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Our forecast that the Bank of England won’t start cutting interest rates until the second half of 2024 means mortgage rates are likely to stay between 5% and 6% until mid-2024. While transactions volumes have only seen a modest decline so far, very weak …
23rd October 2023
Fiscal support coming in Israel, rates to stay on hold There remains significant uncertainty around how the Israel-Hamas war will evolve, but developments this week confirm that fiscal policy will be loosened as policymakers provide support to the …
20th October 2023
Data released this week reinforce the case for the ECB to keep rates on hold at its meeting next week . There was more evidence of economic weakness in the construction activity figures, which showed that output fell by 1.1% m/m in August and is likely …
We'll be discussing the implications of the end of the ultra-low interest rates era and the rise in R* in an online Drop-In at 12:30 GMT on Tuesday 31st October. (Register here .) The conflict in the Middle East continues to dominate the news and from an …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economy slowly coming back to life Poland’s stronger-than-expected activity data for September suggest that the economy started on its road to recovery in Q3. With inflation and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The start of another retail recession The 0.9% m/m fall in retail sales volumes in September meant sales volumes fell 0.8% q/q in Q3 and suggests that after the 18-month-long …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Buoyant economy to date increases scope for pre-election giveaways September's public finances figures continued the recent run of better-than-expected news on the fiscal …
Russia and Turkey had a strong first half to the year, but large policy tightening is likely to result in a sharp slowdown in 2024. Inflation pressures look set to keep building and further interest rate hikes lie in store. In contrast, downturns across …
19th October 2023
Senior economists from across our euro-zone, US and UK services held an online briefing on the October/November meetings of the Fed, ECB and Bank of England and the latest messaging from their policymakers. During this 20-minute briefing, the team …
Anticipation of legislation requiring minimum standards of energy efficiency is already impacting CRE values as investors price in transition risk and this pressure is likely to ramp up in the coming years as compliance deadlines harden. This note …
After a brief respite earlier this year, property yields are once again on the rise, driven by a further increase in gilt yields. We don’t expect a repeat of the surge seen last year, but we also think any compression beyond this year will be minimal as …
The ECB is almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged at next week’s meeting. Emphasis will be on monetary policy staying tight for extended period. Bond market sell-off will persuade policymakers to delay decision to accelerate QT. There is …
We'll be discussing the implications of the end of the ultra-low interest rates era and the rise in r* in an online Drop-In at 12:30 GMT on Tuesday 31st October. (Register here .) As our new higher estimate of the real neutral interest rate, or r*, for …
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests wage pressures are past their peak, but it’s not clear how quickly wage growth will slow. The gradual loosening in the labour market and the experience in the US suggests that UK wage growth may ease only …
18th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Fall in inflation in September will not change ECB's tune The breakdown of euro-zone HICP inflation data for September, published today, reveals that there was a significant fall …
The failure of CPI inflation to fall in September from August’s rate of 6.7% will be a bit of a disappointment to most (consensus forecast 6.6%, CE forecast 6.8%). But at 6.7% it is still below the 6.9% rate the Bank of England projected back in August …
We have recently published detailed analysis arguing that equilibrium interest rates in advanced economies are now higher than they were before the pandemic, and that they will continue to rise over the rest of this decade. (See here .) The key …
17th October 2023
Switzerland’s government looks set to remain largely unchanged after the federal elections this Sunday, and we do not expect a significant change in economic policy. But voters’ grievances about the failure of Credit Suisse will keep the pressure on …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Wage growth passed its peak, but it will fall only gradually Cooling labour market conditions appeared to start feeding through into an easing in wage growth in August. That …
The exit poll from Poland’s parliamentary election on Sunday suggests that the incumbent PiS will fall short of forming a majority and that the pro-EU opposition will be able to form a coalition government. This would help to improve relations with the EU …
16th October 2023
Spanish inflation doubled from 1.6% in June to 3.2% in September and is likely to rise to over 4% by the end of the year. However, ECB policymakers won’t be too concerned as the increase is largely due to rising energy inflation while core inflation looks …
13th October 2023
Almost as fast as gilt yields rose (see here ) they have subsided. After surging from 4.68% on 2 nd October to a 21-year high of 5.11% last Friday, the 30-year gilt yield dropped to 4.72% on Thursday, although it has since ticked up to 4.85% on the back …
The Hamas-Israeli conflict has so far had relatively little impact on oil prices but has pushed up European natural gas prices by nearly 30% this week, to €53 per MWh at the time of writing. There has been a small direct impact on the supply of gas as …
Industrial rental growth in the Nordics is set to slow in 2024. But a brighter macroeconomic outlook and tight vacancy will help rent growth to outperform the euro-zone. Further ahead, the current high level of online adoption relative to the euro-zone …
