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This report has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a chart and table of the key data. Inflation at or close to its peak Egypt’s headline inflation rate picked up from 37.4% y/y in August to a fresh multi-decade high of 38.0% y/y in …
10th October 2023
Fall in inflation increases chances of November rate cut The larger-than-expected fall in Czech inflation in September, to 6.9% y/y, increases the chance of policymakers kickstarting a monetary easing cycle at their next meeting in November. We remain …
Welcome to a world of higher interest rates. This in-depth analysis shows you how the structural forces that have weighed on equilibrium real interest rates over the past two decades have faded, and the powerful new drivers that are likely to push them …
9th October 2023
Turkey: rebalancing now underway Data releases this week finally provided some signs that Turkey’s inflation and current account problems are starting to ease. Admittedly, inflation continued to rise in September, to 61.5% y/y, from 58.9% in August. But …
6th October 2023
Limited macro fallout from weakening rupee The sell-off in global bond markets has caused currencies, including the rupee, to come under pressure this week. The rupee is now at 83.2/$, hovering close to record lows. It could even have posted new lows but, …
PBOC not letting its guard down The yield on 10-year US Treasuries surged to a 16-year high this week. We covered the potential implications for the global economy here . But one of the more immediate consequences has been downward pressure on many EM …
The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected and continued to strike a hawkish tone despite the recent easing in inflation. Indeed, it even raised the possibility of open-market bond sales to drain excess liquidity. There is a significant …
RBI stands firm in fight against inflation The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected and continued to strike a hawkish tone despite the recent easing in headline inflation. There is still a significant risk of the easing cycle that we …
Al-Sisi confirms his running; UAE opens swap line Egypt’s incumbent President al-Sisi has confirmed he will run for re-election in December in a race that he is almost certain to win. The policy paralysis induced by this election has prompted central …
5th October 2023
NBR holding firm in inflation fight The National Bank of Romania (NBR) kept its main policy rate unchanged at 7.00% today, and we expect policy to remain on hold into next year. The NBR will be the last in Central and Eastern Europe to start cutting …
NBP cuts again, but rates won’t fall as far as most expect The National Bank of Poland’s (NBP’s) decision to cut interest rates again today, from 6.00% to 5.75%, suggests that the doves are ruling the roost on the MPC, but we think that interest rates …
4th October 2023
Saudi Arabia’s labour market has strengthened markedly in its post-pandemic recovery and the headline figures mask a dramatic shift in the size and composition of the labour force. In particular, social reforms have helped the female participation rate to …
Brazil’s monetary easing cycle will probably lead to higher spending in interest rate sensitive areas, such as furniture and appliances, autos and construction materials. But that won’t be enough to prevent overall GDP growth from slowing sharply – and by …
3rd October 2023
Talk of “dollarisation” has recently re-emerged, despite broader moves in the EM world to challenge the hegemony of the US dollar. Indeed, the fact that Argentina is considering adopting the dollar underscores that the greenback will remain the currency …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Industry stumbled in Q3 The 0.4% m/m rise in Brazilian industrial production in August failed to fully offset the decline in July and suggests that the sector was as a drag on …
This report has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a Chart of the key data. Gulf non-oil sectors cushioning slowdown; Egypt’s economy sputtering along The September release of PMIs for the Middle East and North Africa showed that activity …
Inflation surge starting to cool, but further rate hikes in store The small (by Turkey’s recent standards) rise in inflation to 61.5% last month, from 58.9% in August, provides the first signs that the inflation spike is close to levelling off. But the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Indian manufacturing growth cools a touch India’s manufacturing PMI moderated in September but remained high. However, there are reasons to think a further slight cooling in …
Saudi Arabia’s 2024 pre-Budget statement reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining its loose fiscal stance, with the government now projecting budget deficits all the way out to 2026. That shouldn’t cause any problems given the Kingdom’s strong …
2nd October 2023
The valuations of “risky” assets have only been undermined a little by the big rise in the yields of “safe” assets in recent months. We think that the valuations of risky assets may fall a bit more in the near term, as growth falters. But further ahead …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. PMIs increase, but CEE industry still in the doldrums The manufacturing PMIs increased across most of Emerging Europe last month, but remained consistent with weak industrial …
Policy support should drive a turnaround The PMI surveys suggest another month of stable economic activity in September. A continued acceleration in construction activity appears to have offset a further softening in services activity. Meanwhile, …
SA's avian flu outbreak unlikely to sway the SARB South Africa is in the midst of a severe avian flu outbreak which, coming alongside the effects of loadshedding, has prompted fears of shortages and higher prices for eggs and chicken meat. But this is …
29th September 2023
MNB and CNB continuing to toe a hawkish line The Hungarian and Czech central banks maintained fairly hawkish communications at their meetings this week, but we still think that interest rates will fall sharply in both countries by mid-2024. The Hungarian …
Industrial policy isn't an offset for property downturn Can emerging new industries replace property as a driver of China’s economy? There has been a flurry of discussion in the past couple of weeks in China about whether “new-type industrialisation” …
