Fed biding its time Fed Chair Jerome Powell argued in his post-FOMC press conference that, despite the stickiness of inflation in recent months, additional interest rate hikes were still “unlikely”. Moreover, while he admitted that the strong start to the …
1st May 2024
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 …
Dollar’s strength not a threat to US economy The dollar’s rise is attracting a lot of attention, but is nowhere near big enough yet to have any significant impact on US inflation, although it does appear to be weighing on exports. In real trade-weighted …
Chinese policymakers won’t risk reliving the turmoil of 2015 by engineering a sudden devaluation of the renminbi . They may allow the currency to weaken gradually over the coming years to help industry deal with oversupply or to offset the impact of new …
We doubt the recent rise in US bond yields will continue much further, or significantly undermine the prospects of US equities. The 10-year Treasury yield has fallen back a bit today ahead of the FOMC’s policy announcement, as the US Treasury’s Quarterly …
The March JOLTS data showed clearer signs that labour market tightness is continuing to ease. Slower downward progress in wage growth could be concerning, but for now it still appears to be moving broadly in line with the forward-looking indicators, which …
Manufacturing struggling for momentum The fall in the ISM manufacturing index back below the theoretical 50.0 no-change level in April suggests that the nascent recovery in the manufacturing sector may already have gone into reverse. While the further …
This Rapid Response has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a chart and table of key data. Growth to strengthen over 2024 Saudi Arabia’s flash estimate of GDP showed that the economy exited recession in Q1 and we expect the recovery to …
Higher mortgage rates continue to hit prices The second consecutive decline in the Nationwide house price index in April confirms that the rise in mortgage rates since the start of the year will prevent further near-term price gains. But as we think Bank …
House prices continue to temper their gains The housing rebound that began early last year continued to lose momentum in April. With affordability likely to remain stretched for the foreseeable future, house price growth will only ease further in the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Spare capacity continues to open up in the labour market The labour market loosened more forcefully than we had expected in Q1. With subdued activity weighing on labour demand, …
30th April 2024
The US dollar has made further gains against most major currencies over the past month or so. Interest rate expectations have continued to pick up in the US and in most places outside Asia, weighing particularly on that region's currencies (prompting …
We think that the recent weakness in the Mexican peso was partly a symptom of stretched positioning. Given that risk premia still appear unusually low and the outlook for the “carry trade” is gradually worsening, we think that the peso will depreciate …
The anti-dumping duties that the EU is likely to impose on Chinese imports in the coming months will have little macroeconomic impact. But more goods will be targeted in the next couple of years with significant implications for some sectors and …
South Africa’s general election on 29 th May is likely to be the most consequential for its economy and financial markets since the end of Apartheid. With the ANC set to lose its majority, how should investors be preparing for the approach of coalition …
We expect equities to outperform most other assets as a bubble fuelled by AI-enthusiasm continues to inflate, supported by a backdrop of resilient economic growth and monetary easing cycles. In particular, we expect US equities to continue to lead the …
China’s PMI surveys for April suggest the economy continues to grow at a faster pace than a few months ago which is providing support for commodity demand. Today’s Politburo statement signalled that the policy support that has lifted the economy will be …
While we expect Chinese bonds and equities to make more gains in the near term, w e think the outlook further ahead is not as bright for the latter. Chinese government bonds have been quite volatile in recent days. The 10-year yield recorded on Friday one …
Is progress stalling on efforts to get inflation under control? Why are price pressures proving more stubborn than expected? When will central bankers get the genie back in the bottle? Join our Global Economics team for this special briefing about the …
Momentum in house prices continues The substantial shortage of existing homes for sale fueled a robust 0.4% m/m rise in house prices in February, consistent with our above-consensus call that house price growth will end 2024 at 5% y/y. The increase in the …
Strong Q1, but growth likely to slow in the second quarter Despite the weaker-than-expected rise in GDP in February, first-quarter growth still looks to be close to 2.5% annualised. The weaker flash estimate for March points to less momentum going into …
This is a revamped version of our quarterly Financial Risk Monitor to include commentary and analysis of our latest EM risk indicators. EM risks ease further, but fiscal risks remain acute Higher US bond yields and a stronger dollar have put some EM …
Wage growth now looks a little sticky too The persistence of wage growth is another reason for the Fed to take its time on rate cuts. According to the first-quarter employment cost index, civilian wages increased at a 1.1% non-annualised pace and the …
Emerging Asia Chart Pack (April 2024) …
China Chart Pack (Apr. 24) …
May rate cut off the table The slightly faster-than-expected 0.2% q/q expansion in Mexico’s economy in Q1, alongside strong underlying price pressures and the delay to rate cuts in the US, mean that Banxico is all but certain to leave interest rates …
