Weak end to 2023 The stagnation in Colombia’s GDP in Q4 confirmed that the economy remained very weak at the end of last year and we think the recovery this year will be slower than most anticipate. At the margin, the weakness of the latest activity …
15th February 2024
Saudi’s loose fiscal stance to continue (for now) Data released yesterday confirmed that Saudi Arabia ran a budget deficit over 2023 as a whole and, as the government maintains high spending levels despite lower oil prices, the Kingdom will run larger …
Trump's second term: Key insight into Trump's policies …
Adverse weather hits manufacturing & mining, but boosts utilities Adding to the weaker news on retail sales, manufacturing output declined by 0.5% m/m in January although, as with the former, the unseasonably severe winter temperatures and snow storms in …
South Africa’s fiscal strains have seen the government explore tapping revaluation gains on the country’s FX reserves held at the SARB. Utilising these funds to pay down the government’s debt would help to improve South Africa’s fiscal health. But there’s …
Consumption growth finally faltering The 0.8% m/m fall in retail sales in January might partly reflect the unwinding of a previous weather-related distortion, but should temper recent suggestions of an economic resurgence. We continue to expect GDP growth …
Argentine President Javier Milei’s ambitious economic reform plans have quickly run into political obstacles. There’s still plenty of fiscal tightening that Milei is likely to undertake and there have been some areas of success such as the peso …
Sales dragged down by vehicle plant shutdowns The 0.7% m/m decline in manufacturing sales values in December was actually a positive outcome, since the more downbeat export data had suggested that the fall would be far bigger than the 0.6% m/m provisional …
Inflation at near-30%, all eyes on CBN Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose further to 29.9% y/y in January and the latest sharp fall in the naira means that it is likely to reach close to 35% y/y over the coming months. We expect the central bank to …
There’s even greater scrutiny on South Africa’s fragile fiscal position as pressure to increase spending builds ahead of this year’s election. In the coming week, all eyes will be on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech to see if the …
Plunge in inflation seals the deal on a larger rate cut We’d expected a large fall in Czech inflation in January, but the collapse from 6.9% y/y in December to just 2.3% y/y shows that price pressures are dissipating even more quickly than we’d …
This webpage has been updated with additional analaysis, as well as a chart and table of key data. Inflation to remain low this year and next Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate edged up from a two-year low of 1.5% y/y in December to 1.6% y/y in …
Non-labour input costs are now moderating which should soon result in a more rapid slowdown in consumer price inflation than most are anticipating. In a recent Bulletin article, the RBA argued that “large cost increases over recent years are still flowing …
Easing cycle to begin around the middle of the year The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its main policy rate unchanged (at 6.50%), but sounded a little more dovish than after previous meetings. With inflation likely to stay low and …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. In the mildest of mild recessions, but recovery is in sight The news that the UK slipped into technical recession in 2023, will be a blow for the Prime Minister on a day when he …
The rise in US bond yields has put renewed pressure on the yen, but we think further downside is limited. We still expect Treasury yields to resume their downward trend and for the yen to benefit most among G10 currencies vis-à-vis the dollar from this …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication Unemployment rate starts the year with a 4-handle The stronger-than-expected rise in unemployment in January may have been influenced by changes in seasonal employment patterns. …
Economic growth in Singapore remained strong in Q4 but we expect the economy to weaken in the near term as external demand softens and the weakening labour market takes its toll on consumption. According to the final estimate of Q4 GDP published today, …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Continued contraction in GDP won’t prevent ending of negative interest rates While the second consecutive contraction in GDP in Q4 would suggest that Japan’s economy is now in …
The strong reaction to the January CPI data demonstrates that markets still don’t fully comprehend that the Fed is focused on the alternative PCE measure of inflation. While core CPI inflation was unchanged at 3.9% last month, we estimate that core PCE …
14th February 2024
The precipitous drop in US natural gas prices won’t persist for the rest of the year. Prices should rise by Q4 as US production growth slows and LNG exports rise. US natural gas prices have collapsed recently, falling around 18% week-on-week and 23% …
We think that UK inflation will continue to fall faster and further than many seem to be expecting, paving the way for the Bank of England (BoE) to cut interest rates by more than is now discounted in markets. That helps to inform our view that today's …
Inflation pressures unlikely to prompt another hike The stabilisation in Russian inflation in January, at 7.4% y/y, should provide cover for the central bank to leave its policy rate unchanged at 16.00% at its meeting on Friday, rather than continue the …
Capital inflows into EM bonds and equities have fallen sharply since January after the Fed pushed back expectations of the timing of rate cuts. The good news is that current account deficits in EMs have narrowed over the past year, meaning many EMs have …