Coal stocks already at their lowest levels this year Workers affiliated with five trade unions at the state-owned behemoth Coal India are due to go on strike for three days next week (3 rd –5 th October) in dispute over wages. There is still time for the …
Softer inflation print raises the chance of another rate cut The sharper-than-expected decline in Polish inflation to 8.2% y/y in September raises the chance of another interest rate cut by the central bank at its meeting next week but, at this point, we …
MPC to keep rates on hold next week as recent spike in vegetable prices fades But food inflation threat is not over yet Severe El Niño could push back start of easing cycle from early 2024 We agree with consensus expectations that the MPC will keep …
Banxico turns up its hawkish rhetoric Mexico’s central bank, as widely expected, left its policy rate unchanged at 11.25% at today’s Board meeting and the accompanying statement remained very hawkish. We think Banxico will be the last major central bank …
28th September 2023
The US dollar’s record run of 10 consecutive weekly gains has brought it to its strongest level since last December (see Chart 1), and prompted renewed talk of FX intervention in Asia. We think that market participants have now gone too far in discounting …
The drivers of Brazil’s recent period of rapid growth seem to be the subject of a heated debate at the central bank – and policymakers’ conclusions will play a big role in determining the pace and scale of the easing cycle. For our part, we think the key …
Will December’s election pave way for EGP move? Egypt’s National Election Authority confirmed this week that the presidential election will take place in December. As we highlighted , this adds to reasons to think the shift to orthodoxy will remain on …
The narrowing in India’s current account deficit in the four quarters to Q2 was mainly due to the shrinking of the goods trade deficit. Looking ahead, the recent jump in oil prices won’t prevent the deficit narrowing to around 1.5% of GDP this year, and …
Click here to read the full report. Overview – Russia and Turkey have outperformed the rest of the region this year amid support from loose policy, but both economies look set for a slowdown in 2024 while recoveries take shape across Central and Eastern …
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – Aggregate EM GDP held up better than we had expected over the first half of the year, but we think that a phase of softer growth lies in store over the coming quarters. Our near-term GDP growth forecasts lie below the …
Nigeria’s policy shift has stalled in recent weeks as officials have responded to a growing political backlash by reverting to the interventionist tendencies of the Buhari administration. The result is that the naira has plunged on the parallel market and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sentiment ticks down, but still consistent with recovery The European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicators for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were a mixed bag in …
After a sharp slowdown this year, GDP growth across the Middle East and North Africa will improve in 2024 as OPEC+ starts to raise its output quotas and high oil prices allow the Gulf economies to keep fiscal policy supportive. Outside of the Gulf, …
Fairly solid growth, meaningful slowdown unlikely until 2024 Russia’s industrial production and retail sales data for August suggest that activity remained fairly solid and we think the economy is on track for GDP growth of 2.5% this year. Monetary policy …
27th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Easing cycle just around the corner The Czech National bank (CNB) left interest rates on hold again at 7.00% at today’s meeting, but we still think that an easing cycle will …
Overview – China’s economy is regaining some momentum after stalling for a brief period during the summer. A step up in policy support looks set to deliver a modest cyclical recovery but trend growth remains under pressure. Consumer Spending – …
Financial risks generally look quite low in most major EMs as current account deficits have narrowed this year and banking sectors remain in strong shape. But there are some areas of weakness, including large currency risks in parts of Eastern Europe …
26th September 2023
The Hungarian central bank (MNB) delivered another 100bp interest rate cut (to 13.00%) and simplified its monetary policy toolkit at today’s meeting, paving the way for the second phase of the easing cycle in the coming months. The hawkish tone of the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Inflation data and minutes pour cold water on hopes for larger rate cuts The jump in Brazilian inflation to 5.0% y/y in the first half of September, taken together with the more …
Entering the second phase of the easing cycle The Hungarian central bank’s (MNB’s) decision to cut the top of its interest rate corridor, by 250bp, today is a first step in what is likely to be a shift in the monetary policy framework that will be …
Overview – After a sharp slowdown this year, GDP growth across the Middle East and North Africa will improve in 2024 as OPEC+ starts to raise its output quotas and high oil prices allow the Gulf economies to keep fiscal policy supportive. Outside of the …
25th September 2023
Brazil’s services inflation: how soft? The big economic event this week was the central bank meeting in Brazil on Wednesday at which the Selic rate was lowered by another 50bp (to 12.75%). As we noted in our response , the key messages in the statement …
22nd September 2023
Poland-Ukraine relations show some cracks The dispute that escalated this week between Poland and Ukraine shows how Poland’s ruling PiS party is hoping to capitalise on nationalism, and public fatigue over the war, ahead of elections next month. Poland, …
Inflation falls, but Banxico in no rush to cut Mexico’s headline inflation rate came in a little weaker than expected at 4.4% y/y in the first half of September while services inflation remained elevated. Coming alongside strong wage growth and the …
Although EM growth held up well in H1, growth will disappoint over the coming quarters. Recent upside inflation surprises have pushed back the timing of rate cuts in some places, but we expect the EM monetary easing cycle to broaden out in H2. Strong wage …
