Financial markets have generally now unwound about half of the big moves from late last week and early this week, helped by jobless claims data today soothing concerns over a US economic recession. In some cases, we expect these recoveries to continue; …
8th August 2024
Recent safe haven flows into the franc may have prompted limited FX interventions by the SNB. But we think that the policy rate will remain its main policy tool, even for dampening the franc’s strength. Indeed, we now expect the SNB to cut its policy rate …
US recession risks yet to derail export outlook The recent batch of weaker-than-expected US data rattled global markets this week. But it hasn’t significantly altered China’s economic outlook. Admittedly, the risk of a US recession, which would hurt …
After an already-tough H1 for information sector jobs, we expect the second half of the year to see further cuts, which will be bad news for tech-heavy metros in the West. But a more diverse occupier base and much more pronounced return to the office in …
Even as most EM central banks outside of Asia started lowering interest rates a year ago, those within the region have kept their powder dry. That could be about to change. As growth slows, inflation returns to targets and currencies recover, the …
Sell-off’s hit to oil likely to be reversed Fears of a US recession have rattled global financial markets earlier in the week, and those in the Middle East weren’t spared. We think the spillover into the oil market has gone too far, though, and it raises …
Several organisations have estimated that a universal 10% tariff on US imports, as proposed by Donald Trump, would reduce euro-zone GDP by at least 1%. We think the hit would be much less than 0.5%. We commented previously on the impact that Donald …
Rise in inflation leaves Banxico decision on a knife edge The rise in Mexico’s headline inflation rate, to 5.6% y/y in July, alongside the weakness in the peso means that Banxico’s interest rate decision later today will be a very close call between a cut …
No rush to loosen policy Although the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates on hold at its meeting this Tuesday, its messaging was unequivocally hawkish. In her post-meeting press conference Governor Michele Bullock stated that the Board had seriously …
This report has been updated with additional analysis and a chart and table of key figures. Inflation falls despite subsidy cuts Egypt’s headline inflation slowed from 27.5% y/y in June to 25.7% y/y in July, its lowest rate since December 2022. And this …
The recent market turmoil didn’t move the needle for the MPC today: it continued to strike a hawkish tone as the majority of members voted to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. But with inflation set to fall back towards the RBI’s 4% target over the …
Financial stress should be short-lived The Topix and the yen have reversed some of the large moves seen earlier this week, but BoJ Deputy Governor Uchida still signalled that those developments have reduced the chances of further policy tightening in a …
RBI could ease policy by year-end The recent market turmoil didn’t move the needle for the MPC today: it continued to strike a hawkish tone as the majority of members voted to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. But with inflation set to fall back …
Increasing demand points to stronger price growth Tentative signs from July’s RICS survey add to the growing evidence that demand and prices are starting to pick up. And as lenders start to cut mortgage rates, further cuts in Bank Rate than financial …
The economy slowed sharply in Q2 and we expect below trend growth to persist over the rest of the year as tight monetary policy, slower growth in remittances and soft export demand weigh on activity in the Philippines. According to the data published …
At its last policy meeting, the Bank of England still sounded a long way from being assured that inflation and wage growth will continue to ease. As a result, we doubt the recent moves in global financial markets will be enough to persuade the Bank to cut …
7th August 2024
We suspect that the boost to euro-zone economic growth from interest rate cuts over the next year or two will be quite small. The ECB is likely to lower its policy rates only gradually and leave them well above pre-Covid levels. So borrowing costs in the …
With the economy now in a position of excess supply, we expect core inflation to continue to fall back to 2% by the middle of next year. With the Bank of Canada putting more emphasis on the downside risks to the economy, we expect the Bank to cut interest …
Protests that originated in Kenya have spread to neighbouring Uganda and as far afield as Nigeria. The common theme of a weak economic backdrop, endemic corruption and fiscal fears means the region is ripe for further unrest. Growth is likely to see a …
German industrial output rebounded in June and may well expand a bit over the coming year or so. But any recovery will be weak and the sector will remain in structural decline. German industrial output rose more than expected in June. Data released today …
UK Commercial Property Valuation Monitor (Q3 24) …
US recession fears mask growing Middle East risks Commodities have not been immune to the recent turmoil in financial markets, with the prices of most industrial metals, agricultural, and energy commodities extending their downward trends over the past …
The news that the economy may now be 2.6% bigger than its Q4 2019 pre-pandemic size, rather than 1.8%, suggests it is in better shape than we previously thought. But with the UK still suffering from balefully low productivity and labour force growth, …
Easing cycle continues, but space for further cuts is narrow Romania’s central bank (NBR) delivered another 25bp cut to its policy rate today, to 6.50%, but in spite of the slightly more dovish accompanying statement, we think that the space for further …
