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The long NHS waiting lists may be one reason why some people are unable to work and may therefore be contributing to inflation being higher in the UK than in other major economies. As the NHS waiting list is unlikely to shorten soon, we think that …
5th July 2023
House prices in the euro-zone have fallen sharply and further declines seem quite likely. This will weigh on construction activity and household consumption, both of which are already weak, and contribute to the euro-zone remaining in recession over the …
Corporate credit spreads have fallen back in the US over the past couple of weeks, while they have risen in the euro-zone and the UK. However, given our pessimistic view of the US economy, we suspect that the divergence will end before long, with US …
Economy weakened at the end of Q2 The downward revision to the euro-zone Composite PMI for June, from 50.3 to 49.9, left it consistent with the economy stagnating at best at the end of Q2. Given that the PMI overstated growth in Q1, and that other data …
US stock markets ’ gains in recent months , both in absolute terms and relative to their European peers, owe a lot to their rising valuations. But equities in the US are now arguably quite highly valued, which in our view will contribute to them …
3rd July 2023
In the 1980s Europe responded to competition from Japanese auto producers with protectionist policies known as Voluntary Export Restraints (VERs). We think its response to competition from China in the 2020s will be different and less effective, …
The risk is that interest rates rise above our current peak forecast of 5.25%. Persistent core inflation has driven up UK market interest rate expectations and has lifted the 2-year gilt yield above its peak after the “mini-budget”. But we think there is …
Overview – The slowdown in rent growth at the start of this year is likely to persist given the weak economic backdrop. And although the property price correction has slowed, we think stretched valuations will push yields higher and drive further …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Inflation below 2% won’t stop the SNB hiking The fall in inflation in June was smaller than the SNB had expected and SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan’s comments after the meeting two …
“Risky” assets are clearly leading “safe” assets as we approach the halfway point of the year. But with recessions looming, we expect souring risk appetite to turn the game on its head in the second half. At the start of this year, many – including …
30th June 2023
It’s been another tough week for the Bank of England. The week began with the Bank’s Chief Economist, Huw Pill, defending its inflation models in a letter to the UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee and ended with Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member, …
We are nudging up our peak ECB rate forecast in light of communications from ECB officials at Sintra and the latest economic data. We now see 25bp rate hikes in both July and September, taking the deposit rate to 4%. As a reminder, we were forecasting …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Euro-zone HICP (June) Strength of core inflation means ECB will keep hiking June’s inflation data won’t shift the dial at the ECB. While the headline rate is on a steep downward …
National index resilient, but regional data confirm affordability matters The pause in the fall in house prices extended into June according to Nationwide, but we think it is just a matter of time before the spike in mortgage rates in recent weeks causes …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Recession still to come this year as resilience fades The final Q1 2023 GDP data confirms that the economy steered clear of a recession at the start of 2023. But with around 60% …
June inflation figures will keep ECB hawkish The increase in German headline and core inflation in June was mainly due to base effects. Euro-zone headline inflation probably still fell but the core rate is likely to have been little changed which will be …
29th June 2023
Consumer anger is mounting, executives are on the defensive and politicians are scrambling to respond. The issue of ‘greedflation’ is inflaming the public discourse around inflation – but to what extent are companies really responsible for driving up …
ESIs point to weak growth, further disinflation The European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) generally fell in June, and our regional-weighted headline measure points to lacklustre GDP growth this …
Sentiment weakens and points to stagnation The EC Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) weakened further in June and is broadly consistent with the economy stagnating at best. We expect the euro-zone’s mild recession to continue for the rest of the year as …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Higher interest rates continue to take a toll on bank lending Higher interest rates continued to weigh on bank lending in May, particularly in the housing market. This effect …
The Calm Before the Storm The tick up in mortgage approvals in May sustained the partial recovery from the slump at the beginning of the year. (See Chart 1.) But the increase reflects earlier declines in mortgage rates and will be cut short by their more …
Riksbank likely to hike more than it expects The 25bp rate hike announced by the Riksbank today, which brings the key policy rate to 3.75%, had been strongly signalled at the Riksbank’s last meeting. But the accompanying statement and decisions to …
Inflation back under 2% The further fall in Spanish HICP inflation will provide some respite for households who have suffered a sharp hit to real household income over the last year. But it will have little sway over ECB decision-making as …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Economic momentum continued in Q2 The industrial production and retail sales data for Russia for May continue a run of strong data showing that activity has recovered this year. …
28th June 2023
