Nordic & Swiss Data Response Swedish Economic Tendency Survey (Feb.) Despite edging down in February, the NIER’s Economic Tendency Indicator still points to a surge in Swedish GDP growth. And with inflation expectations rising far above the Riksbank’s target, the Bank... 24th February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian interest rates to continue falling sharply The statement accompanying the Brazilian central bank’s decision to cut the Selic interest rate by 75bp to 12.25% maintained an explicit easing bias but gave little away in terms of the future pace of... 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea holds rates, but easing cycle not over The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate unchanged at 1.25% today, but with the economy struggling for momentum and underlying price pressures benign, we think it will resume its easing cycle... 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack A bad month for Indonesia A number of developments over the past month have cast a shadow over Indonesia’s prospects. The first was the publication of GDP figures for the final quarter of last year which showed a slowdown in... 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank won’t move on interest rates for a while longer We expect the Bank of Canada to hold its policy interest rate at 0.50% next week. Although core inflation and wage growth have slowed, activity and business confidence data have been more positive... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
US Chart Pack Rebound in inflation gives Fed less wiggle room The rise in CPI inflation to a five-year high of 2.5% in January was principally due to a surge in gasoline prices, which appears to have been partly reversed in February. Nevertheless, with headline... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Brazil IPCA-15 (Feb.) Data to mid-February showed another big drop in Brazilian inflation which, coming alongside the recent strength of the real, paves the way for a large reduction in the Selic interest rate at tonight’s... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Steady bank lending still supporting global growth Credit growth has slowed in the US in recent months, but has edged higher in other advanced economies. As a result, we expect overall credit growth in advanced economies to continue at around 5% or so... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Core inflation rises to highest rate since 2014 The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep rates on hold and signal the end of its loosening cycle in this month’s policy meeting took many by surprise. But subsequent data showing that core... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Is QE about to go into reverse? While some policymakers have floated the idea that the Fed should begin to shrink its balance sheet soon, we suspect that it will proceed very slowly. And as other central banks will be adding to... 21st February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s central bank looks through inflation spike The decision by Egypt’s central bank to leave its policy interest rate on hold despite the rise in inflation to a 30-year high last month means that additional monetary tightening is no longer on the... 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia holds again, rates unlikely to change this year Bank Indonesia kept its policy rate on hold at 4.75% today, and we think that worries about inflation will prevent the central bank from loosening policy any further over the rest of the year too. 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Is the RBA’s optimism signal or spin? There is definitely a role for the Reserve Bank of Australia to manage expectations by signalling where it thinks the economy is heading. But by sounding more optimistic than its own forecasts, there... 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank maintains dovishness for now While the Riksbank maintained a very dovish tone today, the strength of the Swedish economy and rising inflationary pressures mean that the Bank will soon have to change its stance. We expect the repo... 15th February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile pauses easing cycle, but more rate cuts to come The decision by Chile’s central bank to keep interest rates on hold at 3.25% came as a bit of a surprise, but it only marks a pause in the easing cycle and we expect the policy rate to fall to 2.50%... 15th February 2017 · 1 min read
Africa Data Response South Africa Consumer Prices (Jan.) The sharper-than-expected decline in South African inflation – particularly core inflation – last month supports our view that the country’s monetary tightening cycle is now over. 15th February 2017 · 1 min read