Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
The minutes of the Reserve Bank’s October policy meeting suggest greater divergence of opinion within the MPC, with two members calling for more definitive steps towards policy normalisation. But most members – including Governor Shaktikanta Das – are …
25th October 2021
With a couple of exceptions, currency markets have had a quiet week; the US dollar is ending the week a touch weaker against most other currencies, but in aggregate it remains close to its strongest level for the year. With US bond yields continuing to …
22nd October 2021
The winding down of government support to households and firms means the economy faces a large fiscal contraction this quarter, which we think will cause GDP growth to disappoint. The three programs that expire tomorrow are the Canada Recovery Benefit …
The extent of the shift in investors’ expectations of interest rates over the past month has been staggering. Investors are now pricing in an 80% chance of a hike to Bank Rate, from 0.10% to 0.25%, at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on 4 th …
Russia’s central bank (CBR) stepped up the pace of its tightening cycle again at today’s meeting with a larger-than-expected 75bp interest rate hike, to 7.50%, and the hawkish tone of the accompanying communications suggest that further tightening will be …
Surging inflation puts pressure on RBNZ The 2.2% q/q rise in New Zealand’s consumer prices was the strongest since 2011 and well above the RBNZ’s forecast of a 1.4% increase. In fact, the quarterly increase was enough to meet the RBNZ’s 1-3% annual …
We’ll publish our quarterly China Economic Outlook next week. Since the last edition , exports have performed better than we’d expected but this didn’t make up for the disruption caused by measures to contain the Delta variant outbreak in August. That …
Flash composite PMIs for the euro-zone and the UK probably dropped back in October We expect the central bank of Russia to hike its policy rate by 50bp, to 7.25% (11.30 BST) Inflation in Mexico likely to have stayed above target in mid-October (12.00 BST) …
21st October 2021
ECB will acknowledge upside risk to inflation but say the rise is mostly temporary. The Bank will also push back against expectations for a rate hike next year. The bigger decisions on future asset purchases will be delayed until December. Nobody expects …
Strong employment gains should be enough for Bank to call time on QE Labour shortages suggest Bank is overestimating the degree of economic slack But with wage growth low, unlikely to bring forward plans for rate hikes We expect the Bank of Canada to call …
Any remaining confidence in the credibility of Turkey’s central bank (CBRT) was shattered after today’s larger-than-expected 200bp interest rate cut, to 16.00%. The lira hit a fresh record low against the dollar and we think that it will continue to …
We are confident in our new forecasts that GDP growth will be a disappointing 2.7% in 2022 and 2.0% in 2023, while core inflation remains elevated at close to 3%, but we are less confident in our predictions of how the Fed will react to that particular …
New PM Kishida won’t touch yield curve control Weaker yen unlikely to faze Governor Kuroda Near term growth forecasts to be revised down on supply shortages Sitting comfortably with continuity candidate PM Kishida in charge, the Bank of Japan won’t alter …
Lebanon’s long and winding road to recovery The IMF confirmed this week that technical talks with Lebanon have restarted, suggesting that the country is making tentative steps to emerge from its crisis. Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said he hoped a deal …
A renewed tightening of the labour market next year means that wage growth will accelerate further. That pick-up will be underpinned by a stronger minimum wage hike, the lifting of caps on public sector wage growth and more employees switching jobs. And …
UK public borrowing may have fallen by more than expected in September (07.00 BST) We anticipate a 100bp rate cut from Turkey’s central bank (12.00 BST) Read our highest conviction macroeconomic forecasts and their market implications here Key Market …
20th October 2021
Overview – We now expect GDP growth to be 4.8% in 2021, rather than 5.0%, and 3.5% in 2022, down from 4.0%. Worsening labour shortages imply that spare capacity has been rapidly absorbed and point to a sharp acceleration in wage growth. In that …
Overview – The region has experienced a rapid recovery, but the re-opening boost has now faded and the region is likely to face stronger headwinds in the near term due to surging COVID-19 cases, rising inflation and supply disruptions. Central European …
Overview – Growth in China will weaken further over the coming year as a downturn deepens in industry and construction. The outlook for the rest of the region is improving. We expect many economies to rebound strongly as governments ease restrictions on …
As highly-open economies, Switzerland and the Nordics are far from immune to the issues of slowing global growth and supply-chain shortages that are currently vexing investors. Sweden is perhaps most exposed; the impressive rebound there looks to have …
The latest activity data suggest that India's recovery has entered a slower phase, with global supply shortages starting to weigh on the economy too. In addition, India’s vaccination coverage remains low, leaving the economy exposed to the threat of …
The Loan Prime Rate (LPR) remained on hold for the 18th straight month today. And investors have recently pared back their expectations for monetary easing. But given growing economic strains, especially in the property sector, we still think the PBOC …
Overview – Supply chain problems will slow the recovery and keep inflation above target until around the middle of next year. Beyond that, however, the economy should get back on track. After regaining its pre-crisis level later this year, output is …
19th October 2021
Overview – Easing virus outbreaks and the lifting of restrictions boosted recoveries across Latin America in Q3, but growth looks set to slow sharply over the coming quarters. The re-opening boost will soon fade. Fiscal support is, or will be, unwound …
While parts of Japan’s manufacturing sector remain under severe pressure from global supply chain shortages, domestic headwinds to the recovery have dissipated further in recent weeks. That supports our view that a strong rebound is brewing. Breaking …
