Labour market tightening on hold, soaring inflation to drag retail sales The unemployment rate stayed unchanged in October and will hover around 2.5% through 2023 due to a looming economic recession. Meanwhile, retail sales values barely grew in October …
29th November 2022
Soaring inflation weighing on retail sales Retail sales values barely grew in October from September and soaring inflation points to risks that growth will remain muted this quarter. Growth in retail sales values slowed sharply from 1.5% m/m to 0.2% m/m …
Halt to labour market tightening as recession looms The unemployment rate stayed unchanged in August and will hover around 2.5% through 2023 due to a looming economic recession. The job-to-applicant ratio rose from 1.34 to 1.35, the highest it has been …
28th November 2022
The Euro-zone’s Economic Sentiment Index is likely to have remained very weak (10.00 GMT) We think Germany’s HICP inflation stayed at 11.6% in November (13.00 GMT) Canada’s GDP growth probably slowed to 1.6% annualised in the third quarter (13.30 GMT) …
Trade is beginning to slow as the world heads into a recession. In real terms, world trade barely rose in September, and timelier data from Asian economies suggest outright falls are imminent. Falling export orders and shipping costs point to a further …
Overview – The surge in interest rates in recent months has quickly been reflected in property yields, and as a result we have brought forward some of our forecasted rise in yields from 2023 into 2022. But with gilts yields set to fall back next year we …
The authorities will not allow a protest movement to occupy China’s streets for any length of time. If the protests continue, a crackdown is very likely. They have no good options in the near-term to address protestors’ demands: relaxation of strict COVID …
Warning lights flashing red despite solid activity data Despite the recent resilience of the hard economic data, the most reliable forward-looking indicators suggest that a recession is unavoidable – our six-month ahead composite model puts the odds at …
We think the stretched valuations of Indian equities compared to those elsewhere will prevent the standout performance of Indian equities seen so far in 2022 being sustained over the longer run. The performance of India’s stock market has been fairly …
Global biofuel production unlikely to ramp up anytime soon … … as governments instead prioritise EVs as the future of green transport. As such, elevated food prices shouldn’t be exacerbated by biofuels competing for crops. Global food prices are at …
Chief Property Economist Andrew Burrell and Andrew Wishart , who leads our UK housing coverage, held a briefing on the shape of the coming downturn in the UK housing market. During this 20-minute session, the team answered client questions including: …
The Thanksgiving holiday marks the point in the calendar where sell-side economists start to think about their “what to expect next year” pieces. We’ll be publishing our own contributions over the coming weeks, and will be hosting Drop-Ins for clients to …
RBA will keep hiking for now despite consumption slowdown Following a strong eight consecutive rises since the start of the year, the decline in retail sales in October isn’t a disaster. A fall in sales volumes across Q4 now looks very likely but we …
RBA to keep hiking for now despite slowdown in consumption Following eight consecutive rises since the start of the year, the decline in retail sales in October isn’t a disaster. A fall in sales volumes across Q4 now looks very likely but we suspect that …
There have been a few developments this week that have exacerbated downside risks to our current commodity price forecasts. First, new COVID-19 cases continued to surge to record highs in China, increasing the possibility of harsh widespread lockdowns . …
25th November 2022
With China now battling its most widespread COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic, the country and its economy face a dire few weeks. As a result, China’s demand for oil will come under pressure, and potentially its demand for natural gas and …
Euro-zone inflation may have risen again this month (Wed.) November’s US ISM manufacturing survey probably dropped below 50 (Thu.) We think US non-farm payrolls rose by a more modest 175,000 in November (Fri.) Key Market Themes Chinese equities have …
Untangling Ghana’s fiscal mess? Official statements this week by the authorities in Ghana signalled commitment to restoring fiscal and debt sustainability, and left little doubt that this will include a sovereign debt restructuring. Finance Minister Ken …
We doubt the recent outperformance of equities vis-à-vis government bonds in the US will persist over the next three to six months, given our view that the economy there is heading for a mild recession in the spring of next year. We do think, however, it …
The US dollar came under renewed pressure and is set to end the week lower against most major currencies. To a large extent, this weakness came in response to surprisingly strong durable goods data easing recession fears, as well as the minutes from the …
Banxico tightening debate set to heat up Data and developments this week suggest that the debate at Banxico over when to end the tightening cycle is set to heat up. The risks are tilting towards rates rising a bit more than we currently expect. …
G7 oil price cap losing some of its bite Details about a potential price cap on Russian oil this week of $65-70pb are bringing us to the view that it won’t have much of an immediate impact on Russia. We think the combination of the EU oil embargo and the …
ECB officials were out in force again this week, disseminating clues about the size of the next rate hike and their plans on quantitative tightening (QT). Their comments suggest that a slowdown in the pace of tightening, from a 75bp to a 50bp hike, …
Research from the Bank of Canada suggests that half of all variable-rate, fixed-payment mortgage holders have now hit their so-called trigger rates, which means their payments will rise. This is one factor weighing on spending, with retail sales volumes …
