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South Africa’s mining sector has been a struggling part of the economy for some time and, while easing logistical and electricity constraints will provide some relief, weaker commodity prices in the coming years will hold back any recovery. The sector …
12th November 2024
Mexico is one of the most vulnerable economies to the policies that US President-elect Trump flagged on the campaign trail. This Update looks at the channels through which it could be affected. One key point in all of this is that policymakers don’t have …
7th November 2024
COP29 – which is set to kick off in Baku next week – has been dubbed the ‘finance COP’ given that the top priority for negotiators will be to agree on a new climate finance pledge. However, Trump’s election victory looms large over the event and adds to …
Large US tariffs would hurt China’s export sector but less than many suppose. We estimate that the direct impact of even a 60% US tariff on goods from China would be well under 1% of China’s GDP . The bigger challenge for policymakers could be the …
Inflation figures out of Turkey – including those published for October yesterday – have surprised on the upside and forward-looking indicators suggest that the disinflation process will be slow in the coming months too. Consensus expectations for the …
5th November 2024
Despite the tick-up in the EM manufacturing PMI in October, manufacturing activity appears to have remained soft and we think this will be the case over the rest of the year. The surveys suggest that goods price pressures were contained last month, but …
4th November 2024
The rise in Brazilian local currency government bond yields this year is now on a scale similar to that seen during its fiscal crisis in 2015. Back then, bond yields only started to fall back when wholesale political change was on the horizon. That’s not …
This report was first published on 31 st October covering the official PMIs. We added commentary on the Caixin manufacturing PMI on 1 st November and on the Caixin services and composite PMIs on 5 th November. Economy continues to regain momentum The PMIs …
31st October 2024
This is a revamped version of our quarterly Financial Risk Monitor to include commentary and analysis of our latest EM risk indicators. Currency risks ease further, regional divergence among fiscal risks Financial vulnerabilities have declined further …
30th October 2024
The South African Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was presented as a “pro-growth” statement, but the numbers underscore that the government has no room to loosen the fiscal stance. Continued fiscal austerity will help to sustain investor …
The outbreak of unrest in Mozambique after contested elections is unlikely to have a large impact on growth in the near term. But any attempts by the government to loosen fiscal policy to appease protestors or, further out, disruptions to large gas …
EMs are playing a growing role as substitute markets for Chinese exporters that face rising trade barriers in DMs. A second trade war with a re-elected President Trump would only accelerate that shift. It is plausible that a sizeable portion of the loss …
Our measure of capital outflows from EMs has jumped to its highest level since July 2022 amid the recent surge in US Treasury yields and strengthening of the dollar. If Donald Trump wins the US election, there is plenty of scope for these market moves to …
29th October 2024
A victory for Donald Trump in the US election would probably result in higher US Treasury yields and a stronger dollar. That’s an environment in which central banks in EMs with strained balance sheets (notably Turkey) could hike rates and others that are …
24th October 2024
Recent threats by Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Mexico’s vehicle sector could just be pre-election bluster or an attempt to get concessions from Mexico. But if implemented, they would deal a big blow to Mexico’s economy – a 0.6% drop in real GDP for …
23rd October 2024
Following a record high in August, our proprietary measure of China’s green export volumes edged down in September. Meanwhile, China’s exports of EVs to Europe surged despite the recent EU tariffs, and we expect continued strong performance in China’s …
22nd October 2024
The outcomes of the EM central bank meetings since the beginning of October underscore the point that Asia will lead the next phase of the EM easing cycle. Central banks in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America are slowing the pace of (or pausing) …
21st October 2024
South Africa’s economy continued to pick-up in the middle of Q3 but the recovery is taking place at different speeds across sectors; lower inflation is supporting consumer-facing sectors but industry is lagging behind. As the drag from supply-side …
16th October 2024
Israel’s economy is under strain from the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, with supply constraints both holding back growth and causing inflation concerns to build. The softer-than-expected inflation figures for September released today will provide some …
15th October 2024
The BRICS+ summit in Russia next week is likely to see another push on expansion, mainly to close allies of China and Russia. But limited economic benefits for potential new members, divisions among existing members, and concerns (for some) about …
Having stormed to victory in February’s presidential election, Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and the current defence minister, will take over from Joko Widodo on Sunday (20 th October). Since his election victory, Prabowo has made a number of …
South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will be in the unusual position of presenting the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) later this month against the backdrop of a sharp improvement in the public finances. And he is likely to use the …
Contrary to many expectations in the aftermath of the BJP’s humbling in the general election, there is little evidence so far of Prime Minister Modi’s party shifting to more populist policymaking. And the risk of fiscal slippage has eased following …
The Bank of Korea today cut interest rates by 25bps (to 3.25%), but tried to dampen speculation that it would cut rates at its final meeting of the year in November. With growth struggling and inflation low, we think it is too early to rule out another …
11th October 2024
China’s policy stimulus measures have generated large market moves but it is the fiscal element, which hasn’t been detailed yet, that has the potential to lift the economy. We’re not expecting a huge fiscal package and it may be less commodity-intensive …
