Filtered by Region: Europe Use setting Europe
The details of the monetary strategy review were slightly less radical than had been suggested in parts of the financial media. But the changes announced today still amount to a historic shift away from Bundesbank orthodoxy and towards the mainstream. We …
8th July 2021
Despite poor employment prospects, we are cautiously optimistic on the outlook for CEE leasing activity as the economic recovery gets underway. However, large supply pipelines mean that improving occupier demand will not be enough to prevent further …
Market set to remain tight as stamp duty holiday ends Activity and house prices were extremely strong again in June according to the RICS survey, although there was a distinct softening in the more forward-looking balances. As supply remains limited, we …
Inflation rise will spook CBR The further rise in Russian inflation to a stronger-than-expected 6.5% y/y in June means the central bank (CBR) is likely to up the pace of tightening when it meets in a couple of weeks. A 75bp hike (to 6.25%) seems most …
7th July 2021
The economy has continued to rebound strongly as governments have lifted almost all restrictions on retail and restaurants and eased rules on foreign travel. Restaurant bookings are back above pre-pandemic levels and the number of flights is rising …
Turkish inflation hit a two-year high in June and recent domestic energy price hikes will cause it to rise even further over the next couple of months. High inflation and signs of a quick recovery from May’s lockdown mean that the central bank will …
Auto sector dragging on the recovery The small decline in German industrial production in May, which left it well below its pre-pandemic level, was due to another big fall in vehicle production. The problems in that, admittedly important, sector are …
Retail sales back above pre-pandemic level Euro-zone retail sales rose back above their pre-pandemic level in May. And as Covid restrictions continue to be lifted, spending in the services sector is recovering very rapidly, which will provide a …
6th July 2021
After gaining ground since 2018, the recovery in Athens’ prime property values has stalled. However, we think that the catch up with the euro-zone will continue, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. Athens’ prime property values have recovered …
Israel’s strong economic recovery prompted the central bank to phase out one of its emergency support programmes at today’s meeting and Governor Yaron’s comments suggest that the next step towards policy normalisation may involve the end of the bond …
5th July 2021
Strong recovery accompanied by growing price pressures The PMIs point to the euro-zone economy recovering strongly in June and provide evidence that price pressures are now spilling over into the services sector, even in the periphery. Nevertheless, we …
Inflation picks up, start of easing cycle likely to be delayed The fresh rise in Turkey’s headline inflation rate to 17.5% y/y in June, coupled with signs of a strong rebound in activity after May’s three-week lockdown, means that an interest rate cut in …
CBRT unlikely to win the war with dollarisation Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) took steps this week to tackle deposit dollarisation in the banking sector, but these efforts will fail to make headway in the absence of a stronger commitment to rein in high …
2nd July 2021
It’s understandable that the start of the winding up of the furlough scheme on 1 st July (when firms had to start paying 10% of the wages of their furloughed workers) has caused some concern. After all, even after taking into account the cumulative cost …
This week has seen another set of stellar business surveys, underlining that the recovery is still going strong. The final headline euro-zone Manufacturing PMI for June was revised up from the flash estimate to a new record high. And the EC’s economic …
“Stockholm Street” or “Stockholm-enders”? This week saw the latest instalment of the political soap opera in Sweden. Having lost a “no confidence” vote on the 21 st June (see here ), the resignation of Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on Monday means the …
The Russian ruble appreciated to a one-year high against the dollar recently but we think the rally will fade as oil prices fall back and US Treasury yields rise further. That said, the central bank’s determination to rein in inflation should keep Russian …
Re-opening boosts hiring activity The big fall in euro-zone unemployment in May highlights that the re-opening of many services sector firms in that month has boosted hiring activity. And with a strong recovery now underway, it now looks unlikely that …
1st July 2021
Price pressures continue to mount The PMIs for June suggest that manufacturing sectors strengthened in Turkey, Czechia and Poland but weakened in Russia. Meanwhile, in Czechia and Poland, supply chain disruptions intensified, and there was further …
The Riksbank was always likely to maintain the status quo this morning, but against the backdrop of recent hawkish shifts by other central banks, notably the Fed, the focus was on how its thinking had shifted. The short answer is: not a lot. You did not …
Lingering restrictions on travel mean that weakness in foreign tourist spending will continue to weigh on retailers’ incomes in tourist-dependent retail markets this year. This supports our view that prime retail rents will fall, even as the domestic …
The EU’s digital Covid certificate, which is being launched tomorrow, will have very little impact on European tourism this year. Non-essential travel is already possible, but most adults are not fully vaccinated and the Delta variant is making people and …
30th June 2021
Inflation likely to resume its upward path After dipping below 2% in June euro-zone inflation is likely to rise again in the coming months, led by higher inflation in Germany. But we think it will drop back early next year and remain low beyond that. The …
Tighter supply conditions and the expected smaller hit from the shift to remote working mean that we think Paris office rents will continue to outperform Lyon over the next five years. Prior to the pandemic, Lyon prime office rental growth had outpaced …
Recovery firmly underway Economic sentiment in the euro-zone improved sharply in June as restrictions were lifted further. Although industrial confidence was flattered by low levels of stocks, presumably relating to supply shortages, the big picture is …
29th June 2021
