Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Repo rate cut to be the Riksbank’s first port of call Against a backdrop of rising pressure on major central banks to loosen policy in response to coronavirus, we now forecast the Riksbank to cut its repo rate back into negative territory at its 28th... 9th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Policymakers edging closer to a coronavirus response It’s a very close call, but we think that the Riksbank will cut the repo rate back to -0.25% at its next scheduled rate decision on 28th April, if not before. Meanwhile, the recent rise in the Swiss... 6th March 2020 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Switzerland CPI & Sweden Services PMI (Feb.) The return of deflation to Switzerland in February will only strengthen the policymakers’ resolve to prevent the franc from rising much further. Following yesterday’s emergency rate cut by the Fed... 4th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Feb.) The increases in the manufacturing PMIs in February in Switzerland and the Nordics suggest that conditions in the industrial sector were improving before the surge in coronavirus cases in Europe... 2nd March 2020 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Positive surveys, but they are now old news While the improvements in the latest surveys from Sweden and Switzerland offer some encouragement that the two economies gathered a bit of momentum at the start of 2020, they are already old news... 28th February 2020 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Sweden, Finland & Denmark GDP (Q4), Swiss KOF (Feb.) The Swedish economy ended last year on the back foot, and a combination of the rising threat from the coronavirus, weak growth in the neighbouring euro-zone, and persistently below-target inflation... 28th February 2020 · 2 mins read
Non-Euro Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Scandinavia & Switzerland: Retail still in the doldrums All-property rental growth eased across most markets in 2019, but the slowdown was concentrated in the retail sector. Admittedly, the Swiss markets remain a bright spot as prime retail rents increased... 27th February 2020 · 6 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank as divided as ever; Swiss industry in a rut While the Riksbank is keen to present a united front, the minutes from its February meeting, published this morning, show that the Executive Board is as divided as ever. Next week, Q4 GDP data from... 21st February 2020 · 7 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Jan.) The sharper-than-expected fall in Swedish inflation in January may test the Riksbank’s resolve to keep policy unchanged. With subdued GDP growth likely to weigh on underlying inflation this year, we... 19th February 2020 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank happy to sit on the fence, for now This morning’s decision by the Riksbank to leave its repo rate on hold at zero percent was never in doubt. While policymakers appear happy to stay in wait-and-see mode for the time being, we suspect... 12th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Jan.) The mixed set of manufacturing PMIs from January adds to signs that conditions in the Swedish industrial sector have turned the corner but indicate that activity in Switzerland remains stuck in a rut. 3rd February 2020 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Swedish krona has further to fall The recent run of positive economic data from Sweden did not prevent the krona from having its worst week against the euro since August. We forecast the currency to fall further, and to underperform... 31st January 2020 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Run of positive Swedish data buys the Riksbank time The Swedish economy appears to have stabilised in recent months, but we doubt that this will mark the start of a sustained pick-up in growth. While the Riksbank will stay in wait-and-see mode for the... 29th January 2020 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Norges Bank on hold; Franc rises to near 3-year high Political developments in Norway this past week are no game changer for the economic outlook; we suspect that monetary policy there will remain on hold for the foreseeable future. In contrast, we... 24th January 2020 · 5 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economic Outlook Policymakers to follow the ECB down We think growth and inflation will be below consensus in Switzerland and the Nordics this year. Switzerland is most exposed to the prolonged manufacturing recession in Germany and inflation there is... 22nd January 2020 · 20 mins read
Europe Economic Outlook ECB to keep pushing on a string We expect economic growth to remain sluggish this year as external demand picks up only slowly and domestic demand softens. Employment growth is slowing, which will cause household incomes and... 21st January 2020 · 30 mins read