This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Limited scope for pre-election splurge despite borrowing undershoot July’s public finances figures continued the recent run of better-than-expected news on the fiscal position. …
22nd August 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economic growth slowed sharply in Thailand during Q2 and we are revising down our full-year GDP forecast for 2023. With inflation likely to remain low and the economic recovery …
21st August 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Fall in GDP will sustain central bank’s dovish turn Chile’s GDP contracted by a shallower-than-expected 0.3% q/q in Q2, but the fall in output alongside downwards revisions to …
18th August 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Under the weather The 1.2% m/m fall in retail sales volumes in July probably had more to do with the unusually wet weather than the impact of higher interest rates on consumer …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Economic growth accelerated in Q2 but we expect a slowdown in the second half of the year as external demand weakens and elevated interest rates curtail domestic demand. …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Underlying inflation will peak soon Headline inflation was unchanged in July as falling energy prices offset a further pick-up in underlying inflation. While we expect goods …
Only one more Norges Bank hike to come Norges Bank is very close to the end of its tightening cycle. After today’s 25bp hike, taking the deposit rate to 4%, we expect one final 25bp increase in September. We have then pencilled in a faster pace of rate …
17th August 2023
Rate cuts unlikely before 2024 The central bank (BSP) in the Philippines today left interest rates unchanged (6.25%) for a third consecutive meeting and, although the economy weakened markedly in Q2, elevated core inflation and upside inflationary risks …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Unemployment rate ticks higher A boost to the labour supply is helping to take the heat out of Australia’s tight labour market. Accordingly, we’re sticking with our view that the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Net trade boost reversing in Q3 The July trade data suggest that the huge boost from net exports in Q2 will unwind this quarter, which will result in a sharp slowdown in GDP …
Fed officials in wait-and-see mode The minute of the Fed’s late July meeting suggest that, amid “tentative signs that inflation pressures could be abating”, officials were in no rush to follow up the 25bp rate hike at that meeting with another in …
16th August 2023
Single-family starts rebound, but confidence slips Single-family starts rose again in July, in line with a 13-month high in homebuilder confidence in the month. However, confidence slipped again in August. Furthermore, with the Fed unlikely to start …
Manufacturing boosted by seasonal adjustment problems The 1.0% m/m surge in industrial production in July was partly due to a weather-related jump in utilities output and, although manufacturing output also rebounded by a solid 0.5%, the surveys suggest a …
Q2 expansion, retail a weak spot South Africa’s activity data for June suggest that the economy managed to eke out positive growth in Q2, but more timely indicators suggest that activity struggled to sustain this momentum at the start of Q3. We expect …
Israel's economy maintains a steady pace of growth The small pick-up in Israeli GDP growth to 3.0% q/q annualised in Q2 shows that the economy is holding up better than we and most other had thought this year. And we think that growth will remain solid …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since it was first published. Weak manufacturing to continue to weigh on economic growth Despite euro-zone industrial production having increased in June on a monthly basis, it remained well below its Q1 …
Clouds lifting over CEE, but only slowly Q2 GDP figures for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) generally came in below expectations and suggest that the region continued to suffer the ill-effects from high inflation and interest rates last quarter. While …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Services inflation still uncomfortably high CPI inflation fell to a 17-month low of 6.8% in July, as the effects of the lower utility price cap kicked in. But with services price …
RBNZ signals extended pause All 29 of the analysts polled by Reuters, including ourselves, correctly predicted the RBNZ’s decision to leave the OCR unchanged at 5.50%. The minutes of the meeting reiterated the RBNZ’s tightening bias. The Committee appears …
Entering a period of weakness The larger-than-expected 1.0% q/q contraction in Colombia’s GDP in Q2 is likely to be followed by further weakness over the coming quarters. We expect this to prompt BanRep to join other central banks in the region in …
15th August 2023
Encouraging signs under the surface This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. While the continued above-target gains in the CPI-trim and CPI-median core measures may cause some concern for the Bank of Canada, there were …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Consumer resilience continues The 0.7% m/m jump in retail sales in July suggests that tighter monetary policy is still having remarkably little impact on real economic activity, …
Inflation rises again, CBN has more work to do Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose again to an almost-18 year high of 24.1% y/y, as the removal of fuel subsidies and the devaluation of the naira continue to push up prices. This fresh increase in …
This webpage has been updated with additional analysis, as well as a Chart and Table of key data. Inflation slows to weakest pace in a year and will ease further Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate eased from 2.7% y/y in June to 2.3% y/y in July, the …
Russia’s central bank steps up to the plate, but more needed to stop ruble’s fall The Russian central bank’s 350bp interest rate hike, to 12.0%, at today’s unscheduled meeting is likely to be followed by further increases in the coming months. But there’s …