Global developments driving the Nordic majors After last week’s seemingly counterintuitive drop in the NOK following the hawkish message from the Norges Bank (see here ), it was the turn of the Swedish Krona to apparently defy the laws of the market: the …
25th June 2021
Another week, another set of euro-zone survey data highlighting the strength of the region’s economic bounce back as virus restrictions are lifted on the services sector. The flash Composite PMI for the euro-zone rose to its highest level in 15 years and, …
The evolving outlook for monetary policy on the other side of the Atlantic has once again been partly to blame for recent movements in UK markets. Like in the US, the yield curve flattened after the Fed became more hawkish at its May meeting, although …
The further slowdown in the money supply growth in May is due to big changes during the first lockdown dropping out of the annual comparison. Money supply data will be affected by the pandemic for a while, making them difficult to interpret, but the …
Overview – With virus restrictions set to be eased further, we expect the recovery in economic activity to gather pace from Q3, which should give occupier markets a lift. But the pick-up will not be enough to prevent falls in office and retail rents this …
Lingering restrictions on international travel to control the spread of the Delta variant mean that Spanish foreign tourist revenues this year will probably be only half what they were in 2019. That will hold back the pace of the overall recovery, even as …
24th June 2021
Overview – With the recovery in economic activity already underway and further easing in virus restrictions to come, the outlook for occupier demand is encouraging. However, with structural factors also at play, this is likely to provide more support to …
The Czech National Bank (CNB) raised its two-week repo rate by 25bp to 0.50% at today’s meeting and the accompanying communications support our view that this marks the start of what will be the most aggressive tightening cycle in Europe. We expect that …
23rd June 2021
For EMs, vaccine supply appears to be by far the biggest constraint on immunisation campaigns; vaccine hesitancy will probably rear its head at a much more advanced stage of rollout in most countries. And even then, governments seem to be having some …
Last week’s surprise change in the Fed’s guidance about how soon it is likely to raise its key policy rate raises the question of whether the ECB will follow suit. In our view, although the euro-zone faces similar inflationary pressures in the coming …
The latest data suggest that the Central European and some Asian economies will probably post strong GDP growth in Q2, but virus outbreaks have weighed on recoveries in India and parts of Latin America. High-frequency mobility data paint a mixed picture …
22nd June 2021
Hungary’s central bank (MNB) raised interest rates by 30bp today and with inflation set to remain above the MNB’s 4% upper tolerance level well into 2022, we expect an additional 60bp of tightening at the next three Inflation Report meetings. This would …
Economy roars back to life as restrictions lifted Polish retail sales rebounded strongly in May as restrictions were lifted, while industry continued to expand at a solid pace. GDP looks set to return to its pre-virus level in Q2 and we expect the …
While policymakers in Hungary and Czechia look set to lift interest rates from their pandemic lows later this week, we doubt that Poland’s central bank will follow suit this year. That said, with inflation in Poland set to be higher than we had previously …
21st June 2021
Norges Bank trumped by the US Fed The Norges Bank laid its cards on the table this Thursday, all but confirming that it will start to raise its key interest rate from September. (See here .) In the event, it was overshadowed by the less anticipated news …
18th June 2021
Recent strong inflation data have heightened concerns about global price pressures. At present, we think there will be limited impact on short-term property performance. Further out though, higher inflation expectations reinforce the view that bond yields …
16th June 2021
The Delta variant does not appear to have taken hold in mainland Europe as yet, but the experience of the Alpha variety suggests that it could be dominant by the end of July. While this would be far from helpful, it should not prevent the euro-zone …
Falling vegetable prices In a week when we learnt that core inflation in the US reached a 28-year high of 3.8% in May it is difficult to know what to make of the detailed discussion of vegetable prices in Statistics Sweden’s CPI press release . The good …
11th June 2021
We now expect interest rates to rise across Central and Eastern Europe in the coming years and for all the major currencies to strengthen against the euro, with the Czech koruna and Polish zloty faring best. Until recently, currencies in Central and …
10th June 2021
With emission targets needing to be met by 2030, the race is on for the real estate sector to decarbonise. By forcing tenants and landlords to share the risks, benefits and costs of environmental policies, green commercial leases are a promising tool, and …
Rising global price pressures have pushed inflation up in Switzerland and Sweden this year, but their central banks look set to leave policy on hold. In contrast, inflation in Norway has been falling recently (see Chart 1) and yet its central bank is …
9th June 2021
The marked rise in government bond yields drove a deterioration in property valuations in Q1, particularly in industrial markets where property yields also fell steeply. (See Chart 1.) And with government bond yields edging up further in Q2, valuations …
2nd June 2021
Capital value growth improved in Scandinavia and Switzerland in Q1, helped by the easing of virus restrictions and by the improvement in economic activity towards the end of the quarter. The uptick in the pace of Scandinavian industrial capital value …
28th May 2021
Please entertain me, Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark’s website is always a good place to start if you’re looking for some off-the-wall statistics to liven up an otherwise data-light week, and this week was no exception: we learned that the average …
21st May 2021
With the faster pace of vaccination paving the way for a rebound in economic activity, the prospects for occupier markets have improved. However, structural changes mean that the recovery in the office and retail sectors will be gradual. In contrast, we …
20th May 2021
