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Having surged in recent months, there are some tentative signs that EM inflation is nearing a peak. Our measure of aggregate EM inflation was steady at 7.0% y/y between April and May and some indicators of pipeline price pressures have eased. But even so, …
23rd June 2022
We haven’t changed our forecast that the Bank of England will raise interest rates from 1.25% now to a peak of 3.00% by the middle of next year. But we do now think that a number of other central banks will raise interest rates faster and to higher levels …
High inflation, falls in the lira and aggressive monetary tightening elsewhere are clearly not enough to persuade Turkey’s central bank to lift interest rates, as it left its policy rate at 14.00% today. Disorderly falls in the lira are a major risk, …
Activity holding up better than expected The fact that the composite PMI didn’t fall in June means the economy could be holding up a little better than we and the Bank of England had feared. Beneath the headline numbers, the survey also suggests strong …
Overview – The weaker economic outlook and larger increases in interest rates are expected to weigh on property performance. With valuations under increasing pressure from sharply rising bond yields, we think that property yields will reach their troughs …
This morning’s decision by the Norges Bank to raise its key policy rate by 50bps, to 1.25%, was in line with our non-consensus forecast. Also, as we predicted, the Bank all but confirmed that it will break with tradition and raise rates at the “interim” …
Stagflation begins June’s euro-zone PMI surveys showed a further slowdown in the services sector, while activity in the manufacturing sector now seems to be falling outright. With the price indices remaining extremely strong, the euro-zone appears to have …
Weaker economy will limit the Chancellor’s ability to help households The larger-than-expected rise in public borrowing in May is an early blow for the government on a day when it is expected to lose two by-elections. What’s more, the combination of a …
Annual all-property rental growth reached a five-year high in May, while returns rose to levels last seen in mid-1994. But signs of a slowdown also emerged, especially in the red-hot industrial sector, where capital value growth and total returns eased …
22nd June 2022
Probably not “persistent” enough to seal the deal on a 50bps rate hike The further rise in CPI inflation from 9.0% in April to a new 40-year high of 9.1% in May won’t prevent the Bank of England from raising interest rates further, but it may encourage it …
By cutting GDP growth by about 0.3-0.4 percentage points (ppts) in Q2 and raising GDP growth by a similar amount in Q3, the impact of the extra bank holiday to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will all come out in the wash in the end. But it will add …
21st June 2022
We suspect that the main reason for the hasty withdrawal of the Financial Policy Committee’s mortgage affordability test is that it was on course to become a severe constraint on many buyers’ financial firepower. If left in place, it could have led to a …
20th June 2022
Central and Eastern European economies are experiencing their worst bout of inflation since the late-1990s as surging food and energy prices have added to strong core price pressures across a broad range of goods and services. Monetary tightening cycles …
The rise in mortgage rates from a low of 1.5% last November to 1.8% in April is beginning to weigh on home purchase demand, with the new buyer enquiries balance of the RICS survey dropping into negative territory in May. Supply is also improving according …
French President Emmanuel Macron faces five difficult years after losing his absolute majority in parliament. Proposed reforms, including to pensions and benefits, will be diluted if they happen at all, and the result suggests that the “extreme” parties …
The best way for the ECB to contain peripheral bond spreads would be via a new programme of unlimited, flexible bond purchases. This may be what happens eventually, but we suspect it will take longer than many anticipate to agree, meaning there is plenty …
17th June 2022
Assessing the risks from a more hawkish US Fed The 75bp interest rate hike by the US Fed this week and expectations for further large hikes in the coming months have caused turmoil in global markets and will have ripple effects across Emerging Europe. We …
After a more severe downturn in 2020, Manchester office rental growth has caught up with other regional cities in recent quarters. While employment growth and occupier activity may remain fairly weak, tight new supply dynamics should see Manchester office …
The appointment of Erik Thedéen as the new Governor of the Riksbank will only strengthen the relationship between the Bank and the financial regulator, and could result in more macroprudential powers being brought under the oversight of the Bank. It was …
A shock, albeit with a small “s” It goes without saying that the FX market reaction to yesterday’s surprise 50bp rate hike by the SNB was far more muted than that in the days following the Frankenshock in 2015 (when the franc surged by about one-fifth …
Words need to be followed by actions The ECB pulled off a neat trick this week: arresting the sell-off in peripheral bond markets without announcing very much at all. But there’s only so long that markets will be soothed by encouraging words about a …
Despite consumer confidence remaining extremely low, we now think household spending in the euro-zone will edge up in Q2. Excess savings and a tight labour market have helped to cushion the blow from higher prices and enabled households to release their …
Underlying inflation to continue rising Final inflation data for May confirm that the headline and core rates both rose to record highs. The recent increases in gas and agricultural commodity prices will keep the headline rate higher than we had …
Russia’s decision to once again cut supplies to Europe makes the region’s gas supply look increasingly precarious. The move will slow regional stock builds and keep prices historically high . Russia’s monopoly gas exporter, Gazprom, announced on Wednesday …
16th June 2022
Strong demand for labour, not a lack of potential workers, has driven the euro-zone’s unemployment rate to a record low. Employment gains have been biggest in public services and we expect demand for labour to hold up even as economic activity softens …
