The sharp narrowing in Colombia’s current account deficit last year to its lowest level since the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis looks encouraging, but it was entirely a result of the weakness of domestic demand. As the economy recovers, the …
4th March 2024
Relatively high interest rates and structural problems within offices will weigh on the commercial real estate recovery over the next three years. Indeed, we forecast the upturn will be weaker than in any previous cycle across global markets. And with …
Despite OPEC+’s decision to extend its voluntary production cuts until the end of June, we still forecast oil prices to drop back by end-2024. We continue to expect OPEC+ to raise output in the latter half of the year and other producers will plug the gap …
The green transition will deal a significant blow to EM oil producers that have failed to save their windfalls (Nigeria, Colombia, Angola), but boost the export revenues of economies such as Chile and South Africa that are endowed with the raw materials …
Our view that the Bank of England will become less concerned by the most persistent part of services CPI inflation suggests that it will cut interest rates in the summer, perhaps in June. But the risk is that non-energy intensive services inflation stays …
Morocco’s improving balance of payments position and the sharp slowdown in inflation should provide the central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), with the confidence to take the next step toward a fully floating dirham. We think the currency will appreciate …
The recovery that we’re forecasting for the US, UK and euro-zone commercial property markets is likely to be the weakest on record. Not only is the interest rate outlook fundamentally different to recoveries past, but the office sector will continue to …
Our meetings with clients in the Middle East and Asia last week took in discussion across a full range of macro and market issues, but the same three questions kept coming up: How should we read China’s economy? The conventional view is that China’s …
We have traced the government’s target of building 300,000 new homes a year in England back to the 2004 Barker Review. Rerunning the calculations two decades on suggests 385,000 new homes a year would now be necessary to achieve the same aims. In the 2017 …
Swiss CPI (February) Swiss disinflation ending but rate cuts now likely The period of disinflation in Switzerland is close to an end, but with inflation likely to remain close to 1% for the foreseeable future we think policymakers will start lowering …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Inflation continues to rise, tightening cycle now at risk of restarting The stronger-than-expected rise in Turkish inflation to 67.1% y/y in February adds to our concerns given …
The decline in listed firms’ profit margins over the last couple of years despite the tailwind from a weaker yen suggests that improved corporate governance isn’t changing corporate behaviour. While timely data point to a rebound in profitability, the …
The pick-up in the EM manufacturing PMI last month suggests that EM industry continued to strengthen in Q1. But while manufacturers have benefitted from strong demand in some economies (such as India, Turkey and Russia), the overall picture is that it …
1st March 2024
Cut, cut, cut … oh no, we’ve lost market share According to reports, OPEC+ members will make a decision in the coming week on whether to extend their voluntary production cuts. A number of possibilities have been mooted, ranging from extending cuts for …
February’s manufacturing PMIs suggest that global industrial activity improved at the start of this year, but that activity in emerging markets continued to outperform that in advanced economies. Meanwhile, Red Sea disruptions don’t seem to be having a …
The dollar has remained roughly unchanged against most major currencies over the past two weeks. Given that our expectations for upcoming data releases and central bank meetings – notably, nonfarm payrolls and the ECB meeting next week – are not far from …
Turkish GDP growth continues to run hot Data released this week showed that Turkish GDP growth unexpectedly re-accelerated in Q4, which challenges the view that recent aggressive monetary tightening is rebalancing the economy. We published our initial …
The return to growth in the fourth quarter means it is probably safe to say that the economy has avoided recession, but that is mainly due to rapid immigration. Per capita GDP fell for the fifth quarter running and is now barely higher than in 2016. Ahead …
CBN delivers bold hike but inflation risks remain The Nigerian central bank’s 400bp rate hike and its reaffirmation of its inflation fighting credentials should help provide respite to the naira and inflation. But Nigeria will need to shift away from …
Today’s rise in the 2-year Japanese government bond yield to its new highest level since 2011 raises the question of whether this is the start of a far bigger sell-off in the bond market, or just another false dawn that will reinforce the reputation of …
Following the more hawkish speeches from Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Governor Christopher Waller last week, that tone continued this week – with regional Fed Presidents including New York’s John Williams repeating the suggestion that interest rate …
Neil Shearing has been in the Middle East and Asia, talking to clients about the macro outlook. In meetings from Dubai to Singapore to Hong Kong, some questions kept coming up again and again and, in this week’s episode, he goes through them with David …
Mexico election campaign officially kicks off Today is the first official day of campaigning for Mexico’s election that takes place on 2 nd June. President López Obrador (Amlo) is barred from running but his anointed successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, is well …
Reading the NPC tea leaves China’s legislature will kick off its annual gathering on Tuesday. This typically lasts a week or so. But from the perspective of analysts and investors, the key events are on the first day. These include the delivery of the …
