Filtered by Region: Emerging Markets Use setting Emerging Markets
Egypt: fiscal policy on right path, but not yet for EGP The key message from the briefing that we attended with Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait in London last Friday was the government’s commitment to tight fiscal policy and that a devaluation is …
22nd June 2023
The 650bp interest rate hike by Turkey’s central bank today (to 15.0%) will underwhelm investors that wanted a faster and more aggressive monetary tightening. The currency has come under a bit of pressure since the announcement. But the communications …
CBRT underwhelms with rate hike, but communications provide room for hope The 650bp interest rate hike by Turkey’s central bank today (to 15.0%) will underwhelm investors that wanted a faster and more aggressive monetary tightening. But the communications …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Economy continues to struggle May’s industrial production and retail sales data out of Poland were weaker than expected and are consistent with our forecast that GDP growth …
Click here to read the full report. Overview – Downturns in activity are bottoming out in Emerging Europe, current account deficits are narrowing and disinflation has taken hold across the region. But the road ahead still looks challenging. We expect GDP …
21st June 2023
Overview – Economic growth across the region will be much weaker this year than last and our forecasts are generally below the consensus. We think regional growth will come in at just 1.4%, one of the weakest rates in the past two decades. The latest …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since the post-meeting statement and press conference. Hawkish CNB will turn dovish by year-end The Czech National Bank (CNB) left its main policy rate on hold again today, at 7.00%, and the hawkish …
Governments in Turkey and Nigeria have started to turn away from unorthodox economic policies in recent weeks, and in both cases currencies have been allowed to move closer to fair value. The key thing to watch next is whether central banks in both …
This webpage has been updated with a table and chart of key data. Weaker inflation probably means tightening cycle is over The larger-than-expected decline in South Africa’s headline inflation rate, to 6.3% y/y, reinforces our view that the tightening …
This new Chart Pack has been designed to replace our Chart Book in response to client feedback to make our insights more accessible, and with more options to incorporate them into your workflow. Use the menu at the top of the viewer to navigate around the …
20th June 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. MNB leading the EM cutting cycle Hungary’s central bank (MNB) announced a cut to its one-day quick deposit rate (the key policy rate at the moment) by 100bp, to 16.00%, today. We …
This week’s plunge in the Nigerian naira marked the latest positive step by President Bola Tinubu as he seeks to overhaul the economy, but there are still plenty of reasons to be cautious that this policy shift marks a clean break from the Buhari-era. A …
16th June 2023
Brazil: shifting towards rate cuts? Expectations for interest rate cuts in Brazil have grown in light of recent developments, but, for now, we’re sticking with our view that Copom will hold off on lowering interest rates until November. The arguments in …
PiS adding further fuel to the inflation fire The Polish government set out plans this week to increase the national minimum wage by around 20% again next year. With the labour market still very tight and further pre-election fiscal stimulus likely to be …
EM goods exports held up relatively well at the start of the year but more recent data suggest that resilience is waning. With demand from advanced economies set to soften, the boost from auto exports likely to fade and gains in commodity prices likely …
Note: We’re talking inflation and the BOJ, slowing Indian growth, and regional monetary easing in our Asia Drop-In on Thursday, 22nd June. Register now . Latest inflation data support our rates cuts view The overarching message from our Q3 India Economic …
Could SAMA step in again to support credit growth? Interbank rates in Saudi Arabia are running at their highest since 2001 following the monetary policy tightening over the past year or so and, with lingering concerns over the banking sectors liquidity, …
15th June 2023
Inflation edges up and set to soar in June Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to a fresh 17-year high of 22.4% y/y and the recent removal of fuel subsidies alongside yesterday’s devaluation of the naira mean that it is likely to surge to more than 30% …
The tightening of labour markets across Latin America in the past year or so has fuelled rapid wage growth in many economies and wage growth is likely to remain uncomfortably high for a while yet. Against this backdrop, even as central banks kick off …
EMs experienced a strong first quarter as GDP growth picked up almost across the board, but growth is likely to have slowed in most major economies in Q2 and we think it will remain soft in Q3. We don’t expect a substantive recovery in EMs until much …
We will update the linked webpage with additional analysis during the next hour. Inflation edges up, but should resume slowdown over the rest of the year Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate rose a touch to 2.8% y/y in May, as an acceleration in non-food …
After dodging recession, economy made decent start to Q2 April’s activity data out of South Africa suggest that, after dodging a technical recession in Q1, the economy made a bright start to the second quarter. But external and domestic headwinds, …
14th June 2023
We think an upcoming shift in emerging market monetary policy towards rate cuts will provide long-dated local-currency government bonds there with a bit of a tailwind. But gains may be limited in the coming months if, as we expect, global appetite for …
13th June 2023
The Polish government’s ambitious plans to raise defence and social spending are unlikely to be achieved without pushing up the public debt-to-GDP ratio later this decade. Imminent risks to the sustainability of the public finances still appear relatively …
Activity growing at a more subdued pace The latest industrial production and retail sales data for Turkey for April suggest that GDP growth is likely to have remained subdued this quarter following the Q1 slowdown. A shift towards economic orthodoxy – …
