Weak demand and high energy costs weighing on aluminium output While the latest year-on-year increase in global aluminium production is suggestive of an improving supply environment, output actually fell in absolute terms and probably has further to …
21st November 2022
The RBI has hiked interest rates by 190bps since May and, while that is relatively benign compared to the moves seen in many other EMs, this tightening is now feeding through to the economy. Purchases of big ticket items such as passenger vehicles have …
Voters in Turkey head to the polls in 2023 and if the ruling People’s Alliance and President Erdogan cling on to power, the authorities are likely to double down on their “new economic model”, raising the threat of simultaneous currency, banking and …
My previous overseas client trip was at the height of the Truss-Kwarteng madness and involved flying 7,000 miles to Singapore for meetings dominated by talk of a UK government gone wild. On that note, when the UK came up last week during discussions in …
Headline inflation shot up to 3.7% y/y in October , the strongest since December 1990 while inflation excluding fresh food and energy rose from 1.8% to 2.5%. Although this puts inflation well above the Bank of Japan’s target, the case for tightening is …
Thailand’s economy accelerated in the third quarter on the back of a surge in service exports. Although the global downturn and higher interest rates will weigh on prospects, we expect growth to hold up relatively well over the coming quarters as …
Growth to hold up (relatively) well Thailand’s economy accelerated in the third quarter on the back of strong consumer spending and investment activity. Although the global downturn and higher interest rates will weigh on prospects, we expect growth to …
The dollar has recouped a bit of ground this week as Treasury yields have stabilised and the rally in risky assets has stalled, but the greenback remains well below its late September peak. As we suggested that they might, Fed officials have pushed back …
18th November 2022
Wage growth in Germany will be far lower next year than some headlines about recent wage deals suggest, but it will still rise above levels compatible with core inflation of 2%. German unions demanding and, in some cases, securing pay rises in the region …
Our downbeat economic forecasts for the euro-zone underpin our view that equity markets there will fall further in the coming months. Within the region, we think the downside risks for equity prices are largest in southern Europe. Even after falling by …
We expect 75bp rate hikes from central banks in New Zealand, Sweden and South Africa We think flash PMI data for November will show that activity contracted in the UK… (Wed.) …as well as in Germany, France and in the euro-zone (Wed.) Key Market Themes …
Most prices fell this week as soaring COVID-19 cases in China raised concerns about the country’s commodity demand. Given the negative impact of COVID-related lockdowns on travel, it is no surprise that there was particular weakness in the price of …
Rising mortgage rates cut sales A renewed rise in mortgage rates led to the largest month-on-month decline in existing home sales since February. As the impact of higher rates continues to feed through in the coming months, we expect sales to fall further …
This week Fed officials pushed back against the market rally in the wake of October’s unexpectedly weak CPI report, but with only limited success. Despite officials reaffirming that they still had “a ways to go” in tightening policy and that they …
Poland’s blast underscores military escalation threat A missile strike that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday raised concern about a further military escalation in the region this week. Central and Eastern European (CEE) financial markets initially …
As the dust settles on this week’s Autumn Statement, we take a step back and answer three key questions. (Clients can catch up on our detailed analysis and our Drop In webinar following Thursday’s fiscal event here and here .) With the economy entering …
Lula’s spending cap exemption plans spook markets Brazil’s financial markets remained on the backfoot this week as the Lula team stepped up its fight against the spending cap. And, while officials have since tried to reassure investors, the developments …
This year’s has been a dollar rally for the ages, but recent weeks have seen the currency come under pressure. That’s fuelling talk that the greenback is finally past the peak with only downside ahead. Jonas Goltermann and Jonathan Petersen from our FX …
Although the data this week showed renewed rises in the annual rates of CPI-trim and CPI-median inflation in October, our calculations show that the timelier 3-month annualised measures both declined. That could persuade the Bank of Canada to drop down …
In next week’s MPC meetings in South Africa and Nigeria, inflation concerns are likely to hold sway over economic woes, and we expect both central banks to keep raising interest rates. South Africa’s tightening cycle is likely to continue for some time, …
The cost-of-living crisis will have an impact on UK high streets for much of the next year. That will not be helpful for retail property rents, although given they are starting from a low base, we think the sector will avoid the meltdown of the pandemic …
The October inflation data highlighted a contrast between the US and Europe, with core price pressures easing materially in the US but staying stronger in the euro-zone and UK. We think this will be an enduring feature of relative inflation prospects in …
Higher interest rates and a weaker outlook for economic activity led to a more significant rise in property yields in Q3. While quarterly rental rises remained solid, particularly for offices and industrial, this meant that all-property capital values …
Rebound in Asian currencies unlikely to last The rebound in Asian currencies triggered by the weaker-than-expected US CPI data for October already appears to be running out of steam. A number of currencies, including the won and the rupiah, have dropped …