No evidence to support inflation rebound The unexpected fall in the ISM manufacturing index in February still leaves it on a gradual upward trend, but the more important news for the Fed is that there is still no sign that a material rebound in goods …
China’s PMI surveys suggest that manufacturing activity held steady in February and are consistent with stable, if unexciting, growth in commodity demand. That said, we continue to expect a near-term pick-up in activity owing to policy support, which may …
ECB will leave its deposit rate at 4.0% again next week. Policymakers will cut growth and headline (but not core) inflation forecasts. We now anticipate 100bp of rate cuts this year starting in June. Next week’s ECB meeting looks set to be a fairly …
We think that the gold price will rise in each of the next couple of years, driven by the Fed cutting rates a little quicker than is priced into markets, falling US Treasury yields and a softening US dollar. The gold price has taken a small leg-down since …
Korea election: reform prospects in the balance President Yoon Suk-yeol has seen a rebound in his popularity in recent weeks, with an opinion poll published today showing an approval rating of 39% – up from a low earlier this year of just 29%. The …
Could there be a tax-cutting Budget bombshell? The rumours this week suggest that the Chancellor may have a bit less to play with in the Budget on Wednesday 6 th March than the £15bn we estimated. As a result, he seems to be considering more revenue …
The main data releases in the euro-zone this week will have done little to dispel ECB policymakers’ view that they should wait patiently before making a decision on when to cut interest rates. Economic activity appears to have made a slow start to the …
Consumer resilience comes to an end The stagnation in Brazil’s GDP in Q4 and the decline in household consumption confirmed that the economy lost momentum sharply and, while we expect a pick-up in growth in the coming quarters, we’re now more confident in …
Recent media attention has focused on the downturn in Germany and the travails of its lenders exposed to the crash in property values both domestically and in the US. While the focus on Europe’s largest market is justified, other major euro-zone markets …
HCES underscores need to update CPI index The initial findings of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) for 2022-23 (the full report will be released in June) show a shift in consumption patterns since the previous survey from over a decade …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. ECB rate cut in April is not going to happen February’s euro-zone inflation data look like the final nail in the coffin for an April interest rate cut . The decline in headline …
PMI bounces, but still looks like a soft start to 2024 Although South Africa’s manufacturing PMI jumped in February, the sector appears to have made a soft start to the year. We still expect growth to pick up over the rest of this year as loadshedding …
Turkey and Russia continue to show signs of resilience The manufacturing PMIs out of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) generally ticked up last month, but still suggest that industrial sectors remained weak. In contrast, the increases in the PMIs in Turkey …
Although world goods trade rose in December, it wasn’t enough to change the fact that 2023 was one of the weakest years for trade in over 70 years, as we forecast a year ago. As for 2024, we expect a bit of a cyclical recovery as the year progresses, but …
The February PMIs for economies in Emerging Asia edged down last month and were mostly inside contractionary territory. The outlook for manufacturing in the region remains poor in the near term, with high interest rates and weak foreign demand likely to …
Further substantial rise puts doubt on downbeat consensus forecasts Another sizeable monthly increase in the Nationwide house price index in February confirmed that lower mortgage rates are feeding through to higher prices. (See Chart 1.) But recent …
Third contraction in GDP now likely We doubt that the slump in industrial output in January will prevent the Bank of Japan from ending negative rates over the coming months, but the recent string of disappointing data reinforces our view that this will …
More good news for the RBA The Reserve Bank of Australia should take comfort from the fact that most of the data released this week point to a better balance between demand and supply in the economy. On Wednesday we learnt that CPI inflation came in at …
Housing market will cool further still Australian house price gains eased only slightly in February. However, with home sales now softening noticeably, we suspect that the momentum behind the housing rebound will soon fade. Allowing for seasonal swings, …
This report was first published on Friday 1 st March covering the official PMIs and Caixin manufacturing PMI. We added commentary on the Caixin services and composite PMIs on Tuesday 5 th March. An encouraging improvement in services activity The PMIs are …
Canada Chart Pack (Feb. 2024) …
29th February 2024
January US PCE inflation is in line with our view that the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation will return to target by mid-year, allowing policymakers to cut rates further than investors seem to expect. So we still think that the 10-year Treasury yield …
The resilience of the US economy in this cycle means the rise in distressed assets has been much slower than in the GFC-era recession, as relatively few firms have gone bust. But the structural adjustment in office demand will ultimately have a similar …
Aggregate EM growth softened towards the end of last year and we think it will remain weak in 2024. But there will be divergence at the country level with growth slowing in those economies that outperformed in 2023 and growth picking up in last year’s …
We expect ‘safe’ assets to rally a bit more over the next couple of years, largely informed by our belief that investors are underestimating how quickly and/or how far many central banks will cut interest rates over 2024-2025. Our expectation that safe …
