El Niño is coming but the picture is more nuanced than one of doom and gloom for global production of all crop types. For corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, larger harvests in some regions can outweigh declines in others. For prices, there are still upside …
14th July 2023
The recent rise in gilt yields to levels above those seen in the aftermath of the mini-Budget has not triggered a similar rush to sell property assets. In part because past falls in capital values mean multi-asset funds are unlikely to become overexposed …
Rice export ban wouldn’t be unprecedented This week we explored the implications of a severe El Niño for India’s economy. A key point is that it could put upward pressure on rice prices, and a subsequent response by the government could be a ban on rice …
Inflation falling, but still too high for the Riksbank The fall in CPIF inflation, the Riksbank’s target variable, in June was smaller than policymakers expected, which will encourage them to raise the policy rate from 3.75% to 4.00% at the next meeting …
As we had anticipated following the publication of the recent review into the institutional framework of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Governor Lowe’s term will end in September. The government announced today that Deputy Governor Bullock will become the …
Shunto may be more influential than we thought Regular wage growth hit 1.8% y/y in May, the biggest rise in almost thirty years. It’s still too early to tell but the May data might mark the start of the elusive virtuous cycle between rising wages and …
Data released today show Singapore's economy remains very weak and we continue to expect growth to come in well below consensus this year. With inflation also falling back sharply, we expect the central bank to step in and support the ailing economy by …
Weak outturn, bleak outlook The economy avoided a technical recession in Q2 but we continue to expect growth to come in well below consensus this year as elevated interest rates and weaker external demand weigh heavily on economic output. According to the …
Russia’s economy has adapted to Western sanctions better than had been expected so far, but maintaining macroeconomic stability is now becoming more challenging and depends in large part on the outlook for energy exports and the extent to which additional …
13th July 2023
June’s soft US CPI print seems to have given investors renewed hope that inflation could fall back to normal levels without the economy slowing too much, if at all. We continue to think that the chance of a more-significant economic slowdown is …
Renewed murmurs of additional tweaks to the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Yield Curve Control (YCC) policy are giving further impetus to the yen’s recent rally. Though we forecast the yen to strengthen against the dollar this year, that forecast is driven mainly …
China’s commodity import volumes remained high in June, helped by the economic re-opening, but they were held back by softening input-related demand for the manufacture of goods for export. As economies in Europe and the US flirt with recession, this will …
Surging mortgage rates are undoubtedly dissuading households from moving due to the cost of giving up low fixed rate mortgages, weighing on home sales and inventory. But a similar decrease in sales in the UK, which does not have long-term fixed rate …
Note: We’ll be discussing macro and market risks around El Niño’s return in a 20-minute briefing on Wednesday, 19 th July. Click here to register. The likelihood of an El Ni ño event over the second half of the year raises the risk that activity is …
The resilience of consumption over the past year is partly because households have been willing to save less of their income than before the pandemic, which lends some support to the idea that consumers have been drawing down a stock of “excess” savings …
Note: We’ll be discussing macro and market risks around El Niño’s return in a 20-minute briefing on Wednesday, 19th July. Click here to register. Egypt getting back on the right path for reforms A round of state asset sales announced in Egypt this week …
The sharp improvement in South Africa’s budget in recent years has started to reverse. And this trend is set to continue as austerity is eased ahead of the 2024 election and revenues fall short of expectations. The debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to rise, …
Lenders expect narrow spreads to keep upward pressure on mortgage rates The narrowing in interest margins reported by mortgage lenders in the Credit Conditions Survey suggests that mortgage rates won’t fall significantly anytime soon. Meanwhile, it became …
The World Meteorological Organisation has announced a 90% probability of an El Niño event in the second half of the year, threatening more extreme climate events. How much of a threat does more disruptive weather pose to the global economy? Does this mean …
Not so long ago, a higher 10-year TIPS yield almost invariably meant an underperformance of US “growth” stocks vis-à-vis their “value” peers, a lower gold price, and a stronger dollar. That’s changed in 2023, though, with the relationships weakening …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Uptick in May but weakness ahead Euro-zone industrial production edged up in May but it probably still declined over Q2 as a whole and we think further weakness is ahead. The …
Note: We’ll be discussing the UK inflation, growth and policy outlooks after the June CPI release on Wednesday 19 th July. Register here to join that 20-minute online briefing. Rising interest rates have led lenders to rein in the supply of credit to …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Note: We’ll be discussing the UK inflation, growth and policy outlooks after the June CPI release on Wednesday 19 th July. Register here to join that 20-minute online briefing. …
The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (at 3.5%) and the accompanying statement and press conference were more hawkish than we had anticipated. Accordingly, we are pushing back the timing of when we think the central bank will start to …
Demand falls at fastest rate since last October As we expected, the rise in the average quoted mortgage rate from 4.4% in May to 5.1% in June caused agreed sales and new buyer enquiries to slump. The deterioration in market conditions has left surveyors …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Exports to shrink further before bottoming out Chinese exports contracted year-on-year in June by the most since March 2020, with export volumes falling to a 6-month low. And …
Last year’s sharp weakening of the yen hasn’t boosted goods exports, not least because most exports are invoiced in foreign currency and exporters haven’t slashed prices. Instead, it has lifted corporate profits which has encouraged firms to invest more …
BoK on hold again but conditions now in place for a cut The decision today by the Bank of Korea to leave interest rates unchanged (at 3.5%) for a fourth consecutive meeting came as no surprise. The central bank is due to hold a press conference and …
Bigger falls in US core inflation than in the euro-zone or UK might mean government bond yields decline a bit more quickly in the US over the rest of this year, but ultimately we expect yields to fall in all three economies over time. June’s US CPI data …
12th July 2023
Rate hike on the cards, odds (just) in favour of a 25bp move The rise in Russian inflation to 3.3% y/y last month means the central bank will almost certainly follow through on its recent hawkish rhetoric by hiking interest rates when it meets next month. …
The Bank of Canada’s 25bp hike today, taking the policy rate to 5.0%, is likely to be the last in this cycle. With the labour market loosening, core inflation falling and the survey indicators implying that inflation expectations are normalising, we …
Given our view that a big stock market rally fuelled by enthusiasm about AI is on the way, we expect equities in some IT and industrials subsectors to outperform, which would favour the US market. Equities in the US have fared markedly better than those …
Europe Core Inflation (% 3m ann., SA) …
Canada and US Headline Inflation (% 3m ann., SA) …
Euro-zone Headline and Core Inflation (% 3m ann., SA) …
US Headline and Core Inflation (% 3m ann., SA) …
France & Germany National CPI (% y/y, monthly) …
Bank of Japan Asset Purchases Stock (Yen bn) …
Japan Real GDP Growth (%, quarterly since 2021 Q1) …
Japan Job-to-Applicant Ratio and Unemployment Rate …
Euro-zone Job Vacancy Rate (%) …
CE 2024 Headline Inflation Forecast and Mid-Point of Inflation Targets for EM Europe Economies (% y/y) …
Asia (ex. Japan) & EM Headline Inflation (% y/y, period averages) …
US Light Vehicle Sales (millions, annualised) …
UK Employment (thousands, monthly) …
Poland 10Y Govt Bond Yield (%, monthly) …
Ireland 10Y Govt Bond Yield (%, monthly) …
Egypt 10Y Govt Bond Yield (%, monthly) …
Russia 10Y Govt Bond Yield (%, monthly) …
US 10Y Govt Bond Yield (%, monthly) …