Global recession seals real estate downturn In line with changes in our global economic view, we have made significant downgrades to our commercial real estate forecasts for the next couple of years. As a result, we now expect a much bigger drop in property values next year that will cause annual returns to be negative in all our key markets. In view of the wider interest, we are also sending this UK Commercial Property Update to clients of our US and Europe Commercial Property Services. 8th November 2022
Fracturing and financial flows The trend towards ever more “financial globalisation” has already decelerated and will probably slow further as the global economy fractures and policymakers favour resilience over efficiency. While a disorderly rupture of financial relations remains unlikely, links between the US and China will weaken. 6th October 2022
Housing downturns starting to take toll on economies Housing downturns are well underway in many countries and house prices and activity generally have further to fall. Construction activity is already suffering as a result. While it is hard to detect any major adverse effect on household spending, this probably just reflects time lags. We continue to think that weak housing markets will contribute to the recessions that we expect in most major DMs this year. Drop-Ins: Property markets in 2023: We’re holding two special 30-minute briefings on the 2023 housing and commercial property outlooks on Tuesday, 17th January, covering first the UK and Europe and then the US. Click below to register for either or both sessions: UK/Europe outlook (09:00 GMT/17:00 SGT) US outlook (11:00 EST/16:00 GMT) 16th January 2023
A year of disinflation Inflation is finally falling and we envisage further sharp declines in almost all economies during 2023. In most cases, this disinflation will be more dramatic than either the consensus of economists or central banks predict. A large part of the fall will be down to energy and food effects and the key question is whether underlying inflation will also decelerate. But with economies sliding into recession and unemployment likely to rise, we suspect that core price pressures will ease, allowing central banks to end or even start to reverse their policy tightening. Note: We’ll be answering your inflation questions and discussing the key takeaways from this report in a special Drop-In on Thursday, 5th January at 10:00 EST/15:00 GMT. Register here. 3rd January 2023
What lower gas prices mean for the euro-zone We have revised our European wholesale gas price forecast down and, as a result, now expect euro-zone inflation to fall more rapidly than we had previously anticipated. In turn, this means that real incomes and economic activity might be slightly stronger, though the impact will probably be quite small. We still think that the ECB will raise its deposit rate to a peak of 3% this year, but lower gas prices increase the chance that the Bank starts loosening monetary policy a bit sooner than we had expected. Drop-Ins – The World In 2023 (10-11 January): Will 2023 be another rollercoaster year for economies and markets? Join our senior economists for these special briefings on 10th and 11th January to find out what to expect in the coming 12 months. Register now. 5th January 2023
Broad-based decline in core inflation coming soon Despite the unanticipated strength in recent months, there are still good reasons to expect core inflation to fall markedly next year. That moderation will not require a deep recession and/or significant rise in the unemployment rate, although we do expect weak demand and easing labour market conditions to play a supporting role. Most of the coming decline in core inflation is already “baked into the cake” – private sector rent measures and other housing indicators point to a significant drop back in shelter cost inflation, while CPI medical care services will fall as the ridiculous spike in health insurance prices is reversed. The stronger dollar, easing supply shortages and collapse in transportation costs all but guarantee a slump in core goods inflation. We expect core CPI inflation to be below 2.5% by end-2023 and core PCE inflation to be around the 2% target. Both measures should fall below 2% in 2024. 2nd November 2022
China commodity imports set to rebound this year Commodity imports generally rose in December, but fell in 2022 as a whole. In a possible sign of optimism around reopening, soybean imports skyrocketed. China’s unexpectedly swift switch to living with COVID should see commodity imports, particularly crude oil, recover this year. 13th January 2023
A lower gas price forecast, but prices to stay high European natural gas prices have halved over the past month as usage stayed low and LNG imports hit record highs. Barring dramatically colder weather, EU gas storage looks set to be in a more comfortable position than we had expected. As a result, we have revised down our end-2023 gas price forecast. Drop-Ins – The World In 2023 (10-11 January): Will 2023 be another rollercoaster year for economies and markets? Join our senior economists for these special briefings on 10th and 11th January to find out what to expect in the coming 12 months. Register now. 6th January 2023
The World in 2023: Property prices to plunge Property markets rebounded strongly after 2020, in part boosted by favourable structural shifts brought on by the pandemic. But they have hit the buffers in recent months. And fortunes are likely to deteriorate further next year, which we expect to be the worst for real estate prices since the end of the GFC. In view of the wider interest we are also sending this UK Commercial Property Update to clients of other Property Services. 15th December 2022
Investment set for weak H1 before picking up in late-2023 We expect the slowdown in investment activity in the second half of 2022 to persist into the first half of 2023. But we think transactions will begin to recover later this year once interest rates have topped out and much of the valuation adjustment has come through. 20th January 2023
Event EM Drop-In: What China’s re-opening means for emerging markets Starts 2nd February 2023 at 3PM GMT China has made an abrupt shift away from zero-COVID, prompting a wave of market euphoria – and some anxiety – about a surge in demand. But what does the economy’s reopening really mean for emerging...
