Middle East & North Africa Data Response Saudi Arabia & UAE Whole Economy PMIs (Dec.) The drop in ‘whole economy’ PMIs from the Gulf countries in December, in the case of Saudi Arabia to a fresh record low, provides further evidence that non-oil sectors are starting to feel the pinch... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia International Trade & Building Approvals (Nov.) November’s international trade and building approvals figures show that two important supports of the economy softened towards the end of last year. This reinforces our view that GDP growth in the... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Will the Riksbank put its money where its mouth is? Sweden’s Riksbank is likely to have to follow through on its pledge to intervene in the foreign exchange market. But the strength of the domestic economy and the likelihood of more ECB QE means that... 7th January 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US crude oil stocks slipped last week despite a slight increase in production and a fall in refinery inputs. However, a sharp fall in gasoline demand and a huge rise in inventories has stolen the... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery loses its vigour in 2015 The National Accounts released at the end of last year suggested that the economic recovery has less momentum than previously thought and still looks very unbalanced. Real GDP in 2015 is now on course... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
US Data Response Internat’l Trade (Nov.) & ISM Non-Manu. (Dec.) Although the trade deficit narrowed to an eight-month low of $42.4bn in November, from $44.6bn, the decline was only because imports fell at a faster pace than exports, which is hardly a positive sign... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Nov.) The modest rebound in export volumes in November wasn’t enough to offset the much larger decline in the previous month, suggesting that exports contracted over the fourth quarter as a whole. As things... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Dec.) The collapse in refinancing activity in the final week of 2015 looks to reflect seasonal issues, rather than a reaction to the Fed hiking interest rates. Indeed, applications for home purchase held up... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What to make of renewed intervention in China Renewed intervention by the authorities in China may not be enough to prevent further falls in local equity markets, but even in the event of a sell-off the macroeconomic consequences should be small... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
China Economics Update When might things improve? This week’s declines in China’s stock markets and currency raise a challenge to our relatively upbeat view of near-term prospects. But we continue to believe that growth is more likely to pick up than... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update What to make of renewed intervention in China Renewed intervention by the authorities in China may not be enough to prevent further falls in local equity markets, but even in the event of a sell-off the macroeconomic consequences should be small... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack A bit of a breather in December The prices of industrial metals recouped a little lost ground in the final month of 2015, but still fell sharply last year. The relative resilience in December probably reflected a number of factors... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Africa Economics Update Nigeria: Devaluation inevitable, delays only lengthen the pain Nigeria’s cumbersome FX restrictions are strangling economic growth in the country, and are unsustainable given growing pressure on the naira. We expect that the authorities will be forced to devalue... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (Dec.) & Producer Prices (Nov.) The small rise in the euro-zone’s Composite PMI for December suggested that the region’s recovery may have gained a little pace in the final quarter of 2015. But GDP growth is still too slow to... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Markit/CIPS Report on Services (Dec.) December’s UK Markit/CIPS report on services suggested that the biggest part of the economy ended last year on a slightly weaker note. GDP growth in the fourth quarter should still have managed to... 6th January 2016 · 1 min read
