Bank to stand pat as it presents new forecasts As the latest high-frequency data and surveys look encouraging, and policy actions to date have helped to pull corporate and provincial borrowing costs back down to pre-virus levels, we do not expect... 8th July 2020 · 6 mins read
Bank of Japan Watch BoJ to stay the course The Bank of Japan is likely to leave policy settings unchanged over the coming months as strains on financial markets have eased and loan demand has started to slow again. 8th July 2020 · 8 mins read
India Economic Outlook The long road back to normality India’s failure to contain the coronavirus and the government’s underwhelming policy response mean the economy will suffer its largest drop in annual output on record this year. In addition, the... 7th July 2020 · 16 mins read
Asia Economics Update More easing to come from Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut its main policy rate by 25bps to 1.75% today, and with the economic recovery still in its infancy, we doubt this marks the end of the central bank’s easing cycle. 7th July 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia - RBA may yet have to expand bond purchases The RBA sounded more optimistic when it left policy settings unchanged today. But with the recovery set to remain bumpy and inflation likely to weaken more sharply than the Bank is anticipating, we... 7th July 2020 · 3 mins read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (May) Wage growth weakened further in May, but we think household incomes are recovering as furloughed workers either return to work or receive their mandatory leave allowance. 7th July 2020 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Shift to online spending should outlast virus impact Online sales surged during the lockdown and rose further even as the Australian and New Zealand economies were opening up again. We suspect online sales will remain high which means measures of... 6th July 2020 · 2 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Renewed spike in virus cases to prevent full recovery The May activity data were consistent with our below-consensus forecast of a 9% q/q drop in Q2 GDP. Consumption should rebound more forcefully over the coming months as households receive cash... 3rd July 2020 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Retail Sales (May) Retail sales rose above pre-virus levels in May and probably kept rising in June. As such, a sharp rebound in consumption in Q3 following Q2’s slump is all but guaranteed. However, services spending... 3rd July 2020 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update What will Poland’s central bank do next? Poland’s central bank appears to have become concerned about the strength of the zloty recently and the negative impact this could have on the pace of the economic recovery, suggesting that it is... 2nd July 2020 · 6 mins read
Global Central Bank Watch Lending facilities offering vital support This month has seen a further shift among the world’s major central banks from essential liquidity provision to recovery support, with a focus on uptake of the various lending programmes. The results... 2nd July 2020 · 8 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: still room for another few rate cuts The decision by the Colombian central bank to slow the pace of easing from 50bp to 25bp at last night’s meeting suggests that the rate-cutting cycle is approaching its conclusion. We remain... 1st July 2020 · 3 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank beefs up monetary stimulus The Riksbank has put its money where its mouth is when it comes to expanding its balance sheet, but in our view all roads still lead to a return to negative interest rates, either in late-2020 or... 1st July 2020 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Economies coming roaring back Restrictions on activity have lifted in both countries. While some states in Australia still limit the size of groups and capacity at restaurants, New Zealand has now lifted all domestic restrictions... 30th June 2020 · 10 mins read
RBA Watch More stimulus needed before long Given that the economy has coped better with the pandemic than the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) had anticipated, the Bank probably won’t provide additional easing over the next few months. However... 30th June 2020 · 7 mins read
Japan Data Response Labour Market & Industrial Production (May) The sharp drop in the number of furloughed workers in May supports our view that household incomes will rebound in the second half of the year. And while industrial production plunged again in May, it... 30th June 2020 · 2 mins read