Emerging Asia Data Response Singapore GDP (Q4, flash estimate) Growth slowed sharply in the first two months of Q4 and we expect a further slowdown over the coming months as high inflation, multi-decade high interest rates and weaker global demand weigh on... 3rd January 2023
Emerging Asia Economics Weekly Exporters take a beating, worse still to come Recent trade data from Emerging Asia have been downbeat and, with the global economy heading for recession, worse is still to come. 23rd December 2022
Emerging Asia Economic Outlook Rate cuts in 2023 as growth slows Economic growth will slow sharply in most of the region in 2023 as higher interest rates and weaker exports drag on demand. Our GDP growth forecasts are below consensus in most countries. With... 13th December 2022
Emerging Asia Chart Book Consumer resilience unlikely to last Most countries in the region have now reported GDP figures for the third quarter, and growth was generally faster than we (and the consensus) had expected. One factor behind this resilience was the... 29th November 2022
Emerging Asia Data Response Singapore GDP (Q3, revised estimate) Revised GDP data confirm that the economy rebounded strongly in the third quarter. However, we don’t expect this strength to last. A combination of weaker global growth, high inflation and tighter... 23rd November 2022
Event Asia Drop-In: China’s Congress, more yen weakness, hawkish central banks and more Starts 27th October 2022 at 8AM BST Economists from across our Asia teams were online for this 20-minute briefing on the region’s big investment stories.
Emerging Asia Economics Update MAS tightens despite bleak growth outlook The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tightened policy today, in an attempt to contain elevated price pressures, but with inflation likely to fall in the coming quarters and the economy set to... 14th October 2022
Emerging Asia Economics Weekly Better news on inflation, as growth disappoints The recent national accounts data show most countries experienced a difficult second quarter. However, there was some more encouraging news on inflation – which already appears to have peaked in a few... 12th August 2022
Emerging Asia Economic Outlook Tightening cycles to be short lived as headwinds grow Further interest rate hikes are likely across the region in the near term, and we have raised some of our year-end forecasts to reflect growing concern among the region’s policymakers about inflation... 20th July 2022
Emerging Asia Economics Update MAS tightens even as economy stagnates The city-state’s economy unexpectedly stagnated in the second quarter but this didn’t prevent the MAS from tightening monetary policy today in a bid to tackle high inflation. While we expect output to... 14th July 2022
Emerging Asia Chart Book Thai economy to receive tourism boost After more than two years in the doldrums, Thailand’s tourism sector is finally showing signs of life. Arrivals in May reached 520,000 – a 77% increase from the previous month and 19% of the level... 27th June 2022
Emerging Asia Economics Weekly Singapore overheating fears, BSP forecast change There are growing signs that Singapore’s economy is overheating, with inflation now nearly double the target and wages increasing rapidly. However, we do not expect the MAS to respond by tightening... 24th June 2022
Emerging Asia Chart Book Pakistan edges closer to IMF deal Talks between Pakistan and the IMF ended last week without agreement, but the subsequent decision by the government to cut back fuel subsidies has cleared one of the major hurdles towards a deal being... 30th May 2022
Emerging Asia Economics Weekly Singapore inflation worries, BBM taking the right steps Rising inflation and a strong economy have fuelled talk that monetary policy in Singapore will need to be tightened further. But we think the backdrop will have changed by the time the Monetary... 27th May 2022
