Filtered by Region: Europe Use setting Europe
We published our Q4 Nordic & Swiss Economic Outlook this week. The key points are that we expect Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark to suffer recessions, while Norway might escape with only a sharp slowdown. But inflation will remain high in the Nordics and …
28th October 2022
Economy contracting, price pressures intense The further fall in the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator in October adds to the evidence that the euro-zone economy is contracting. But the labour market still looks tight and firms’ price …
An acceleration of the slowdown in European commercial property investment in Q3 is evidence that economic growth concerns, higher interest rates and tightening credit standards are weighing heavily on activity. We expect investment to decline into 2023 …
Recession postponed The unexpected resilience of Germany’s economy in Q3, with GDP rising 0.3% q/q, has probably only postponed the recession which we now expect to begin in the fourth quarter. Business surveys show that activity has already begun to …
Slowing before entering recession The modest economic growth recorded by both France and Spain in Q3 was broadly in line with expectations and represents a significant slowdown from the second quarter. We expect both economies to go into recession in the …
We expect the Bank of Japan to leave policy unchanged Russia’s central bank may cut its policy rate by another 50bp… (11.30 BST) …while we expect a 100bp rate hike in Colombia (19.00 BST) Key Market Themes Despite some dovish elements in today’s ECB …
27th October 2022
The Norges Bank signalled in September that it intended to slow the pace of tightening, implying that it would hike by 25bp at the meeting next week. But with inflation data since then again coming in higher than expected, we think the Bank will opt for …
After raising rates by 75bp today, the ECB laid the groundwork for a slower pace of tightening to come. But we still think that the deposit rate will reach 3% next year. And while the Bank will set out some “key principles” for QT in December, we doubt …
ECB’s work is far from done The ECB is very likely to follow today’s 75bp rate hike with further aggressive increases in the coming months, even if we are right that the forthcoming recession will be deeper than most expect. The decision to maintain the …
Occupier demand falls as economy slows The slowing economy and cost-of-living crisis are now having a clear impact on occupier demand, with surveyors reporting the first drop since the start of 2021. That has fed through to rent and capital value …
Helsinki office vacancy jumped in Q3 and is likely to trend higher over the next couple of years as occupier demand weakens, completions rise and there are fewer office-to-residential conversions. As such, rental growth will slow, with prospects a bit …
There is growing evidence that weakening demand in major economies is taking a toll on world trade. While trade volumes rose in August, early reporting Asian economies revealed a decline in imports in September, exports orders have fallen sharply across …
26th October 2022
Industrial demand is relatively well-placed to weather the upcoming recession. Vacancy is low going into the downturn and the gradual shift to online shopping will continue. It should therefore be the only sector to avoid a fall in rents. However, …
A closer look at core inflation across EMs suggests that underlying price pressures have started to ease. But they remain very strong by historic standards in most countries – and particularly so in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The CEE economies …
As the recent breakdown of the UK Gilt market illustrates, policymakers face an increasingly difficult trade-off between combating inflation, supporting economic growth and maintaining financial stability. With core bond and currency markets facing very …
Money and lending growth accelerated in September, but the latest Bank Lending Survey revealed that there was a sharp drop in loan demand and that banks have become much more cautious about lending. With the cost of borrowing likely to keep rising, …
We expect European natural gas prices to be high in 2023 as the EU will need to replace Russian gas supply for the entire year. This means demand for LNG imports will be strong, even if gas consumption falls. We forecast that the natural gas price (TTF) …
25th October 2022
Prospects for economic activity have deteriorated further in recent months as headwinds to growth have become stronger. Inflation looks set to remain high for longer, eroding households’ real incomes; monetary policy is being tightened further and …
Despite stabilising a bit recently, the valuation of UK mid- and large-cap equities in general has fallen recently in both absolute terms and relative to comparable indices elsewhere. While that doesn’t imply that they are bound to outperform in the …
Table of Key Forecasts Global Overview – Persistently high inflation and more aggressive monetary policy tightening now seem set to cause a global recession. While we had previously anticipated contractions in several economies, the gloom has spread …
Yet more evidence of recession The Ifo Business Climate Index held up better than expected in October but was still extremely low. With other business surveys also persistently weak, we think Germany will experience the deepest recession among euro-zone …
German Ifo may point towards a deep recession (09.00 BST) We expect Hungary’s central bank to leave its main policy rate on hold (13.00 BST) Clients can sign up here for a Drop-In on the outlook for the euro-zone (15.00 BST) Key Market Themes Given all …
24th October 2022
Although the energy crisis in Europe has dealt a blow to the EU’s near-term green ambitions, a combination of economic incentives, NextGenEU funding, and geopolitical expediency will cause the bloc to re-double its decarbonisation efforts. However, …
Note: We’ll be discussing key takeaways from our Outlook published last week on Tuesday, 25th October. Register here . Italy’s new government may initially steer clear of major fiscal loosening, but it will have to provide some more support to cushion the …