10th October 2024
The Reserve Bank of India’s new-look MPC voted to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% today as expected but struck a less hawkish tone in its communications, which included a change in the official policy stance to more neutral language. This …
9th October 2024
Wage growth remains strong across much of Latin America and Central Europe (CEE), and that has stalled the disinflation process in services in particular. This supports our view that, in general, central banks in these regions will keep policy tighter …
7th October 2024
The 2025 draft budget recently outlined by Russia’s finance ministry shows that, rather than falling next year as initially planned, defence spending will rise by more than 20% to hit 6.2% of GDP. While personal income and corporate tax hikes will help to …
3rd October 2024
The Nigerian naira has fallen by more than 70% against the dollar since President Tinubu came to office, which has contributed to a surge in inflation that has weighed on economic growth. There are signs that some of the benefits from a weaker …
China’s recent stimulus announcements are still at the top of many investors’ minds, at least judging by the high level of client interest in the online briefing we ran on the topic yesterday. We’ve wrapped up our answers to the most common questions we …
The fall in the EM manufacturing PMI in September suggests that growth slowed last quarter and we think this will continue over the coming months. The PMIs did at least provide encouraging signs that price pressures continued to ease. The EM manufacturing …
1st October 2024
China’s finance ministry appears to be lining up a fiscal support package to deliver on the Politburo’s pledge of additional support for the economy. If a report by Reuters is correct, the package could lift GDP by around 0.4% over the course of the next …
26th September 2024
Capital inflows into EMs have rebounded over recent weeks amid the start of the Fed’s easing cycle. Looking ahead, we expect EM inflows to hold up well as global monetary conditions ease further. In general, EMs are not especially dependant on foreign …
CNB cuts by 25bp again, easing cycle has further to run The decision by the Czech National Bank (CNB) to cut its policy rate by a further 25bp today, to 4.25%, was followed by communications which, on balance, felt a bit more dovish than at the last …
25th September 2024
Easing cycle resumes ... for now The communications accompanying the decision by the Hungarian central bank (MNB) to resume its easing cycle today suggests that the central bank could pause interest rate cuts again very soon. We expect just one further …
24th September 2024
After the Fed recently delivered its first rate cut, we look at previous US loosening cycles to analyse how emerging markets assets have performed. This time around we expect the US to skirt a recession, and our view is that most of the easing cycle is …
20th September 2024
The South African Reserve Bank finally joined the EM easing cycle today, lowering its repo rate by 25bp to 8.00%. While the MPC clearly has some lingering concerns about the inflation outlook, we think sluggish growth and at-target inflation will provide …
19th September 2024
An acceleration in fiscal spending during the final months of the year should mean the 2024 growth target of “around 5.0%” is met, but only just – we now expect growth of 4.8% this year. China’s slowdown is likely to continue over the coming years as …
South Africa’s mixed recovery South Africa’s economy is enduring a clear divergence in its economic recovery. Consumer-facing sectors appear to be performing better but industry, particularly mining, continues to struggle. We think interest rate cuts will …
18th September 2024
The US Federal Reserve looks certain to start its loosening cycle this evening and, by virtue of their dollar pegs and open capital accounts, central banks across the Gulf will follow suit. Lower interest rates may provide relief to firms and households …
We recently held a series of EM-focused client meetings in Switzerland and Germany which covered a wide range of topics, including the impact of global fracturing , AI and the green transition on emerging markets. This Update answers several of the …
16th September 2024
The Fed’s upcoming monetary easing cycle will probably provide less of a tailwind to EMs than is widely thought. While it’s likely to give some central banks (such as in the Gulf, Mexico and Indonesia) a green light to lower interest rates, EM rate …
12th September 2024
Saudi Arabia has cut oil output aggressively in the past two years but this has failed to prevent a slide in the Kingdom’s oil revenues. Officials are facing a tough choice over what to do next and, for now, we think that they will follow through with …
11th September 2024
The swearing in of a new congress next month gives Mexico’s outgoing president, Amlo, a one month window to re-start plans to pass controversial planned constitutional amendments. At the very least, some form of judicial reform seems quite likely which …
The new US controls on exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment will slow China’s ability to expand its advanced chip-making capacity. While the immediate economic impact will be small, it will leave China’s hi-tech industry reliant on foreign …
9th September 2024
After a large fall in July, the EM manufacturing PMI only edged up slightly last month, suggesting that the sector fared worse in Q3 than in the first half of the year. The PMIs did at least provide encouraging signs that price pressures eased. The …
3rd September 2024
Attention in Egypt is turning to the timing of the first interest rate cut. The lessons from the start of the last easing cycle in 2018 suggest that this is likely to begin in April, which is a little later than most expect. But the more important point …
This report was first published on 2nd September covering the official PMIs and the Caixin manufacturing PMI. We added commentary on the Caixin services and composite PMIs on 4th September. Growth has stabilised thanks to policy support The PMIs for …
2nd September 2024
The PBOC appears poised to step up its efforts to prevent bond yields from falling, even though lower borrowing costs would help the economy right now. The inconsistencies in its policy approach are linked to the shifting whims of the Party leadership, …
29th August 2024
The pick-up in Nigerian GDP growth seen in Q2 will probably be followed by a renewed slowdown this quarter. But we think the backdrop of rising oil production, falling inflation and possible interest rate cuts should set the stage for a more sustained …
28th August 2024
