Negative natural gas prices at a few trading hubs in West Texas, including the Waha Hub, have curiously become the norm this year. This Update looks at five key questions on the topic. 1) Why have natural gas prices at the Waha Hub been getting so much …
6th November 2024
Donald Trump’s second presidency is likely to result in lower US GDP growth, faster US inflation and a slightly higher path for the fed funds rate. The implications for the rest of the world are highly uncertain, not least because it is unclear how many …
NBP leaves rates on hold, risks to our rate forecast shift up slightly The decision by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to leave its policy rate on hold again today, at 5.75%, was never in doubt, and we think that interest rate cuts are unlikely to …
Our senior economist team were online the day after the election to help clients understand the economic and market implications of what we know so far - and what's still to be answered. … Drop-In: Trump's second term - Macro and market …
Rebound in mortgage activity short-lived Rising borrowing costs snuffed out the nascent recovery in mortgage activity in October, with home purchase and refinancing applications both slumping after a promising end to September. This puts to bed any hope …
Contraction in housing activity drags headline construction PMI down After a strong September the headline CIPS construction PMI dropped back to 54.3 in October, although that still points to an expansion of construction activity. A rebound in long-term …
This early edition of the Capital Daily provides our first thoughts on the market reaction to the likelihood of a second Trump term. The US election has seen a stark shift to the Republican Party, with Trump claiming victory in the Presidential race and …
Rates on hold, set to remain unchanged Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today left its main policy rate unchanged at 3.0%, and hinted that it was in no hurry to change rates anytime soon. The decision comes as no surprise – the outcome was correctly predicted …
Trump appears to be edging ahead The presidential election remains too close to call, but Donald Trump does appear to be edging ahead in some of the key swing states. At close to 11.30pm ET, the NYT gives Trump a 91% chance of victory, expecting him to …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Rise in joblessness has further to run The modest rise in the unemployment rate last quarter belies the precarity of the jobs market. We still believe the unemployment rate will …
5th November 2024
Although the outcome of the US election plainly matters for Treasuries, there is a risk of overegging this. After all, a large part of the recent moves in Treasury yields seem to have been due to the economy rather than the election. Our sense is that a …
Data released last week showed that the euro-zone’s unemployment rate was unchanged at a record low in September. But a broader assessment of the labour market suggests that it is cooling, and the latest surveys suggest that it will continue to do so. …
The further rise in the ISM services index to a two-year high in October suggests the services sector is continuing to soar, contrasting with the recent weakness in manufacturing. The strong rebound in the employment index is reassuring given the weakness …
Earlier interest rate cuts are yet to have much effect on the Canadian economy, which remains trapped in a period of below-potential growth. Making matters worse, any boost to the economy from lower borrowing costs next year will be countered by a decline …
The net fiscal loosening of £36bn (1.1% of GDP) in 2029/30 relative to previous plans unveiled by the Chancellor in the Budget means we now expect GDP growth of 1.8% and 1.7% in 2025 and 2026 respectively, compared to 1.5% in both years previously. But …
Goods trade balance improves, but for the wrong reasons The improvement in the goods trade position in September was for all the wrong reasons, with a fall in imports outpacing a decline in exports. While this suggests that net trade provided a small …
Surge in imports to prove short-lived The trade deficit widened to $84.4bn in September, from an upwardly revised $70.8bn in August, as imports surged ahead of the short-lived port strike in October. Goods exports declined 1% m/m from $179.2bn to …
Inflation figures out of Turkey – including those published for October yesterday – have surprised on the upside and forward-looking indicators suggest that the disinflation process will be slow in the coming months too. Consensus expectations for the …
A positive start to Q4 for the Gulf This response has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. October’s batch of PMIs showed an increase across all of the Gulf economies, although there remained underlying signs that non-oil …
With inflation falling back further in October, growth struggling and the property market in the doldrums, the conditions are in place for the Bank of Korea to cut interest rates again soon. We think the consensus is wrong to rule out the prospect of a …
Although the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained a broadly neutral stance at its meeting today, we still think it will start to lower interest rates as soon as February next year. However, with the labour market remaining resilient and productivity …
Indonesia GDP (Q3 2024) Growth has been accelerating, not stable as the figures suggest Official figures released today suggest that economic growth in Indonesia was virtually unchanged again last quarter, but we don’t have much faith in the official …
RBA will cut rates early next year Although the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained a broadly neutral tone at its meeting today, we still think it start to lower interest rates as soon as February next year. The Bank’s decision to leave rates unchanged …
