GDP growth will slow sharply this year GDP growth softened last quarter and inflation slowed sharply in January. But with inflation still very high, that won’t prevent the RBA from hiking the cash rate to a peak of 4.1% in May. The 0.5% q/q rise in Q4 GDP …
1st March 2023
We think even if some of the recent headwinds that have buffeted emerging market (EM) assets fade, a slowdown in global growth might keep them under pressure in the near term. EM assets have had a fairly tough month . Local-currency and …
28th February 2023
We think Australia’s GDP growth softened a touch in Q4 (00.30 GMT) Germany’s HICP inflation probably fell in January (13.00 GMT) We expect the ISM manufacturing index for February to have remained weak (15.00 GMT) Key Market Themes We think the recent …
Hungary’s central bank (MNB) reiterated the message that it’s unlikely to cut its base rate anytime soon, when it left that rate on hold again today (at 13.00%). That said, the MNB offered some signs that it may be close to phasing out its market …
House prices set for further falls in 2023 Despite a sixth consecutive month of falling house prices in December, affordability was still stretched even before the renewed rise in mortgage rates. As a result, it is likely that prices will continue to fall …
One development that would help to ease wage pressures would be an increase in the labour supply; there is still a significant group of countries where the pandemic is having lingering effects. The good news is that the size of the workforce is now …
The dramatic rise in borrowing costs in Brazil in the past few years appears to be causing debt problems at a growing number of companies. So far at least, there is little evidence of widespread stress and the banking sector looks well placed to deal with …
Economy stagnates, supporting the Bank’s move to the sidelines The stagnation in fourth-quarter GDP, together with the downward revision to third-quarter GDP growth, leaves the economy in worse shape than the Bank of Canada expected. That is another …
While the ~0.3% return from US dollar cash between 31 st January and 24 th February was hardly impressive, cash nonetheless outperformed all of the other eighteen headline indices that we track. As data pointing to a still-hot US economy and stubborn …
Economy coming off the boil GDP data for Q4 (Q3 of FY22/23) show that India’s economy came off the boil at the end of last year as higher interest rates weighed on household consumption and investment. But with the hawks still in the ascendancy within the …
MNB to keep its base rate on hold as inflation threat persists Hungary’s central bank (MNB) left its benchmark base rate on hold again today (at 13.00%) and, with inflation likely to stay far above target for some time, we don’t expect the MNB to start …
Local governments have stepped up their borrowing since the start of the year. They issued RMB860bn in special bonds over the course of January and February, up from an average of RMB105bn per month during the second half of 2022. Special bonds are …
While a slew of recent data from advanced economies have surprised to the upside, world trade data are still very much consistent with economic weakness in the near term. Not only did Q4 see one of the biggest drops in world goods trade since the 1980s, …
Pandemic savings won’t rescue the economy The value of savings that households built up during the pandemic has been wiped out by inflation. Rising interest rates, together with a desire to rebuild the spending power of their savings, suggest that …
The common-sense place to start The release of the 2023 version of the Global Methane Tracker by the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week once again highlighted how carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions are far from the only challenge on the climate …
A widening in profit margins could mean that inflation is slower to fall back to the Bank of England’s 2.0% target than we expect. That would cause the Bank to raise interest rates even further than we currently anticipate and/or keep them higher for …
Higher interest rates hurt housing but not other borrowing January’s money and credit figures suggest that higher interest rates are continuing to act as a drag on the housing market, but they appear to be having less influence in other areas of the …
Economy stagnates in Q4 Despite stagnating in Q4, the Swiss economy remained notably bigger than its pre-pandemic level and has outperformed its European peers. We are forecasting a contraction in Q1 2023 and for the economy to flatline over 2023, but …
Strong Q4, but slowdown in store for 2023 Turkey’s economy expanded by 0.9% q/q (3.5% y/y) in Q4, but growth remained unbalanced as it was driven largely by private consumption while net trade provided a sizable drag. We think growth will slow towards …
Goods spending will fall for second consecutive quarter While retail sales bounced back in January, the rebound probably won’t be enough to prevent a contraction in sales volumes across the first quarter . The 1.9% m/m rise in retail sales in January was …
Industrial activity should rebound in February We suspect that the early start to the Lunar New Year was partly responsible for the sharp fall in industrial production in January and there should be a strong rebound in February. Meanwhile, retail sales …
Sales volumes will probably fall further this quarter While retail sales bounced back in January, the rebound probably won’t be enough to prevent a contraction in sales volumes across the first quarter. The 1.9% m/m rise in retail sales in January was …
We expect Hungary’s central bank to leave its policy rates on hold (13.00 GMT) US consumer confidence may have recovered a bit but is probably still low (15.00 GMT) Join our Drop-In on the long-run economic and market impacts of fracturing (15.00 GMT) …
27th February 2023
Asian currencies have dropped back over the past few weeks against the US dollar, with the two worst hit currencies (the Thai baht and the Korean won) down around 6% against the greenback since the start of the month. Renewed concern about inflation in …
Resilience of core orders unlikely to last The 0.7% m/m rebound in core durable goods orders in January rounds off a month of strong activity releases and suggests business investment will hold up a bit better in the first quarter than we had thought. …
