Australia & New Zealand Data Response Retail Sales (Aug.) Retail sales growth remained subdued in August despite the government’s tax cuts which suggests that economic activity did not recover strongly in the second half of 2019. 4th October 2019 · 2 mins read
China Economics Weekly Financial decoupling, Hong Kong retail collapse The restrictions on US capital flows into China reportedly being considered by the Trump administration would, at the margin, constrain China’s ability to fund overseas investment. But given China’s... 4th October 2019 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Weakness in Chilean consumption will be temporary Chile’s economic slowdown this year was mostly due to weaker private consumption, caused by a fall in consumer confidence. But with the labour market strengthening and copper prices likely to rise... 3rd October 2019 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Where are we in the EM economic cycle? Aggregate emerging market growth is likely to stabilise at close to 4% y/y in the coming quarters, but within this several different economic cycles are playing out. The recent resilience in Central... 3rd October 2019 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Aug.) & Final PMIs (Sep.) The downward revision to September’s euro-zone PMI leaves it consistent with zero growth at the end of Q3, as the contraction in Germany’s economy appears to have accelerated and spread to the... 3rd October 2019 · 3 mins read
UK Data Response IHS Markit/CIPS Services & All-Sector PMI (Sep.) The drop in the IHS/Markit services PMI to a six-month low of 49.5 in September means that all three sector PMIs are now below the 50-mark which theoretically separates expansion from contraction... 3rd October 2019 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Whole Economy PMIs (Sep.) September’s batch of whole economy PMIs provided further evidence of a divergence between non-oil sectors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. But we don’t think this will continue for much longer as the UAE... 3rd October 2019 · 2 mins read
Africa Economics Update Kenya: Economy weathers drought Kenya’s economy remained weak in Q2, but there are signs that the key agricultural sector has held up pretty well given this year’s drought. With the drag from the sector easing, GDP growth will pick... 3rd October 2019 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response International Trade (Aug.) The narrowing in the trade surplus in August was mostly driven by a decline in export prices so we doubt that net trade will be a drag on GDP growth in Q3. Even so, we estimate that the contribution... 3rd October 2019 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Dubai’s economic struggles to continue Dubai’s economy slowed in 2018 and the activity data for this year suggest that growth has stayed weak. The 2020 World Expo will provide a fillip to the economy, but a number of other factors mean... 2nd October 2019 · 3 mins read
US Data Response ISM Manufacturing Index (Sep.) The slump in the ISM manufacturing index to a decade low of 47.8 in September, from 49.1, will reignite fears that the US economy is headed for a recession. Our guess is that this deterioration is at... 1st October 2019 · 2 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil Industrial Production (Aug.) The better-than-expected 0.8% m/m rise in Brazilian industrial production was driven by rapid growth in the mining sector, which won’t be sustained. Even so, the figures add to the evidence that the... 1st October 2019 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update Global industry not out of the woods yet The global manufacturing PMI picked up again in September, but this was largely due to a jump in China’s index that we don’t think will be sustained. While it is still too early to call time on the... 1st October 2019 · 2 mins read
India Data Response Manufacturing PMI (Sep.) The manufacturing PMI reading held steady in September, but this barely captured the impact of the recent large-scale corporate tax cut. Looser fiscal policy and the likelihood of further monetary... 1st October 2019 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade, Manufacturing PMIs (Sep.) Downbeat trade data for Korea and weak regional manufacturing PMIs suggest that GDP data for last quarter are likely to be subdued again in most places, but there were some signs of improvement at the... 1st October 2019 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Sep.) The 10% annualised rise in house prices in September is unsustainable in light of sluggish income growth. We expect prices to rise by a slower 5% in 2020 and 2021. 1st October 2019 · 2 mins read
