Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
The region’s economies have continued to rebound strongly over the past month as virus outbreaks have largely been contained and restrictions have been lifted. Surveys of sentiment in the services sector have surged and high-frequency mobility data have …
28th July 2021
In a bold move that will be closely watched across the region, Singapore is set to drop its implicit target of pursuing zero local COVID-19 cases, with restrictions set to be eased gradually from August. In other words, Singapore will learn to live with …
Table of Key Forecasts Global Overview – The initial post-pandemic resurgence is nearing its zenith, but strong policy support and limited private sector net debt should allow most economies to grow at a healthy pace over the next two years. The US and …
Sydney lockdown could set back the recovery in employment Bank to delay reduction in bond purchases from $5bn to $4bn to November However, we still expect QE to end in mid-2022, with first rate hike in early-2023 We expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to …
Inflation will keep surprising to the upside Most of the surge in inflation in Q2 was driven by base effects that will unwind over the next couple of quarters, but we think that inflation will remain stronger than the RBA is anticipating. The 0.8% q/q …
Policymakers in Nigeria kept their benchmark rate on hold at 11.50% at today’s MPC meeting and, if we’re right in expecting the economic recovery to disappoint, policy settings are likely to remain unchanged for some time. Meanwhile, the announcement on …
27th July 2021
Fed unlikely to be ready to issue tapering guidance (19.00 BST) Canada’s headline inflation probably fell from 3.6% to about 3.2% in June (13.30 BST) We are now anticipating a faster tightening cycle in Hungary Key Market Themes Although equity indices in …
While the regional economic recovery stuttered in Q2, it appears to be gathering pace in Q3. New COVID-19 cases have dropped back, particularly in Chile and Uruguay suggesting that their rapid vaccination programmes are proving effective. Restrictions …
The larger-than-expected 30bp interest rate hike by Hungary’s central bank (MNB) today was accompanied by hawkish comments that send a strong message about its intention to bring inflation back to its target. The tightening cycle is likely to be sharper …
We believe that the slump in net migration is holding back supply more than demand. Unless the government allows net migration to overshoot its pre-virus level for a prolonged period once the border reopens next year, we think that staff shortages will …
While the US dollar has fallen back a little against most currencies in the second half of the week as the sharp sell-off in risky assets and currencies on Monday was reversed, it looks set to end the week slightly stronger, continuing its strong run …
23rd July 2021
Delta variant unlikely to derail the recovery Concerns have grown over the past week about the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 but high vaccine coverage across much of the region has reduced the risk that policymakers will be forced to reimpose …
Overview – China’s economy has been defying gravity thanks to elevated global demand but this support may now be fading. Meanwhile, last year’s policy easing has been fully reversed. An abrupt slowdown is not likely to follow, but highly-indebted firms, …
Mexico: Possible fallout from the third virus wave The third virus wave currently underway in Mexico, driven by the contagious Delta variant, will probably weigh on activity this quarter. But, for now, we don’t think that it will derail the economic …
Russia’s central bank (CBR) opted for a larger 100bp interest rate hike, to 6.50%, at today’s meeting and the accompanying communications provided clear guidance that the tightening cycle is nearing an end. With inflation likely to rise further and …
RBA to delay tapering until November With New South Wales today declaring a “national emergency” as virus cases continue to rise, we now expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to reverse the tapering of its bond purchases and leave them unchanged at least …
We think UK retail sales fell further in May as consumption shifted to services (07.00 BST) Markit PMIs for the euro-zone are likely to indicate a continued expansion in July (09.00 BST) Russia’s central bank is likely to raise its policy rate by 100bp …
22nd July 2021
The ECB followed through on its strategy review today by raising the bar for interest rate hikes in language which was probably a touch more dovish than expected. The Bank made no change to its guidance on asset purchases, but we think it will continue …
Policymakers in South Africa kept their benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50% today and the dovish tone of the communications supports our view that interest rates won’t rise until the middle of next year. Today’s decision by the South African Reserve Bank …
Bank Indonesia (BI) left interest rates unchanged today at 3.5%, and despite the worsening near-term outlook caused by a surge in COVID-19 cases, the central bank made clear further cuts are unlikely. We expect interest rates to remain unchanged until the …
As elsewhere in mainland Europe, activity in Switzerland and the Nordic economies rebounded in Q2 as services sectors re-opened and the strength of global trade has buoyed exports. Our GDP forecasts for 2021 are generally above the consensus and output …
While infections are now rising sharply nationwide – particularly in Tokyo where the Delta variant has the strongest hold – most of the vulnerable population are now fully vaccinated so we doubt restrictions will have to be tightened any further. …
Overview – Strong COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in most of the Gulf and Morocco mean that remaining virus restrictions should be lifted by the end of this year, providing a boost to recoveries that, in the Gulf, will be turbo-charged by the recent OPEC+ deal …
21st July 2021
Overview – Rapid recoveries are underway across the region and GDP should return close to its pre-pandemic path sooner than in most other EM regions. While the spread of highly transmissible virus strains poses the greatest threat to the near-term …
Next week’s meeting unlikely to bring new guidance on asset purchases Tapering still on track to begin in early 2022; September announcement possible Rates to remain on hold until 2023 A few regional Fed Presidents are pushing for the Fed to begin …