Investors generally revised down their interest rate expectations across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) over the past month, partly reflecting weaker-than-expected inflation prints and more dovish communications from central bankers. Investors are now …
Higher mortgage rates have not only priced many buyers out of the market altogether, but also reduced the size of mortgage those still able to buy can take out. (See Chart 1.) The latest surge in mortgage rates to almost 6% means that, for the same …
Improvement in core inflation not enough to appease ECB The drop in Italy’s headline and core inflation in June is encouraging. But the euro-zone core rate is unlikely to have declined significantly due to base effects related to the anniversary of the …
The effects of tighter monetary policy are very clear in the money and credit data, reinforcing our view that the euro-zone economy will underperform the ECB and consensus forecasts. Data released this morning show that savers continue to tie up their …
The Bundesbank may make large losses in the coming years but these will be paper losses only, will have no impact on the government’s fiscal position, and are likely to fall over time. While the losses may fuel opposition to the ECB in some quarters, this …
26th June 2023
We continue to expect risky assets to struggle over the second half of this year, as major developed market (DM) economies slip into recessions. Meanwhile, we think DM sovereign bonds will rally; that’s partly due to safe-haven demand, and partly because …
Limited fallout from tensions in Russia, for now The Wagner mutiny in Russia this weekend seems to have ended as quickly as it escalated, having had far less impact on global financial and commodity markets than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. …
The armed uprising by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group against the Russian military over the weekend has dealt a heavy blow to President Putin and exposed cracks in the regime. There are a lot of unknowns about how things will play out at this …
After several disruptive quarters, we are making few changes to our near-term euro-zone real estate forecasts. Nonetheless, a higher profile for 10-year rates has led us to push back yield reductions until after 2025 and we have also downgraded our office …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. More bad news on the German economy The slump in the German Ifo, together with the drop in the PMIs, released on Friday, suggests that German GDP probably contracted for the …
Lower-than-expected euro-zone PMIs in June support our view that economic activity will disappoint, which we think will push the euro and government bond yields down by the end of 2023. Underwhelming PMIs in the euro-zone have put some pressure on the …
23rd June 2023
It’s been an extremely tough week for the Bank of England and its Governor, Andrew Bailey. Wednesday’s CPI release revealed the second shocking surge in core inflation in a row and appeared to confirm our view that the inflation problem is bigger in the …
A cut, a hold .... and an underwhelming hike The three central bank meetings that took place across the region this week all produced different outcomes, and policymakers’ communications suggest interest rates in these countries will continue to move in …
This week, we published our latest Europe Economic Outlook . Three key points are worth highlighting. First, the euro-zone economy is likely to remain in recession for the rest of 2023. Admittedly, this year’s fall in gas prices will support demand and …
Swiss offices have already seen the second sharpest price correction across the major European markets. And with stretched valuations set to face renewed pressure from rising bond yields, we think office yields will edge higher and that sluggish rent …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Services price inflation still sticky June’s flash activity PMIs won’t do much to ease the Bank of England’s inflation fears, which suggests that yesterday’s interest rate rise …
The fall in the euro-zone flash Composite PMI from 52.8 in May to 50.3 in June left it even lower than our below-consensus forecast. On the face of it, the index still points to a small expansion in Q2, but it hasn’t been a good leading indicator …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sales boosted by hot weather, but drag from soaring mortgage rates yet to bite The further rebound in retail sales volumes in May suggests the recent resilience in economic …
A disparate range of global central banks have delivered their latest policy rate verdicts over the past 24 hours. We think there are four key points for investors to note. First, European central banks are clearly still in hawkish moods. But while that …
22nd June 2023
The rapid depreciation of the Swedish krona has pushed the currency down to its lowest ever level against the euro. Worse still, we do not think the krona is significantly below “fair value”, nor do we expect the headwinds facing it to abide anytime soon. …
Note: We’ll be discussing the UK inflation, growth and policy outlooks after the June CPI release on Wednesday, 19 th July . Register here to join that 20-minute online briefing. The 50 basis point (bps) interest rate rise by the Bank of England today, …
The 650bp interest rate hike by Turkey’s central bank today (to 15.0%) will underwhelm investors that wanted a faster and more aggressive monetary tightening. The currency has come under a bit of pressure since the announcement. But the communications …
50bps and at least another 25bps hike to come The Bank of England’s decision to raise rates by 50bps, from 4.50% to a near 15-year high of 5.00%, is unlikely to be the last hike given the UK’s higher and longer lasting inflation problem. We think the …
Some observers have suggested that the strength of Swedish inflation in May reflected buoyant demand driven by Beyoncé’s Stockholm concerts but the Riksbank is more likely to view it as evidence that underlying price pressures are too high. We expect a …