Investors are braced for turbulence in the Treasury market, even allowing for the big moves that we’ve already seen in it recently. That’s hardly a surprise, given the result of tomorrow’s election is on a knife-edge and the contrast in the protagonists’ …
4th November 2024
OPEC+’s latest delay to its long-held plans to raise output will have a marginal impact on oil supply over 2025. We still suspect that OPEC+’s most likely course of action is to gradually increase output in 2025. However, the risks of a more aggressive …
While the latest PMIs suggest that global industry started Q4 on a slightly better footing, the outlook for the manufacturing sector remains poor, especially in advanced economies. Meanwhile, although the big fall in DM goods inflation is now behind us, …
The rise in Brazilian local currency government bond yields this year is now on a scale similar to that seen during its fiscal crisis in 2015. Back then, bond yields only started to fall back when wholesale political change was on the horizon. That’s not …
Despite the tick-up in the EM manufacturing PMI in October, manufacturing activity appears to have remained soft and we think this will be the case over the rest of the year. The surveys suggest that goods price pressures were contained last month, but …
We expect interest rates to be cut to around the equilibrium of 3% or so in the US, UK and Australia. But rates in the euro-zone and Canada seem likely to fall below their equilibria next year, troughing at 1.5% and 2%, respectively. This judgement …
Dovish central bank hints at further rate cuts The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) lowered its policy rate today by a further 250bps (to 15.0%) and sounded more dovish than it has done in previous meetings. Today’s cut marks the fourth consecutive meeting …
In a week in which the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are expected to deliver further rate cuts, and there’s anticipation that the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress will flesh out the details of much-anticipated fiscal …
Another upside surprise likely to reenforce CBRT’s hawkish stance The smaller-than-expected fall in Turkish inflation in October, to 48.6% y/y, is likely to dash any remaining hopes that a monetary easing cycle will start this year. The risks now seem …
Ahead of the year’s big political event, The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics includes an exclusive clip from our client briefing all about what to expect from the US election. Chief Asia Economist Mark Williams and the team tackle everything from …
1st November 2024
Currency markets are ending the week broadly unchanged, on net, leaving the US dollar near a three-month high ahead of next week’s pivotal election. With polls continuing to point to a very tight race in the swing states and betting markets shifting back …
October’s distorted payrolls probably won’t change the outlook for the Fed, which we expect to cut by 25bp next week. Instead, earnings season and the looming US election continue to dominate markets. Treasury yields initially plunged in response to the …
Race going down to the wire Although the betting markets are still convinced that Donald Trump will win next week’s presidential election, the polls remain much closer – and within the margin of error. Many of those polls have tweaked their methodologies …
While there were some positives to take from this week’s GDP data release, it still points to an economy stuck in a period of below potential growth. This reinforces our view that the Bank of Canada will cut by 50bp again in December. Third-quarter GDP …
Mexico in the firing line The US election race is heading into the final stretch. All our analysis on what it means for EMs can be found on our dedicated webpage here . For Latin America, the implications for Mexico are largest. Both Harris and Trump …
CEE struggling, Hungary in a league of its own The Q3 GDP data out of Central Europe this week continued a bleak run of activity data for the region. The Czech economy grew by just 0.3% q/q – in line with our forecast, but some way below the central …
South Africa reembraces fiscal discipline The biggest event this week was South Africa’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, which was pitched as pro-growth, but the numbers underline that the Treasury sees little room to loosen the …
Manufacturing hampered by temporary disruptions The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to a 15-month low in October suggests that the sector continued to struggle as hurricanes and the ongoing strike at Boeing disrupted manufacturing activity further …
Risks from North Korea on the rise North Korea’s relations with South Korea and its allies have taken a marked turn for the worse over the past month. This week’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile has prompted South Korea and the US to conduct …
The next few weeks promise to be eventful ones for commodity markets. Not only will the US president-elect be confirmed, but we may finally get details on the size of China’s fiscal stimulus as well as confirmation of OPEC+ production policy in 2025. The …
It’s still unclear if consumption will be prioritised Over the weekend, the Vice Finance Minister confirmed that the NPC Standing Committee is set to approve a fiscal package at its upcoming meeting , set to last from Monday to Friday of next week. At a …
While the market fallout from Wednesday’s Budget is still a long way from the 2022 mini-budget episode, investors are clearly nervous about the fiscal outlook. Gilt yields have risen sharply since Wednesday’s Budget. The 10-year yield is up about 21 basis …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Temporary disruptions can’t explain all the labour market weakness The near-complete flatline in payrolls in October was only partly due to disruptions caused by hurricanes and …
