The US dollar has rebounded a bit this week on renewed signs that a global slowdown is underway and a growing sense that, like the Fed, most other central banks are also at, or near, the end of their tightening cycles. Although the summer doldrums are …
23rd June 2023
With the Fed still hinting at more interest rate increases, the dollar strengthened and contributed to declines across most commodity prices this week. One of the few prices that did increase was the Asia LNG price, which rose by 7% (1) . This seems …
Lower-than-expected euro-zone PMIs in June support our view that economic activity will disappoint, which we think will push the euro and government bond yields down by the end of 2023. Underwhelming PMIs in the euro-zone have put some pressure on the …
June’s flash PMIs suggest that not only has activity in advanced economies slowed at the end of Q2, but the outlook has also deteriorated further. This is particularly true in the manufacturing sector, where orders have fallen sharply. Meanwhile, …
After several disruptive quarters, we are making few changes to our near-term euro-zone real estate forecasts. Nonetheless, a higher profile for 10-year rates has led us to push back yield reductions until after 2025 and we have also downgraded our office …
BRL rally for real? The Brazilian real’s recent rich vein of form has continued this week, with the currency appreciating by a further 1.5% against the dollar, to 4.8/$. Several factors have supported this, including improvements in Brazil’s trade balance …
After that shock CPI report and the Bank of England’s aggressive response, Neil Shearing discusses whether the UK is a high inflation-slow growth outlier. Along with his survey of the latest advanced economy data, the Capital Economics Group Chief …
It’s been an extremely tough week for the Bank of England and its Governor, Andrew Bailey. Wednesday’s CPI release revealed the second shocking surge in core inflation in a row and appeared to confirm our view that the inflation problem is bigger in the …
Indian manufacturing to benefit by leaning to US The sweeping agreements on trade and defence announced during Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US this week underline that India’s government and firms increasingly see their interests as favouring …
In a quiet week for economic data, the biggest news was further evidence of a turnaround in housing activity, with housing starts jumping by 22% m/m in May to their highest level in a year. The sheer scale of that move did look a little suspicious and …
A cut, a hold .... and an underwhelming hike The three central bank meetings that took place across the region this week all produced different outcomes, and policymakers’ communications suggest interest rates in these countries will continue to move in …
Zambia secures deal with official creditors This week saw Zambia edge closer to getting a debt restructuring over the line, but an agreement with official creditors suggested that there remain sticking points when it comes to negotiations with China. …
With interest rates now set to be higher for longer, we are sticking with our view the UK will enter a recession later this year. That will hit occupier demand across all property sectors, but industrial should weather the downturn relatively well. After …
Inflation continues to fall Inflation in Malaysia fell back for a ninth consecutive month in May according to figures published today. At 2.8% y/y, inflation is now well below last August’s peak of 4.7%. We expect price pressures to ease further over the …
This week, we published our latest Europe Economic Outlook . Three key points are worth highlighting. First, the euro-zone economy is likely to remain in recession for the rest of 2023. Admittedly, this year’s fall in gas prices will support demand and …
Support measures could take time to draw up Hopes for more policy easing intensified last week after the surprise cut to the PBOC’s reverse repo rate and the release of weak activity data for May. Late last Friday, the State Council said that it was …
Swiss offices have already seen the second sharpest price correction across the major European markets. And with stretched valuations set to face renewed pressure from rising bond yields, we think office yields will edge higher and that sluggish rent …
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 18.25% at Thursday evening’s MPC meeting, but with the lingering threat of another fall in the pound and the slightly more hawkish tone from the accompanying statement, we think …
If the weather forecasters are right, El Niño conditions have arrived in the Pacific and are set to build over the next few months. The negative impact on agricultural production will depend upon the strength and duration of these conditions but sugar, …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Services price inflation still sticky June’s flash activity PMIs won’t do much to ease the Bank of England’s inflation fears, which suggests that yesterday’s interest rate rise …
The fall in the euro-zone flash Composite PMI from 52.8 in May to 50.3 in June left it even lower than our below-consensus forecast. On the face of it, the index still points to a small expansion in Q2, but it hasn’t been a good leading indicator …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Sales boosted by hot weather, but drag from soaring mortgage rates yet to bite The further rebound in retail sales volumes in May suggests the recent resilience in economic …
Labour market will cool In a speech earlier this week, Deputy RBA Governor Michele Bullock noted that employment was above what the Board would consider to be consistent with its 2-3% inflation target. Indeed, jobs data released last week showed that the …
Strength in inflation not prompting a rethink A Reuters survey published before last week’s Bank of Japan meeting showed that two-thirds of analysts polled expected the Bank to scale back policy easing this year, with 43% predicting it would happen as …