UK wage growth probably accelerated in April (07.00 BST) We think US core inflation eased to an 18-month low of 5.2% in May… (13.30 BST) … and the headline inflation rate may have fallen to 4.1% (13.30 BST) Key Market Themes Emerging Market (EM) …
12th June 2023
Overview – The RBI’s tightening cycle has come to an end and, as the economy comes off the boil and inflation settles at comfortable rates, we think interest rates cuts will materialise in early 2024. Over the longer term, India’s growth prospects are …
Saudi Arabia’s fiscal position has deteriorated over the past few quarters on the back of lower oil prices and production, and officials are increasingly doing all they can to sustain the current loose fiscal stance. But if, as we expect, oil prices fall …
Headline inflation to remain anchored within the RBI’s 2-6% target range Headline consumer price inflation fell to a 25-month low in May and is likely to remain within the RBI’s 2-6% target range for the foreseeable future. That means the tightening cycle …
Inflation ticks up as central bank sounds hawkish Russian inflation picked up slightly to 2.5% y/y in May and we think it will rise above the central bank’s 4% target in the coming months. Against a backdrop of large upside inflation risks and the hawkish …
9th June 2023
Petro crisis sparks rally in Colombian assets Colombia stumbles from political crisis to political crisis. After a major cabinet reshuffle in April, this week’s scandal included allegations of phone tapping and violation of campaign financing rules and …
Agriculture dampened SA growth in Q1 South Africa’s Q1 GDP figures released this week revealed a big drag from the agricultural sector. Some of the factors that weighed on output (namely the weather) are likely to prove temporary but, even so, confidence …
Turkey embraces orthodoxy, but for how long? Optimism about a shift towards orthodox economic policymaking was at the heart of developments in Turkey this week amid the appointments of a new cabinet and central bank governor and a sharp fall in the lira. …
Inflows into EM financial markets have held up well over the past few weeks, with particularly strong inflows into local equities. That said, if we are right that a renewed period of global risk aversion lies in store, we suspect that these inflows will …
Industry struggling to sustain momentum from early 2023 Mexico’s industrial sector expanded by 0.4% m/m in April but this only partially reversed a sharp decline in March and suggests that the economy is struggling to sustain its momentum at the start of …
RBI hawkish, but inflation outlook improving The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) didn’t throw up any surprises when it kept the repo rate on hold at 6.50% this week. The move was widely expected and the muted reaction in local financial markets suggests that …
A handful of EM central banks were quick out of the blocks to tighten monetary policy in 2021 and one of the key lessons of the past year or so is that underlying inflation pressure is still proving incredibly hard to beat. The fight against inflation …
8th June 2023
Overview – The region’s strong start to the year is unlikely to be sustained and we expect growth across Latin America to come in weaker than most expect this year and next. Inflation will continue to fall, but core price pressures are likely to remain …
Is Saudi Arabia taking its eye off the ball? Outside of the usual economics newsflow this week, Saudi Arabia has been the hot topic in the footballing and golfing world. It was announced control of four Saudi Pro League clubs is being transferred to the …
Inflation drops, but rate cuts still some time away Headline inflation in Mexico dropped to a 21-month low of 5.8% y/y in May and will continue to decline over the coming months. That said, the strong labour market and rapid wage growth mean that …
The RBI’s decision to keep the repo rate on hold (at 6.50%) today comes as no surprise given the recent sharp drop in inflation. The central bank continues to strike a hawkish tone and the door remains ajar for further hikes. But with headline inflation …
This webpage has been updated with a table and chart of key data Inflation hits multi-year low, but rate cuts still some way off The fall in Brazilian inflation to 3.9% y/y in May, alongside the government’s new fiscal framework, has strengthened the …
7th June 2023
NBP remains on pause The National Bank of Poland (NBP) left its main policy rate on hold again today, at 6.75%, and we think that rates will remain unchanged for at least the next few meetings. While we maintain our forecast that interest rates will be …
6th June 2023
This webpage has been updated with a table and chart of key data Technical recession dodged, but outlook bleak The 0.4% q/q rise in South Africa’s GDP in Q1 means that the economy once again skirted a technical recession, but the outlook remains bleak. …
Optimism about a shift towards more orthodox economic policymaking in Turkey has taken hold following the appointment of Mehmet Simsek to the cabinet this weekend. Recent developments look encouraging but the next big test will be whether President …
5th June 2023
Saudi Arabia pushed through another oil production cut at the OPEC+ meeting, but, it will come at the cost of slower economic growth and we now think the economy will contract by 0.5% this year. The one crumb of comfort is that higher oil prices and loose …
Energy drags headline inflation lower The fall in Turkish inflation to 39.6% y/y in May was largely driven by a sharp fall in energy prices, while core inflation increased . Bringing inflation down sustainably will require a major policy tightening and …
Colombia: baby steps towards sustainable growth Data out this week suggest that Colombia’s economy has started to undergo an adjustment process, albeit a gradual one. In an Update last week, we explained how Colombia’s unsustainably strong recovery had …
2nd June 2023
Optimism building about policy shift in Turkey All the attention in Turkey this week has been on whether President Erdogan will moderate his economic policies now that he has secured another five-year term. The latest signs of an improvement in …
Revising up our GDP forecast for 2023 The activity data released this week suggest that the economy is holding up better than we had been anticipating. GDP growth accelerated from 4.5% y/y in Q4 2022 to 6.1% y/y in Q1 (Q4 of FY22/23). Based on our …
