Global refinery capacity is stretched with less of Russia’s capacity at work Slack should return if Russia re-routes some of its petroleum product exports But unplanned refinery outages will now remain a bigger risk to crude oil demand In this Energy …
31st May 2022
Disruption to supply rather than strong demand has pushed prices higher Ample stocks and bearish financial market backdrop create potential for sharp price fall But the risk premia will be structurally higher in agricultural prices going forward The last …
Mediocre labour market data point to another 25bp rate hike in June However, further upside surprises in inflation should prompt faster hikes in Q3 Rates to peak at 3.0% by early-2023, rate cuts to come in 2024 The Reserve Bank of Australia will probably …
Further upside surprise in core inflation points to another 50bp hike Housing slump begins, but won’t stop march back to neutral We expect slower pace of tightening in H2, with policy rate peaking at 2.5% We expect the Bank of Canada to hike its policy …
25th May 2022
The economy is still running too hot We expect the Bank to hike rates by a further 50bp in May But as the housing downturn intensifies, the RBNZ will reverse course next year The New Zealand economy was running hot even when the Omicron variant was …
19th May 2022
The switch from global QE to QT is imminent But not all banks will participate, with the BoJ still buying and the ECB on standby QT will contribute to a rise in yields, especially in US, but no global market meltdown The focus of recent weeks has been on …
18th May 2022
OPEC production still falling short of target OPEC lowered its forecast for Russia’s oil production this year, but still expects it to rise. By contrast, we think Russia’s output will fall and see rising pressure on OPEC to step up output in response . …
13th May 2022
We think that the Norges Bank will keep interest rates on hold, at +0.75%, next Thursday, before resuming its tightening cycle in June. We forecast one rate hike per quarter this year and next, which would leave rates at 2.50% by end-2023. But the balance …
28th April 2022
Rising price/wage expectations will prompt MPC to raise interest rates by 25bps MPC to announce its decision to sell some of its gilt holdings A tight labour market/more persistent price pressures may mean rates rise to 3.00% in 2023 The weakening …
50bp hike likely to be first in series of three over next few policy meetings QT to be launched next week – caps will be ramped up to $95bn per month Economy should bend rather than break under higher rates We expect the Fed to hike interest rates by 50bp …
27th April 2022
RBA has not kicked off tightening cycle with 50bp hike since early 1990s But inflation now on track to reach levels last seen in early 1990s Bank to lift cash rate to 0.50% in June, rate to peak at an above-consensus 2.5% The surge in inflation would …
Having so far been a bastion of dovishness amongst G10 central banks, we think that the stage is set for the Riksbank to start to raise the repo rate next Thursday, and it will press on with further rate rises thereafter. But with “QT” likely to do some …
21st April 2022
Inflation will hit the Bank’s 2% target this month But BoJ won’t tighten due to stuttering recovery & weak domestic price pressures And Governor Kuroda won’t sacrifice Yield Curve Control for a stronger yen Despite coming under significant pressure in …
OPEC still dragging its heels OPEC oil production rose a little in March, but the group continues to underproduce. What’s more, its optimistic non-OPEC supply forecasts suggest that it has no intention of boosting output in the near term . The OPEC …
12th April 2022
ECB will reiterate plan to end asset purchases in third quarter… …but will acknowledge that inflation is much higher than expected. We think it will raise the depo rate as soon as July and lift it to +0.25% by year-end. The Governing Council is likely to …
7th April 2022
Evidence is mounting that more rate hikes will be needed Bank to hike rates by 50bp in April and May, 3.0% by end 2022 But we think the Bank will eventually have to reverse course, cutting rates next year Inflation is set to exceed the RBNZ’s forecasts …
GDP growth and inflation continue to outperform Bank’s forecasts Bank set to accompany 50 bp hike with start of quantitative tightening We now expect the policy rate to reach 2.0% by the fourth quarter We now anticipate that the Bank of Canada will raise …
6th April 2022
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – The war in Ukraine has caused price pressures to intensify again and we now expect global headline inflation to be one percentage point higher on average this year than we previously envisaged. Now is probably the point …
4th April 2022
Ukraine’s grain exports will fall sharply in the 2022/23 season Grain prices should fall back to pre-war levels, although these are still historically high But in an extreme scenario, prices would stay much higher for longer Grains prices have skyrocketed …
31st March 2022
Dovish MPC commentary suggests rates will stay on hold next week But inflation is likely to become more of concern over the coming months Repo rate likely to rise by more than the consensus expects this year Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, MPC …
30th March 2022
Strong Q1 inflation to overcome RBA’s reluctance to tighten policy Bank to allow bond holdings to shrink in line with maturities, first hike in June Markets are pricing in a peak in rates above 3%, we expect a lower 1.75% With Governor Lowe warming to the …
War in Ukraine will not prevent policy tightening as inflation remains elevated. In the past, tightening cycles have tended to end in recession. But soft landings are achievable and delaying now would increase future risks. The war in Ukraine has worsened …
23rd March 2022
We expect Russia’s coal and gas exports to fall this year, keeping prices high But Russia’s energy exports could fall by much more under a Western embargo In this extreme scenario, there would be limited supply elsewhere to compensate In this Energy Watch …
The Norges Bank will kick off the post-Olsen era next Thursday with a 25bp interest rate hike, to +0.75%, and while we expect it to raise rates three more times this year, the balance of risks is skewed towards it proceeding even faster. Meanwhile, …
17th March 2022
OPEC oil production still falling short Although OPEC oil production rose in February, it remained well below target. And while OPEC left its 2022 oil demand and supply forecasts unchanged, it hinted at revisions due to “geopolitical turmoil”. The OPEC …
15th March 2022
