Growth slowing, but economy still in good shape After all stellar run over recent quarters, data released late last week showed that GDP growth slowed in Q2 (Q1 of FY24/25) to 6.7% y/y, from 7.8% y/y in Q1. (See our initial response to the data here .) …
6th September 2024
Governing Council to cut deposit rate by 25bp again next week. Policymakers will point to a gradual easing cycle beyond that. Pace of rate cuts by the Fed will have little impact on ECB. The ECB looks certain to cut its deposit rate from 3.75% to 3.5% …
Even though the PBOC is trying to prop up local government bond yields while the Fed is gearing up to cut rates, we think bonds in China will fare a bit better than those in the US. The PBOC has been flagging for some time that it is uncomfortable with …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. No respite for German industry The big drop in German industrial production in July adds to the sense that the sector is facing a deep crisis and that, having contracted in Q2, …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Modest housing market recovery continues The second consecutive monthly rise in the Halifax house price index in August supports our view that the fall in the Nationwide house …
RBA will need to see more progress on inflation National accounts data released this Wednesday made for grim reading. They confirmed that Australia’s run of sluggish activity continued in Q2, with real GDP rising by a tepid 0.2% q/q for a third …
Regular pay growth hits 32-year high According to preliminary figures for July , regular wage growth jumped from 2.2% y/y to 2.7%, which is where we had expected it to peak in the second half of this year. And an alternative gauge that the Bank of Japan …
The Treasury yield curve has steepened in recent weeks amid growing recession concerns, but we doubt one will materialise this time . We expect the curve to steepen further over the next year or so, with 10-year yields rising and 2-year yields falling. …
5th September 2024
ISM services survey adds little to the 25bp vs 50bp debate Although the ISM services index was essentially unchanged in August, that is still something of a relief following the weak ISM manufacturing report earlier this week and the gloomy tone of the …
The economy looks to be entering a period of below-potential growth, characterised by excess supply in the goods and labour markets. This will keep downward pressure on core inflation, which we think will reach the Bank of Canada’s 2% target by the middle …
The tightening of Brazil’s labour market and pick-up in wage growth over the first half of the year has supported a consumer boom. We expect conditions to cool over the coming quarters but, for now, the buoyant labour market is adding to the central …
Is OPEC+ backing itself into a corner again? The price of oil has slumped even further this week and is now not far off its lowest level in three years. With a potential end to the Libya crisis in sight and our expectation of global oil demand to stay …
OPEC+ to face stick or twist moment at next meeting The recent slide in oil prices, to a 14-month low of $73pb at the time of writing, makes the looming OPEC+ decision on whether to unwind its voluntary production cuts even more of a close call. On the …
We held online Drop-In sessions earlier this week to discuss the outlook for major DM and EM economies and the risks that they face as we look forward to 2025. (See a recording here .) This Update answers some of the questions that we received, including …
The most recent European industrial take-up figures were slightly more encouraging. We expect activity will continue to slowly improve over the next couple of years, supported by the consumer recovery and increasing online penetration, though no return to …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Retail sales likely to rise gradually Retail sales edged up by 0.1% in July, and we expect them to rise further in the coming months, though at only a fairly modest pace. The …
Construction activity continues to expand The headline CIPS construction PMI edged back in August, but at 53.6 it remained in expansionary territory for the sixth consecutive month. Moreover, the decline was driven by the volatile civil engineering …
On hold, BNM to leave rates unchanged this year and next Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left its overnight policy rate (OPR) on hold (at 3.00%) today, and is likely to be one of the few countries in Asia to leave interest rates unchanged throughout the rest …
Overview – The economy is on the mend and underlying inflation seems to be levelling off around the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. Accordingly, we still expect a final rate hike in October. But as inflation falls below target next year and the spring wage …
Regular earnings growth will approach 3% While weaker growth in bonus payments weighed on overall wage growth, base pay rose by the most since 1992 in July and we think it will continue to surge in the coming months. The preliminary estimate released …
While the risks of a more severe downturn in industry have increased in advanced economies, we still expect manufacturing output to slow rather than crash in the coming months. Even if output were to fall sharply, it wouldn’t necessarily have big …
4th September 2024
Although job openings fell sharply in July, the totality of the JOLTS data points to a labour market that continues to normalise, rather than one rapidly deteriorating. That leaves it up to the August Employment Report to determine whether the Fed kicks …
The latest drop in oil prices, coupled with our expectation for global demand to remain weak, will make it practically impossible for OPEC+ to increase output while keeping Brent crude prices above $80pb. Recent reports indicate the group is undecided on …
Following its third consecutive 25bp interest rate cut today, the communications from the Bank of Canada reiterated that further cuts are likely. We expect 25 bp cuts at the final two meetings this year. While Governor Tiff Macklem left the door open to a …
Markets may be gripped by concerns about China’s economic health, but new data from Capital Economics suggests fiscal support is starting to provide a long-awaited boost that could help growth into 2025 as well. However, the country’s longer-term economic …