The effects of El Niño will cause cocoa harvests in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which account for more than half of global output, to fall by around 20% this year. But the related surge in cocoa prices means that, if anything, overall incomes are likely to …
South Africa’s latest hard activity data show that the economy finished last year with a whimper, but we think that easing electricity outages, weaker inflation pressures and less restrictive fiscal policy will support a modest pick-up in growth this …
The result of Indonesia’s presidential election won’t be officially confirmed for a few days yet, but based on unofficial “quick counts” it looks as though the favourite, Prabowo Subianto, has won over 50% of the vote, thus avoiding the need for a …
With activity and inflation both softer than it had expected a few months ago, the RBNZ will likely stay put at its meeting at the end of the month. However, with a still-tight labour market fuelling uncertainty about domestically-sourced price pressures, …
We survey 12 major advanced economy housing markets to understand why house price falls have been small despite high starting points and sharp increases in mortgage rates. We then use this information to ascertain whether the correction in house prices is …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economy to remain weak, strong labour market performance likely to end Data released this morning confirm that the euro-zone economy stagnated in Q4 and we expect this to …
Capital Economics is 25 years old. Founded by Roger Bootle in 1999, the company has grown from a handful of employees (and clients) to a global enterprise which today provides macro and market insight to tens of thousands of decision-makers across …
At a standstill at the end of 2023 Q4 GDP figures out of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) showed that the region ended last year on a weak note, but the outlook for 2024 looks brighter. While soft external demand is likely to remain a drag on growth over …
Soft surprise supports our view that inflation will fall below 2.0% in April By staying at 4.0% in January rather than rising as widely expected (BoE 4.1%, CE 4.1%, consensus 4.2%), January’s UK CPI inflation figures are better than expected and do not …
Today’s hotter-than-expected US inflation data makes for another bump in the road for US bond and equity markets. But we think a full-scale return to the bad old days of the 2021-23 inflation scare is unlikely, and that the US equity market will continue …
13th February 2024
Current fixed mortgage rates of around 4.6% are based on investors’ forecast that Bank Rate will be cut from 5.25% to 4.50% by the end of the year. We think that rates will be reduced a bit faster than that, in which case further declines in mortgage …
We will be discussing whether the next government will move the dial on the economy in a 20-minute online briefing at 3pm GMT on Wednesday 13th March. (Register here .) The next general election won’t be as pivotal for the economy or the markets as the …
With the UK’s two main parties not-so-quietly campaigning for a general election expected to be held before the end of this year, our UK Economics team held this special briefing on what to expect. During this session the team took questions from the …
Above-target inflation to keep NBR in a hawkish mood The National Bank of Romania (NBR) left its policy rate on hold at 7.00% again today and, while interest rate cuts are likely to start around mid-year, we think that monetary easing will be less …
Core CPI boosted by strange-looking acceleration in OER The unexpectedly-strong 0.4% m/m increase in core CPI prices in January will feed the “last mile is the hardest” narrative – with core CPI inflation unchanged at 3.9% – but, other than a very …
Chairman Thomas Jordan’s recent comments about the franc raise questions over whether the SNB might use FX interventions to loosen monetary conditions. But we think policymakers will use the policy rate as the main tool to achieve price stability, and …
Sharp fall in Swiss inflation reinforces our view that rates will be cut in March The large decrease in headline inflation in Switzerland in January means the inflation rate looks sure to undershoot the SNB’s Q1 forecast of 1.8%. Along with the fall in …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Wage growth easing a bit slower While wage growth fell further in December, evidence that the labour market may not be loosening much suggests wage growth may not fall as fast as …
The ways things are going, our upbeat forecast for the S&P 500 of 5,500 at the end of this year may be realised in a matter of months . We doubt the rally would end there, though. Admittedly, we might be inclined in that event to pencil in an earlier end …
12th February 2024
We think the huge expansion in nickel supply will keep the market balance in a sizeable surplus this year. Accordingly, we don’t think the price will muster a recovery from its recent slump. The nickel price has been under consistent downward pressure …
Speculation will inevitably build that a Donald Trump victory in this year’s presidential election would be followed, once again, by large-scale tax cuts. With the Federal budget outlook in a far worse position than back in 2017, however, it’s notable …
A key point that stands out from the raft of EM central bank decisions over the past couple of weeks is that policymakers are focussed much more on domestically-generated price pressures than the Fed. We expect a pivot towards monetary easing in the …
Moody’s downgrade of Pemex at the end of last week reinforces the view we set out last year that the next government in Mexico will prove to be less supportive of the troubled state energy company. Ultimately, we think this will force Pemex to seek a …
Strong January lending growth not a sign of recovery yet There was a surprisingly sharp increase in the amount of outstanding commercial real estate (CRE) debt held by commercial banks in January, which rose by $10.7bn, the largest monthly increase …
