The attack by Hamas on Israel on Saturday has led to widespread casualties and deaths, and the declaration of war by Israel’s prime minister. From an economic perspective, the experience from the 2014 Gaza war suggests that the effects on Israel’s economy …
9th October 2023
A strong September headline payrolls number whipsawed global bond markets on Friday but the net result was that yields ended the week at post-GFC highs. According to the financial commentariat, this is all part of the pain of adjusting to a “higher for …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Weakness in German industry to continue The further drop in German industrial production in August was better than it looked as it was driven by volatile components. However, it …
Our latest Chart Pack on Japan's economy is embedded below. With the economy growing at an above-trend pace, the labour market should soon start to tighten again. There are mounting signs that a virtuous cycle between wages and prices is starting to form …
That September US payrolls report has triggered renewed selling in global bond markets. With yields threatening to hit fresh multi-year highs and investors scrambling for reasons behind the sell-off, Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing and Deputy Chief …
7th October 2023
Bond Market Sell-Off …
6th October 2023
The US stock market has rallied so far today and is on track to bring to an end a spell of weekly losses. Although we think that the proximate cause of this recent weakness – rising bond yields – has largely run its course, we don’t expect the fortunes of …
Remarkably, the dollar may be about the lose its record streak of weekly gains despite a strong US payrolls report . (See Chart 1.) While the initial reaction to today’s data was another jump in the greenback, it has since given back that gain, and those …
The further rise in home listings in September and likelihood that mortgage rates will increase amid the global bond market sell-off suggests that house prices will soon fall again. While employment rose strongly in September, the fall in hours worked …
Nigeria: labour strike averted at a cost Nigeria avoided a potentially disruptive workers’ strike this week after the government made a late offer of short term relief measures, but these risk adding to fiscal and inflationary pressures. Unions had called …
Feeling the spillovers… Latin America has been far from immune from spillovers from the sell-off in global bond markets. (For more on the impact on the global economy, see here .) Like in DMs, local currency bond yields in the region have risen sharply, …
Rising long rates a fiscal rather than monetary problem Surge in long yields not all due to higher for longer The conventional wisdom is that the recent surge in Treasury yields is a reaction to the Fed’s “higher for longer” message. But that surge has …
It has been a week of declines for most commodity prices, as commodities were caught up in the more widespread selling of financial assets. (See Chart 1.) Chart 1: S&P GSCI and US 10Y Treasury Yield Sources: Refinitiv, Capital Economics Crude oil prices …
Turkey: rebalancing now underway Data releases this week finally provided some signs that Turkey’s inflation and current account problems are starting to ease. Admittedly, inflation continued to rise in September, to 61.5% y/y, from 58.9% in August. But …
The recent rise in gilt yields has been almost as fast as the political furore over the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 this week. The 30-year gilt yield rose from 4.68% at the start of last week to a 20-year high of 5.06% at the time of writing …
We expect the euro-zone economy to struggle over the next 18 months, and a mild recession in the coming quarters looks more likely than not. Headline and core inflation should keep falling, but the labour market will remain tight, keeping wage growth …
Wage pressures easing This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The strong headline employment gain in September was entirely due to a rebound in educational services employment, with employment elsewhere edging down. …
Despite strong payrolls, wage growth continues to slow The surprisingly strong 336,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in September adds to the evidence on real activity that the economy is holding up well despite the headwind from higher interest rates. …
What to make of the bond market sell-off? We have covered the implications of the bond sell-off for the global economy here . Three additional points are worth making in relation to the euro-zone. First, the increase in yields and associated tightening of …
Limited macro fallout from weakening rupee The sell-off in global bond markets has caused currencies, including the rupee, to come under pressure this week. The rupee is now at 83.2/$, hovering close to record lows. It could even have posted new lows but, …
PBOC not letting its guard down The yield on 10-year US Treasuries surged to a 16-year high this week. We covered the potential implications for the global economy here . But one of the more immediate consequences has been downward pressure on many EM …
Becoming liable for the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) would nullify any cost-reduction benefit from a lower carbon price for UK companies that trade closely with the EU. That said, the CBAM would have less impact on domestically-focused …
The government bond sell-off over the past three months raises uncomfortable questions around the risks of financial instability and the outlook for fiscal policy. This note takes stock of what has driven the rise in long-term sovereign bond yields and …
Singapore’s struggling economy Singapore’s economy has struggled in recent quarters, and only narrowly avoided falling into recession in Q2. Preliminary GDP figures to be published on Friday are likely to show the weakness continued in the third …
The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected and continued to strike a hawkish tone despite the recent easing in inflation. Indeed, it even raised the possibility of open-market bond sales to drain excess liquidity. There is a significant …