High carry emerging market (EM) currencies have generally fared better than their low carry counterparts over recent months, but we doubt this will continue. We think currencies in EM Asia will fare best over the next two quarters, despite their low …
Norway one of Europe’s stronger performers Norway’s Q3 GDP data, published on Friday, were much stronger than expected, consistent with our view that it will be one of Europe’s best performers in the coming quarters. The 0.8% q/q increase in mainland …
Teetering on the brink of recession The 1.2% q/q contraction in Chile’s economy in Q3 was even steeper than expected and we think that the downturn has further to run – our forecasts is for the economy to contract by 1.3% over 2023 as a whole. Meanwhile, …
Official data to fall into line with surveys We doubt that the recent strength in some of the official euro-zone activity data will last. GDP posted a small expansion in Q3, whereas both we and the consensus had expected zero growth. (See here .) And …
Virus disruption has continued to intensify over the past week even after measures to optimise the COVID response were released. Implementation has been haphazard so far. Local officials have struggled to strike a balance between minimising disruption and …
Media blaming weak yen and virus for Q3 GDP fall The economy shrank by 0.3% q/q in Q3 due to a surge in real imports, as well as disappointing private consumption and investment growth. Some media outlets have blamed the weak yen and COVID for the …
Having increased sharply throughout the year, we think that emerging market (EM) local currency sovereign bond yields will probably only increase by a little more in the first half of next year, despite a looming world recession. Yields may then start to …
Domestic demand coming off the boil Recent data paint a mixed picture of the state of domestic demand. On the one hand, survey evidence remains relatively upbeat. The PMI readings for India have recently held up much better than in most other EMs and …
Even though wage growth surpassed 3% for the first time since 2012 last quarter, and unemployment is back at a record low , the tight labour market has not been a major driver of the recent surge in inflation. In contrast to the US or New Zealand, wage …
Only a temporary halt to the downward path The 0.6% m/m rise in retail sales volumes was larger than both we (0.0% m/m) and the consensus (+0.2% m/m) had expected. Sales volumes were probably supported by the reversal of bank holiday effects in October. …
Boost from reversal of bank holiday effects won’t last The 0.6% m/m rise in retail sales volumes (consensus +0.2% m/m, CE 0.0% m/m) was probably supported by the reversal of bank holiday effects in October. But, given that the high inflation that weighed …
Government intervention to tame inflation Headline inflation set a new three-decade high in October on aggressive rises in food inflation excluding fresh food and will remain near those highs this quarter. That said, government support measures will lower …
Bank of Japan to maintain policy despite soaring inflation Headline inflation remained set a new three-decade high in October and will remain near those highs this quarter. That said, the Bank of Japan will remain steadfast in maintaining its ultra-easy …
17th November 2022
Japan’s headline inflation probably rose to 3.5% in October (Thu., 23.30 GMT) We think UK retail sales volumes were flat in October (07.00 GMT) We suspect Chile’s GDP contracted by 0.3% q/q in Q3 (11.30 GMT) Key Market Themes The market reaction to …
In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, appears to have pulled off the tricky task of reassuring the financial markets of the government’s fiscal discipline while also managing not to deepen the recession. Our economic forecasts suggest he …
Our current view is that we see a mild recession in H1 2023, but if we were to see a more substantial drop in GDP, we think the extra downside impact would be felt most in the apartment sector. Indeed, if GDP were to fall by an additional 1% …
Egypt’s privatisation drive stepping up a gear? Egypt’s state ownership policy document finalised could come into effect before the end of 2022, but it remains to be seen whether the latest privatisation drive will better the fortunes of ones before. The …
Weak builder confidence points to further declines in starts Single-family starts fell to 855,000 annualised in October which was much stronger than what was implied by the low level of homebuilder confidence. We expect further declines in new home sales …
Data released over the past month or so suggest that most economies across the region fared well in Q3. GDP growth in Mexico and Colombia came in well above expectations and hard activity data from Brazil point to another solid expansion last quarter too. …
With inflation still more than five times the Riksbank’s target, Stefan Ingves may be tempted to end his marathon stint as Governor with another 100bp rate hike. But we think the Bank is more likely to raise rates by 75bp, to 2.5%, while signalling more …
Next year will be characterised by falling headline inflation, which should help to prevent interest rate expectations and bond yields from rising much further. But we also expect core inflation to remain above 2% for some time. As a result, we think …
Chancellor satisfies the markets and helps the economy when it needs it The £55bn (2.0% of GDP) tightening in fiscal policy announced today by the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, appears to have been enough to satisfy the financial markets. What’s more, he’s …
November's briefing on Asia’s big macro and market stories included discussion of US-China relations in the wake of the Xi-Biden meeting as well as the economic impact of Beijing’s looser zero-COVID rules and property sector support measures. Plus, as …
Bank Indonesia (BI) today raised interest rates by a further 50bps (to 5.25%) and we think further hikes are likely as the central bank looks to support the rupiah and clamp down on inflation. In its press conference the central bank stated that …
Higher interest rates and larger private sector debt burdens mean that debt interest service ratios could rise to levels last seen in the 1990s in many EMs next year. This is unlikely to be a major problem in a handful of EMs such as South Africa, India …