War in Ukraine worsening the tricky mix between rising inflation and slowing GDP growth Rising price expectations to force MPC to raise interest rates by 25bps A tight labour market may mean that rates rise to 2.00% next year The economic consequences of …
10th March 2022
War in Ukraine will lift inflation above 2% But Bank has made clear it will look through transitory, cost-push inflation Kishida will probably appoint a continuity candidate to replace Kuroda While the war in Ukraine will lift Japanese inflation to the …
We expect five 25bp rate hikes this year and another four next year War in Ukraine doesn’t alter policy outlook Fed likely to downplay inflationary impact of energy price surge We expect the Fed to hike interest rates by 25bp at next week’s FOMC meeting …
9th March 2022
ECB will stress caution and flexibility in light of Ukraine war. New ECB forecasts will show lower growth, much higher inflation. Policymakers will still plan to resume normalisation when and if the situation is clearer. At next week’s monetary policy …
3rd March 2022
Bank sent heavy hint that March rate hike was likely Set to accompany 25 bp hike with start of quantitative tightening With inflationary pressures broadening, Bank to follow with another hike in April We expect the Bank of Canada to kick off its …
23rd February 2022
Inflation set to surge further; first rate hike will come in June. High household debt is a concern, but high savings rate means households have buffers. We expect rates to reach 1.75% by mid-2023. We now expect the RBA to start hiking in June in response …
Strong data will keep the RBNZ’s hiking cycle on track The Bank will hike rates to 2.0% by August But we think the Bank will eventually have to reverse course, cutting rates next year The New Zealand economy remained hot at the end of last year. And while …
16th February 2022
OPEC oil production rises in January, but end-2022 targets look ambitious OPEC raised oil output in January, but the shortfall relative to target grew even larger. We never expected OPEC to manage to completely unwind its production cuts this year, but …
10th February 2022
Inflation risks might spur an aggressive policy action similar to that of the mid-1990s. But this would be unusual and there are very good reasons for caution. Even those banks that start out fast will slow the pace before long. Monetary policymakers are …
While the Riksbank is likely to leave the repo rate unchanged at zero next Thursday (10 th February), a hawkish shift is now long overdue. We have pencilled in a 25bp repo rate hike in November 2022, which is ahead of the economic consensus, but there is …
3rd February 2022
We are forecasting a hike in the reverse repo rate next week as Omicron fears fade Repo rate hikes to follow before long as inflation rises above the RBI’s target Repo rate likely to rise by more than the consensus expects this year After months of …
The unfavourable growth/inflation trade-off has worsened We think investors are right to price in an interest rate hike in February to 0.50% And we expect rates to rise to 1.25% by end-2022, further than most anticipate The further surge in inflation …
27th January 2022
Omicron, market sell-off and Ukraine tensions won’t worry the ECB unduly. Lagarde to stress uncertainty over inflation and note rapid house prices increases. We think the Bank will prepare the ground for limited rate hikes next year. The impact of Omicron …
Labour market tightening rapidly, inflation surging Omicron is disrupting activity but will only add to the upward pressure on prices RBA to end QE next week, start hiking in August The rapid tightening of the labour market coupled with the acceleration …
25th January 2022
Inflation was lower than Bank expected in Q4 and Q1 GDP growth is set to be weak Bank nevertheless set to turn more hawkish amid signs of surge in wage growth ahead Bank to use policy statement to tee up rate hike at the next meeting in March Amid growing …
19th January 2022
Fed usually flags start of tightening cycle ahead of time Balance sheet run-down likely to come sooner and be more aggressive than 2017/18 FOMC will have more hawkish tilt until Biden’s nominees are confirmed With many Fed officials now either explicitly …
OPEC under-production likely to continue OPEC continued to raise output by less than its target in December. However, the group is still steadily raising output, which is a key reason why we see the market moving into a surplus this year . The OPEC …
18th January 2022
Norwegian policymakers will keep interest rates on hold, at +0.50%, next Thursday, before resuming their tightening cycle in March. We forecast one rate hike per quarter this year, which is one more than investors have currently priced in over the period. …
13th January 2022
Omicron supply chain disruption won’t lift consumer inflation much Balance sheet to shrink gradually, but that won’t cause tighter monetary conditions Bank still views weaker yen as positive and won’t respond with tightening While Omicron is likely to …
12th January 2022
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – The inflation outlook for 2022 will be dominated by three key themes. First, headline rates will fall owing to a mixture of fading re-opening inflation, falling commodity prices, and base effects dropping out of the …
22nd December 2021
Most central banks will raise interest rates next year. But in some cases, interest rates may not rise by as much as markets are anticipating. And the People’s Bank of China will cut interest rates further. With underlying inflation set to stay …
21st December 2021
Commodity supply shortages have been widespread over the last year or so There doesn’t appear to be a single cause of these shortages But a key theme is that prices are now close to a peak (if they haven’t peaked already) In this Commodities Watch , we …
OPEC continues to over-promise on supply OPEC oil production increased in November, but once again by less than the group’s target. We think OPEC will continue to under-produce, but it should still account for a large share of the world’s oil production …
13th December 2021
Bank to raise 2022 inflation forecast but still predict an undershoot in 2023. Policymakers will keep open possibility of using the PEPP after March. Christine Lagarde will stress uncertainty and need for flexibility. Just a day after we expect the Fed to …
9th December 2021
Emergency lending facility and corporate debt buying scheme to be extended Risks to inflation posed by worst-case Omicron scenario balanced Upside inflation surprise wouldn’t cause Bank to lose control of the yield curve While renewed virus restrictions …