Overview – Economic recoveries in the Gulf will continue to gather pace over the coming year on the back of successful vaccine rollouts and higher oil output, and our GDP growth forecasts lie above the consensus. Outside the Gulf, though, recoveries are …
Bank Indonesia today left its policy rate unchanged at 3.5% and signalled that it is likely to leave rates on hold for a prolonged period of time. With the economy rebounding but inflation set to stay low, we think interest rates will be left on hold …
Overview – The UK economy is experiencing a taste of stagflation. This won’t be anywhere near as severe or as persistent as in the 1970s. But for the next six months, the worsening product and labour shortages will put the brakes on the economic recovery …
The supply shortages that have affected many DMs have also intensified in emerging economies over the past couple of months. The automotive sector has been hit hard by global semiconductor shortages, weighing on recoveries in Mexico, Czechia and Hungary …
18th October 2021
Overview – The whiff of stagflation is getting stronger as shortages worsen, leading to surging prices and weaker real GDP growth. Shortages of goods and intermediate inputs will eventually ease, although not for at least six to 12 months. But the drop in …
The US dollar seems set to end the week lower against most currencies, as “risky” assets have rallied and US Treasury yields have edged down a bit. This fall back in the dollar and US yields is somewhat surprising in light of the stronger-than-expected …
15th October 2021
The fiscal headache from hawkish central banks Monetary tightening cycles have been a hot topic in Latin America recently, and the supersized 125bp rate hike in Chile caught the eye this week. Most of the focus has been on tackling high inflation, but one …
Erdogan playing with fire in push for rate cuts After putting the final nails in the coffin of the Turkish central bank’s credibility with last month’s surprise interest rate cut, the grave started to be dug this week with the firing of three MPC members. …
Perhaps the most significant event of the past week came as markets opened on Monday morning. In response to two hawkish interviews by members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in the weekend papers – one by Governor Bailey and another by Michael …
Just how bad are things? There remains an unusual amount of uncertainty about China’s economic performance in September. The PMIs are less helpful than usual as the surveys were conducted prior to the disruption from power rationing late in the month. …
Asia reopens While international travel in the rest of the world is making a steady recovery, tourism across Asia remains on its knees. In Mexico, international arrivals are now roughly 80% of their pre-crisis level, while in Spain the equivalent figure …
The surprisingly large 125bp rate hike delivered by Chile’s central bank yesterday, to 2.75%, suggests that it will continue to front-load its tightening cycle to clamp down on high inflation. We now expect a further 225bp of hikes in this cycle, to …
14th October 2021
Overview – Domestic demand is set to rebound from recent lockdowns and labour markets should remain tight. Meanwhile, soaring energy and food prices will keep inflation high for a prolonged period. To be sure, the Reserve Bank of Australia won’t respond …
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tightened policy today, as it looked past the lacklustre rebound in GDP last quarter and looked to curb further rises in inflation. Core inflation is unlikely to rise substantially next year, even as the recovery …
After leaving rates on hold today, the Bank of Korea gave strong signals of its intent to hike again in November. And given the Bank’s hawkish comments, we are adding another rate hike into our forecast for next year, bringing the total to a further 75bps …
12th October 2021
Overview – Following a rapid rebound from the second virus wave, India’s economy is beginning to lose some steam. And with vaccination coverage still low, downside risks remain significant. Under these circumstances, the RBI is likely to keep policy …
11th October 2021
Poland-EU tensions crank up a notch The decision this week by Poland’s Constitutional Court to rule that some EU laws are in conflict with the Polish Constitution has sent shockwaves through Europe. The ruling gets to the heart of the conflict over the …
8th October 2021
What rising energy prices mean for inflation The recent jump in energy prices will put upward pressure on inflation across the region, but the impact should prove short lived and is unlikely to worry policymakers. In some places inflation is already …
The Reserve Bank kept the repo rate on hold at a record low today and stressed that its latest liquidity-withdrawal measures do not constitute policy tightening. Given our view that the recovery will only be back on more solid footing next year, we …
The RBNZ hiked rates by 25bp this week even as the RBA still sounded dovish. The near-term outlook for both economies is similar. Both are emerging from prolonged lockdowns with around 80% of the eligible population having received one jab and more than …
Supply shortages and rising energy prices are becoming stronger headwinds to the euro-zone recovery. The latest data from Germany showed sharp falls in industrial orders and production (see Chart 1), with manufacturers citing supply bottlenecks as a …
7th October 2021
The Bank of Israel revised up its forecast for GDP growth at today’s meeting and struck a more hawkish tone on inflation as it announced that it will end its asset purchase programme later this year. This was in line with expectations, but Governor Yaron …
Overview - With the Delta wave having ebbed and the majority of the population now fully vaccinated, we expect a strong rebound in domestic demand over the coming months. But the inflation concerns that hang over other major developed economies won’t …
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) unexpectedly hiked its policy rate by 40bp to 0.50% at today’s MPC meeting, but the accompanying communications were underwhelming and suggest that the rate hike was not as hawkish a move as might have been first …
6th October 2021
The sharp slowdown in economic growth in the past couple of quarters suggests that the probability of the Bank of Canada following other central banks in becoming more hawkish is low. The risk will rise, however, if the September Labour Force Survey shows …
