UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Feb.) The housing market slowdown intensified in February. And with interest rates now starting to rise, price growth and transactions are unlikely to see meaningful gains over the remainder of the year. 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update South Africa: Land reform fears are overblown Parliamentary discussions on land reform have prompted much breathless commentary. But, while the proposed changes remain unclear, a mushy compromise is more likely than a Zimbabwe-style land grab. 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Drop in headline inflation to prove temporary Consumer price inflation is likely to have eased in February, due to a drop in food and fuel inflation. But core price pressures are still building. We think this will ultimately prompt the Reserve... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Feb.) The Economy Watchers Survey weakened further in February as poor weather persisted. The survey suggests that private consumption has slowed quite sharply. 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
China Data Response Trade (Feb.) The surge in export growth last month largely reflects the shifting timing of Chinese New Year. Of greater significance given the current climate of concern over US protectionism, China’s surplus with... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response International Trade (Jan.) The rebound in the trade balance from a deficit of $1.14bn in December to a surplus of $1.06bn in January is welcome news, though it may be too early to conclude that net exports will substantially... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Update A trade war against China would not be “easy to win” The resignation of Gary Cohn, reportedly one of the strongest proponents of free-trade policies within the Trump administration, has raised fears that US trade policy may now turn sharply towards... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: living on borrowed time We don’t think that the apparent collapse of pension reform in Brazil will have much of a bearing on the economy’s performance over the next 6-12 months. Even so, the current pension system – and by... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada won't risk further rate hikes The Bank of Canada implied in its policy statement this morning that, despite growing concerns around trade, it still believes further interest rate increases will be needed later this year. That said... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report A rebound in net imports and jump in US production drove crude stocks higher last week. Surging oil supply from the US is a key reason why we expect oil prices to fall over the rest of this year. 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Polish MPC still dovish, but rate hikes not too far away Governor Glapinski struck a dovish tone in the press conference accompanying today’s MPC meeting. However, we think that inflation will rise faster than the central bank anticipates over the coming... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Do the NAFTA talks have implications for commodities? If the US were to withdraw from NAFTA, it could lead to downward pressure on US agricultural prices. But the impact on the more industrial commodities, including energy, is likely to be limited. 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Central Bank of Iceland on hold for time being Little has changed since the Central Bank of Iceland’s (CBI) last policy meeting, so we expect it to keep policy unchanged next week. Later this year, we see the Bank raising interest rates. 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus How big a threat are Trump’s tariff proposals? It looks increasingly likely that President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium on grounds of national security will be implemented in some form. If so, other governments... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Capital Daily Korean détente would probably provide little relief for markets 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Jan.) The narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit in January is actually a concern because it was driven by a large decline in imports, which points to weakening domestic demand. In addition, the further... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