This page has been updated to include additional analysis and charts. PMIs suggest economic downturn might have started in June The fall in manufacturing PMI readings in June’s flash estimates suggest the recession we’re expecting in the second half might …
Banxico stands pat as inflation drifts lower The further falls in headline and core inflation in recent months prompted Mexico’s central bank to leave its policy rate on hold at 11.25% at today’s Board meeting, but we doubt that monetary loosening will be …
22nd June 2023
A disparate range of global central banks have delivered their latest policy rate verdicts over the past 24 hours. We think there are four key points for investors to note. First, European central banks are clearly still in hawkish moods. But while that …
Near-term risks ease, but still high Easing financial conditions, improving consumer sentiment and the stabilisation in housing suggest that the risks of an imminent recession have eased slightly. Nonetheless, our tracking models still imply that an …
The reduction in office demand due to remote work will cause a hit to NOIs on a par with, or worse than, that experienced by malls over the last six years. And in line with the experience of malls, the structural nature of this hit to demand means the 35% …
Overview – GDP growth has slowed sharply across most of Emerging Asia since the middle of last year and looks set to remain weak over the coming quarters, as tight monetary policy at home and subdued activity abroad weigh on demand. We anticipate …
The rapid depreciation of the Swedish krona has pushed the currency down to its lowest ever level against the euro. Worse still, we do not think the krona is significantly below “fair value”, nor do we expect the headwinds facing it to abide anytime soon. …
Sales remain weak As expected, existing home sales remained relatively unchanged in May, rising by +0.2% m/m to 4,300,000 annualised. Despite this marginal rise, a decline in mortgage applications for home purchase in May suggest we have further falls to …
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 …
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 …
Note: We’ll be discussing the UK inflation, growth and policy outlooks after the June CPI release on Wednesday, 19 th July . Register here to join that 20-minute online briefing. The 50 basis point (bps) interest rate rise by the Bank of England today, …
This webpage has been updated with a table and chart of key data. Falling inflation to keep Banxico on hold later today The further decline in Mexico’s headline inflation to 5.2% y/y in the first half of June will comfort policymakers at Banxico and …
All-property yields have seen no movement for the past two months and combined with resilient rental growth that means capital values have held firm since March. (See Chart 1.) But stubbornly high inflation has led to a resurgence in interest rates and …
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 …
50bps and at least another 25bps hike to come The Bank of England’s decision to raise rates by 50bps, from 4.50% to a near 15-year high of 5.00%, is unlikely to be the last hike given the UK’s higher and longer lasting inflation problem. We think the …
Some observers have suggested that the strength of Swedish inflation in May reflected buoyant demand driven by Beyoncé’s Stockholm concerts but the Riksbank is more likely to view it as evidence that underlying price pressures are too high. We expect a …
The 25bp rate hike announced by the SNB this morning was smaller than the 50bp hike we had predicted. But the accompanying statement and upward revision to inflation forecasts for 2024 and 2025 strongly suggest that there will be at least one more hike in …
Today’s 50bp rate hike by the Norges Bank, taking its policy rate to 3.75%, was accompanied by new hawkish guidance and projections. As a result, we have revised up our already above-consensus forecast for the peak in the policy rate to 4.25%. It could …
Inflation to dip below 3% by year-end Headline inflation fell nationwide largely in line with the timelier Tokyo CPI data, while once again, underlying inflation rose despite that. As falling import price inflation brings down inflation in consumer prices …
This page has been updated to include additional analysis, charts and a table. Inflation should fall below 3% by year-end Nationwide inflation played out largely in line with the timelier Tokyo CPI data in May. Headline inflation fell largely due to a …
The somewhat cautious tone of the statement accompanying yesterday’s Brazilian central bank meeting (at which the Selic rate was left at 13.75%) will disappoint those hoping for an interest rate cut at the next meeting in August. But the statement does …
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 …
Norges Bank steps up the pace of rate hikes, more to come Today’s 50bp rate hike by the Norges Bank, taking its policy rate to 3.75%, won’t be the end of its tightening cycle. We already expected the policy rate to hit 4%, above the consensus forecast, …
With inflation back to target, rate cuts likely to come soon Bank Indonesia’s (BI) decision to keep interest rates unchanged today at 5.75% came as no surprise and was correctly predicted by all 34 analysts polled by Reuters. With the economy struggling …
Philippines Monetary Policy Meeting (June) Tightening cycle at an end, rate cuts early next year The central bank in the Philippines today left interest rates unchanged (at 6.25%) for a second consecutive meeting. While it gave no clear guidance over its …
SNB hikes by 25bp and signals more to come The 25bp rate hike announced by the SNB this morning was in line with market expectations but less than the 50bp we had predicted. However, the accompanying statement and upward revision to inflation forecasts …
