Particularly weak recoveries lie in store for tourism-dependent emerging markets, including much of Africa, parts of the Middle East (e.g. Jordan), and South East Asia (e.g. Cambodia). A lacklustre rebound in tourism could add to balance of payments …
29th March 2021
In light of a raft of recent forecast changes, this Update presents the latest returns projections of our Asset Allocation service for the next couple of years. (See Chart 1.) We think six points are worth highlighting. First, we forecast that the returns …
26th March 2021
With office occupiers cutting space requirements, London office vacancy has climbed sharply. Our estimates suggest that vacancy is likely to rise even further over the next year or so and we have revised down our rental forecasts as a result. With tenants …
We have recently revised up our end-21 and end-22 projections for the US ten-year Treasury yield, which has prompted us to revise down our forecasts for emerging market (EM) assets and currencies. To recap, we had previously expected EM equities to rise …
The raft of EM central bank decisions over the last couple of weeks suggests that the door has largely closed on further rate cuts and that the balance will shift (slightly) towards hikes over the coming months. But this has more to do with domestic …
The unanimous decision by Banxico’s Board to keep its policy rate at 4.00% is a clear signal that its easing cycle is done and dusted. While this indicates a cautious shift at the central bank, we think that investors have gone too far in expecting that a …
The upheaval at Turkey’s central bank means that we now expect a 200bp interest rate cut next month followed by further aggressive easing in the second half of 2021. But the result is that inflation will stay high and the lira will fall much further, to …
The renminbi has gained 9% against the US dollar since last May. But the factors that underpinned this appreciation have faded. With US yields moving in the dollar’s favour and China’s economic outperformance set to diminish, we now expect the renminbi to …
We now expect that the US dollar will strengthen somewhat over the next couple of years as the US economy outperforms and its policy mix diverges from that in most other major economies. Last year, the US dollar went through two distinct phases. The …
Later this year, the European Commission is expected to provide draft details on how the EU will introduce and implement a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM, often dubbed a ‘carbon border tax’) as part of its plan to tackle carbon leakage and …
Policymakers in South Africa kept their benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50% today, breaking a recent wave of EM central bank decisions to tighten policy. We suspect that the country’s weak economic recovery and subdued inflation means that policy will stay …
25th March 2021
Record low inventory, surging house prices and stretched affordability have pushed the share of households who think now is a good time to buy a home to the lowest since 2010. But, at the same time, the share who plan to buy a home in the next six months …
This morning’s decision by the Swiss National Bank to keep its policy settings unchanged came as no surprise. The prospect of further falls in the franc should allow the Bank to largely stay out of the FX market, but the policy rate will remain rooted at …
The annual rate of money and lending growth remained strong in February, and with the ECB likely to make significant asset purchases throughout this year and next, money growth will remain well above pre-pandemic levels. But we don’t think this will cause …
The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) left its main policy rate on hold at 2.00% today, and while a temporary rise in inflation means interest rates are set to remain on hold for the next few months, the dire economic outlook means the Bank is still …
Parliament’s approval this week of a loosening of restrictions on FDI in the insurance sector will not have a significant macro impact, but it provides reassurance that FDI reform remains a priority for the government. That bodes well for India’s external …
We are sticking to our view that the US stock market will gain a bit more ground this year and next, despite revising up our end-2021 and end-2022 forecasts for the 10-year Treasury yield. (See here .) We also generally expect developed market (DM) …
24th March 2021
We are revising down our forecast for euro-zone GDP growth due to the resurgence of virus cases, slow pace of vaccination and extension of lockdowns. The recovery is likely to be delayed until the third quarter this year and we think GDP will not regain …
In light of our revised forecasts for long-term US Treasury yields, we have raised our forecasts for the yields of 10-year government bonds in most other developed markets. But in most cases we doubt they will rise by as much as yields in the US. We …
The EU’s tougher stance on vaccine exports might help to secure some concessions and additional doses from the UK. But it will do nothing to combat vaccine hesitancy in parts of the bloc and is unlikely to significantly boost the rollout in Europe. This …
March’s advanced economy PMIs painted a positive picture, with headline indices typically now well into expansionary territory. Supply shortages are boosting prices and constraining output to some extent, especially in the US. And the euro-zone PMI is …
The unusual rise in the Fed’s preferred PCE measure of inflation above CPI inflation in January partly reflects the impact of the differing methodology which, as spending patterns return to pre-pandemic norms, should be reversed this year. But it is also …
Despite the recent rise in bond yields, we think that Egypt’s public debt ratio will resume its downward trend in the coming years. Since the start of the year, Egypt’s local currency bond yields have risen by 40bp, on average, across the yield curve, …
Despite the ongoing rise in the number of rigs actively drilling for oil, we continue to expect a lacklustre recovery in US oil production over the next couple of years . An often-overlooked aspect of the rise in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the …
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) left interest rates on hold at 0.5% today and made clear in its accompanying statement that rates will stay low for the foreseeable future. We think the that the policy rate will remain unchanged until at least the end of next …
