Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
SARB’s lower inflation target proposal looks close A backdrop of subdued price pressures and declining inflation expectations strengthen the argument that a lower inflation target could bring even deeper interest cuts onto the table. Reserve Bank Governor …
4th July 2025
Chile: communist scores surprise primary win The positive market reaction to the victory for communist candidate, Jeannette Jara, in the Chilean governing coalition’s presidential primary election seems surprising at first sight. The peso is up by c.1% …
Muddled guidance in Poland, but further cuts likely The decision by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to cut interest rates by 25bp at its meeting on Wednesday was a dovish surprise to most analysts who had expected policy to be left unchanged, although …
A rate cut at the ECB’s meeting on 24 th July seemed off the table only a few weeks ago, as energy prices had spiked due to the Israel-Iran conflict and ECB President Lagarde had stressed after June’s meeting that the Bank was in a “good position” on …
A cut remains more likely than not There is a growing sense amongst most observers that the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver a 25bp cut at its meeting ending on 8 th July. Indeed, markets are pricing in a whopping 95% chance of that outcome. And …
Japan back in the doghouse The temporary pause on the 24% “reciprocal” tariff Trump imposed on imports from Japan in April is due to expire next week. As things stand, a deal with Japan looks unlikely and it’s possible that Japan will face even higher …
Saudi current account deficit widens, FDI struggles Saudi Arabia’s current account deficit widened at the start of the year and is likely to deteriorate further as oil export receipts decline. This won’t cause any major macro problems yet, but it …
3rd July 2025
Soft inflation print points to July rate cut The larger-than-expected fall in Turkish inflation in June, to 35.0%, supports our view that the central bank will restart its easing later this month. We maintain our forecast for the one-week repo rate to be …
The fact that the RBA isn’t cutting interest rates during a housing downturn won’t limit the rebound in house prices, but the extremely stretched level of affordability will do so. Even though we expect interest rates to fall by more than most expect, the …
NBP cuts by 25bp, with two further cuts likely this year The decision by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to cut its policy rate by 25bp today, to 5.00%, was a dovish surprise to most analysts (although not ourselves). With inflation likely to fall back …
2nd July 2025
Overview – The economy faces a period of weak growth as US tariffs and uncertainty over the future of the USMCA weigh on exports and investment. We forecast quarterly GDP growth of less than 1% annualised on average for the rest of 2025. Tariff effects …
Our views on the outlook for monetary policy in Latin America have been on the hawkish side for some time, but we now think that there’s scope for interest rates in many countries in the region to come down by more than most expect. The key exception to …
With activity having rebounded strongly in Q1 and headline inflation firming up, the RBNZ is likely to leave rates unchanged at 3.25% next week. However, we’re not convinced that the economy has turned the corner. And with the output gap set to remain …
The latest batch of monthly activity and inflation data for Korea support the case for further monetary policy easing by the central bank. We are expecting another 50bps of cuts before the end of the year. The monthly activity data for May, which were …
RBA to cut by 25bp next week, as recovery stumbles and price pressures ease Although labour market remains tight, it is not standing in the way of disinflation Bank will cut rates further than most analysts are anticipating We expect the RBA to cut rates …
Weak retail sales print locks in July cut for RBA With consumer spending remaining in the doldrums, there is a strong case for the RBA to cut rates faster and further than most are predicting. The 0.2% m/m rise in retail sales in May was markedly weaker …
PBOC turns less dovish despite deflation concerns One might have thought that fading concern about the exchange rate and growing concern about deflation would provide the perfect moment for the PBOC to step up monetary easing. But the Bank’s latest …
The latest PMIs suggest that while global industrial activity gained some momentum at the end of Q2, this will probably prove short lived. Meanwhile, the surveys continue to suggest that tariffs are contributing to strong price pressures in the US, while …
1st July 2025
Table of Key Forecasts Global Overview – We expect global GDP growth to slow a touch in the next couple of years, as President Trump’s policies weigh on US activity and fiscal policy provides less of a prop to growth in China. India will be a relative …
30th June 2025
June inflation figures will please ECB National data published so far suggest that both euro-zone headline and core inflation were little changed and close to 2% in June. That will please ECB officials, who we expect to cut rates one more time in this …
Rate cut still on the cards on Wednesday The small rise in Polish inflation, to 4.1% y/y, in June is likely to be followed by a fall back within the central bank’s target range over the second half of this year. We think this will give the National Bank …
Romania takes a (small) step in the right direction The fiscal tightening measures announced by Romania’s new government, which took office this week, are a welcome development for investors after the political turmoil last month and the alarming widening …
27th June 2025
With the Fed divided between doves calling for a rate cut as early as July and hawks expecting no further easing this year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell struck a careful balance in his semi-annual testimony to Congress this week. He offered no signal that a …
A ceasefire in the Middle East. A US-China deal. Relatively benign dataflow. The S&P 500 back at a record high. But are things really looking up? Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing is on The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics to talk to David Wilder …