We have downgraded our expectations for Athens prime rental growth over the next two years on the back of a weaker outlook for economic activity. However, with the Greek economy still expected to be relatively resilient, we think all-property rental …
Note: We’ll be discussing key takeaways from our Outlook published earlier in the week on Tuesday, 25th October. Register here . PMIs signal recession and high inflation The flash PMIs for October provide yet more evidence that the euro-zone is sliding …
PMIs show recession and high inflation The flash PMIs for October provide yet more evidence that the euro-zone is sliding into quite a deep recession but that inflationary pressures remain intense. The decline in the flash euro-zone Composite PMI from …
While interest rates are unlikely to rise as high as investors expected in the immediate aftermath of the “mini budget”, those hoping that the surge in mortgage rates since will be reversed are likely to be disappointed. Admittedly, the peak in Bank …
21st October 2022
The big story this week has been the roughly 20% week-on-week fall in the European natural gas price , as mild autumn weather has combined with weak economic activity and the still-high gas price to drag demand lower than usual for the time of the year. …
The main message from our latest quarterly Euro-zone Economic Outlook , which we published this week, is that we now expect the euro-zone to experience an even more extreme case of stagflation. We now forecast both headline and core inflation to average …
Recession just around the corner September’s industrial production and retail sales figures out of Poland showed that activity continued to recover last month. Even so, it may be touch-and-go as to whether Poland’s economy was already in a technical …
Policymakers in Turkey have doubled down on their new economic model of “lira-isation” by pursuing more extreme de-dollarisation policies in recent months. These appear to be having an impact in terms of stemming lira depreciation. But the central bank …
20th October 2022
While the UK government’s apparent U-turn on fiscal policy offers some hope of relief for sterling, we think the outlook remains precarious. We continue to expect that sterling will lose further ground against the US dollar in the near term. But while …
It is a close call but we think a 100bp hike most likely next week. Further rate hikes will follow, bringing the deposit rate to a peak of 3%. But the hawks’ hopes to shrink the balance sheet will go unfulfilled. The ECB is certain to opt for another …
Overview – The drag on the economy from CPI inflation being stuck at 10% for a year and interest rates rising to 5.00% will be enough to trigger a recession that involves real GDP declining by around 2.0% from its peak to its trough. What’s more, …
The deep recession faced by the euro-zone in the coming year will cause a sharp slowdown in prime rental growth, which we now expect to drop to 0% at the all-property level next year. We don’t think any sector will be immune from the rental deceleration, …
We don’t think COP27 is likely to achieve much. At the heart of our new Climate Economics coverage is the idea that economic and market forces – far more than government diktat – will drive the green transition. As the challenge of tackling climate change …
Euro-zone Drop-In: Deeper recession and more persistent inflation …
The UK property market has a long history of either causing or worsening recessions. But that history has taught both banks and regulators a lesson. So while higher debt payments, falling property prices and a slump in construction will play a major …
19th October 2022
Weak sentiment points firmly to recession Although the headline ZEW investor sentiment indicator edged up in October it is still at a very low level, while the current conditions index – which is more closely corelated with GDP – actually fell by more …
18th October 2022
Germany’s ZEW indicator probably plunged again in October (10.00 BST) US industrial production appears to be flatlining (14.15 BST) Sign up here for our final CE Spotlight Drop-In to discuss commodities and green transitions Key Market Themes While …
17th October 2022
With interest rates now higher, we have made downgrades to our forecast for UK GDP growth. We expect that this will bring a sharper deceleration in rental growth at the all-property level, with falls now likely during 2023, led by the office sector. We …
The spread between the 10-year Gilt yield hedged in US dollar terms and the 10-year Treasury yield has widened dramatically of late. But given our forecasts for short-term interest rates in the UK and the US and the unhedged government bond yields in …
14th October 2022
Governing Council members were out in force this week giving their euro cent’s worth on the monetary policy outlook. Sifting through the various comments, there are three main takeaways. First, even the most hawkish are not prepared, in public at least, …
Credit conditions already tightening prior to market turmoil The Q3 credit conditions survey doesn’t capture the impact of the market turmoil of recent weeks, with the deadline for responses falling a week before the “mini-budget”. Nonetheless, it shows …
13th October 2022
Core inflation to remain uncomfortably high The reversal of temporary measures to reduce travel costs played a big role in the surge in German inflation in September. But underlying price pressures remain strong and broad based. We continue to expect that …
Growing acceptance price falls are in the pipeline While optimists can still point to limited supply, a fifth consecutive drop in new buyer enquiries in the RICS survey in September has convinced a majority of surveyors that house prices are heading for a …
Chile’s central bank is likely to hike by 50bp later today (22.00 BST) We think consumer price inflation in Sweden climbed higher in September… (07.00 BST) … but headline CPI probably eased in the US last month (13.30 BST) Key Market Themes A generous …
12th October 2022
On the cusp of recession The 1.5% m/m increase in industrial production in August was partly due to an out-sized rise in Ireland and was not enough to reverse the fall in July. All the evidence suggests that euro-zone industry is heading for a …
