Canada Economics Weekly Canadian dollar's underperformance to persist The Canadian dollar rebounded yesterday following the confirmation that Canada’s economy will be exempt from US tariffs on steel and aluminium. It isn’t out of the woods yet, however. NAFTA’s future... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs become reality The big news this week was confirmation of President Trump’s tariffs on US steel and aluminium imports on national security grounds. This sent US steel prices even higher, but weighed on prices in... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Feb.) The small 15,400 rebound in employment in February, following the much larger drop the month before, was underwhelming and suggests that the underlying trend in hiring has softened, echoing the recent... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
US Data Response Employment Report (Feb.) The massive 313,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in February, the biggest in 18 months, together with the 54,000 upward revision to gains in the preceding two months, illustrates that the economy is... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB QE has changed this year in more ways than one In addition to reducing the monthly pace of its asset purchases from €60bn to €30bn, in January the ECB also changed the composition of its purchases. Corporate sector debt now accounts for a larger... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Brazil Consumer Prices (Feb.) Inflation in Brazil came in as expected in February, but its failure to pick up over the past couple of months gives Copom the green light to lower interest rates again later this month. We now expect... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Severe weather won’t cool growth in Q1 The likely dent to retail sales, spending on consumer services and construction output as a result of February’s bad weather will make the economy look fragile. But the hit to the economy will be... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch How big a deal is the new lower inflation target? The Norges Bank’s new inflation target strengthens the case for tighter monetary policy. But we think that the Bank will move very cautiously. 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update North Korea, Trump and South Korea’s economy Donald Trump’s decision to accept an invitation to visit North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, represents an extraordinary turn of events, and comes just a few months after the US president was calling... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus US fiscal stimulus to have limited global impact The Trump fiscal stimulus, which has turned out to be larger than seemed likely a few months ago, should boost economic growth in the US a little, and encourage the Fed to press on with six rate hikes... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update What do US tariffs mean for steel & aluminium? President Trump’s tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium are likely to be a bigger deal for the price of US steel than aluminium. But US steel prices have already surged, which coupled with higher... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peru cuts rates, but policy tightening on the horizon The decision by Peru’s central bank to cut interest rates by 25bp, to 2.75%, was accompanied by a statement that left the door open for one more cut in the easing cycle. But the big picture is that... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Feb.) The amount of new loans issued by Chinese banks fell sharply last month. But this happens in February of almost every year. More important is that broader credit growth is now at multi-year lows. 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Industrial Production, Construction & Trade (Jan.) January’s output data was disappointing. That said, the manufacturing sector is still growing strongly by past standards, while the surveys continue to point to GDP growth holding broadly steady. 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Data Response Norway CPI (Feb) & Iceland GDP (Q4) Inflation in Norway rose quite sharply in February, but we do not think that it is about to surge. Meanwhile, Icelandic GDP growth would have been negative in Q4 was it not for a one-off intellectual... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