Recent data releases suggest the global economy is holding up better than anticipated by gloomy forecasts (including ours). But it's far too soon to breathe a sigh of relief. In this latest episode of The Weekly Briefing, Group Chief Economist Neil …
China’s dominance in the supply of some key materials needed for the green transition means that tracking imports of certain goods from the country can offer a timely, albeit imperfect, window into the rollout of renewable technology elsewhere – …
Download the PDF for the full report here . Our Long Run Returns Monitor provides our updated long-term projected returns for major asset classes, as well as a summary of the macroeconomic forecasts which underpin them. All projections in this publication …
Over a year ago, we warned that surging shipping costs posed an upside risk to inflation going into 2022, and it looks like these risks did indeed materialise. But now that global shipping costs have collapsed, we expect them to drag down on inflation …
Warmer words in US-China relations There has been a palpable easing of strains between China and the West since the cordial meeting last week between Xi and Biden . Xi agreed to restart the high-level talks that China halted when Nancy Pelosi visited …
Strike highlights need for labour market reform The costs of a strike by Korean truck drivers – the second this year – are starting to mount, with steel and cement producers reporting disruption. The Korean government estimated that the economic losses …
Most developed market (DM) government bonds and equity benchmarks have rallied over the past month or so, but we doubt this twin rally will persist. While we think bond yields will end 2023 lower than they are now as inflationary pressures ease, we expect …
Foreign visitor numbers jump but services struggle Japan received 461,000 foreign visitors in October (seasonally adjusted), almost double the September figure. This is helping businesses in accommodation and transport, which media reports say are …
The most eye-catching statistic published this week was the net migration into the UK of 504,000 people in the year to June 2022. That’s a record high. It continued the recent trend of net inflows from the non-EU and net outflows to the EU. And it …
Riksbank has further to go This week’s 75bp hike by the Riksbank was in line with expectations, and the Bank’s new projections took its policy rate forecast closer to ours. (See here .) The higher interest rate path – despite Stefan Ingves’s suggestion …
As China's new infection numbers hit a record, its zero-COVID policy is coming under severe strain. Despite hopes that the government would be moving away from the controversial policy, more and more cities across China are being locked down as …
The Treasury has started to make payments to the Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility (APF) to cover the losses it has racked up because of the Bank of England’s gilt purchases. While this won’t force the Chancellor to tighten fiscal policy …
The reduction in the required reserve ratio (RRR) that the PBOC just announced will help banks follow through on a directive to defer loan repayments from firms struggling with widening lockdown restrictions. Market interest rates may also edge down as a …
RBNZ willing to send New Zealand into recession While the analyst consensus is that New Zealand will generate decent GDP growth of just under 2% next year, we already predicted last month that the economy will enter recession. And with the RBNZ this week …
Manufacturing powerhouse takes to the polls We’ve previously written at length about why state elections in India matter for economic policy . The upcoming vote in Gujarat – due to take place between 1 st and 5 th December with results expected on the 8 …
Nationwide inflation to rise further and drag spending growth Headline inflation in the capital set a new three-decade high in November on aggressive rises in food inflation excluding fresh food and industrial goods inflation. The upshot is that …
Tokyo prices point to further rises in nationwide inflation Headline inflation in the capital set a new three-decade high in November on aggressive rises in food inflation excluding fresh food and industrial goods inflation. The upshot is that nationwide …
24th November 2022
OPEC+ schisms growing as Saudi doubles down The volatility of oil prices has highlighted the uncertainty over the current OPEC+ oil output agreement and adds to our view that we do not think it will make it to its end-2023 expiry date. The price of Brent …
A fall in Tokyo’s inflation might suggest that Japan’s national inflation has peaked (Thu.) Catch up on today’s Asia Macro Drop-In, and all our Drop-Ins, here … …or check out our Weekly Briefing podcast episodes here Key Market Themes Despite the …
The big surprise so far this year has been the resilience of housing starts which, despite falling from their 10-month high of 300,000 annualised in September, remained at a relatively strong 267,000 in October. While developers have largely shrugged …
Inflation appears to have finally peaked for emerging markets – but how quickly will price pressures now ease, and what will that mean for the 2023 outlook? In December's monthly dive into the big stories in EM macro and markets, economists from across …
Today’s decision in South Africa to raise the benchmark rate by 75bp, to 7.00%, signalled that policymakers remain in inflation-fighting mode and the tightening cycle has further to run. That said, the balance on the MPC appears to be shifting towards …
Growing domestic and external headwinds have taken a bigger toll on the region’s economies in recent months, with growth slowing sharply in Turkey and Israel in Q3 and GDP contracting outright in Czechia, Hungary and Latvia. Admittedly, there have been …
ECB account gives little away on next steps There are no significant clues in the account of the ECB’s October meeting about the pace and extent to which the Bank will raise interest rates in December and next year. A 50bp hike seems most likely next …
