This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Activity rebounds, but net trade remains a large drag The 14.1% q/q annualised rebound in Israeli GDP in Q1 was slightly weaker than expected and left GDP almost 3% below its …
16th May 2024
Dovish BSP hints at first rate cut in Q3 The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its main policy rate unchanged (at 6.50%), but the tone of the statement was much less hawkish than at its April meeting. Not only did the central bank cut its …
Labour market will continue to loosen The continued rise in the unemployment rate in April further diminishes the likelihood that the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver another interest rate hike. The 38,500 rise in employment last month was stronger …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Activity set to rebound this quarter The renewed drop in GDP in the first quarter mostly reflects production shutdowns at major carmakers and a pronounced rebound this quarter …
Manufacturing sector faltering The weakness of manufacturing sales in March suggests that the economy lost momentum heading into the second quarter, matching the message from the earlier preliminary estimates for retail sales and GDP. The 2.1% m/m fall in …
15th May 2024
Consumers not looking quite as strong We would caution against jumping to the conclusion that consumers are starting to crack under high interest rates, despite the disappointing retail sales data for April, as some payback always seemed likely after the …
The 1.1% q/q expansion in Colombia’s GDP in Q1 confirmed that the economy made a strong start to the year and supports our view that the central bank won’t step up the pace of easing at its next meeting in June. The outturn was a touch below the Refinitiv …
CPI consistent with September rate cut The slightly more modest 0.3% m/m increase in core CPI in April was even better than it looked, particularly given that we already know the PPI components that feed into the Fed’s preferred PCE deflator measure came …
Euro-zone out of recession but June rate cut still on Data released today confirm that the euro-zone came out of recession in the first quarter, but we suspect that the recovery will be quite muted. The second estimate of euro-zone GDP in the first …
CEE’s recovery moving into second gear The Q1 GDP figures released out of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) this morning show that growth strengthened across most of the region at the start of this year, and we expect a further modest pick up over the …
Inflation holds steady but may pick up in H2 Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate was unchanged at 1.6% y/y in April and, while we think that there may be a slight acceleration at the start of Q3, the bigger picture is that inflation in the Kingdom is …
April’s inflation data confirm Riksbank unlikely to cut in June. The small increase in the Riksbank’s target CPIF measure of inflation, which excludes the effect of changes in interest rates, from 2.2% in March to 2.3% in April, was broadly as expected …
We are resending this publication to correct an error in the second paragraph. Slowdown in wage growth means RBA won’t hike any more Wages growth is easing more rapidly than the RBA had anticipated. While this will forestall any further policy tightening, …
PPI brings mixed news for PCE supercore The bigger-than-expected 0.5% m/m increases in both all items and core final demand producer prices in April were mainly due to downward revisions to earlier months, with the 0.2% m/m gains in March both revised to …
14th May 2024
Minutes suggest Copom isn’t so divided The minutes to last week’s Brazilian central bank meeting suggest that the balance on Copom is, overall, more cautious than had been widely assumed immediately after the meeting. That may provide some support to the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sticky wage growth is a lingering concern for the BoE While the further easing in regular private sector pay growth in March suggests that wage pressures faded a bit faster than …
Easing cycle delayed, cut pushed back to Q3 Romania’s central bank (NBR) left its policy rate on hold at 7.00% today, in contrast to consensus expectations for a cut but in line with our own forecast. With inflation pressures falling more slowly than …
13th May 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Inflation edging closer to RBI’s 4% target Headline consumer price inflation edged down in April to an 11-month low and, looking ahead, we think it will reach the RBI’s 4% …
Confidence slump leaves us wondering what we may be missing The renewed slump in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment gauge to a six-month low of 67.4 in May, from 77.2, is hard to explain given that gasoline prices are now falling again, the …
10th May 2024
Surge in employment suggests Bank will wait until July to cut The surge in employment in April shows that the fall in March was just a blip and suggests that the Bank of Canada is now more likely to wait until the July meeting to cut interest rates, …
Sharp fall in services inflation points to another rate cut The fall in Brazilian inflation to 3.7% y/y last month and, more importantly, the sharp decline in underlying services inflation suggests that, despite the hawkish language in the Copom statement …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Strong GDP data probably won’t prevent BoE rate cuts The 0.6% q/q rise in GDP in Q1 confirmed that the recession ended at the start of this year and suggests the economy has been …
Easing cycle paused, rate cuts to be more gradual than most anticipate Mexico’s central bank paused its easing cycle at today’s meeting and, while we expect interest rate cuts to resume soon, we think that monetary conditions will be kept tighter than …
9th May 2024
Rates on hold, small chance of a cut in 2024 Poland’s central bank (NBP) left its policy rate on hold as expected at 5.75% today and we don’t expect any change for some time. Still, there is now a growing possibility of an interest rate cut before the end …
Inflation rises, Banxico to pause later today The rise in Mexico’s headline inflation rate, to 4.7% y/y in April, was mainly due to a fresh jump in agricultural inflation which masked a fall in core inflation. Still, there’s nothing in the data which …