Fall in inflation but Riksbank still not done This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The drop in inflation in September was a little smaller than we and the consensus had anticipated and strengthens the case for the …
Surging interest rates caused mortgage demand to slump in Q3 at the same time as rising defaults led lenders to tighten mortgage credit conditions. Similarly, it became more difficult to secure commercial real estate loans. We expect availability of …
12th October 2023
Higher interest rates weighed sharply on households’ demand for mortgages in Q3 and banks expect demand for mortgages to fall further in Q4. This is a clear sign that higher interest rates are working. And our forecast that mortgage rates will stay above …
In contrast to the past few years, when the risks to the euro-zone inflation outlook have been consistently skewed to the upside, those risks now look more balanced. So in this Focus , we explore the downside risks and how the ECB might respond to them. …
We think euro-zone equities’ recent run of underperformance relative to those in the US will extend over the next couple of years, as bond yields fall back and enthusiasm around “AI” continues to grow. With the bond market sell-off seemingly having abated …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. August’s resilience won’t prevent contraction in GDP in Q3 The 0.2% m/m rise in real GDP in August followed July’s 0.6% m/m contraction and will raise hopes that the economy has …
Surveyors reported the most widespread price falls since February 2009 in September as mortgage rates of over 5% took their toll. Looking ahead, a further slide in house prices appears inevitable. The drop in the past prices balance to a fresh 14-year low …
Inflation now starting to take off The larger-than-expected rise in Russian inflation to 6.0% y/y in September will concern policymakers at the central bank and suggests that price pressures are now well and truly building in the economy. We think the …
11th October 2023
Note: We previewed Poland’s election and the economic and financial market issues surrounding it in a Drop-In on Thursday, 12 th October . Watch the 20-minute recording here . The outcome of Poland’s parliamentary election this Sunday will likely have a …
There may be more political support for the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the European Union than in some other economies. However, it is still uncertain whether it will ever see the light of day or whether there would be much …
First clear signs of slowdown emerge The m/m falls in Turkish retail sales and industrial production in August provided the first clear signs that economic activity has started to soften following the policy U-turn earlier this year. Policy tightening …
Labour has made housing a major theme of its conference, and the party’s attitude towards New Towns and social housing means that the next election could prove a turning point in the structure of the UK housing market. Over the past 30 years successive …
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 …
Lower inflation suggests that Norges Bank is done As a result of September’s weaker-than-expected inflation data from Norway, we now think that Norges Bank’s tightening cycle is over . The decline in CPI inflation from 4.8% in August to 3.3% in September …
The recent shift towards looser fiscal policy in Italy and increase in sovereign bond yields once again have raised concerns that investors may lose confidence in Italy’s ability to sustain its debt burden. We don’t think this will morph into an acute …
9th October 2023
The scale of the rise in bond yields over recent weeks has provoked worries about the impact on real estate. The sell-off presents an upside risk to our yield outlook, but we think falling inflation will help bond yields across the region to soon fall …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Weakness in German industry to continue The further drop in German industrial production in August was better than it looked as it was driven by volatile components. However, it …
We expect the euro-zone economy to struggle over the next 18 months, and a mild recession in the coming quarters looks more likely than not. Headline and core inflation should keep falling, but the labour market will remain tight, keeping wage growth …
6th 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 …
The recent rise in gilt yields has been almost as fast as the political furore over the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 this week. The 30-year gilt yield rose from 4.68% at the start of last week to a 20-year high of 5.06% at the time of writing …
What to make of the bond market sell-off? We have covered the implications of the bond sell-off for the global economy here . Three additional points are worth making in relation to the euro-zone. First, the increase in yields and associated tightening of …
Becoming liable for the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) would nullify any cost-reduction benefit from a lower carbon price for UK companies that trade closely with the EU. That said, the CBAM would have less impact on domestically-focused …
Near-term momentum in house prices is downwards The sixth consecutive monthly decline in the Halifax House Price Index in September leaves it significantly more downbeat than the Nationwide figures about near-term momentum in house prices. Given the …
While we think the risk of a material increase in euro-zone “peripheral” spreads has risen, our central forecast remains that they will end 2024 a bit below their current levels. Last week, long-dated euro-zone peripheral bond yields reached highs not …
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 …
Overview – With economic activity weakening, we expect rental growth to continue trending downwards over the next year. At the same time, valuations remain stretched despite property yields continuing to rise at a steady pace. As a result, we have …
4th October 2023