We expect the Norges Bank to step up the pace of tightening at its policy meeting next Thursday (23 rd June) with a 50bp rate hike, to 1.00%, and to indicate that it will probably raise interest rates again at its “interim” meeting in August. Recall that …
Shortages of food supplies and surging prices have led some EMs to impose export restrictions on key agricultural products, a trend that threatens to become more prevalent and serve to keep prices elevated and inflation high. Some EMs are also attempting …
By raising interest rates by 25bps (basis points) today, from 1.00% to 1.25%, rather than by 50bps or the 75bps the Fed announced last night, we think the Bank of England is putting too much weight on the softening economy and not enough on surging …
Hourly wage growth finally picking up The acceleration in euro-zone wage growth at the start of the year is consistent with the timelier data already published and the message from pay negotiations. Against a backdrop of high inflation and a tight labour …
After the excitement of yesterday’s ECB emergency meeting and 75bp hike by the US Fed, the SNB kept its end up by unexpectedly raising its policy rate by 50bps this morning – its first rate rise since 2007. Given its history of unscheduled announcements, …
The recent falls in the Turkish lira have led to increased speculation that, with the CBRT showing no sign of willingness to raise interest rates, policymakers will be forced to turn to capital controls to prevent sharp and disorderly moves in the …
The Turkish lira is once again depreciating sharply against the US dollar and we expect this to continue. We revise our forecasts for the lira and pencil in further substantial weakness by the end of 2022, to 24/$. The lira has plunged ~15% or so against …
15th June 2022
The ECB’s press release following its unscheduled meeting fell short of announcing a fleshed out spread-fighting tool that could provide a permanent solution to the problem. Flexible PEPP reinvestments might buy policymakers a little time, but the new …
Outlook still bleak despite a rise in production The increase in industrial output in April only partially reversed the decline in March and shows that the economic fallout from the Ukraine war is still holding back production. With survey data pointing …
News that the ECB Governing Council is holding an emergency meeting today shows that policymakers are taking the threat of rising peripheral yields more seriously than they were last Thursday at their regular policy meeting. Ten-year Italian yields have …
Capital outflows from EMs appear to have eased over the past month, but rapidly tightening external financing conditions mean that this won’t last for long. Large outflows already seem to have pushed Turkey to the brink of a(nother) currency crisis, and …
14th June 2022
We suspect that the spread between 10-year Italian and German government bonds would need to widen by another 100bp or so, to around 3.5%, to force the ECB to make a stronger formal statement of support for peripheral bonds. And even then, any initial …
A recent MSCI article speculated that real estate investment could buck the deglobalisation trend given distinct features of the asset class, though we are not convinced that will bring many benefits. We have been writing about the end of globalisation …
Mortgage rates to continue to rise as lenders rebuild margins The detailed quarterly mortgage lending data from the Bank of England confirmed that the squeeze on lenders margins intensified at the start of the year, suggesting that mortgage rates will …
Israel’s labour market has tightened significantly in recent months and while there is so far little sign of a burst of wage pressure coming through, this is likely to be in the pipeline and feed through into stronger core inflation next year. Alongside a …
Investor sentiment consistent with recession in Germany A second consecutive small monthly rise in the ZEW measure of German investor sentiment in June means it was still well below its level at the start of the year, and pointing to a recession. The …
First signs of a less tight labour market The tentative evidence that the recent weakening in economic activity is filtering through into a slightly looser labour market may push the Bank of England a little closer to raising interest rates by 25bps …
50 basis point hike in June now looks nailed on The stronger-than-expected increase in Swedish inflation in May lends support to our forecast that the Riksbank will step up the pace of tightening. A 50bp hike in the policy rate now looks increasingly …
Greece has already made a more complete recovery from the pandemic than most of its peers and the short-term outlook still looks relatively good. The country is less exposed to Russia-Ukraine risks than many, and surging tourism revenues should lift GDP …
13th June 2022
The Prime Minister last week announced a trio of policies aimed at reversing the decline in home ownership since the financial crisis. We doubt the schemes will make a big difference, although more consistent availability of low deposit mortgages could …
Economy’s robust performance continues Turkey’s activity figures for April suggest that the economy has held up well since last year’s currency crisis, but robust activity has added to inflation pressures and contributed to the widening of the current …
Bank may have to raise rates during a recession The 0.3% m/m fall in real GDP in April wasn’t as weak as it looks, but it nonetheless increases the chances that the economy is slipping into recession. While this is unlikely to prevent the Bank of England …
We are raising our forecasts for euro-zone 10-year government bond yields and “peripheral” spreads to reflect the ECB’s further hawkish shift as well as its apparent unwillingness to commit to a strong backstop for peripheral bond markets . The sell-off …
10th June 2022
Tighter ECB policy could cause house prices in the euro-zone to fall, but we think that a housing crash will be avoided even in the Netherlands where the risks are largest. Against the backdrop of ultra-loose monetary policy, supportive fiscal policy, and …
Turkey: anything but rate hikes The Turkish lira remained under pressure this week and officials unveiled on Thursday a raft of measures aimed at tackling inflation and bolstering the currency. The Treasury revealed that it will issue lira-denominated …
