The SNB under Chairman Thomas Jordan has never shied away from making big calls, so it was fitting that it surprised markets with a 25bp rate cut today, to 1.5%, only three weeks after Mr Jordan announced he would leave his post in September. We expect …
21st March 2024
Sub-Saharan Africa’s enormous demographic tailwind means the region will see the fastest GDP growth rates (4-5%) of any region between now and 2050. By the middle of the century, the region’s overall GDP will probably be larger than any single economy bar …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Further signs of the UK economy having moved out of recession We’ll be discussing the outlook for Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy in a 20-minute online briefing at 3pm GMT …
The valuations of “risky” assets have kept rising so far this year, even as “safe” asset yields have rebounded. While risky asset valuations are quite high by past standards, we doubt this will prevent equities from rising a lot further this year and …
Recovery strengthens Poland’s stronger-than-expected activity data for February suggest that loose fiscal policy and continued fast wage growth helped the economy to recover at the start of this year. We maintain our above-consensus GDP growth forecast of …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Stagnation continues, price pressures still high The flash PMIs for March suggest that the euro-zone economy is still flatlining, in line with our forecast. Meanwhile, the price …
Surprise hike but further tightening unlikely Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) unexpectedly raised its main policy rate today amid concerns about inflation. However, we think the central bank’s concerns are overdone, and expect this to be a case of one and …
SNB kicks off rate-cutting cycle The SNB became the first G10 central bank to cut rates this policy cycle, reducing its policy rate by 25bp to 1.5% today. This was in line with our non-consensus forecast, and with the Bank sounding more dovish and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Disappointing borrowing figures won’t stop the Chancellor unveiling more tax cuts Note: We’ll be discussing the outlook for Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy in a 20-minute …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The flash composite PMI reading for March suggests that the economy continues to perform exceptionally well. While growth is likely to moderate over the coming quarters, India …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Labour market still set to loosen in the coming months The sharp drop in unemployment in February was likely a blip, rather than a trend. With job vacancies continuing to fall …
Q1 GDP decline should be followed by vigorous recovery The rise in the composite PMI to a seven-month high suggests that any fall in Q1 GDP should be followed by a strong recovery. According to today’s flash estimate, the composite PMI jumped from 50.6 to …
We are resending this publication because the previous one didn't contain any text. Better news from net trade points to smaller fall in Q1 GDP The trade balance didn’t fall nearly as much as most had anticipated in February and net trade will only …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economic downturn will pave the way for aggressive rate cuts With the New Zealand economy in a double-dip recession, we’re sticking to our guns that the RBNZ will cut rates more …
20th March 2024
Copom points to smaller cuts ahead The Brazilian central bank’s 50bp cut in the Selic rate to 10.75% today was never in doubt, but the change in the forward guidance supports our view that the easing cycle will slow to 25bp cuts soon (probably at the June …
Despite upward revisions to the median projections for both GDP growth and core PCE inflation, the Fed’s median forecast for interest rates still shows a cumulative 75bp of policy loosening this year. In contrast, we continue to believe that …
Fed officials still see rate cuts, despite higher core inflation projections Despite upward revisions to the median projections for both GDP growth and core PCE inflation, the median forecast for interest rates – released at the end of the Fed’s two-day …
Our view that Treasury yields will fall back a bit and that the US dollar will generally weaken by the end of the year rests on the assumption that the Fed will deliver more rate cuts than currently discounted in money markets. So these forecasts are …
China to drive output growth in coming months The drop in global aluminium production in February should be a blip now that output curbs in China’s Yunnan province due to power constraints have been lifted. According to the International Aluminium …
We think Emerging Market (EM) dollar bond yields will fall in general by the end of this year, thanks both to lower US Treasury yields and, in some cases, narrower spreads. But the sovereign dollar bonds of some EM economies, such as South Africa and …
We hosted an online briefing to discuss EM financial risks in more detail. Watch the recording here . Our risk indicators are presented as an interactive EM dashboard on our website here . The past few years have sharpened investors’ focus on assessing …
This publication has been updated with additional analysis from the post-meeting press statement and press conference. CNB’s easing cycle has a lot further to run The Czech National Bank (CNB) cut its policy rate by 50bp again today, to 5.75%, and we …
South Africa’s latest hard activity data show that the economy continued to struggle at the start of 2024, which will hardly help the ANC’s hopes of keeping its majority in parliament after May’s election. That said, we still think that easing electricity …
The latest monthly trade data from China highlight how the huge expansion in local manufacturing capacity is pushing down green technology prices and will only add to western concerns about trade “dumping”. Although shipments to developed markets in the …
