US Data Response International Trade (Nov.) The sharp rebound in the trade deficit in November means that net trade is now on track to be a small drag on economic growth in the fourth quarter, rather than a small boost as we had previously... 6th January 2022 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly OPEC+ meeting, Gulf tightens restrictions, Egypt budget This week’s OPEC+ meeting turned into a fairly straightforward affair with the group raising output as planned, but if we’re right in expecting oil prices to drop back, the window for governments in... 6th January 2022 · 6 mins read
UK Economics Six key calls and three risks for the UK in 2022 Our new forecasts for 2022 envisage CPI inflation rising further than most expect to a peak of 7% and the Bank of England raising interest rates quicker, from 0.25% now to 1.25% by the end of the year... 6th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil Industrial Production (Nov.) The 0.2% m/m fall in Brazilian industrial production in November, taken together with the weak surveys for December, suggests that the sector probably knocked 0.1-0.2%-pts off q/q GDP growth in Q4... 6th January 2022 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia - Omicron will add to upward pressure on inflation The Omicron variant will probably result in a stagnation in consumption this quarter. However, by worsening supply shortages it will only add to the upward pressure on inflation. The upshot is that it... 6th January 2022 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Omicron absenteeism a temporary economic threat The Omicron variant is less lethal than previous strains but, even if it doesn’t require the reintroduction of restrictions to mitigate the spread, the huge volume of new cases could still deal a... 5th January 2022 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Update The latest on South Africa’s Omicron experience The recent sharp fall in virus cases in South Africa provides an early encouraging sign that Omicron-driven outbreaks may run their course relatively quickly. In South Africa’s case, the health system... 5th January 2022 · 3 mins read
Capital Daily We expect higher US yields to lead to more weakness in the yen The Japanese yen fell to a 5-year low against the US dollar earlier this week, following a sharp rise in US Treasury yields. While the yen has rebounded slightly since then, we think that further... 5th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Key calls for the euro-zone in 2022 We think euro-zone GDP growth will be lower than most anticipate this year, at around 3.5%, while inflation will come down towards 2% by year-end allowing the ECB to leave interest rates unchanged and... 5th January 2022 · 4 mins read
US Economics Update 2022: High inflation to drive US policy tightening We expect inflation to remain stubbornly high in 2022, forcing the Fed to tighten monetary policy aggressively even though real economic growth underwhelms. The chances of additional fiscal stimulus... 5th January 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Update CEE: wage-price spiral a growing risk in 2022 With central banks across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) raising interest rates to tackle inflation, we think the risks of a wage-price spiral are low. Even so, persistently above-target inflation... 5th January 2022 · 5 mins read
China Economics Update What to expect in China in 2022 2022 will be a year of slower growth in China as the property and export sectors weaken and structural constraints loom larger. A desire to keep a grip on credit risks will inhibit the policy response... 5th January 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Omicron puts a small bump on the road to recovery December’s batch of whole economy PMIs showed that activity in non-oil sectors in the Gulf softened due to the uncertainty created by the emergence of the Omicron variant. Restrictions have been... 5th January 2022 · 2 mins read
UK Economics A catch-up on COVID Given the huge surge in cases throughout December, the COVID-19 situation is once again set to be the biggest determinant of the performance of the economy over the first few months of 2022. We aren’t... 5th January 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (Dec.) The final Composite PMIs for December confirm that the euro-zone economy ended 2021 on a weak note, consistent with our view that GDP rose by only about 0.2% q/q in Q4. They also suggest that price... 5th January 2022 · 2 mins read
India Economics Update Key calls for 2022 As long as recurrent large waves of COVID are avoided, we think that Indian GDP growth will accelerate this year. At the same time, inflation is likely to rise more sharply than generally expected... 5th January 2022 · 3 mins read
