Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to hike again; SNB to play it cool The Norges Bank will kick off the post-Olsen era next Thursday with a 25bp interest rate hike, to +0.75%, and while we expect it to raise rates three more times this year, the balance of risks is... 17th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Canada Economics Update Can the housing market handle higher interest rates? The rise in mortgage rates implied by our new higher policy rate forecasts would reduce affordability by 12% over the next year which, in isolation, is not especially alarming when considering that... 17th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Iran nuclear deal, wiring shortage a fillip to North Africa The Iran nuclear deal appears to be on the brink of being revived and, were that to happen, the lifting of sanctions would provide a major direct boost to Iran’s economy. Increased oil output could... 17th March 2022 · 7 mins read
India Chart Pack Ukraine war heightens inflation and external risks The surge in commodity prices as a result of the war in Ukraine will have several repercussions for India’s economy. As a major net commodity importer, its terms of trade will deteriorate and we think... 17th March 2022 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan hikes rates, but further tightening to be gradual Taiwan’s central bank today unexpectedly raised its main policy rate by 25bps to 1.375%, but we doubt this is the start of an aggressive tightening cycle given the mounting downside risks to growth... 17th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Copom opts for smaller hike, but keeps hawkish stance Brazil’s central bank slowed the pace of its hiking cycle with a 100bp hike (to 11.75%) yesterday, but the hawkish tone of the statement suggests that Copom is more concerned about the coming jump in... 17th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia to tighten policy gradually Bank Indonesia (BI) left interest rates unchanged at 3.5% at its meeting today, and the weakness of inflation and strong performance of the rupiah mean the tightening cycle is likely to be very... 17th March 2022 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Fed kicks off tightening cycle in hawkish mood The Fed began its tightening cycle with a 25bp hike today and, despite the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and China's efforts to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, officials look set... 16th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How will Fed tightening affect the Gulf? Central banks in the Gulf will have to follow the US Federal Reserve in raising interest rates by virtue of their dollar pegs, which will weigh on domestic demand and recoveries in non-oil sectors... 16th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia - Inflation will hit 21-year high We now expect inflation to reach a 21-year high of 5.2% in Q3 as fuel prices surge and firms pass on higher raw material costs to consumers. With the labour market nearing full employment and... 16th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Global Economics Chart Pack Growing threats to global growth and inflation We warned at the start of the year that global growth would disappoint, while inflation would surprise to the upside in 2022 and recent events have added to those concerns. The surge in commodity... 15th March 2022 · 14 mins read
China Data Response China Activity & Spending (Jan. & Feb.), PBOC Rates (Mar.) Activity data for the first two months of the year was stronger than anticipated, which probably explains why the People’s Bank (PBOC) unexpectedly kept its policy rates on hold today. But the economy... 15th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Inflation now the biggest concern for the BoK Concerns about inflation in Korea are rising, just as those about financial stability risks are starting to recede. Despite the worsening growth outlook caused by the surge in energy prices and war in... 14th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Bank to be more aggressive amid booming jobs market The surprisingly strong rise in employment in February reduces the downside risks to near-term economic activity from higher energy prices and reinforces our view that the Bank of Canada will now hike... 11th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Capital Daily China’s equity market, decoupling, and the Russia-Ukraine war Even if a repeat of their dismal performance in 2021 is unlikely, we don’t expect a big rebound in China’s equities this year. 11th March 2022 · 7 mins read
US Economics Weekly Fed to kick off tightening cycle We expect the Fed to hike interest rates by 25bp at next week’s FOMC meeting and, despite the war in Ukraine, to unveil new projections showing at least five interest rate hikes this year in total. 11th March 2022 · 6 mins read