For more detailed and up-to-date analysis see here . Rapid falls in inflation may prompt BoE to cut rates in June The Bank of England left interest rates at 5.25% today as widely expected, but it gave the impression it’s getting closer to cutting rates. …
Rates on hold throughout 2024 Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left its overnight policy rate (OPR) on hold (at 3.00%) today, and the tone of its statement supports our view that rates will be left unchanged throughout 2024. The decision was correctly predicted …
This webpage has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a Chart and Table of key data. Inflation continues to tick down after orthodox shift Egypt’s headline inflation rate slowed from 33.3% y/y in March to 32.5% y/y in April and we think that …
GDP growth in the Philippines slowed in Q1 and we expect further weakness over the rest of the year as tight monetary policy, slower growth in remittances and weaker export demand weigh on activity. According to the data published today, GDP growth …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Export volumes have further to fall Export values returned to growth last month after contracting in March, but this was mainly due to a lower base for comparison. Export …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Wage growth to gain further momentum While total wage growth slowed sharply in March, this was mostly driven by a plunge in volatile bonus payments. Regular wage growth held up …
Easing cycle set to enter a stop-start phase The Brazilian central bank’s decision to cut the Selic rate by 25bp to 10.50% (rather than opt for another 50bp step) and drop its forward guidance confirm that most of the rate cuts in this easing cycle are …
8th May 2024
Rise in inflation shifts odds in favour of a 50bp cut The slightly larger-than-expected rise in Chile’s inflation to 4.0% y/y in April supports our view that the central bank will once again slow the pace of easing with a 50bp cut (to 6.00%) at its …
Rising mortgage rates extend the slump in demand The small rebound in mortgage demand in March proved short-lived, as higher borrowing costs caused home purchase mortgage applications to drop 2.3% m/m in April. But the 10-year Treasury yield’s recent …
Riksbank likely to cut faster than it forecasts The Rikbsank’s decision to cut its key policy rate by 25bp today, to 3.75%, was only partly priced in by financial markets but was forecast by the majority of analysts including ourselves. Attention will now …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. German industrial recovery halts in March The renewed contraction in industrial production in March after two months of expansion, is a reminder that the German economy is still …
Commercial activity rebounds, but housing still subdued The headline CIPS construction PMI rose for the fifth consecutive month to 53.0 in April, a 14-month high. The rise was driven by improvements to the commercial and civil engineering components, …
7th May 2024
RBA content to stay put for a while The RBA’s decision to leave rates unchanged at 4.35%, despite the material upside surprise in the CPI data last quarter, suggests that the bar for a resumption of rate hikes is high. However, the other side of that coin …
The national accounts data released today suggest that economic growth in Indonesia remained broadly stable last quarter, but we don’t have much faith in the official data. With economic activity likely to remain weak and concerns about inflation and the …
6th May 2024
Fundamentals point to slower wage growth Powell leaves all options open Fed Chair Jerome Powell argued in his post-FOMC press conference this week that, despite the stickiness of inflation in recent months, additional interest rate hikes were still …
3rd May 2024
Rise in prices paid not yet a concern The fall in the ISM services index to 49.4 in April, from 51.4 in March, suggests that services spending could slow from the 4% annualised in the first quarter. The prices paid index rebounded but, for now, it is …
Labour market easing puts rate cuts back on the table April’s employment report was weaker across the board; with employment growth slowing back to the pace from last fall, the unemployment rate ticking up to 3.9% and average hourly earnings growth …
Inflation pressures stabilising, rate cuts still some way off The slightly smaller-than-expected rise in Turkish inflation in April to 69.8% y/y (consensus 70.3%) offers encouraging signs that price pressures have softened again. The 3.2% m/m increase was …
External demand still weak Despite the slump in March, export volumes grew strongly over the first quarter and net trade appears to have been behind about half of the likely 2.5% annualised rise in first-quarter GDP. Nonetheless, the fall in March and the …
2nd May 2024
Deficit narrows; Productivity growth stalls The trade deficit narrowed slightly in March to $69.4bn, from $69.5bn, with exports down by 2.0% m/m and imports falling by 1.6%. The $5.1bn decline in goods exports included a $1.2bn drop in civilian aircraft …
PMI bounces as electricity supply improves South Africa’s manufacturing PMI jumped in April, adding to signs the economy is finally moving on from stagnation as the electricity situation improves. And with price pressures still elevated, the SARB looks …
Strong Q1 growth masks lacklustre domestic recovery Hong Kong’s GDP surprised to the upside in Q1, expanding by 2.3% q/q, up from a downwardly-revised 0.4% q/q in Q4 (the Bloomberg median was +0.9 and out forecast was +0.8%). While growth slowed in y/y …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Industry dragging on the CEE recovery The weak set of manufacturing PMIs out of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for April suggest that industrial sectors remained a drag on the …
Swiss CPI jumps, but will fall in the coming months The jump in Switzerland’s inflation rate in April was largely due to increases in the volatile food and fuel components. While the data increase our confidence that the SNB will not cut interest rates at …
Fed statement acknowledges inflation rebound; announces QT taper The Fed admitted in the statement issued after today’s FOMC meeting that “in recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the… 2% inflation objective”. Otherwise, today’s …
1st May 2024