Resilience of core orders likely to be temporary The 0.7% m/m rebound in core durable goods orders in January rounds off a month of strong activity releases and suggests business investment will hold up a bit better in the first quarter than we had …
How much progress will be made on meeting global climate goals by 2050? How will long-term economic change help or hinder the drive to hold down temperatures? What role will geopolitics play in the drive to Net Zero? Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing …
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the main benchmark for environmental standards in UK housing. There is evidence that they are improving efficiency in new-builds and new regulations will enforce change on rental properties, but this progress …
Recovery in business sentiment falters The stabilisation of the EC’s economic sentiment indicator in February contrasts with the significant increases in the PMIs and provides some support for our view that the economy will struggle this year. It also …
We held a series of roundtables in Singapore and Australia last week, discussing our views on the global economy with clients and answering their questions. It was striking how often the same questions kept coming up – though they were unsurprising given …
The EC’s Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) continued to rebound across Central and Eastern Europe in February, with our regional weighted measure hitting an eight-month high. It is broadly consistent with the region having passed the worst of its …
The effects of tighter monetary policy are clear in the money and credit data. Households and firms have continued to lock their money up in longer-term deposits which are less likely to be spent, and lending growth has slowed very sharply. This paints …
Industrial output set for February rebound Industrial production contracted sharply in January and we suspect the early start to the Lunar New Year was partly responsible and there should be a strong rebound in February. Meanwhile, retail sales volumes …
Sub-Saharan Africa’s two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, are both facing slow-burning debt problems. In Nigeria at least, elections on Saturday offer an opportunity to shift towards greater fiscal discipline – especially if opposition …
24th February 2023
The US dollar looks set to end a third week higher against most major currencies amid mounting evidence that the US economy started the year on strong footing . In particular, hawkish FOMC minutes and a strong monthly rise in US PCE supported the dollar …
It has been a tumultuous year since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Energy markets are still in a state of flux, though they have calmed significantly. (The prices of European gas and Brent crude have fallen ~85% and ~35% from their respective peaks.) …
The rise in prime property yields accelerated in Q4. Despite gains in all-property rents in most markets, this meant capital values fell across all sectors. Declines were particularly sharp in offices and industrial in Scandinavia and retail in …
New home sales continue to outperform wider market Price reductions and generous incentives offered by homebuilders helped new home sales continue to outperform the wider market in January. But a renewed rise in mortgage rates will weigh on new home …
We think that euro-zone inflation fell again in February (Wed.) The China PMIs will probably show another acceleration in activity (Wed. & Fri.) We doubt that the February ISM surveys will point to stronger growth (Thu. & Fri.) Key Market Themes Despite …
Argentina-IMF relations set for a rockier phase Argentine officials headed to Washington this week to discuss the fourth review of the country’s IMF deal. The good news is that Argentina is likely to have met last year’s performance criteria, which …
The larger-than-expected fall in CPI inflation in January was partly due to one-off effects, but still reduces the chance that the Bank of Canada will be forced to resume raising interest rates. Nevertheless, the renewed rises in the job vacancy rate …
By mid-century, India will have risen to become the world’s third biggest economy. But China will remain at number two, despite forecasts that it is set to overtake the US. These are findings from our latest Long Run Economic Outlook, a report which looks …
Russia’s economy defied expectations in 2022 Russia’s war in Ukraine, which marks its one year anniversary this week, fundamentally changed the geopolitical and economic landscape in the region. From a macroeconomic perspective, one of the more surprising …
With markets responding to recent strong data by ramping up interest rate expectations, there doesn’t yet seem to be much need for the Fed to embark on a renewed hawkish turn. The income and spending data confirmed that real consumption rebounded …
Malaysia announces modest fiscal tightening Malaysia today announced a modest tightening of fiscal policy for 2023, but the most eye-catching element of the budget was a significant increase in infrastructure spending. The budget deficit is projected to …
The People’s Bank last cut policy rates in August. Worries about currency weakness then stayed its hand – plus a view that supply-side disruption linked to COVID would render further easing ineffective. Those concerns have since gone away. We had thought …
The more hawkish tone in financial markets this week is justified. Prior to this week, investors seemed to be optimistic that the previous increases in interest rates would be enough to bring inflation back down to the Bank of England’s 2.0% target, and …
Resurgence in both real spending and inflationary pressure The unexpectedly strong 0.6% m/m increase in core PCE in January, which pushed the annual rate of core inflation up to 4.7%, from 4.6%, is another sign that the Fed might have to leave its policy …
Overview – The surge in yields seen in 2022 will not be repeated in 2023. With much of the repricing occurring last year we think all-property equivalent yields will see only a modest rise of 30bps this year. But rents will be hit, as the dual drags of …
