Powell not yet concerned by signs of weak first-quarter GDP growth Still too hot inflation and rising inflation expectations will concern the Fed But new economic projections will probably still point to some loosening this year Comments from Chair Jerome …
12th March 2025
Bank will keep policy unchanged next week but we expect a 25bp hike in May Strong inflation and wage growth warrant more tightening; US tariffs key risk Rates will reach neutral territory of 1.5% in 2027 The Bank of Japan will keep policy settings …
Recent strength of GDP and employment data irrelevant amid existential tariff threat Even if tariffs soon lifted, Bank could cut by more than markets are pricing in this year If tariffs are sustained, Bank could eventually return interest rates to …
6th March 2025
ECB set to cut deposit rate by 25bp next week, decision probably unanimous. We expect more dissent over future decisions, and chance of a pause in April has risen. But we still think the ECB will cut rates by more than most expect this year. The ECB looks …
27th February 2025
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will almost certainly cut rates by 50bp, to 3.75%, at its meeting on 19 th February. Although the Bank is likely to revert to 25bp cuts thereafter, we think it has much more work to do to reduce excess capacity in the …
12th February 2025
Labour market remains tight and there are signs of green shoots in the economy But with inflation slowing markedly, RBA will cut by 25bp next Tuesday Scope for further policy loosening remains modest We expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut rates by …
11th February 2025
Bank to cut interest rates by 25bps at February’s meeting, from 4.75% to 4.50% The tail risks of both faster disinflation and slower disinflation have increased Rate cuts to stay gradual, but rates to fall to 3.50% in 2026 versus market pricing of 4.00% …
30th January 2025
Overview – Inflation has proved somewhat stickier than we had anticipated, but the outlook of lacklustre growth, softening labour markets, normalising supply conditions and falling energy costs is consistent with further falls to come. Tariffs are a fly …
29th January 2025
Easing inflation and recent liquidity injections suggest a cut to policy rate next week Rupee weakness is not a major risk to policy outlook We expect 100bps of cuts this easing cycle, a more dovish view than the consensus The announcement of large …
We think that next week the Riksbank will cut its policy rate for the final time this cycle, reducing it from 2.5% to 2.25%. After that, we do not see a need for policymakers to loosen policy any further as there are already emerging signs of an economic …
24th January 2025
25bp rate cut very likely next week. We expect ECB to lower interest rates further this year than investors anticipate. US trade policy likely to have little impact on euro-zone inflation and monetary policy. The ECB looks set to cut its deposit rate …
23rd January 2025
Recent upside surprises to activity and core inflation could justify a pause However, with tariffs hanging over the economy, Bank will opt for a 25bp cut Bank set to call time on QT this year The recent pick-up in GDP growth and core inflation pressures …
22nd January 2025
Solid activity data support case for a pause Mildly stagflationary Trump policies imply maximum of two more rate cuts this year Annual voting rotation won’t affect policy outlook We expect the strength of the economy and uncertainty over immigration and …
The Bank of Japan has signalled that it will raise rates at its January meeting. And with inflation set to remain above the Bank’s 2% target for a while yet, we’re sticking to our forecast that the policy rate will reach an above-consensus 1.25% by the …
16th January 2025
Deterioration in global outlook has increased the downside risks to UK GDP growth… …but Trump’s election win and the UK Budget have boosted the upside risks to UK inflation MPC to keep rates at 4.75% in December and to continue to cut by 25 basis points …
12th December 2024
Muddied communication from BoJ makes December meeting a close call On balance, we’re sticking to our forecast of a 25bp rate hike next week With inflation overshooting BoJ’s forecasts, further tightening next year likely The outcome of the Bank’s upcoming …
Fed to continue with gradual policy normalisation Another 25bp rate cut incoming next week Fed’s projections will ignore potential impact of tariffs and immigration curbs Fed’s independence probably safe Fed to continue steady policy easing We expect …
11th December 2024
Consensus on ECB Governing Council points to 25bp cut next week But we expect policymakers to step up the pace of cuts next year… …and think the deposit rate will be just 1.5% by the middle of the 2025 While there is a strong case for the ECB to …
5th December 2024
GDP growth has disappointed, but outlook is brighter Core inflation has surprised to the upside of Bank’s forecasts Still a case for another 50bp move, but Governing Council likely to favour 25 bp Although the recent GDP data disappointed, there are green …
4th December 2024
The RBA will leave interest rates unchanged at its upcoming meeting on 10 th December. While the weakness in economic activity points to rate cuts before long, we think the Bank will need to see clearer evidence that the labour market is loosening and …
Inflation surge and hawkish comments suggest no rate cut next week We now think easing will begin in April as inflation drops back and economy cools We expect 100bps of cuts this easing cycle, a more dovish view than the consensus The …
27th November 2024
Stronger data point to a more gradual pace of loosening Fed will not surprise financial markets amid election uncertainty We see the terminal rate higher under Trump than Harris With the economy on strong ground, we expect the Fed to shift to a more …
31st October 2024
An interest rate cut from 5.00% to 4.75% seems nailed on for November It’s less clear whether BoE will quicken the pace and cut rates in December too We think cuts will remain gradual until mid-2025, with rates eventually falling to 3.00% The Bank of …
RBA to remain even-handed about inflation risks Although labour market is still tight, activity remains weak Bank should be able to start unwinding monetary restriction from Q1 The Reserve Bank of Australia is all but certain to leave rates unchanged at …
30th October 2024
Overview – With goods inflation vanquished, the last leg of disinflation in advanced economies must come from falling services inflation. After plateauing at the start of the year, services inflation has fallen in recent months, and we think that this …
