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Current market pricing suggests that there is around a 60% chance that, at the next policy meeting in May, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raises interest rates by 25bps, from 4.25% now to 4.50%. This isn’t surprising given the decision will probably …
6th April 2023
Expansion in Q1 likely… After stagnating in Q4, euro-zone GDP probably rose in the first quarter. The final Composite PMI , released this week, confirmed that economic conditions improved further in March (though a bit less than implied by the flash …
Real estate exposures have not been central to financial developments in Europe over recent weeks, but, as property prices correct after a decade of steady expansion, some strains are likely to emerge. While not appearing systemic, these fragilities …
CEE remains in recession in Q1 The batch of hard activity data and surveys released across Central Europe this week were relatively weak and suggest that GDP contracted in most economies again in Q1. We think the regional downturn will stabilise in Q2, …
The Land Registry report that London house price growth slowed to 3.2% y/y in January and more timely data based on mortgage approvals show a 2.2% y/y fall in prices in Q1. The detail suggests that affordability is becoming the primary driver of pricing. …
Construction activity holds up as housing enters the doldrums The March headline CIPS Construction PMI reversed some of its surprise jump in February, but it remained in expansionary territory. That was driven by the commercial sector, where strong …
House price indices diverge The third consecutive monthly increase in house prices recorded by Halifax suggests that pricing is proving remarkably resilient to higher mortgage rates. But it is at odds with the consistent fall in the Nationwide house …
Industrial resilience won’t prevent recession The second consecutive big increase in German industrial production in February all but confirms that GDP returned to growth in Q1. The industrial resilience may continue in the coming months but we still …
Recent data suggest the economy’s resilient end to 2022 was sustained at the start of this year. But while the worst of the falls in real household incomes are in the past, we still think around two-thirds of the drag on real activity from the rise in …
5th April 2023
Rates on hold, but cutting by year end Poland’s central bank (NBP) left its main policy rate on hold as expected again today, at 6.75%, and policymakers look set to keep interest rates at this level at the upcoming meetings. But with inflation likely to …
London office capital values fell by a relatively modest amount in the second half of last year and monthly data show values stabilised in the first two months of 2023. But that has left London office spreads very narrow at a time when the recent banking …
Surveys point to expansion in Q1 March’s PMIs suggest that the economy expanded in Q1. They also point to further gains in employment and strong price pressures. With the turmoil in the banking sector having stabilised, this makes us more confident in our …
Rates on hold, policy to stay tight throughout 2023 Romania’s central bank (NBR) left its policy rate on hold as expected today, at 7.00%, and we think that it will only start to cut interest rates in early 2024, which is later than its regional peers. …
4th April 2023
Overview – Property values fell sharply in Scandinavia and Switzerland last year, but with valuations still stretched and financing set to remain challenging, we think yields will climb higher. And with economic activity weakening and supply increasing, …
Overview – Emerging Europe has seen less steep falls in values than elsewhere so far, but will not be immune in 2023. Higher interest rates and economic weakness mean these markets will have a challenging year and recent financial disruption only …
31st March 2023
While there are downside risks from hidden exposures or a sudden loss of confidence and deposits, our sense is that the banking issues won’t escalate significantly further, or spread to UK banks. (See here .) The broad message from this week’s …
This time last week the markets and financial media were worrying about the future of Deutsche Bank. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly stated that the bank was “very profitable” and President Macron declared that the European banking sector as a …
The “ Powering up Britain ” plan presented by the UK government this week highlights the benefits and limitations of official involvement in reducing emissions. On the one hand, the plans to reduce the price of electricity relative to gas will help to …
Headline rate falling but strength of core inflation will keep ECB hawkish Policymakers at the ECB won’t read too much into the drop in headline inflation in March and will be more concerned that the core rate hit a new record high. So March’s consumer …
Headline rate falling but strength of core inflation will keep ECB hawkish Policymakers at the ECB won’t read too much into the drop in headline inflation in March and will be more concerned that the core rate hit a new record high. Overall, March’s …
Recession still to come this year as resilience recedes The final Q4 2022 GDP data suggested the economy was even more resilient in 2022 than we previously thought, as the government absorbed some of the hit to households from high inflation. But we …
Adjustment to higher mortgage rates continues House prices fell for a seventh consecutive month in February, taking the total fall from their peak in August to 4.6%. With house prices still significantly overvalued in today’s higher mortgage rate …
Households have a slightly larger savings buffer The upward revision to real GDP growth in Q3 and Q4 of last year suggests that high inflation took a slightly smaller toll on the economy than we previously thought. But with around two-thirds of the drag …
Even though equity prices in the UK have fallen further than in the US and the euro-zone since the US bank SVB failed and the European bank Credit Swisse was taken over, the pound has strengthened from $1.20 to $1.23. That is probably partly because of …
