Higher levels of housebuilding is a prize that both Labour and the Conservatives seek, evidenced by the identical target of building 300,000 new homes a year published in their manifestos this week. (You can see all of our election analysis here , and …
14th June 2024
The focus this week has been on the fallout of the European elections in France because there is a real chance that the parliamentary elections, to be held on 30 th June and 7 th July, will lead to a government led by the far-right Rassemblement National …
Credit growth bottoming out thanks to fiscal support Bank loan growth in China was the slowest on record in May, but accelerated government bond issuance helped broader credit growth edge up. Fiscal loosening should support further gains in the near term. …
Malaysia subsidy cuts to push up inflation Headline inflation in Malaysia has been among the lowest in Asia but that is soon set to change. Long-planned subsidy cuts aimed at improving the public finances started this week when the government lowered …
Still a bright future in Europe China protested the European Commission’s (EC) imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs this week but, if the EU goes no further, China’s government is likely to see this as a good outcome. The European tariffs, …
Reports that the African National Congress (ANC) has reached a deal with the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) to form a “national unity” government will be welcomed by investors. If confirmed, President Ramaphosa’s broad policy agenda, centred around …
Prime Minister Modi’s third term got underway this week with the selection of the new cabinet. 25 of 30 cabinet ministers are unchanged from the previous government, including all of those in key roles. (The remaining five spots have been freed up for the …
Will the outcome of the UK general election move the dial on the UK economic outlook? How much would a Labour government deviate from Conservative economic policy? What does a change of government mean for the UK’s financial and housing markets? Our UK …
The Bank of Japan disappointed markets today by announcing that it will only present a detailed plan for reducing its bond purchases at its July meeting. We think it will also deliver a final policy rate hike then . Today’s BoJ meeting was a damp squib . …
This page has been updated since publication with additional analysis. Rise in core inflation likely to be temporary The Riksbank’s target measure of inflation, CPIF, remained at 2.3% in May, but the core measure (CPIF excluding energy) rose slightly for …
BoJ pledges to unveil taper plans next month With the Bank of Japan today disappointing financial markets by delaying any announcement on the reduction of its bond purchases to its July meeting, 10-year JGB yields initially dropped by around 5bp and …
Underlying price pressures will abate only slowly When Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick unveiled the state government’s 2024/25 Budget, he made no pretence about his desire to prime the pump in the run the up to local elections in October. The Budget …
Bank will deliver a final rate hike in July The Bank of Japan announced today that it will present a detailed plan for reducing its bond purchases at the upcoming meeting in July and we think it will also deliver a final policy rate hike then. Around …
BoE watching and waiting for more evidence that inflation will settle at the 2% target But a summer rate cut is more likely than investors expect We think rates will be cut to 3.00% next year, below current market pricing of 4.00% Far more interesting …
13th June 2024
The US economy has persistently outperformed its peers for over a century, and as our Spotlight series argues, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. More recently, the US has also benefited from securing low-cost energy supplies. But these …
Although falling Treasury yields may continue to exert some downward pressure on Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields, we don’t think that will drive them much lower by the end of the year. The rollercoaster ride that Treasury yields have been on since …
The latest Crane Survey reported that a record high 16.4m sq. ft. of London office space was under construction in Q1. That in part reflects developers delaying projects until the demand outlook becomes more certain. But a decent level of new starts also …
We are retaining our forecast that the 10-year Treasury yield will fall to 4.0% by the end of this year. That reflects our expectation that the Fed will pursue a slightly looser conventional monetary policy than the one discounted in the financial markets …
While what’s in and what’s out of the election manifestos is informative, the bigger issue is whether the next government delivers or deviates from its manifesto. This Update sketches out three plausible scenarios and the possible implications for the …
The SNB is likely to keep rates on hold at 1.5% at its meeting next week as inflation in Q2 so far has been in line with the its forecast in March. Moreover, the latest data on wage growth were much stronger than ahead of the March meeting, which we think …
Norges Bank will leave its policy rate at 4.5% next week and reiterate that rate cuts are some way off. We think it will wait until December to start loosening monetary policy. As a reminder, the press release following Norges Bank’s meeting in May said …
NB. Our new and improved interactive Europe Commercial Property dashboard, home to key macro and commercial real estate forecasts, can be found here . Overview – The price correction showed signs of stabilisation in early 2024, but we think further, …
Morocco: riding the EV wave Morocco’s domestic auto industry has boomed over the past decade and is drawing investment from major firms in Europe and China. With plans to more than double output in the coming years, the sector is likely to provide a …
Soft PPI adds to the better inflation news With the May producer price data also coming in weaker than expected, we now estimate that the core PCE deflator increased by only 0.11% m/m last month, which would take the annual core PCE inflation rate down to …