Capital Economics has been named the most accurate forecaster of major global stock indices in Reuters polls. The 2023 LSEG StarMine Award was given for forecasting accuracy across 11 equities benchmarks and reflects the breadth and depth of our global …
Capital Economics has just been named most accurate forecaster of the Chinese economy by global macro survey firm Consensus Economics. This latest award reflects our ability to anticipate, and help clients understand, the near to long-term trajectory of …
30th April 2024
We think the Riksbank will leave its policy rate unchanged at 4.0% next week but cut it by 25bp at the following meeting, in May. Beyond that, our forecast is for rates to come down much faster than the Riksbank’s own forecasts imply but broadly in line …
Our markets team recently held an online briefing all about how we expect global equities, bonds, and currencies to perform through the end of this year and into 2025. During this session, the economists answered questions from the audience following …
Jump in inflation to delay start of interest rate cuts The larger-than-expected rise in South Africa’s headline inflation rate, to 5.6% y/y, in February means that the SARB is likely to delay the start of its easing cycle until after May’s election. …
Interest rates left unchanged, first rate cut in June Bank Indonesia left its policy rate on hold at 6.00% at its scheduled meeting today, and hinted at cuts later in the year. With inflation under control and the currency holding up well against the US …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. UK inflation to fall below 2% in April and the rates in the US and euro-zone We’ll be discussing the outlook for Fed, ECB and Bank of England policy in a 20-minute online …
Credit spreads aren’t bound to fall further if a bubble continues to inflate in the stock market, judging by what happened in the US in the second half of the 1990s. Admittedly, the option-adjusted spreads (OAS) over underlying Treasuries of ICE BofA’s …
19th March 2024
The latest data suggest that global industry may be coming back to life. Much of the improvement so far has related to China, where policy will continue to support domestic production. But falling energy prices, loosening financial conditions and …
All-property total returns have turned the corner, with a month-on-month rise in January and February. Rental growth is set to continue to ease, but yields are close to a peak and that will remove the downward pressure on capital values over the next …
The Bank of Japan ended its eight-year run of negative interest rates today . We think there are several implications for Japanese – and global – financial markets. Today’s fall in the yields of long-dated JGBs suggests that investors took the hike in …
Housing starts rebound in February The strong rebound in housing starts last month confirmed January’s slump was a weather-related blip. Although we expected starts to bounce back, February’s data were even stronger than we had anticipated. After falling …
Another good month, but more needed to convince Bank to cut rates The surprise fall in headline inflation to 2.8%, from 2.9%, is further reason to expect the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates soon, although we still think it will wait until June rather …
Prime Minister Modi’s BJP appears on course to remain in power after India’s upcoming general election. But which party wins probably matters less for the economy and financial markets than whether the election delivers a stable government with a working …
The global economic outlook is subject to various uncertainties which have left forecasters split over the possibilities of a hard landing, soft landing or even renewed recovery. Are the worst effects of previous interest rate hikes yet to be felt? Or …
The recent weakness of Germany’s economy is partly due to temporary factors which should ease this year. However, demographic and structural headwinds, partly driven by global fragmentation, mean the economy is likely to grow by little more than half a …
The Bank of Japan today called time on more than a decade of ultra-loose policy settings, but we don’t think it will lift its policy rate any further over the coming months. A Reuters survey conducted at the end of last week still showed that a majority …
The RBA sounded a touch less hawkish at today’s meeting and we think the Bank will start to lower interest rates by August. The Bank’s decision to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% was correctly anticipated by all analysts polled by Reuters, ourselves …
BoJ won’t embark on tightening cycle as inflation momentum waning The Bank of Japan ended ultra-loose monetary policy today but we don’t think it will raise its policy rate any further. A majority of forecasters polled by Reuters last week were still …
RBA will ease policy in the second half of the year The RBA stuck to its hawkish guns at today’s meeting but we think it will pivot towards policy easing by August this year. The Bank’s decision to keep the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% was correctly …
Given our view that a stock market bubble will inflate in the US , we wouldn’t be surprised to see the equity risk premium (ERP) shrinking further in the near term. This might even go as far as the premium vanishing, as happened for instance at the peak …
18th March 2024
In a big year for elections, this is the biggest. India’s general election begins on 19 th April, with nearly a billion Indians registered to vote and Narendra Modi on course to win a third term as prime minister. But even if the conclusion seems …
The pandemic-induced “great migration” fuelled rapid growth for apartment rents and house prices in southern metros. But a huge supply response in many of those apartment markets threatens to unwind recent rent gains, while for those single-family …
It's been a tough few years for China's stock market, which has been, at times, one of the worst performers in the world. But it's turned around over the past couple of months, with some policy support seemingly on the way and the economy gathering a bit …