Most analysts expect China’s inflation rate to rebound to around 2% by 2026. In contrast, we think that persistent imbalances between supply and demand will keep it close to zero for the foreseeable future. This will make it harder to manage China’s high …
Whither central bank green policy? The role of central banks in fighting climate change was amongst the varied subjects touched upon by France President Emmanuel Macron in a sprawling speech earlier this month. In addition to pondering deep rhetorical …
The Polish government’s white paper on Monday set out a scathing review of the previous government’s fiscal record and highlighted the challenges facing the public finances, but if we’ve learned anything from the report it is that the government will take …
Strong GDP data will not stop June rate cut Today’s stronger-than-expected Q1 GDP data means the euro-zone has come out of recession but, with core and services inflation both declining in April, this will not prevent the ECB from starting its easing …
Longstanding turmoil in Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Pemex, alongside newly announced export cuts, raise questions about the outlook for Mexico’s oil output. But it will not be a large enough factor to alter the global oil market balance. What’s …
Net lending has a weak start to the year Following a dip in February, net lending to commercial property ticked up in March, but the rise of £259m was modest and entirely due to lending to standing property. Looking through the monthly volatility net …
Leadership promises continued policy support, new round of reforms The readout of the Politburo’s quarterly meeting on economic affairs has just been published by state media. The tone remained dovish, suggesting that policy will remain supportive in the …
Capital Economics has just been named most accurate forecaster of the Chinese economy by global macro survey firm Consensus Economics. This latest award reflects our ability to anticipate, and help clients understand, the near to long-term trajectory of …
Taiwan’s economy accelerated in y/y terms last quarter and we expect growth to remain strong over the coming year, helped by robust demand for AI-related products. Economic growth slowed in q/q terms but the strength of the economy over the past year …
A strong start to 2024 The national-level data released so far this morning suggest that euro-zone GDP, which will be published in just under an hour, will show an expansion of 0.3% q/q in Q1. All of the euro-zone’s largest economies grew in the first …
Recoveries continue The slightly better-than-expected Q1 GDP figures out of Hungary and Czechia suggest that economic recoveries had a little more momentum at the start of this year than we previously thought and that the risks to our growth forecasts for …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Further evidence the drag on activity from high interest rates is fading March’s money and credit figures provide further evidence that the drag from high interest rates is …
Underlying inflation remains stubborn, labour market still running hot RBA to hand down a final 25bp hike to mitigate upside risks Rate cuts unlikely before early next year, with only limited room for easing We expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to hike …
This interactive dashboard allows you to explore all of our forecasts and key data for economies in the Middle East & North Africa. CE Advance subscribers can download the forecasts via the menu options in the top right of each chart or table. … Middle …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . A touch softer but recovery still intact, for now The PMIs fell in April after sizeable rises in March, but they are still consistent with some improvement in momentum since the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Softness in retail sales probably won’t prevent a rate hike The weakness in retail sales last month suggests that sales volumes fell across Q1 as a whole. That said, with …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. GDP set to rebound this quarter Coupled with solid output forecasts for April and May, the strong rebound in industrial production in March suggests that the likely slump in GDP …
Despite global panic about the DM inflation outlook, we still think that price pressures in the UK are set to fade faster than most assume, opening the way for the Bank of England to cut rates more aggressively than indicated by the consensus. Our UK …
29th April 2024
José Raúl Mulino, the front-runner in Panama’s presidential election scheduled for Sunday, has pledged to reinvigorate growth. But as we’ve been arguing for some time, the economy’s time as Latin America’s growth star is coming to an end. If anything, …
Japan’s apparent intervention in support of the beleaguered yen may buy some time for the currency to stabilise, but is unlikely to lead to sustained turnaround until US interest rate expectations start to fall back. While Ministry of Finance (MoF) …
We think the Fed and most other developed markets (DM) central banks will be able to ease monetary policy this year and next more than investors currently anticipate. DM bond yields will end 2024 below their current levels, putting downward pressure on …
All the signs suggest that a second Trump administration would take a more protectionist approach to trade. Export demand in Mexico, East Asia and ASEAN would be particularly hard hit by a universal US import tariff or a dollar devaluation, and those …
Trump, the Fed, and the dollar Most of the major policy initiatives being suggested by Donald Trump’s campaign would be inflationary; whether it’s narrowing the trade deficit via tariffs or a dollar devaluation, curbing immigration or, now we learn, …