There were two key developments for the inflation outlook this week. First, some of the upside risk to CPI inflation posed by the conflict in the Middle East and higher energy prices has subsided. After the price of Brent oil ended the UK business day on …
China Chart Pack (June 25) …
Bank will speed up the pace of easing It’s become increasingly clear that the downside risks the RBA has been worried about are starting to manifest. Our GDP Nowcast suggests that recovery is struggling to gain momentum, prompting us to revise down our …
Banxico cuts by 50bp, but tone slightly less dovish Mexico’s central bank (Banxico) lowered its policy rate by another 50bp, to 8.00%, at today’s meeting, but the accompanying communications were slightly less dovish and point to a slower pace of easing …
26th June 2025
Overview – We expect tariffs to have only a modest impact on both real economic growth and price inflation. Admittedly, we do see annualised GDP growth slowing to around 1.5% in the second half of this year, but it should gradually recover from the second …
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – EM exports have held up well this year despite higher US tariffs, but the growth outlook over the second half of the year looks more challenging. We expect a slowdown in most EMs and our forecasts generally sit below …
Inflation eases, Copom’s tightening cycle over The fall in Brazil’s headline inflation rate to 5.3% y/y in the first half of June reinforces our view that the central bank won’t push through further interest rate hikes. An easing cycle is likely to begin …
India’s economy has had a strong first half of the year and is poised to grow by 7% in both 2025 and 2026, making it a global outperformer. The recent sharp drop in inflation has enabled the Reserve Bank of India to frontload its easing cycle and we think …
The US-brokered Iran-Israel ceasefire has allayed fears of the conflict spilling over into the Gulf and concerns about a closure of the Strait of Hormuz have diminished. This has eased the risks to the Gulf’s capacity to ship oil to market, but it has …
Our View: Emerging Europe is less vulnerable than other EM regions to higher US import tariffs, but we have still recently nudged down some of our GDP growth forecasts for this year. Monetary policy will be eased slightly more quickly than we previously …
Overview – We expect GDP growth across most of Asia to soften in 2025, with many countries likely to record below-consensus growth. The risk of escalating trade tensions remains a key concern, particularly for Vietnam, which is highly dependent on US …
Overview – Australia’s economy is struggling to gain momentum, while the recent rebound in activity in New Zealand isn’t likely to be sustained. As the lull in activity lifts spare capacity, underlying price pressures should continue to ease in both …
Overview – Exports would almost certainly have weighed on China’s growth whatever happened this year, but US tariffs – even at their reduced rate – will worsen the drag. Fiscal support has been propping up domestic demand but will provide less of a …
25th June 2025
Africa Chart Pack (Jun. 2025) …
CNB leaves rates on hold, easing cycle at an end The Czech National Bank (CNB) left its policy rate on hold today, at 3.50%, and we think that further monetary easing is unlikely this year. That is a slightly more hawkish view than the consensus, which …
Today’s hold does not mark the end of the easing cycle Thailand’s central bank (BoT) today left interest rates unchanged at 1.75%, but the dovish commentary from the press conference supports our view that further easing is likely over the coming months. …
Sharp fall in inflation likely to reinforce RBA’s dovish pivot With price pressures easing markedly in May, the RBA may well front-load monetary easing to a greater degree than we’re predicting. According to the monthly CPI indicator, headline inflation …
The latest data suggest that the boost to industry and trade from businesses front-running US tariffs is over. Manufacturing activity softened in April and May, and new orders have weakened. While consumer confidence has partially rebounded from …
24th June 2025
Fed’s Powell offers no hint of near-term rate cut Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s prepared semi-annual testimony to the House today offered no hint that a rate cut is coming any time soon. Despite the recent dovish comments from Trump-appointed Governors …
Core inflation easing, but probably still too high for imminent rate cuts The Bank’s preferred CPI-trim and CPI-median core measures rose by a smaller 0.21% m/m on average in May, with the three-month annualised rate declining to 3.0%, but that is …
Rise in inflation won’t stop 50bp cut on Thursday The jump in Mexican inflation to 4.5% in the middle of this month won’t be enough to prevent Banxico from proceeding with a (clearly-signalled) 50bp interest rate cut at its meeting later this week. But …
Hawkish MNB won’t rush to restart easing cycle The Hungarian central bank (MNB) left its base rate on hold today at 6.50% and, in contrast to the consensus view that the easing cycle will resume this year, we think rates will remain unchanged throughout …
Prices of public services and rents are rising at the fastest pace in years, which supports our view that inflation will remain above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target even as the impact of the post-pandemic import cost shock fades. That underpins our view …
Overview – The threat posed by US trade protectionism to the region, for now, appears muted. An improvement in the terms of trade for most countries should mean less downward pressure on currencies and, alongside low inflation, set the stage for more …
23rd June 2025
We assume that the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is mostly extended, keeping tariffs at 10% for countries except China, which will face a steeper 40% levy. Tariffs will not cause a recession – provided Congress can quickly redirect the tariff revenue …
Overview – The euro-zone’s strong first-quarter growth rate was a result of tariff front-running and will be reversed in Q2 and be followed by weak growth in the second half of the year. Further ahead, we think the euro-zone will grow more slowly than …