Amid the ongoing debate over inflation in a post-pandemic world, one thing that does appear clear is that near-term price pressures in India have peaked. Consumer price inflation held steady in June at 6.3% y/y, while wholesale price inflation dropped for …
This Focus has been updated to incorporate the latest publicly-available information on China’s eCNY project, including the PBOC White Paper published on 16 th July 2021. The original version of the Focus , published on 27 th May 2021, is here . In this …
Overview – Surging infections across South East Asia and the slow progress of vaccine rollouts mean that COVID-19 will continue to cause widespread economic disruption across large parts of the region until at least the end of the year. We have cut our …
20th July 2021
Overview – Our forecast that COVID-19 won’t significantly reduce potential supply means that the economy can run a bit hotter for longer without generating the persistent rise in inflation that would require monetary policy to be tightened. Admittedly, …
Overview – Virus outbreaks are easing in much of Latin America which should support activity in the near term. And while vaccination coverage is still weak in most of the region, suggesting there is still a clear risk of further virus waves, economies are …
19th July 2021
There are signs that the worst of the violence and unrest that has gripped South Africa this week may be over. Any hit to economic activity is unlikely to be long-lasting but the risk that the government’s austerity plans are watered down has increased. …
16th July 2021
Israel’s virus wave could be a warning for others The experience of Israel in recent weeks serves as a reminder that vaccine campaigns across Emerging Europe still have some way to go and that we are likely to have to learn to live with COVID long term. …
The Bank of Canada expects GDP to move above its pre-pandemic trend in 2023 but, given the potential for oil prices and residential investment to decline, we think its forecasts will prove too optimistic. Alongside its decision to keep the policy rate …
Overview – The euro-zone is on the way to an almost full recovery. We expect Germany to regain its pre-pandemic level of activity later this year and the tourist-dependent southern countries to do so next year. The Delta variant may lead to some voluntary …
Cyclically healthy, structurally ailing China’s post-lockdown recovery has often been called patchy, with household spending still weak. We’ve never been entirely comfortable with that characterisation. Retail spending on goods has been back near the …
In response to the jump in CPI inflation from 2.1% in May to 2.5% in June (see here ) and yet more signs that the labour market is bouncing back (see here ), two members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this week indicated that policy will need to …
Virus cases surge in South East Asia The virus situation across South East Asia has gone from bad to worse over the past couple of weeks (see Chart 1), with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all reporting a record high number of daily cases. The …
The Bank of Japan today unveiled the details of its green lending facility, underlining that its focus is now moving away from addressing the pandemic towards longer-term structural issues . As universally anticipated, the Bank of Japan kept its interest …
RBNZ will hike rates next month We forecast at the end of last year that the RBNZ would end its asset purchase scheme by the middle of this year, one year ahead of schedule. While we had expected the Bank to wait until August, the Bank announced this week …
Falling virus cases, strong economic recoveries and/or inflation worries prompted several more EM central banks – those of Czechia , Chile , Hungary and Mexico – to tighten monetary policy in the past month, joining Russia and Brazil. And a few others, …
15th July 2021
Governing Council will not change its key policy settings next week. However, it will amend its forward guidance to reflect its new, more dovish strategy. The new guidance will push back the likely timetable for any future rate hike. The ECB will set out …
Overview – The lifting of restrictions and ongoing policy support should translate into a sustained period of above-potential GDP growth, driven by consumption and business investment. We expect GDP growth of 6.3% in 2021 and 4.0% in 2022, followed by a …
Chile’s central bank fired the starting gun on a gradual tightening cycle yesterday as it hiked its policy rate by 25bp, to 0.75%. While it signalled that monetary policy will remain accommodative over the next two years, we think that Chile’s strong …
Overview - Sydney’s lockdown will keep a lid on Australia’s recovery for now, but booming housing markets should support consumer spending and dwellings investment in both countries. We don’t expect labour shortages to ease much when the border opens, so …
The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its main policy rate on hold at 0.50% today and signalled that a rate hike is still very much on the table this year. While the worsening virus situation has made things more uncertain, comments from the press conference …
The Bank of Canada’s decision to continue tapering its asset purchases today came as little surprise and we continue to expect the Bank to bring the QE program to a close by the end of this year. With the Bank’s new GDP forecasts looking too optimistic to …
14th July 2021
The RBNZ today sent a hawkish signal by announcing the end of its bond purchases. While we currently expect the Bank to start hiking rates in May next year, the risk is that it will happen earlier . The Bank’s asset purchases have fallen very sharply in …
Overview – Supply shortages will ease only gradually over the next couple of years, putting sustained upward pressure on core inflation and constraining real activity. We expect core inflation to remain above 3% for the remainder of this year, with only a …
13th July 2021
We think that US core CPI inflation rose above 4% last month (13.30 BST) China’s June trade data should show how much disruption port closures caused Read our highest conviction macro forecasts and their market implications here Key Market Themes The …
12th July 2021
Banxico minutes: surprises and hints of more hikes The minutes to Banxico’s June 24 th meeting , where it delivered a surprise 25bp hike, were fairly hawkish and reaffirm our initial view that more tightening is in the pipeline. We now expect a further …
9th July 2021
