Energy Update How worried should we be about rising tensions? At least part of this week’s increase in oil prices is justified by the sudden escalation in tensions in the Middle East and resulting risk to oil supplies, either from sanctions or damage to oil... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Where is the euro heading? The euro has been buffeted recently by concerns about protectionism, which have caused it to strengthen, and softer economic data, which have caused it to weaken. While the risks of an all-out trade... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor (Apr.) Our Tracker shows that aggregate capital flows to EMs have been resilient over the past few months in the face of fears of a protectionist shift in the US and sell-offs in equity markets. Concerns... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Five more years of pain for Warsaw office rents Demand for office space in Warsaw will continue to grow in the coming years, but this will not be enough to offset around 1m sqm of new stock completing over that same period. In fact, rental value... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Will the digital economy raise productivity? Labour productivity growth picked up in 2017 and we suspect that it will rebound a little further over the next couple of years, as rising capacity constraints and the tightening labour market... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Softer data probably won’t deter MPC The recent run of weak data suggests that a hike in Bank Rate, to 0.75% in May, is far from a done deal. But we don’t think that a May hike is now off the table. Some of the unexpected weakening in... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Precious Metals Update PGMs caught up in panic over Russian sanctions The US sanctions against Russia have supported the prices of platinum and palladium this week. However, Russian output is unlikely to be affected. This, coupled with weakening demand fundamentals... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Economic recovery will peak this year We expect that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to accelerate in 2018. This recovery will be driven largely by South Africa and Nigeria, where growth is set to pick up by more than... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Chart Pack Trade fears weigh on Swiss franc and Swedish krona Both the Swiss franc and the Swedish krona have depreciated by almost 1.5% against the euro over the past month. This has left the franc trading at its weakest level since the Swiss National Bank... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Feb.) After widening in February, the euro-zone’s nominal goods trade surplus is on track to be little changed in Q1. Looking ahead, the surveys suggest that the contribution from net trade to economic... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Mar.) There was a seasonal pick-up in new lending last month but underlying growth in broad credit continued to slow and is now at its lowest rate in over a decade. Our China Activity Proxy suggests that... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Commodity import volumes held up in Q1 China’s commodity import volumes picked up in March, after the holiday-related slump in February. However, we expect import volumes to ease back in the coming months as activity slows as a result of... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peru rates on hold, easing cycle probably over Peru’s central bank left its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.75% last night and, while the statement gave little away regarding future moves, we think the easing cycle is probably over. 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Myanmar: still falling short of potential Myanmar’s civilian government has made progress in addressing some of the country’s problems since it came to power two years ago. However, major challenges remain. The Rohingya refugee crisis is... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA facing up to reality The Reserve Bank of Australia’s apparent downward revision to its previously published 3.0% GDP growth forecast for 2018 shows once again that the RBA has been too hopeful. We suspect it will also... 13th April 2018 · 1 min read