The dynamism of the industrial sector means that market-level outperformance is often only achievable for short periods, because either relative value deteriorates or new supply quickly completes. Houston could be the latest example of that, with recent …
Another 25bp cut, but little sign the Bank considered a larger move Following its third consecutive 25bp interest rate cut today, the communications from the Bank of Canada reiterated that further interest rate cuts are likely. The tone of the …
Attention at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that started today in Beijing will be on the extent to which China can stave off competition from the US to strengthen ties with the region. Relations with China are, for the most part, likely to remain …
NBP likely to remain on pause as inflation rebounds The decision by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to leave its policy rate on hold today, at 5.75%, was widely expected by analysts, and the incoming data are supporting our view that there won’t be …
Net trade set to weigh on GDP again this quarter The July trade data suggest that net trade will weigh on third-quarter GDP growth, but that is hardly cause for concern when it reflects the continued strength of imports, painting a better picture of …
Trade balance improves, but for the wrong reasons The improvement in the goods trade balance in July was for the wrong reasons, with a fall in imports outpacing a decline in exports. The weakness was due to sharp declines in motor vehicle trade, which …
Investors' concerns about the health of the US economy have intensified again, contributing to a selloff in global equity markets. The US stock market rode out an earnings recession last year thanks in large part to enthusiasm around AI, but we think it …
Recovery delayed The drop in home purchase mortgage applications in August is surprising given the sharp fall in mortgage rates the month before. Some would-be buyers may be delaying their purchases due to increased concerns about the economic outlook, …
Australian economy will soon turn a corner Although activity likely bottomed out last quarter, the ongoing weakness in private demand raises the risk that the RBA will cut rates sooner rather than later. The 0.2% q/q rise in real GDP last quarter was a …
The gold price is off the record high hit over August as speculation continues to swirl about what has driven this year’s extraordinary rally, and as the start of the Fed’s easing cycle approaches. Economists from our Commodities team discussed what comes …
3rd September 2024
While the headline-hitting surge in immigration last year was mainly driven by a spike in unauthorized movement, legal immigration has picked up from its pandemic lows, which is good news for many multifamily markets across the US. With top destinations …
Our migration dashboard highlights key trends in the US at both the state and metropolitan area level. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this new dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in the top right of each chart or …
The latest PMIs suggest that the outlook for global industry remains bleak, particularly in advanced economies. And although price pressures seem to have increased, we doubt that this marks the beginning of a sharp rebound in DM goods inflation, meaning …
After a large fall in July, the EM manufacturing PMI only edged up slightly last month, suggesting that the sector fared worse in Q3 than in the first half of the year. The PMIs did at least provide encouraging signs that price pressures eased. The …
A disappointingly small rebound in the headline index of the US ISM manufacturing survey for August appears to have put some relative pressure on cyclical sectors of the S&P 500 today, which is down more than 1% the time of writing. The bigger picture, …
Manufacturing stuck in a rut The ISM manufacturing index was essentially unchanged in August, leaving it consistent with manufacturing output and GDP growth losing momentum in the third quarter, and a sharp drop in the new orders index reduces the …
Bumper growth in Q2 tilts odds towards rate hike The much stronger-than-expected Brazilian GDP figure for Q2, of 1.4% q/q, means that the economy now appears to be on course to expand by 3% over the year as a whole. The flip side is that it will heighten …
The intense focus on this week’s US August employment report is hardly surprising. The July report, showing a smaller-than-expected 114,000 increase in jobs and a bigger rise in the unemployment rate, intensified recession fears and fuelled the global …
Attention in Egypt is turning to the timing of the first interest rate cut. The lessons from the start of the last easing cycle in 2018 suggest that this is likely to begin in April, which is a little later than most expect. But the more important point …
Several advanced economies have raised tariffs on imports of green technologies and semiconductors from China to address their growing trade deficits in these goods and tackle a perceived strategic weakness. As long as the process is gradual, this …
Weaker-than-expected rebound strengthens case for rate cuts South Africa’s economy recorded weaker-than-expected growth of 0.4% q/q in Q2 which, coming alongside the easing of inflation pressures, further strengthens the case for an interest rate cut at …
Slowly but surely, Egypt’s economy is recovering This PMI response has been updated with additional analysis of the UAE's survey published on 4th September. August’s batch of PMIs showed a more positive outturn for the Gulf’s private non-oil sectors, but …
Recent estimates add to the evidence that online retail shares are growing more slowly across Europe. There has also been little sign of convergence in online shares, supporting our long-held view that online competition will be less of a drag on southern …
This page has been updated with additional analysis. Headline inflation falls, risks skewed to the downside Switzerland’s headline inflation rate fell in August to one of its lowest levels in the last three years. This will be welcome news for the SNB, …