The authorities in several major emerging markets, including Egypt, Argentina and Nigeria, have taken important policy steps recently that may allow them to ease restrictions on access to foreign currency. But we don’t think that this is the start of a …
China’s rapid uptake of clean power means that it is on track to overachieve on its target of reaching peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030. That said, the pace of decline will be slow at first, not least because it will probably take time for …
We doubt the outcome of the UK’s general election will have a big impact on UK equities in general. Nonetheless, we still expect them to continue to underperform US equities. We don’t think the Labour Party’s return to power – which the polls suggest is …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Output fell and outlook for industry is poor The 0.1% m/m decrease in euro-zone industrial production in April was slightly weaker than the published consensus forecast of 0.2% …
With economic activity strengthening across Emerging Europe and inflationary pressures resurfacing in several countries, we think that the scope for monetary easing in the region this year is relatively narrow. Our interest rate forecasts in most …
Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) left its main policy rate unchanged today (at 2.0%), and with growth set to remain strong we expect rates to remain on hold throughout 2024 and 2025. In contrast, the consensus is expecting rate cuts next year. The decision to …
Faltering demand and rising supply mean prices will slip back The May RICS survey was the weakest so far this year, as new demand faltered and sales slowed. With the quantity of homes coming onto the market increasing at the same time, prices are likely …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Although the unemployment rate fell anew in May, leading indicators continued to point to a marked rise in the months ahead. All told, the data suggest that the RBA will remain …
Fed projects one cut this year, but notes inflation progress The median FOMC projection now shows only one 25bp rate cut this year, but it was a relatively close run thing. Four officials expect no cut this year, a further seven anticipate one cut, while …
12th June 2024
Fed forecasts one rate cut this year, but notes inflation progress This publication was resent to correct the error in the headline in an earlier version. The median FOMC projection now shows only one 25bp rate cut this year, but it was a relatively close …
Today’s release of the US CPI data for May offered some respite in markets after last Friday’s stronger-than-expected May payrolls data. On balance, we continue to anticipate that the Fed will eventually cut by a bit more than what is currently priced …
Global Economics Chart Pack (June 2024) …
The green transition and the accompanying rollout of renewables means that global coal demand could peak this year, followed by oil around 2030. Meanwhile, the importance of natural gas as a transition fuel means that it will peak a few years later around …
Although the EUR/USD exchange rate is not far above multi-decade lows, we think structural factors mean that the euro is close to “fair value” relative to the US dollar and most other major currencies. So we doubt the euro will rebound against the dollar …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Inflation cooler than most expected Consumer price inflation came in cooler than most expected last month, which should reassure the RBI as it considers when to begin its easing …
First month of target-consistent price data this year Core CPI increased by a more modest 0.2%m/m in May and, although we still need to see the PPI data tomorrow, it looks like core PCE, the Fed's preferred inflation metric, increased by significantly …
The current fiscal framework is not perfect and could be reformed to improve investor confidence in the management of the public finances, tilt the composition of spending towards investment and reduce political uncertainty. However, the importance of the …
EU protecting domestic producers but not ending Chinese EV imports Reports that the European Commission will “provisionally apply” additional duties of up to 25% on imports of EVs from China from July, on top of the 10% tariff already in place, are in …
BoT on hold, but cuts likely later in the year Thailand’s central bank (BoT) today left interest rates unchanged and appeared in no rush to loosen policy. We think the weakness of the economy and very low inflation will persuade the central bank to …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Despite stagnating in April, economy will be a tailwind for the next govt The stagnation in GDP in April (consensus 0.0%, CE -0.1%) doesn’t mean the economic recovery has been …
While the official job openings figures have fallen since late-2022, the bulk of the evidence suggests that firms are facing increasingly severe job shortages. One explanation for the fall in job vacancies could be a change in firms’ recruitment …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Producer prices will likely fall again soon due to overcapacity Producer prices picked up for the first time in eight months and consumer price inflation held steady in May. We …
France’s National Rally has advocated policies that would increase the budget deficit and provoke clashes with the EU. During the election campaign, it will probably moderate these views, but the chance of France reducing its deficit to 3% of GDP by 2027, …
11th June 2024
NB. Our new and improved interactive US Commercial Property dashboard, home to key macro and commercial real estate forecasts, can be found here . Overview – The market remains in the doldrums, with the mood negative and activity weak. We think this …
We think that China’s “tech” equities could resume their rally, but that they’re unlikely to see anything like the gains their developed market peers have. China’s tech sectors fared better than most of its equities today, falling only a little amid a …
