Growth steadies at the start of Q3 The latest Russian industrial production and retail sales figures for July were a mixed bag and suggest that the economy maintained a steady pace of growth at the start of this quarter. But we still think GDP growth will …
28th August 2024
The ongoing reassessment of the monetary policy outlook in the US and Europe has (again) made the UK look like an outlier. We doubt that will last. Since the start of the summer, expected interest rates have fallen significantly in most major economies, …
City offices have underperformed their West End neighbours by a wide margin since 2022. More encouraging recent data have led us to revise up our City rental projections, but we still expect stronger gains in the West End over the forecast horizon. …
Core inflation to come in lower than Bank’s forecast Economic growth remains below potential Bank to cut interest rates by 25bp at each meeting until 2.50% The dovish communication following the last meeting and the encouraging July CPI report leave …
Rates on hold while geopolitical uncertainty remains The decision by the Bank of Israel (BoI) to leave its policy rate on hold again today (at 4.50%) rather than resume the easing cycle, reflects policymakers’ concerns with supply-side constraints in the …
Most Latin American economies appear to have headed into Q3 with little momentum and regional growth is likely to remain sub-2% this year and next. With inflation set to remain above target for a while yet, easing cycles in many countries will be …
For all the talk about AI, equities in Europe have delivered nearly as much as those in the US over the past few years. But we think that US equities will take the lead more clearly over the next year or so. Only the eventual bursting of an AI bubble …
Capital Markets Union (CMU) is regarded by many European policymakers as one of the key reforms needed to close the gap between EU and US productivity. But a full CMU is a long way off, and in any case fragmented capital markets are just one source of …
The pick-up in Nigerian GDP growth seen in Q2 will probably be followed by a renewed slowdown this quarter. But we think the backdrop of rising oil production, falling inflation and possible interest rate cuts should set the stage for a more sustained …
Growth in the Gulf economies is likely to pick up in the coming quarters, particularly as oil output starts to rise from October. The outlook will become more challenging from 2025 as oil prices fall back and it becomes more difficult to sustain loose …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Disinflation has further to run Inflationary pressures are easing gradually, but the details of today’s CPI release won’t bring the RBA any closer to dropping its hawkish bias. …
It’s perhaps surprising that financials have outperformed the S&P 500 during the recent bout of market turbulence . (See Chart 1.) After all, Treasury yields have fallen and the outlook for the US economy has darkened, both of which might have been …
27th August 2024
Our fair value analysis suggests that appraisal-based NOI yields need to rise by 50-60 bps from Q2 levels. But downgrades to our expectations for Treasury yields in the latter years of our forecast horizon mean the cyclical peak in yields implied by this …
While the S&P 500 is now nearly back to its all-time high in the wake of Fed Chair Powell’s dovish message at Jackson Hole, underlying risk premia are still somewhat larger than before the July correction began and the previously all-conquering “AI” …
Softer house price gains reflect looser market The muted 0.2% rise in the national Case-Shiller house price index in June was no shock considering that buyer demand collapsed that month, while supply kept growing. With the spring selling season now over …
The economy is on course to grow by 6.5-7% per year between 2024 and 2026, which would put India on course to become the world’s third-largest economy in the next couple of years. Headline CPI inflation is likely to have accelerated in August, but it …
The small fall in Brazil’s headline inflation rate, to 4.35% y/y in the first half of August, alongside the prospects of a Fed rate cut next month, means that Copom is most likely to leave rates unchanged (rather than hike) at its meeting next month. The …
Rates left on hold, easing cycle will be more “stop-start” from here The Hungarian central bank (MNB) suggested that its decision to leave the policy rate on hold today, at 6.75%, was likely to mark a temporary pause in the easing cycle, rather than an …
We expect most Asian currencies to make further gains over time, even if their biggest rallies may now be behind them. Much attention in FX markets over the past month or two has focused on the surge in the yen, which has continued to make headway over …
The persistent strength in producer price inflation probably still mostly reflects the lagged influence of the surge in import costs rather than any pick-up in wage growth. If the yen keeps strengthening over the next couple of years, inflation will fall …
Durable goods boosted by aircraft rebound The bigger than expected 9.9% m/m rebound in durable goods orders in July was entirely due to a massive rebound in aircraft orders. Excluding transport, core orders fell by 0.2% m/m in July, while June’s gain was …
26th August 2024
Wage growth is starting to outpace inflation and with real incomes rising, the rebound in consumer spending has further to run. While underlying inflation will fall further below 2% over the coming months, we still expect the Bank to hike rates once more …
On the latest episode of The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics , Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing and Stephen Brown, our Deputy Chief North America Economist, give their take on what Jerome Powell said to the Fed’s annual gathering at Jackson …
23rd August 2024
Fed Chair Powell’s dovish keynote speech at the Jackson Hole conference today has reinforced the sense that not only are FOMC rate cuts imminent, but they may also be front-loaded. That suggests downside risks to our forecasts for US Treasury yields and …
