible. We suspect the …
11th May 2023
Core inflation edges up again The higher-than-expected core inflation rate for April supports our view that the Norges Bank will raise its key policy rate from 3.25% to a peak of 3.75% later this year. The small reduction in headline CPI inflation, from …
10th May 2023
More dovish consensus emerging The record of the Riksbank’s April policy meeting underlines that there was unanimous agreement to slow the pace of rate hikes in future. After the 50bp hike in April, the Bank is likely to raise rates by 25bp at the end of …
9th May 2023
Decline in bank deposits doesn’t look like a bank run March’s money and credit data showed that the collapse of the US bank SVB and the takeover of Credit Suisse in early March triggered a small withdrawal of funds from the overall UK banking system. …
4th May 2023
Inflation figures suggest 50bp ECB hike next week still likely National inflation figures released today suggest that euro-zone headline and core inflation edged up in April. That adds to the reasons for the ECB to opt for a 50bp hike at its meeting next …
28th April 2023
CBR keeps rates on hold, hike still on the table Russia’s central bank maintained its hawkish tone today as it left interest rates unchanged at 7.50% and continued to emphasise pro-inflation risks in the economy. So far these risks do not seem to be …
Germany disappoints, while Italy powers ahead National GDP data released so far suggest that it is touch and go whether the euro-zone economy expanded in Q1, though it did avoid a contraction. We expect economic growth to remain very weak in the coming …
Positive growth in Q1 despite slumping domestic demand The increases in GDP in France and Spain in Q1 bode well for the euro-zone aggregate data to be released later this morning. We suspect that activity in both countries will lose some momentum later …
Riksbank leads the way with 50bp With the ECB set to raise rates next Thursday, the Riksbank has got its retaliation in early, raising its key rate by 50bp to 3.5%. The press release indicates that the Bank expects to raise rates by another 25bp at most, …
26th April 2023
More wiggle room for the Chancellor The news that total borrowing in 2022/23 was £13.2bn lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted only a month ago provides the Chancellor with more wiggle room to cut taxes/raise spending ahead of the next …
25th April 2023
A note of caution from the Ifo The small increase in the Ifo Business Climate Index in April confirms that the German economy remained resilient in the face of higher interest rates at the start of Q2. But the survey was much more downbeat than the PMIs, …
24th April 2023
Resilience in economic activity continues into Q2 April’s flash PMIs suggest the economy is still proving resilient to the dual drags of high inflation and high interest rates going into Q2. That, and the uptick in the services output prices balance, …
21st April 2023
Strong start to Q2 points to 50bp May hike The further rise in the Composite PMI in April suggests that the euro-zone economy continued to expand at the start of Q2. With price pressures and employment intentions also strong, that adds to the reasons for …
Not as bad as it looks, but higher interest rates to restrain spending The 0.9% m/m fall in retail sales volumes in March (consensus -0.5%, CE -1.0%) probably isn’t as bad as it looks as it was partly due to the unusually wet weather. The further rise in …
ECB account consistent with further rate hikes The account of the ECB’s last policy meeting, which took place just days after the collapse of Credit Suisse, confirms that it was only the banking sector turbulence that deterred policymakers from …
20th April 2023
Stubborn core inflation points to one more rate hike…at least The smaller-than-expected fall in CPI inflation in March, from 10.4% in February to 10.1% (consensus/CE 9.8%, BoE Feb MPR 9.2%) and the stubbornness of core inflation, which stayed at 6.2% …
19th April 2023
Wage growth easing albeit slowly The labour market became a bit less tight in February and wage growth continued to ease, albeit slowly. That leaves the Bank of England with a tough call on whether to raise interest rates further. Tomorrow’s release of …
18th April 2023
Continuing to dodge recession The stagnation in real GDP in February (consensus +0.1%, CE 0.0%) means the economy probably avoided recession in Q1. But it also increases the chances that the Bank of England will need to raise interest rates further to …
13th April 2023
Industrial resilience won’t prevent recession The second consecutive big increase in German industrial production in February all but confirms that GDP returned to growth in Q1. The industrial resilience may continue in the coming months but we still …
6th April 2023
Rates on hold, but cutting by year end Poland’s central bank (NBP) left its main policy rate on hold as expected again today, at 6.75%, and policymakers look set to keep interest rates at this level at the upcoming meetings. But with inflation likely to …
5th April 2023
Rates on hold, policy to stay tight throughout 2023 Romania’s central bank (NBR) left its policy rate on hold as expected today, at 7.00%, and we think that it will only start to cut interest rates in early 2024, which is later than its regional peers. …
4th April 2023
Headline rate falling but strength of core inflation will keep ECB hawkish Policymakers at the ECB won’t read too much into the drop in headline inflation in March and will be more concerned that the core rate hit a new record high. Overall, March’s …
31st March 2023
Households have a slightly larger savings buffer The upward revision to real GDP growth in Q3 and Q4 of last year suggests that high inflation took a slightly smaller toll on the economy than we previously thought. But with around two-thirds of the drag …
Higher interest rates continue to hurt housing more than consumer credit February’s money and credit data release suggests that higher interest rates were a further drag on lending in February, particularly in the housing market. That’s before the recent …
29th March 2023
MNB to keep rates higher for longer as inflation risks persist Hungary’s central bank (MNB) left its benchmark base rate on hold today (at 13.00%) and it is looking increasingly likely that this rate will not be cut until Q4 at the earliest. The phasing …
28th March 2023
Resilience unlikely to last The fifth successive monthly increase in the Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) in March suggests that Germany is still benefitting from falling energy prices and easing supply problems and has yet to feel the full effects of …
27th March 2023
Activity remains resilient, despite global banking issues The flash PMIs suggest the economy’s strong start to the year was sustained in March. But with the full drag from high interest rates yet to be felt, our hunch is still that the economy will enter …
24th March 2023
Strong PMIs point to further ECB hikes The strong batch of euro-zone flash PMIs for March means it is now all but certain that the economy expanded in Q1 while both employment conditions and price pressures remained very strong. With the banking turmoil …
