US Chart Pack Rebound in inflation could be the big story in 2018 The stronger 0.3% m/m gain in core consumer prices in December provided clearer evidence that the forces weighing on core inflation last year are now firmly in reverse. Admittedly, core CPI inflation... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Will the Fed abandon inflation targeting? In the long run we suspect the Fed will move away from rules-based inflation targeting and shift to a more discretionary regime that focuses on financial stability as well as price stability and full... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economic Outlook Sustained upturn need not prompt ECB rate hikes The euro-zone’s impressive upturn looks set to continue apace as reduced political uncertainty, high levels of business confidence, and continued strong policy support allow investment to take off... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to become more dovish With consumer price inflation set to rise gradually, but house prices falling, we think that the Norges Bank will reiterate next week that interest rates will not rise until the autumn. We suspect... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Can Hungary’s MPC keep the bond market rally going? Hungary’s central bank has started two new policies this week aimed at bringing down bond yields, including the first QE programme in an emerging market. But there are reasons to think that the impact... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Bank of Japan Watch Bank of Japan to keep policy loose this year Speculation that the Bank of Japan is about to increase its yield target has pushed the yen higher. However, we think that policy tightening remains a distant prospect and that the yen will weaken as... 18th January 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Price pressures strengthening again Inflation climbed to a fresh high in November and mounting capacity shortages suggest that price pressures will strengthen further. However, most of the recent increase has been driven by higher... 17th January 2018 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Consumer Prices & Producer Prices (Dec.) The fall-back in CPI inflation from 3.1% in November to 3% in December probably marks the beginning of what we expect will be a sustained downward trend over the course of 2018. Despite this, we still... 16th January 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Growth to slow from a five-year high Growth in Emerging Asia reached a five-year high in 2017 but we think that it has now peaked and will slow gradually over the next couple of years. The main headwind will come from the export sector... 16th January 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response Nigeria Consumer Prices (Dec.) Nigerian inflation slipped to a 15-month low in December. We expect that policymakers will keep rates on hold in January and March, but will cut rates by 100bp in May as inflation eases further. 16th January 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack A busy month for central banks The three major Nordic and Swiss central banks met in December and provided very different messages about the outlook for monetary policy in their respective countries. First, the Swiss National Bank... 15th January 2018 · 1 min read
India Data Response Wholesale Prices (Dec.) Headline wholesale price inflation edged down in December. But stripping out the effect of volatile fuel and food prices, our measure of core WPI inflation rose last month. With reasons to think that... 15th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Prices (Dec.) The 0.3% m/m gain in core consumer prices in December will reinforce expectations of a Fed rate hike in March and supports our view that the Fed will ultimately increase interest rates by a more... 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Economy on track for solid Q4 The recent spate of positive economic news has prompted some to raise their forecasts for Q4 quarterly growth to as much as 0.6%, double the average seen in 2017 so far. We have our doubts over... 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
India Data Response Consumer Prices (Dec.) & Industrial Production (Nov.) The latest acceleration in consumer price inflation underlines our view that markets have been underestimating the likelihood of policy rate hikes in India this year. 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Consumer Prices (Dec.) Swedish policymakers will be discouraged by the fact that the decline in inflation in December was due to slower inflation for domestic goods and services. But with resource utilisation strong... 12th January 2018 · 1 min read
