This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Broad-based strength shows consumer resilience The solid rise in retail sales in November was led by vehicle sales but still showed signs of broad-based strength, with control …
17th December 2024
Rates on hold, new MNB Governor will have little scope to cut in 2025 The Hungarian central bank (MNB) left its base rate on hold again today, at 6.50%, and we think that a rise in inflation in early 2025 will keep rates on hold until at least the new …
Given the deterioration in the outlook for Chinese equities and the prospect of a markedly weaker renminbi, China’s demand for gold in 2025 will be stronger than we had previously expected. In turn, this will help offset the downward pressure on gold …
Overview – China’s leadership has signalled that policy will be loosened further, which will provide a near-term prop to activity. But we still expect China’s growth to slow next year, because of the more challenging external environment and a further …
After a stellar run, India’s economy has entered a softer patch that will continue for a few more quarters. We think that will portend an underperformance in local equities relative to other major benchmarks. Headline CPI inflation has fallen back within …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. German economy set to remain weak The Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) remained deep in recessionary territory in December. While the survey has overstated the weakness in the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Rebound in wage growth will add to BoE’s inflation concerns The big rise in regular private sector pay growth in October will increase the Bank of England’s concerns about a …
The Fall Economic Statement (FES) showed a much larger budget deficit for the previous fiscal year than previously estimated, but that was largely due to one-off charges related to indigenous settlements. Compared to Budget 2024, the new net spending …
16th December 2024
While equities in Germany have managed to ride out weak growth and political uncertainty this year, those in France have not. We suspect that they will all fare poorly next year, as those adverse conditions remain and a trade war takes a toll. Today …
The latest batch of PMIs suggests that the US economy is growing strongly while Europe is stagnating or contracting. The US economy is no doubt growing more strongly than its advanced economy peers heading into 2025, but the PMIs are probably overstating …
Housing market heating up The rise in home sales in November builds on the jump in October and is particularly positive considering some buyers may have held off from purchases ahead of the new mortgage rules that took effect this month. Prices are set to …
EM GDP growth picked up in the second half of the year but faces headwinds in 2025 from tight policy at home and challenges abroad. Our growth forecasts generally sit below the consensus. Monetary easing will continue but, outside Asia, high inflation …
Immigration has probably added around 0.6%-pts to GDP growth per year on average across advanced economies since the pandemic. But tighter restrictions on immigration will weigh heavily on GDP growth in the US and Canada over the next few years. And the …
Earlier this month, we published our key macro and market themes for 2025. It has also become tradition at this time of year to publish a list of key risks to watch for in the coming 12 months. This can be a fool’s errand: too often, these descend into a …
Overview – We expect economic growth in the euro-zone to remain sluggish. This is partly due to adverse demographics and structural forces hampering the competitiveness of industry. But past monetary tightening will continue to weigh on investment and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. PMIs raise concerns over the prospect of stagflation Despite the composite PMI staying at 50.5 in December, at face value it’s consistent with the 0.1% q/q rise in real GDP in Q3 …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. PMIs strengthen the case for looser monetary policy December’s PMI survey for the euro-zone suggests that the economy is contracting and that price pressures remain largely under …
An unexpected loss of momentum China’s economy appears to have slowed last month, despite tailwinds from recent policy easing. Growth still looks on course to pick up this quarter, but the disappointing November data underscores the challenge policymakers …
In the latest episode of The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics, Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing outlines the three big policy quandaries facing three big DM central banks. He unpacks the ECB’s December decision, previews the upcoming Fed and Bank …
13th December 2024
Halfway through the December round of central bank policy announcements the US dollar remains on the front foot, with the DXY index again close to its post-2022 high. Arguably, the dollar’s strength this week mainly reflects continued disappointing news …
Winner and losers from Assad’s downfall The fall of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad last weekend is a monumental development after a period of 54 years in which his family had ruled the country. While there is still a high level of uncertainty over the …
South Africa October activity data point to recovery While data out this week showed renewed struggles in South Africa’s mining sector, other figures suggest that a recovery has taken hold in Q4. The retail sector recorded a 1.6% m/m gain in October, more …
Bank of Canada signals caution The Bank continued its easing cycle this week with another 50bp cut, taking the policy rate down to 3.25%. While that was widely expected, the hawkish tone of the policy statement prompted investors to pare back expectations …
