Overview – The recent resilience of economic activity in Latin America will not last and we think that growth will slow by more than most expect in 2023. Having been among the first to tighten monetary policy last year and with interest rates well above …
7th December 2022
Overview – 2023 will be a tough year for the economy as the effects of the previous rises in inflation and previous hikes in interest rates (as well as a future rise from 3.00% now to a peak of 4.50% in early 2023) are felt. Our view that inflation and …
Data over the past month have brought the clearest signs yet that inflation is starting to ease. Our estimate of world CPI inflation fell for the first time in 15 months in October, from 7.9% to 7.7%. Of course, that is still a very high rate, but there …
Global risk appetite has improved in recent weeks, easing some of the strains in EMs. But economic and financial vulnerabilities in EMs are larger going into 2023 than they were at this point last year. More Frontier Markets are likely to join Sri Lanka …
As the authorities in Ghana take further steps towards a debt restructuring, in this Update we take stock of the latest developments and their economic implications. The twists and turns of Ghana’s unfolding economic crisis as well as policymakers’ …
Headline inflation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will peak in most countries in the next few months, at around 20% y/y, and should fall to single-digits across the region by end-2023. But we think this initial large disinflation process will give …
German industrial output resilient but still set for contraction German industrial production once again held up better than expected in October. But this resilience was driven partly by a recovery in construction which tends to be volatile. We still …
Sharp drop confirms that house price correction has begun The largest monthly fall in the Halifax house price index since October 2008 confirms that the house price correction that we forecast has begun. While mortgage rates have fallen back somewhat in …
German industrial output resilient but still set for contraction German industrial production once again held up better than expected in October. But this resilience was driven partly by a recovery in construction which tends to be volatile. We expect …
The RBI slowed the pace of monetary tightening with a 35bp hike to the repo rate (to 6.25%) and, with headline inflation set to ease further and growth entering a softer patch, we think the central bank will call a halt to tightening in February. Further …
RBI slows the pace of tightening The RBI slowed the pace of monetary tightening with a 35bp hike to the repo rate (to 6.25%) and, with headline inflation set to ease further and growth entering a softer patch, we think the central bank will call a halt to …
Exports to shrink further as global recession looms Chinese exports contracted year-on-year in November by the most since the start of the pandemic and imports dropped at the fastest pace in 30 months. We expect outbound shipments to fall further over the …
Exports set to shrink further as global recession looms Chinese exports contracted year-on-year in November by the most since the start of the pandemic and imports dropped at the fastest pace in 30 months. We expect outbound shipments to fall further over …
Economy will come to a standstill next year The decent rise in Q3 GDP probably marks the last hurrah for Australia’s economy as tighter monetary policy and falling real incomes weigh on spending . The 0.6% q/q increase in Q3 GDP was a touch weaker than …
GDP growth will come to a standstill next year The decent rise in Q3 GDP probably marks the last hurrah for Australia’s economy as tighter monetary policy and falling real incomes weigh on spending. The 0.6% q/q increase in Q3 GDP was a touch weaker than …
Germany’s industrial output probably contracted by 0.5% m/m in October (07.00 GMT) We expect China’s exports to have fallen by 5.5% y/y due to cooling global demand We think the Bank of Canada will hike rates by 25bp, while Poland’s central bank stays …
6th December 2022
The better-than-expected 263,000 gain in non-farm payroll employment suggests it’s still the best of times in the labour market but, digging below the surface, there are worrying signs that it could be the worst of times soon. Although non-farm payroll …
Export volumes struggling despite boost from agricultural sector The essentially unchanged level of export volumes in October, despite big gains in agricultural and pharmaceutical exports, suggests the sector is struggling amid weaker global demand. …
Property valuation scores fell further in Q3 as rises in alternative asset yields outweighed the marginal increase in all-property yields, but alternative asset yields have dropped back in Q4 to-date, meaning we may have reached a trough. (See Chart 1.) …
Deficit widens on shift in pharmaceutical trade The trade deficit widened to $78.2bn in October, from $74.1bn, as the weakness in global demand began to weigh on exports, which declined by $1.9bn. At the same time, imports increased by $2.4bn, as a …
Export volumes struggling despite boost from agricultural sector The essentially unchanged level of export volumes in October, despite a big boost from higher agricultural exports, suggests that the sector is beginning to struggle amid weaker external …
Deficit widens on shift in pharmaceutical trade The trade deficit widened to $78.2bn in October, from $74.1bn, as the weakness in global demand began to weigh on exports, which declined by $1.9bn. At the same time, imports increased by 2.4bn, as a further …
President-elect Lula’s plans to increase spending could raise Brazil’s public debt ratio by an additional 10% of GDP by the end of his presidential term in 2026. And while it seems likely that these plans will get diluted in congress, they still …
Headline index starts to fall as recession cuts demand As expected, the headline CIPS construction index retreated in November as falling demand outweighed the benefit of easing prices and an increase in the availability of contractors. As the recession …