30th March 2023
Table of Key Forecasts Global Overview – The strongest headwind for the global economy has shifted from an energy crisis and the related squeeze on real incomes to a potential banking crisis and associated drag on credit. Since banks are relatively …
China’s official PMIs are likely to show economic momentum fading in March (02.30 BST) We think euro-zone headline inflation fell in March, while core remained strong (10.00 BST) Real consumption in the US probably changed little in February (13.30 BST) …
Overview – There are encouraging signs that the energy crisis is receding, the worst of the downturn is passing and that inflation has peaked across the region, but this year will still be challenging. We expect below-consensus GDP growth in most …
Headline inflation tumbling, core peaking The big falls in headline inflation in Germany and Spain should provide some relief for struggling households in the coming months. And core inflation in Germany may now have passed its peak. However, with …
While households and businesses took further advantage of rising interest rates in February by moving money into bank accounts with higher rates, they are not withdrawing money from the overall banking system. We doubt this significantly changed after the …
Business surveys point to small expansion in Q1 The small decline in the EC’s economic sentiment indicator in March leaves it still pointing to an increase in GDP in Q1. Meanwhile, firms’ selling price expectations suggest that core inflation might be …
The partial reversal of the spike in mortgage rates following the “mini” budget has helped to stem the deterioration in housing market demand. Our measure of the average quoted mortgage rate has fallen from a peak of 5.7% in October to 4.7% in February, …
Net lending turns negative as investors hold back Net lending to property turned negative in February, as investors held back in the face of falling capital values. But the decline was small and even though the recent banking crisis will lead to some …
29th March 2023
Higher interest rates continue to hurt housing more than consumer credit February’s money and credit data suggest that higher interest rates were a further drag on lending in February, particularly in the housing market. That’s before the effects of the …
Mortgage lending still depressed despite slight recovery Reflecting the partial unwinding of the spike in mortgage rates following the “mini” budget, mortgage approvals rose to their highest level for three months in February. However, with mortgage rates …
Higher interest rates continue to hurt housing more than consumer credit February’s money and credit data release suggests that higher interest rates were a further drag on lending in February, particularly in the housing market. That’s before the recent …
While CPI inflation will fall from 10.4% to around 3.5% this year, we think a recession involving a peak-to-trough fall in real GDP of around 1.0% is needed to ensure that domestic price pressures weaken to levels consistent with the 2.0% inflation …
28th March 2023
Overview – The euro-zone economy is set to perform much worse than consensus forecasts suggest over the next two years, with a recession looking likely. That is mainly because monetary policy and bank lending conditions are tightening. We expect …
MNB to keep rates higher for longer as inflation risks persist Hungary’s central bank (MNB) left its benchmark base rate on hold today (at 13.00%) and it is looking increasingly likely that this rate will not be cut until Q4 at the earliest. The phasing …
We doubt that the banking sector crisis which has hit US regional banks and Credit Suisse will morph into a sustained or systemic problem for the euro-zone’s banks. However, there may well be further “idiosyncratic” problems and adverse sentiment towards …
We expect Hungary’s central bank to leave policy unchanged (13.00 BST) US Conference Board data may give an indication of any recent hit to sentiment (15.00 BST) Sign up here for tomorrow’s Drop-In on the risks around commercial real estate (16.00 BST) …
27th March 2023
The February money and credit data show that even before the recent pressure on European banks, net bank lending was extremely weak and consistent with the economy contracting sharply. February’s money and credit data, published this morning, pre-date the …
Resilience unlikely to last The fifth successive monthly increase in the Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) in March suggests that Germany is still benefitting from falling energy prices and easing supply problems but has yet to feel the full effects of …
Resilience unlikely to last The fifth successive monthly increase in the Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) in March suggests that Germany is still benefitting from falling energy prices and easing supply problems and has yet to feel the full effects of …
The US dollar had spent much of the week on the back foot amid a growing belief that banking sector issues might prove a largely US-specific problem. But that narrative, and price action, has (again) been turned on its head today as European banks …
24th March 2023
As we discussed in our “Drop In” webinar after this week’s Bank of England policy decision (see here ), the 25 basis points (bps) hike in interest rates, from 4.00% to 4.25%, could prove to be the end of the tightening cycle. But it is the data on the …
Click here to read the full report Overview – With valuations still highly stretched and rent growth likely to slow as the region falls into recession, we think capital values will fall further in 2023. While the 4.5% decline forecast at the all-property …
A few key points on Europe’s banks We discussed the recent turmoil in the banking sector in a Drop-in this week. (See here , or you can listen to a shorter version on our podcast here .) The big picture is that there are reasons to be cautiously …
Bank failures have had only a modest impact on UK banks’ wholesale funding costs to date, reflecting an assessment that lenders are in good health which we think seems fair. Greater investor scrutiny could still lead to more caution in mortgage lending, …