Unchanged inflation points September rate hike The unchanged readings for both headline inflation and the Riksbank’s target variable suggest that a further interest rate hike in September is highly likely. Headline inflation came in at 9.3% in July, …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Accelerating wage growth supports the case for one more rate hike The fall in employment in the three months to June and further rise in the unemployment rate will be welcomed by …
This page has been updated with additional analysis and charts since first publication. Growth has slowed to a crawl All the main activity indicators undershot consensus expectations in July, with most either stagnant or barely expanding in m/m terms. And …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Underwhelming wage growth bolsters case for RBA to stay put The sluggish pace of wage growth in Q2 reinforces our view that the Reserve Bank of Australia won't lift interest …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Above-trend growth won't be sustained Japan’s economy expanded at an extremely rapid pace last quarter, but we expect a renewed slowdown across the second half of the year. The …
PASO election tips economy deeper into crisis The news just out that Argentina has devalued the peso by around 20% against the dollar (to 350/$) and hiked the policy interest rate by 21%-pts to 118% underscores that the economy is lurching towards an even …
14th August 2023
Total rise in July hides slowdown in commercial lending July saw the amount of outstanding debt secured against real estate rise (albeit marginally) after a sharp drop in June, driven by a strong rebound in residential lending. Across the commercial real …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. An inflation shocker Headline consumer price inflation accelerated to a 15-month high of 7.4% y/y in July amid the surge in food price inflation. While the RBI expects the sharp …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . A strong recovery, but Russia’s economic vulnerabilities are increasing The better than expected pick-up in Russia’s GDP growth in Q2, to 4.9% y/y, confirms that the economy had …
11th August 2023
Falling expectations drag down confidence The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index stalled in August, with the index slipping back to 71.2, from 71.6. With tighter credit conditions and a weaker labour market likely to weigh on confidence …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication Inflation rise means Copom won’t increase the size of rate cuts The jump in Brazilian inflation to a slightly higher-than-expected 4.0% last month won’t stop Copom from lowering …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Downturn deepens as borrowers hold back China’s bank loan growth fell to its lowest in seven months in July, while broad credit growth dropped to a record low. We expect further …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Resurgence in activity unlikely to last The 0.5% m/m rise in real GDP in June and 0.2% q/q increase in Q2 (CE, BoE, consensus 0.1% q/q) confirmed that a recession has so far been …
Banxico continues to sit on the sidelines Mexico’s central bank chose not to follow its peers in the rest of Latin America and begin an easing cycle, leaving its policy rate unchanged at 11.25% at today’s Board meeting. Concerns about the persistence of …
10th August 2023
Apart from lagging shelter prices, Fed already hit its inflation target The disinflationary pressures continued to build in July, with both headline and core CPI increasing by a moderate 0.2% m/m. Admittedly, the annual headline inflation rate actually …
Inflation hits fresh record high, CBE has more work to do Egypt’s headline inflation hit a fresh record high of 36.5% y/y in July and, with a fresh devaluation of the pound on the cards in the coming months, it will remain elevated for some time. The …
Decline in inflation in line with central bank’s expectations July’s decline in inflation in Norway was broadly in line with the central bank’s forecast. So Norges Bank is likely to go ahead with its planned 25bp rate hike next week. The decline in …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The economy contracted in Q2 and we expect continued weakness in the near-term as elevated interest rates and weak global demand weigh on economic output in the Philippines. …
Inflation pressures picking up, tightening cycle has only just begun The jump in Russian inflation to 4.3% y/y in July provides firmer evidence that the recent build-up of inflation pressures, including from the weakening of the ruble, are now showing up …
9th August 2023
Sticky services inflation to keep Banxico in hawkish mood Mexico’s headline inflation rate continued to drop back in July, to 4.8% y/y, but with services inflation proving to be sticky, we doubt that Banxico will turn to interest rate cuts until the turn …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Services inflation hits 17-month high CPI joined PPI in deflationary territory last month. But this was due to a sharp drop in food inflation caused by base effects. More …
Net trade weighed on second-quarter GDP growth Weaker global demand and the fading boost from easing supply shortages took a toll on exports in June, confirming that net trade weighed on second-quarter GDP growth. While the surveys point to further …
8th August 2023
Exports set for renewed weakness soon The narrowing in the trade deficit to $65.5bn in June, from $68.3bn, mainly reflected a further slide in imports, with exports little changed. But with the survey evidence suggesting that renewed weakness in exports …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Exports have further to fall Chinese exports contracted in July by the most since the start of the pandemic. But the recent declines mostly reflect lower prices rather than …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Wage growth should slow as labour market slackens Wage growth remained strong in June as summer bonuses rose, but regular pay growth slowed and is unlikely to become strong …