The dovish speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole and the minutes of the FOMC Meeting in July released on Wednesday have left the greenback lower against all G10 currencies this week. This adds to the batch of weaker-than-expected activity and …
The dovish speech from Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium suggests that the Fed will be choosing between a 25bp and a 50bp cut at its meeting in September. A 50bp cut would look less likely if the unemployment rate drops back this month, …
Nigeria businesses downbeat, but economy turning A CBN business survey published this week suggested that businesses are still downbeat on the economy, but we think slowing inflation and a more stable naira may soon bring some near-term cheer. The …
China retaliates to EU tariffs on EVs This week the EU announced a series of additional levies on Chinese EV imports on top of those announced a few months ago. China retaliated by making a complaint to the WTO and launching an anti-dumping investigation …
Drop in mortgage rates drives surge in new home sales The surge in new home sales in July was driven by pent-up buyers taking advantage of the sharp drop in borrowing costs last month, after having been sidelined earlier this year by high mortgage rates. …
Ukraine’s surprise incursion Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued this week. Ukraine found a weak spot in Russian defences two weeks ago and mobilised resources to exploit it. The scale of the incursion is significant, with some suggesting that …
Mexico: likelihood of September cut increasing The inflation and activity data out of Mexico this week, alongside the minutes to the central bank’s August meeting, mean that Banxico is likely to continue its easing cycle with a 25bp cut, to 10.50%, at its …
Dovish Powell hints at potential for 50 bp cut Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish tone at Jackson Hole today and pledge to do “everything we can to support a strong labour market” implies that a 50 bp cut could be on the table at the September meeting, …
The apparent stall in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas limited the fall in oil prices this week. While we think a deal wouldn’t be a game-changer for oil prices, a further breakdown in talks could cause prices to spike. Meanwhile, data …
At first glance, the 1.1% m/m increase in Adzuna job vacancies in July, the first monthly rise this year, together with the fall in the unemployment rate to 4.2% in June and the 127,000 rebound in employment between April and June, suggests the recent …
The muted gains in the Bank of Canada’s preferred core price measures in July make another interest rate cut at the September meeting seem inevitable. The Bank will be encouraged by the second soft monthly gain in rents, which may be a sign that we have …
Heading for a better third quarter Despite the 0.1% m/m gain in June, retail sales volumes contracted last quarter, suggesting that household consumption growth also slowed. Prospects for the third quarter look better, with the preliminary estimate …
Although the EU is making progress in expanding its semiconductor production capacity, including through a new plant in Dresden, it is still a long way behind the US and Asia and is unlikely to catch up anytime soon. This will keep the EU reliant on …
Still trying to fix the destocking scheme At a press conference today, the Ministry of Housing pledged to accelerate the purchase of unsold homes for conversion into affordable housing. Exactly how it intends to go about that is unclear. The national …
Africa Chart Pack (Aug '24) …
RBI Governor pushes back against change to target A longstanding debate in Indian policymaking circles over which measure of consumer price inflation the RBI should target has been reignited in recent weeks. In the Government’s Annual Economic Survey …
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack (Q3 2024) …
Underlying inflation falling below 2% According to a recent survey, 57% of analysts predict another rate hike by year-end, with one-third thinking it will happen in October and the remainder favouring the December meeting. In his parliamentary hearing …
Restrictive policy will do its job Earlier this week the Reserve Bank of Australia published the minutes of its August meeting, which showed that the Board remains concerned about upside inflation risks. In particular, the Bank noted that there was likely …
Currency concerns abating Three central banks announced policy decisions this week and all three kept rates on hold. At first glance then, an uneventful week. But there were dovish signs across the board that suggest all three will ease policy soon. We …
Underlying inflation will fall below 2% With underlying inflation falling below 2% for the first time since 2022 and set to decline further, the case for further monetary tightening is starting to diminish. Headline inflation held steady at 2.8% in July, …
After six consecutive years of underperformance, retail outperformed the all-property average in 2023. With the sector well down the road to dealing with the combined effects of e-commerce, oversupply of retail space and the pandemic lockdowns, we think …
22nd August 2024
Even though Treasury yields have edged up today ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole tomorrow, we think there’s still some scope for them to rise further, as we think too much easing is now discounted in money markets. That said, we don’t think …
The Q2 GDP data out of Emerging Europe have generally disappointed to the downside, and leading indicators have weakened at the start of Q3. With interest rates likely to be kept high in Russia and Turkey over the coming months, we think that a further …
The latest flash PMIs suggest that strong activity in the service sector has continued to support GDP growth in advanced economies in Q3, but that the outlook has worsened somewhat. Meanwhile, services price pressures have continued to ease, meaning …