Sharp fall in mortgages rates should soon support activity July was a disappointing month for mortgage activity overall, with earlier high borrowing costs causing home purchase applications to slide by 5.4% m/m. All the attention, however, will be on the …
Market turmoil has not yet led to a tightening of financial conditions in the US and most other advanced economies. That’s because borrowing costs have fallen sharply as investors have grown to expect more rate cuts from the Fed. To recap, our financial …
The Q2 rise in euro-zone investment marks the start of the recovery, but one that will be weak and uneven across markets. Economic and political concerns means investment in Germany and France is likely to lag, while the faster pick-up to date in Italy …
Following another leg down in industrial metals prices, this time due to growing worries about a US recession and the broader financial market carnage, we still think that prices will fall further over the next few years. However, while attention has …
We’re not so sure the yen’s gains are done, even though it sagged earlier today. The yen has today continued to unwind Monday’s rally, with the latest headwind being some dovish comments from Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Deputy Governor. Among other things, the …
Even though it’s difficult to identify what could have broken as a result of the recent rapid market moves, a stronger yen is a bigger threat to the health of Japan’s financial institutions than falling stock prices. The Topix has reversed half of the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Falling mortgage rates boost house prices After three months of stagnation, the bigger-than-expected rise in the Halifax house price index in July provides further evidence that …
We are in the minority of forecasters who expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hand down a 25bp rate cut at its meeting next week. Moreover, with excess capacity in the economy rising rapidly, we think the Bank will embark on a more aggressive easing …
Exports to stay robust, helped by NEER depreciation Growth in export values slowed last month, but this was mainly due to lower export prices. Export volumes remained near record highs. We expect outbound shipments to stay strong for a while, not least …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBNZ will welcome continued loosening of the labour market Although employment growth in Q2 was stronger than most had anticipated, it didn’t keep the unemployment rate from …
Although the UK has clearly been caught up in the recent turmoil in global financial markets, we do not think a double-dip recession is on the cards. Nonetheless, the disorderly market reaction, if sustained, raises the downside risks to our GDP forecast …
6th August 2024
The minutes to last week’s central bank meeting in Brazil raised the possibility that policymakers will respond to the worsening inflation outlook by hiking interest rates. And despite the sharp shift down in US interest rate expectations since that …
25bp cut likely to be followed by more easing The Central Bank of Kenya delivered a 25bp cut to its policy rate, to 12.75%, at its meeting today as it embarked on long-trailed easing cycle and, with inflation set to fall further from here, additional cuts …
A pullback in buyer demand paired with rising supply has cooled the market, causing house price inflation to ease. However, the recent sharp decline in mortgage rates will offset some of that softness, by lifting demand from its current slump – providing …
While the UK led the recovery in investment activity in Q4 last year, the latest data suggest the US and euro-zone are now also turning a corner. But given concerns over economic growth in all three markets alongside structurally higher long-term rates, …
While the recent financial market meltdown has pushed some euro-zone government bond spreads up, we don’t see good reasons for risk sentiment to remain so downbeat. So we expect the upward pressure on those spreads to ease soon. But we think the relief …
The UAE’s economy has been the strongest performer in the Gulf over the past year or so and a robust non-oil sector should help the UAE retain its crown as the fastest growing economy in the region. Recently-released Q1 GDP data from Abu Dhabi and Dubai …
Domestic demand remains intact There was little sign of weakening domestic demand in the international trade data for June, with imports rising. Exports rose even more sharply, causing the trade deficit to narrow, although the forward-looking indicators …
Jump in exports an upside risk to GDP growth The strength of oil exports in June suggests that GDP in the second quarter will come in stronger than the 2.1% annualised gain that the flash estimate implied. Coupled with stronger consumer goods imports, …
The sharp fall in oil prices over the past week shows that fears of a US recession have so far outweighed concerns about conflict in the Middle East. But we think that oil prices have fallen too far, and will rise back to $80pb by the end of the year. …
The euro-zone data do not scream “rate cut” – the economy is growing at a steady pace and domestic inflation has stabilised at a high level. But we suspect that most ECB policymakers will judge that a cut is justified next month, and recent concerns about …
Retail sector to pick up over the coming months Retail sales fell in June but we think they will gradually rise over the remainder of the year on the back of strong real household income growth and falling interest rates. The 0.3% m/m decline in retail …
Construction activity rebounds, helped by housing The headline CIPS construction PMI rebounded in July, more than reversing the small fall in June to reach 55.3, the highest reading since May 2022. That rise was driven by the housing component, with the …
Sentiment has improved in Asian markets today, especially in Japan where equities have rallied very strongly. We think there are a few observations worth noting of relevance for global markets. First, we’re still sceptical that the unwinding of the yen …
Markets sell off …