Near-term momentum in house prices is downwards The sixth consecutive monthly decline in the Halifax House Price Index in September leaves it significantly more downbeat than the Nationwide figures about near-term momentum in house prices. Given the …
RBI stands firm in fight against inflation The RBI kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% today as expected and continued to strike a hawkish tone despite the recent easing in headline inflation. There is still a significant risk of the easing cycle that we …
One more hike for good measure On Tuesday new RBA Governor Michele Bullock began her tenure not with a bang but with a whimper, by leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.10%. What’s more, the statement accompanying the policy decision gave few indications …
Bond market sell-off pushes yen to one-year low The big event this week was the sharp fall in the yen after it breached 150 against the dollar while Tokyo was asleep in the early hours of Wednesday. Government officials have refused to comment on …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Regular wage growth set to remain strong Regular earnings growth remained strong in August and with the labour market set to tighten, it could yet accelerate further. Growth in …
Sub-Saharan African central banks are unlikely to follow their peers in other EMs in cutting interest rates soon. With inflation falling more slowly, alongside balance of payment and public debt strains, interest rates will stay high for longer. Nigeria …
5th October 2023
The trend of rapid increases in industrial metals supply this year is likely to unwind over the next few years for copper, but we think nickel supply growth will remain robust. We think that divergence will be a key reason why the price of copper will …
While we think the risk of a material increase in euro-zone “peripheral” spreads has risen, our central forecast remains that they will end 2024 a bit below their current levels. Last week, long-dated euro-zone peripheral bond yields reached highs not …
The ‘higher for longer’ narrative on interest rates that is baked into market pricing is at odds with evidence of widespread falls in inflation. Higher oil prices mean that fuel inflation will be a bit higher than seemed likely a few months ago. But the …
A laundry list of explanations has been provided for the surge in the term premia of Treasuries since mid-year, which has accounted for more than ~100bp rise in the 10-year yield based on the ACM model estimate. (See Chart 1.) One explanation that doesn’t …
Al-Sisi confirms his running; UAE opens swap line Egypt’s incumbent President al-Sisi has confirmed he will run for re-election in December in a race that he is almost certain to win. The policy paralysis induced by this election has prompted central …
Surge in exports an upside risk to preliminary GDP estimate Exports rose by far more than imports in August, even as the latter benefited more from the fading disruption from the earlier BC port strikes. That suggests there are upside risks to the …
Q3 exports rebound, but outlook remains weak The trade deficit narrowed to a three-year low of $58.3bn in August, from $64.7bn, as exports increased by $4.1bn or (+1.6% m/m) and imports declined by $2.3bn (-0.7% m/m). The gain in exports was driven by a …
NBR holding firm in inflation fight The National Bank of Romania (NBR) kept its main policy rate unchanged at 7.00% today, and we expect policy to remain on hold into next year. The NBR will be the last in Central and Eastern Europe to start cutting …
Rising food prices have already led to upside inflation surprises in parts of Asia, and central banks in the region are likely to ease policy later than their EM peers. But inflation should eventually resume its downward path and, once it does, policy …
Equities in the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods industry have fared quite poorly recently, which has weighed on the luxury-heavy French stock market. But while they might underperform a bit more in the near-term, we suspect that they will recover next …
We expect any rise in bond yields to be gradual and don’t believe it will create major economic or market dislocation. But there are risks that the Bank of Japan loses control over longer-term yields . A rapid surge in bond yields would threaten the …
The central bank (CBSL) today cut interest rates by a further 100bps. With inflation low and the economy still very depressed, further easing is likely over the coming months. Today’s 100bps cuts take the lending and deposit rates to 10% and 11% …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Construction PMI falls below 50 as commercial balance plunges The decline in the headline CIPS construction PMI from 50.8 in August to 45.0 in September took it below the 50 …
We think the yields of 10-year government bonds in Australia, New Zealand and Canada will diverge from the yield of 10-year US Treasuries – which they have tracked very closely this year – over time, with bonds in all three countries outperforming those …
The latest activity data from Korea were downbeat. Although industrial production grew strongly, the manufacturing PMIs, along with the export figures and retail sales data, all point to continued weakness. However, with inflation rising again last month, …
Australian economy braces for weaker growth Data released today reaffirm our view that the Australian economy is on shaky ground. To start with, trade data suggest that net exports will have become a drag on GDP growth in Q3. The trade surplus widened …
The sell-off in bond markets has taken a breather today, helped in part by softer data on the US labour market. However, the scale of the moves over the past week has invoked comparisons to previous financial crises that have been caused by sharp moves in …
4th October 2023
IWG’s record revenues in the first half of this year may suggest that flexible offices are the answer for many firms as hybrid working cements itself as the ‘new normal’. However, we don’t think current flexible offices currently offer the right product …
