China Data Response Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Jan.) Today’s Caixin manufacturing PMI reading was less upbeat than the official PMI reading published a couple of days ago and suggests that the Chinese economy, while still holding up well, may have lost... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Turkey CPI (Jan.) The sharp rise in Turkish inflation last month, to 9.2% y/y, was due largely to higher petrol and food inflation. The impact of the weaker lira on core inflation has been surprisingly muted so far. At... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly The anatomy of the record trade surplus The roots of the swing in Australia’s international trade balance from a record deficit at the end of 2015 to a record surplus in December 2016 lie firmly in the huge rise in commodity prices rather... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Trump’s “America first” policy poses threat to Philippines China and Mexico were the main focus of Donald Trump’s protectionist threats on the campaign trail. But the Philippines also stands out as vulnerable to any moves by the US towards isolationism. In... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
RBI Watch Rate cut not a done deal Financial markets and a large majority of analysts are braced for a rate cut at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meeting next week. But, despite the continued damage and uncertainty caused by... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Tight labour market finally boosting incomes There is growing evidence that the tightness of Japan’s labour market is finally feeding into faster growth in incomes. This should support stronger private consumption at least until inflation... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
RBNZ Watch New Zealand - Rate rises a long way off The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will undoubtedly keep rates on hold at 1.75% at its meeting on Thursday 9 th February, but in the accompanying Monetary Policy Statement we suspect it will revise up... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Global Economics Focus Trump, China and the world in 2017 In this Focus we consider the outlook for the world economy this year and next, in light of two of the biggest concerns which have preoccupied investors in recent months: US economic policy under... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Iran now in Trump’s sights An early morning tweet from President Trump suggests that his attention may now shift to Iran and its infamous nuclear deal. In this Update, we explain what has happened, the chances of the deal being... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Chart Pack Oil prices have a quiet start to 2017 After finishing 2016 on a high, oil prices were relatively stable in January as investors were waiting to see whether OPEC is complying with its deal to cut output. Elsewhere, a jump in economic... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update The real question for Mexico is: why have Nafta gains been so small? According to President Trump, Mexico is “beating the US badly on trade” and a big part of the reason is Nafta. In truth, however, the real question is not why Mexico has benefited so much from Nafta... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Hawkish statement suggests Czech koruna policy to end soon The upwards revisions to the Czech National Bank’s inflation forecasts and the relatively hawkish post-meeting press conference reinforce our view that the Council’s koruna cap policy will end fairly... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update MPC upbeat on growth but relaxed on inflation The first Bank of England “Super Thursday” of 2017 saw the MPC Minutes and Inflation Report strike a cautiously-optimistic tone. That said, while the economy appears to be coping with Brexit... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update CIPS/Markit Construction PMI & RICS Construction (Jan/Q4) The RICS Construction survey and the CIPS/Markit Construction PMI both suggested that the pace of construction activity has slowed over recent months. Yet, in light of our positive view on economic... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Stocks were on the move in January There have been some large moves in stocks, notably in Shanghai, over the last month. Stockbuilding was evident in China which may have been a symptom of weak demand, but we think it is more likely to... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