Fed presented with early Christmas gift Going into this week, it already looked likely that the Fed would cut its policy rate by 25bp at its December meeting (as opposed to leaving it unchanged), and the muted November price data cemented it. Based on the …
Overview – We expect another year of below-trend and below-consensus GDP growth in most of Asia in 2025, as tight fiscal policy and weak exports weigh on output. In China, a slowdown in construction will act as a further drag. Inflation is back to (or …
We’ll be discussing the outlook for Bank of England, ECB and Fed policy in a 20-minute online briefing at 3pm GMT on Thursday 19th December. (Register here .) At the start of this year we thought that GDP growth would gather momentum throughout the year. …
Overview – Most energy and industrial metals prices will fall in 2025 as structural headwinds to demand build and supply rises. Geopolitical developments remain a key uncertainty and it is easy to think of developments in the Middle East that could push …
GDP growth picking up again The upside surprises to both manufacturing and wholesale sales in October supports our view that the near-term economic outlook is now better than the Bank of Canada seems to think. It looks likely that the preliminary estimate …
Milei has reason to cheer Tuesday marked Argentinian President Javier Milei’s first year in office, and he had plenty to celebrate. He’s made much more progress than we (and most other analysts) had thought would be possible. Inflation came in at 2.4% m/m …
The recent breakdown in the relationship between yen/dollar and the relative performance of stock markets in Japan and the US in local-currency (LC) terms makes it hard to predict how these stock markets will fare against one another if, as we envisage, …
Mood at the ECB shifting gradually In our view, this week’s ECB meeting didn’t spring any surprises, and the message was clear that we should expect further interest rate cuts. (See here .) Yet the market reaction during and after the press conference …
Cyclical rebound in oil demand will be short lived Energy import growth was an unexpected bright spot in the preliminary Chinese trade data, as imports of crude oil rebounded by 14.3% y/y, after contracting for seven of the last eight months. That comes …
Monetary easing still struggling to put a floor under borrowing Broad credit growth stabilised last month, after hitting a 21-year low in October. But bank loan growth continued to slide to fresh lows, despite lending rates on new loans having been …
Deflation concerns to sway BoT After a relatively quiet week in terms of scheduled events and releases, the coming week sees central bank meetings in Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines. We are expecting holds in Indonesia and …
New RBI leadership and inflation drop tips balance Two big developments this week have tipped the odds in favour of a repo rate cut at the RBI’s next meeting in February, or potentially even in an unscheduled meeting before then. The first was the …
B ut a dramatic shift in policy approach still unlikely The Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), an annual gathering at which China’s leadership discusses targets and priorities for the following year, concluded yesterday. We discussed the key …
Tankan adds to case for December hike Q3 private consumption revised down Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up to 0.3% q/q from 0.2% in the second estimate released on Monday. However, private consumption was revised down from a 0.9% q/q …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. October worse than it looks, long-term outlook bleak October’s euro-zone industrial production data look much worse without Ireland, where the data are notoriously volatile. The …
Inflation in South Africa is now running at extremely low rates by historic standards. While we think it will edge up from here, the extent of spare capacity in the economy and tight fiscal stance mean inflation will remain lower than consensus …
Tight labour market will muddy the waters Although the Reserve Bank of Australia predictably left rates on hold at its meeting on Tuesday, the Board didn’t exactly try to hide the fact that it was in a more dovish mood. Indeed, the Bank stated that it was …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economy at risk of contracting, partly due to the Budget The 0.1% m/m fall in GDP in October is the second such decline in a row and means there is every chance that the economy …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Tankan points to sluggish growth The mediocre increase in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest Tankan suggests that the activity is unlikely to rebound …
Given our dovish view of ECB policy, we expect German Bund yields to fall back in 2025, and to diverge further from US Treasury yields. Unlike the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its policy rates …
12th December 2024
Risks to Russia’s macroeconomic stability are mounting on the back of the recent credit boom and sharp rise in interest rates. Our EM financial risk indicators show that Russia is now at high risk of a banking crisis. We don’t expect these risks to …
Next Thursday, we expect the Riksbank to reduce its policy rate from 2.75% to 2.5% as it closes in on the end of its loosening cycle. In contrast, we think Norges Bank will leave its policy rate unchanged again next week at 4.5% as it waits until early …
Overview – The backdrop to our new real estate forecasts is a small reduction in our GDP forecasts and higher level of interest rates than previously. This weighs on the outlook, and we have trimmed our total returns expectations to 5.5-6.0% p.a. over the …