24th October 2024
Strong US labour market should have soothed hard landing concerns Domestic data remain strong, but Bank has signalled that it won’t hike in October Bank will wait until December to hike again, but won’t tighten any further in 2025 The Bank of Japan …
GDP growth and inflation have surprised to the downside of Bank’s forecasts That should persuade the Bank to enact a larger 50bp cut next week We expect another 50bp cut in December to take the policy rate to 3.25% by year-end The Bank of Canada has said …
16th October 2024
ECB is certain to cut interest rates by 25bp next week. And we think it will cut at each meeting until the deposit rate hits 2.5%. Inflation likely to be below 2% next year, so risks are skewed towards more cuts. A 25bp interest rate cut looks nailed on …
10th October 2024
MPC shake-up has, on balance, given the panel a more hawkish bias We expect no change in the repo rate next week, a view shared by the consensus But conditions will be in place for policy loosening to start in December Little is known about the monetary …
2nd October 2024
Limited data flow since August meeting broadly in line with RBA’s expectations Bank will therefore reiterate pledge to keep rates unchanged this year First rate cut will happen in Q2 next year The Reserve Bank of Australia will probably stick to its …
17th September 2024
We think the markets are wrong to expect two more interest rate cuts this year But we think rates will be cut more quickly next year and to 3.00% in early 2026 MPC may speed up QT by announcing a £110bn reduction in the balance sheet We agree with the …
13th September 2024
Stronger yen has reduced upside risks to inflation, but labour shortages persist Recent data should have enhanced Bank’s confidence in its central scenario Bank will hike rates in October, but refrain from tightening any further in 2025 The Bank of …
12th September 2024
Recent data favour a 25bp vs a 50bp interest rate cut in September New SEP to show more cuts this year We expect 200bp of cumulative rate cuts vs 250bp priced into markets With the labour market data more consistent with an economic slowdown rather than …
11th September 2024
Governing Council to cut deposit rate by 25bp again next week. Policymakers will point to a gradual easing cycle beyond that. Pace of rate cuts by the Fed will have little impact on ECB. The ECB looks certain to cut its deposit rate from 3.75% to 3.5% …
6th September 2024
Core inflation to come in lower than Bank’s forecast Economic growth remains below potential Bank to cut interest rates by 25bp at each meeting until 2.50% The dovish communication following the last meeting and the encouraging July CPI report leave …
28th August 2024
Upside inflation surprise in June has dashed hopes of rate cut next week But space for December rate cut will open as inflation heads back down to 4% We think upcoming loosening cycle will be more aggressive than consensus expects The upside inflation …
1st August 2024
The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to leave policy settings unchanged when it meets next week. Although there has been little progress on disinflation in recent months, the Board is likely to pin that on the long and variable lags of monetary policy. …
31st July 2024
Almost ready to cut But economic resilience and sticky inflation will probably mean MPC waits until September We think rates will be cut to 3.00% next year, below current market pricing of 4.00% While it will be a very close call, the economy’s recent …
25th July 2024
Overview – Inflation still looks set to be in line with central banks’ targets next year (see Chart 1), but upside risks have increased outside the US. With the sharp falls in energy and food inflation behind us, disinflation has slowed amid …
Disinflationary trend broadening out Fed officials growing more concerned about labour market downside risks Interest rate cut likely in September With the disinflationary trend broadening out and the unemployment rate rising, recent comments from Fed …
24th July 2024
Bank has pledged that it will keep tightening policy if inflation evolves as expected If anything, weak yen creates upside risks to Board’s inflation forecasts Bank will hike its policy rate by 20bp in both July and October At its upcoming meeting, we …
Totality of the data supports another cut Downside risks to activity rising, upside risks to inflation falling Bank to cut interest rates by 25bp at each meeting until 2.50% Despite stronger core price pressures in May and June, the totality of the data …
17th July 2024
No change in interest rates and no new guidance. Emphasis will be on continued strength of underlying inflation. Rate cut in September still likely, but isn’t nailed on. The ECB is likely to leave the deposit rate on hold at 3.75% next week and refrain …
11th July 2024
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
RBA to stay put at its June meeting Inflation remains high, but spare capacity is starting to open up in the economy Forthcoming easing cycle will be modest in scope, with rates returning to neutral We expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave rates …
11th June 2024
Bank may reduce its bond purchases next week, though we think it will wait until July. Next rate hike should happen in July as BoJ increasingly worried about weaker yen. However, sharp slowdown in underlying inflation will forestall a series of rate …
6th June 2024
Disinflationary trend gradually reasserting itself Economy and labour market losing momentum New projections should still show one or two rate cuts this year With no prospect of the Fed adjusting policy next week, the focus of the FOMC meeting will be the …
5th June 2024
Having pre-committed to doing so, we think the ECB will cut rates next week. But given the jump in services inflation in May, we now expect a pause in July. We forecast the ECB to cut its deposit rate to 3% by year-end. Having agreed to do so at their …
31st May 2024
Repo rate on hold at 6.50% next week, but MPC to drop its hawkish policy stance That should set the stage for an August rate cut We think rate cuts will be a bit more aggressive this year than consensus forecasts The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will …
30th May 2024
Pieces almost in place for the Bank of Canada to cut But economic and labour market resilience means Bank can wait to be 100% sure Rates to be cut by 25 bp at each meeting from July, faster than markets pricing in The rapid easing in core inflation …
29th May 2024