Foreign capital inflows into EMs picked up sharply over the past month amidst improved investor risk appetite and a depreciating US dollar. But there are signs in the very latest data points that flows into both equity and bonds have eased a little. If …
Strong rebound, but signs of underlying weakness South Africa’s economy rebounded in Q3, with a 1.6% q/q expansion, but the underlying picture was less rosy as growth was supported by a build-up of inventories; household spending contracted . Persistent …
We are nudging up our euro-zone GDP forecast slightly to reflect the small improvement in the economic data in recent months and an easing of the energy crisis. Nonetheless, we still think euro-zone GDP will contract much more than the consensus …
The RBA today hiked the cash rate by 25bp as widely anticipated and while the statement was marginally less hawkish, we’re sticking to our view that the Bank will lift the cash rate to 3.85% by April. The Bank’s decision to lift the cash rate from 2.85% …
RBA not backing away from rate hikes just yet The RBA today hiked the cash rate by 25bp as widely anticipated and while the statement was marginally less hawkish, we’re sticking to our view that the Bank will lift rates to 3.85% by April. The Bank’s …
Household real incomes to fall in 2023 despite energy subsidies Labour cash earnings increased by a slower 1.8% y/y in October due mostly to a much smaller gain in volatile bonus payments. However, real wage losses have extended for a seventh consecutive …
Regular earnings growth to maintain quicker pace Labour cash earnings increased by a slower 1.8% in October due mostly to a much smaller gain in volatile bonus payments. Regular earnings held steady due to high inflation and the boost from the reopening, …
5th December 2022
Overview – We think slower global economic activity and a somewhat stronger US dollar will weigh on commodities prices in the coming months. However, the recession should prove relatively shallow and we expect prices to be picking up in late 2023, boosted …
The last big central bank decisions of 2022 resulted in another batch of hefty rate hikes – if smaller than recent – but also provided important signals about the direction of policymaking in the coming year. Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing and …
We think the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike the cash rate by 25bp (03.30 GMT) The US international trade deficit probably widened sharply in October (13.30 GMT) Clients can sign-up here for a Drop In on our inflation outlook for the US and …
Activity still holding up, for now The rebound in the ISM services index to 56.5 in November, from 54.4, leaves it consistent with the recent consumption data in pointing to decent activity growth in the fourth quarter. But we suspect that resilience will …
Overview – We expect the lagged impact of higher interest rates to push the real economy into a mild recession next year. Although that downturn will be accompanied by only a modest rebound in the unemployment rate, we expect both headline and core …
A recurring fear in sell-side research and market commentary this year has been that a combination of tightening by the Federal Reserve and a strong US dollar will precipitate a wave of debt crises in emerging markets. It’s a fear that has been misplaced; …
Households cutting back amid high inflation The sharp drop in euro-zone retail spending in October is consistent with our view that – notwithstanding the slight uptick in some business surveys recently – the economy is entering recession. With …
This page has been updated with additional analysis and chart. Gulf non-oil sectors ending 2022 on a strong note November’s batch of PMIs provide further evidence that the non-oil sectors in the Gulf economies are rounding off the year on a strong …
The proposed caps on domestic prices of thermal coal and natural gas are unlikely to be a major drag on mining investment because the bulk of coal and gas production is exported. And by helping to reduce inflation, they will allow the RBA to keep monetary …
Overview – The global downturn will pull Japan into recession next year. And with government caps on utility bills pushing inflation below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target by mid-2023, the Bank will remain the outlier by keeping monetary policy loose. Key …
South Africa’s political turmoil that severely endangered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s position has already shaken the country’s financial markets. In p art, this is related to the prospect of the ruling party attempting to shore up its dwindling support …
2nd December 2022
Commodity prices generally rose this week as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments that smaller interest rate rises were likely led to a depreciation in the US dollar. Prices were also supported by news that China would relax some pandemic-related …
Today’s US non-farm payrolls data provided some relief to the US dollar, but it still looks set to end the week lower against most major currencies. This weakness mostly reflects the market reaction to Fed Chair Powell’s much-anticipated speech on …
Euro-zone retail sales may have fallen in October (Mon.) We except another hike from central banks in Australia (Tue.), India and Peru… (Wed.) … while banks in Chile (Tue.), Poland and Brazil will probably keep rates unchanged (Wed.) Key Market Themes …
The national accounts data provided two pieces of good news this week, with revisions to the historical series and stronger-than-expected third-quarter growth leaving GDP higher than expected. While some argue that this will cause the Bank of Canada to …
Better surveys, but recessions still lie in store The batch of survey data released this week for November showed improvements in various measures of economic activity across the region. The manufacturing PMIs for Poland and Russia ticked up and the EC’s …
Venezuela: a baby step towards boosting oil output A meeting between the Venezuelan government and the opposition last weekend prompted the US to take the first steps towards easing sanctions. But there’s still a long way to go before sanctions are …