A rise in headline consumer price inflation over the coming months will do little to temper growing market expectations of imminent rate hikes. But it will largely be driven by fuel price inflation, which the RBI should look through. Further ahead, a …
The rapid growth of the global labour supply in the past few decades looks set to give way to a period of much weaker growth. Some argue that this will reverse the decline in inflation seen in recent years as the bargaining power of labour rises and an …
Even if the long-rumoured Australia-New Zealand travel bubble does go ahead, it wouldn’t make a huge difference to either economy. We think the bubble would give a small boost to New Zealand’s GDP and be a small drag on Australia. A travel bubble between …
The Bank of Canada seems to have signalled that it will reduce the pace of its government bond purchases at its next meeting in April. We now expect it to bring its net purchases to zero by the end of the year. In a speech today, Deputy Governor Toni …
23rd March 2021
The easing of virus restrictions in Greece this week – despite rising case numbers – is unlikely to change the picture for Q1; the economy probably contracted. Moreover, if it leads to a faster spread of the virus, it could even delay the start of the …
The replacement at the helm of Turkey’s central bank is particularly worrying against a backdrop of a dire balance of payments position, large dependence on foreign capital inflows and the central bank’s severely depleted foreign exchange reserves. If …
Hungary’s central bank (MNB) left its key interest rates on hold today but the tone of the communications could not have been much more hawkish without raising interest rates. The MNB is defending its view that inflation will settle back to the 3% target …
Policymakers in Nigeria opted to keep their benchmark rate unchanged at 11.50% at today’s MPC meeting in the face of rising inflation and a weak recovery. We don’t think that a hawkish minority will turn into a majority in the coming months and, if …
Recent movements on house prices show only limited evidence that COVID-19 has substantially changed where people want to live. While central London has underperformed, central Manchester and Birmingham appear unaffected. That said, we wouldn’t rule out …
Our forecast that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at +0.10% for a few more years and that, as a result, inflation will rise above the 2% target for a prolonged period is consistent with a further steepening in the gilt yield curve. As a …
China’s statutory retirement ages are low. Raising them, as the Five-Year Plan proposes, would make the pension system more affordable but it wouldn’t make an appreciable difference to the ongoing decline in the size of the workforce. Most older workers …
Our Mobility Trackers suggest that the recent rise in coronavirus infections and associated restrictions are weighing on activity in Latin America, emerging Europe and the euro-zone. In contrast, mobility in the US has continued to recover as restrictions …
The latest crisis engulfing Turkey will make it harder for the country to roll over its external debts, with the banking sector particularly vulnerable. If Turkey’s crisis worsens, it may cause wobbles in a few EM currencies, but there are reasons to …
22nd March 2021
The abrupt sacking of Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) governor on Friday has triggered sharp falls in the lira and a tightening of external financing conditions. The banking sector is a key source of vulnerability and arguably looks more exposed than it was …
As vaccines are rolled out across the world and restrictions on economic activity are removed, we expect global consumption patterns to return to something like normal. Electronics exporters, most notably Taiwan and Vietnam, are likely to lose out. …
Commercial banks left the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) unchanged today. We have been forecasting the PBOC to hike rates this year but the likelihood of that is diminishing – the PBOC appears to favour quantitative controls on lending instead. Either way, credit …
The shock decision by Turkey’s President Erdogan to sack central bank governor Naci Agbal late on Friday is likely to trigger large falls in the lira when markets open on Monday. It looks like the central bank’s (CBRT’s) efforts to fight the country’s …
20th March 2021
We now expect mortgage interest rates will rise to 4.0% by the end of the year, and to 4.25% by end-2022. But housing demand will be supported by a reopening economy, the large fiscal stimulus, frustrated buyers still looking for homes and substantial …
19th March 2021
South Africa’s Reserve Bank (SARB) is unlikely to be in a rush to follow other EM central banks in tightening monetary policy. We think the policy rate will be on hold this year and probably in 2022 too. This week has seen central banks in Brazil, Russia …
The sharp rise of US yields in response to this year’s shift in US fiscal policy and rapid progress on vaccinations – and the Fed’s apparent willingness to accept higher long-term interest rates – have prompted us to raise our end-2021 and end-2022 …
Thanks to changing consumption patterns and structural and cyclical knocks to the traditional property sectors, both occupier and investor demand for data centres set new records last year. But, while further strong growth is likely, we don’t expect these …
Russia’s central bank (CBR) unexpectedly hiked its key policy rate by 25bp to 4.50% at today’s meeting in response to the recent surge in inflation and the accompanying communications sent a strong signal that it is prepared for an aggressive tightening …
Tighter restrictions for large parts of France for at least the next month are likely to reduce activity by only a further 1.5% or so. But the economy was already operating some 5% below its pre-virus level and the prospect of the most economically …
Nigeria’s budget deficit is set to narrow sharply this year as oil revenues increase and the government fails to meet ambitious capital spending plans. The shortfall should be easily covered by domestic borrowing but, if we’re right in expecting oil …
The Bank of Japan’s policy review today contained various nudges to policy levers but ultimately marked neither a tightening nor an easing of policy. Governor Kuroda was keen to emphasise in the press conference that widening the target band for 10-year …
