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Industrial output in Germany is likely to follow November’s decline with further falls this year. While the recent fall in natural gas prices could help to stem the bleeding in the near term, energy costs are still high. And weak demand will compound …
9th January 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Euro-zone activity fell in Q4, services price pressures still look strong The data published this morning are consistent with our view that euro-zone GDP is more likely to have …
8th January 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis. Rise in Swiss inflation will be reversed in January The unexpected increase in Swiss inflation in December raises some doubt as to whether rates will be cut soon. However, we suspect that the headline …
Data released this week support our key calls on the euro-zone for the upcoming year. First, the economy looks likely to be weaker than most anticipate. Although the final euro-zone Composite PMI for December, released on Thursday, was revised up from the …
5th January 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Jump in headline inflation is just a blip December’s jump in headline inflation in the euro-zone was widely anticipated and entirely due to a base-effects driven increase in …
Rebound in inflation won’t last The jump in Germany’s headline inflation rate in December came as no surprise as it was driven by energy price subsidies introduced more than a year ago. With core inflation continuing to trend down, it should not affect …
4th January 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. PMIs point to recession The final Composite PMI for the euro-zone in December was revised up significantly from the flash estimate of 47.0 to 47.6, meaning that it was unchanged …
Data released this morning showed that bank lending in the euro-zone picked up towards the end of last year. But we doubt that this is the start of a sustained turnaround. We expect the impact of tight monetary policy to weigh on lending and keep the …
2nd January 2024
ECB is talking but investors aren’t listening This week brought more pushback from ECB policymakers against expectations for rates to start falling in the first half of next year. But investors have largely ignored them, and arguably for good reason. …
21st December 2023
The end of Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa’s time in office does not signify the end of Portugal’s impressive period of debt reduction. We think any future government is likely to exercise similar fiscal discipline while benefitting from …
20th December 2023
The goal of keeping government debt ratios stable or falling means that many euro-zone countries will need to tighten fiscal policy substantially and some will need to run primary budget surpluses for a long time to come. Italy has the most challenging …
19th December 2023
Last week, Christine Lagarde cited high wage growth and “domestic inflation” as reasons for the ECB to keep interest rates high. While domestic price pressures are easing, it will take several months for policymakers to see enough evidence that they have …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. “Rezession” to drag on The renewed decline in the Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) in December echoes the message from the Composite PMI released last week and unequivocally …
18th December 2023
ECB is not for turning… yet In contrast to the Fed, but similar to the Bank of England, this week the ECB pushed back against expectations that it would start to cut interest rates in early 2024. (See our Drop-in here .) In the ECB press conference, …
15th December 2023
The drop-back in the euro-zone Composite PMI in December provides more evidence that the economy is in recession as domestic and foreign demand contracts. The fall in the euro-zone Composite PMI from 47.6 in November to 47.0 in December left it lower than …
The ECB left interest rates on hold today and pushed back against expectations that it will start cutting rates as soon as March next year. However, we think inflation and GDP growth will be lower than the ECB forecasts next year and anticipate five 25bp …
14th December 2023
ECB holding the line for now The ECB’s decision to leave its deposit rate unchanged at 4.0% today and make only limited changes to the policy statement suggests that policymakers are pushing back against market expectations for rate cuts to begin in March …
Today’s decision by Norges Bank to hike its policy rate by 25bp to 4.50% marks the end of its tightening cycle. Looking ahead, we have pencilled in a faster pace of rate cuts next year than policymakers currently anticipate as we expect a weak economy and …
Today’s SNB decision and statement were largely in line with expectations as the policy rate was held at 1.75% and policymakers removed any mention of FX sales. We think the latter decision signals that loosening is imminent and will probably first …
Tightening cycle comes to an end Today’s decision by Norges Bank to hike its policy rate by 25bp to 4.50% marks the end of its tightening cycle. Looking ahead, we have pencilled in a faster pace of rate cuts next year than policymakers currently …
SNB leaves rates unchanged, but policy loosening is imminent The SNB kept rates on hold at 1.75% at today’s policy meeting, but the monetary policy statement was dovish as policymakers placed less emphasis on selling FX assets and reduced their inflation …
Heading in the right direction The larger-than-expected fall in all the main measures of Swedish inflation in November will not prompt the Riksbank to cut interest rates at its next meeting but it does make us more confident in our call that rate cuts …
Overview – The euro-zone will remain in or close to recession in the first half of 2024 as the effects of higher interest rates continue to weigh on household consumption and investment, and fiscal policy is tightened. Headline inflation has already …
12th December 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sticky inflation to force Norges Bank into one final hike The rise in the headline rate and slight fall in the core rate in November was broadly in line with the central bank’s …
11th December 2023
Note: We’ll be discussing the Fed, ECB and Bank of England December decisions and the policy outlook for 2024 in an online briefing on Thursday, 14 th December . Click here to register for the 20-minute session. Last week we brought forward the timing of …
8th December 2023
SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan recently reiterated the Bank’s line that “we will not hesitate to tighten monetary policy further if necessary” but the actual question is whether policymakers will hesitate to cut rates. We think the answer is yes and that they …
7th December 2023
Despite the recent paring back of interest rate expectations across Europe, we think Norges Bank is likely to go ahead with one final 25bp hike next week – taking the policy rate to a peak of 4.50% – though it will signal that its tightening cycle is …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Industrial recession continues The fifth successive monthly fall in industrial output in October suggests that industry will again be a drag on economic activity in Q4 and will …
Note: We’ll be discussing the Fed, ECB and Bank of England December decisions and the policy outlook for 2024 in an online briefing on Thursday, 14 th December . Click here to register for the 20-minute session. ECB will slash its 2024 inflation forecast …
6th December 2023
PMIs show recession and fading price pressures Final PMIs published today were revised up from the flash estimates but still suggest that the economy is probably in recession and that price pressures are fading. The final Composite PMI for the euro-zone …
5th December 2023
Our view about relative economic and interest rate prospects in Sweden and the euro-zone suggests that the Swedish krona’s recent rebound may prove durable. In fact, given how far below “fair value” it appears to us, we think that the krona will rise …
4th December 2023
While there have been growing concerns about public finances in some euro-zone countries recently, prospects for Greece’s debt are quite bright. Steady economic growth, large primary surpluses and low interest expenditure should keep the debt ratio on a …
This publication has been updated with additonal analysis and charts. Falling inflation means rate cuts are near The unexpected fall in Swiss inflation to 1.4% in November ensures that the SNB will not be at all tempted to raise interest rates in …
In light of the inflation and activity data released this week we are bringing forward our forecast for the start of the ECB’s rate cuts from September to June next year. And we now think the deposit rate will come down from 4.0% currently to 3.0% by the …
1st December 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis and charts. Export-driven strength unlikely to last The 0.3% q/q increase in GDP was better than the consensus and our own forecasts (consensus: 0.1%; CE: 0.0%) but there was a downward revision to Q2 …
In this Global Economics Update , we describe eight of the biggest risks to our economic forecasts for 2024. The unusual nature of this cycle and uncertainties surrounding the transmission of monetary policy mean that the biggest risks relate to central …
30th November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Euro-zone HICP (September) Faster disinflation brings earlier rate cuts into view The larger-than-expected fall in inflation in November means it is becoming increasingly …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Euro-zone sentiment remains weak Despite the rise in the EC Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in November, it remained consistent with the economy at best stagnating in Q4. (See …
29th November 2023
We continue to think the euro-zone economy will fall into recession in the second half of this year and roughly flatline in the first half of next year. This is mostly due to the impact of squeezed household incomes and the tightening of monetary policy, …
24th November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. German economy still very weak The rise in the Ifo Business Climate Index (BCI) in November mirrors the increase in the Composite PMI released yesterday but leaves the index deep …
Despite the Riksbank Executive Board insisting that it might raise interest rates again in the coming months, we would be very surprised if it does so. Instead, we think the next move will be a rate cut next May, and expect the Bank to then cut rates …
23rd November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. PMIs consistent with continued recession Despite the rise in the euro-zone Composite PMI in November, it remained consistent with the economy contracting 0.2% in Q4. (See Chart …
Riksbank peaks at 4% The Riksbank’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 4.0% today was not a major surprise given that financial markets were pricing in only a 10% chance of a hike while economists were evenly split between a hike and a hold. (We …
We continue to forecast a small fall in euro-zone yield spreads over Bunds in the next year or so. However, rising risks to the upside in recent months and differences in fiscal positions between countries may mean that the relative picture for some …
22nd November 2023
The EU’s criticism of French fiscal policy is not in itself a major concern. But France’s debt-to-GDP ratio may well rise over time rather than declining as the government intends. The key problem is a very large primary deficit which the government plans …
21st November 2023
A German constitutional court ruling this week threatens to force the government to cut its planned climate-related expenditure by €60bn or 1.2% of GDP. The decision states that it was not lawful for the government to reallocate this un-used borrowing …
17th November 2023
Recent developments will have given policymakers at Norges Bank food for thought ahead of December’s interest rate decision. While we had initially rejected the central bank’s guidance that it would hike once more, we now think three key upside risks have …
16th November 2023
While the world’s major central banks now appear to have ended their tightening cycles, we think the Riksbank will raise its policy rate by 25bp again next week, to 4.25%, because of the strength of domestic inflation and weakness of the krona. And we now …
During the past decade, the global economy has transitioned out of an era in which globalisation was the key driver of economic and financial relationships into one shaped by geopolitics. Previously, most governments had believed that closer economic …
This publication has been updated with additional analysis. Output to continue falling Euro-zone industrial production fell in September and is likely to continue contracting in the final quarter of the year, primarily due to weak demand. The 1.1% m/m …
15th November 2023
