Capital Daily We expect recent strength in the South African rand to reverse Despite its recent appreciation against the US dollar, we expect the South African rand – like most emerging market (EM) currencies – to end this year weaker against the greenback. 20th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Iran deal, Gulf re-opening, Tunisia debt restructuring If reports suggesting that the Iran nuclear deal will be revived (perhaps as soon as next week) prove right, the lifting of sanctions would probably weigh on oil prices as Iran ramps up production... 20th May 2021 · 5 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Competition for industrial assets bids down yields With the faster pace of vaccination paving the way for a rebound in economic activity, the prospects for occupier markets have improved. However, structural changes mean that the recovery in the... 20th May 2021 · 9 mins read
India Chart Pack Over the worst? New virus cases in India remain extremely high, but some solace can be taken from the fact that they have dropped rapidly over the past couple of weeks back to their level in mid-April. The share of... 20th May 2021 · 9 mins read
China Economics Update PBOC credit objectives being met without LPR hikes Commercial banks left the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) unchanged for the 13 th consecutive month today. Official goals for reining in credit have already been achieved by other means. As such, we do not... 20th May 2021 · 2 mins read
Capital Daily US corporate bonds versus equities The relative valuation of stock and corporate bond markets continues to make us doubt that equities in general are in a bubble. It remains very different to the situation before collapses in the US... 19th May 2021 · 6 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Asia now the epicentre The severe waves of COVID-19 that afflicted Emerging Europe and Latin America earlier in the year are now subsiding and the near-term economic outlook there has brightened. But several Asian economies... 19th May 2021 · 11 mins read
Asset Allocation Update We doubt the 10Y UST/Bund spread will keep shrinking Although the spread between 10-year sovereign bond yields in the US and Germany has narrowed so far during the second quarter of this year, we doubt this will continue for much longer. 19th May 2021 · 6 mins read
RBNZ Watch Housing mandate won’t change the Bank’s outlook While the Bank will acknowledge the new house price requirements in its remit it is unlikely to respond to them with immediate policy changes. On that basis we expect the RBNZ to keep policy settings... 19th May 2021 · 8 mins read
Europe Economics Focus ECB climate rhetoric to run ahead of action The ECB will make a big splash about climate change when it concludes its monetary strategy review this autumn. In practice, it is likely to make progress in addressing climate-related risks in the... 18th May 2021 · 14 mins read
Global Economics Chart Pack Near-term inflation pressures mount Near-term inflationary pressures appear to be building. Some of this reflects factors that are likely to be only temporary, such as the “reopening inflation” associated with the easing of virus... 17th May 2021 · 15 mins read
Capital Daily Assessing the market implications of slower growth in China We think slowing economic growth in China – highlighted again by today’s economic data – has several key implications for the country’s financial markets. 17th May 2021 · 6 mins read
China Data Response China Activity & Spending (Apr.) Year-on-year growth on all indicators dropped back last month. This partly reflects a less flattering base for comparison. But current momentum was also a bit softer, especially for retail sales. We... 17th May 2021 · 3 mins read
FX Markets Weekly Wrap Currency markets weighing the prospects for recovery The unexpected jump in US inflation data pushed the greenback higher against most currencies this week and may a harbinger of things to come – we continue to expect the dollar to appreciate this year... 14th May 2021 · 7 mins read
Commodities Weekly The price rally may be starting to run out of steam Aside from coal and natural gas, the prices of most commodities fell this week in tandem with the declines in global equity markets. Investors are concerned about rising inflation, particularly in the... 14th May 2021 · 6 mins read
China Economics Weekly PBOC is right to be relaxed about inflation Producer prices are rising rapidly as the extraordinary surge in global demand for consumer durables during the pandemic has led to bottlenecks in supply. But the People’s Bank is right to not be too... 14th May 2021 · 5 mins read