Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Jun.) Egyptian inflation jumped to 14.4% y/y last month on the back of recent administered price hikes, but we still think that the next move in interest rates will be down. 10th July 2018 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update The damage from a global trade war Assessing the damage from a global trade war is tricky because there are few historical precedents and the costs would depend on the nature of the conflict. But our best guess is that, if all... 9th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Soybean tariffs causing distortion in export growth The rush by US exporters to beat the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on soybeans by China will provide an artificial boost to second-quarter GDP growth, but will become a potentially significant... 9th July 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Jun.) The small rise in Mexican inflation, to 4.6% y/y last month, from 4.5% y/y in June, was due almost entirely to a rise in energy inflation, while core inflation fell to an 18-month low. The next... 9th July 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Focus Scope for the participation rate to rise further While the aging of the population will continue to exert a sizeable downward influence on the participation rate in the coming years, this will probably be more than offset by further rises in the... 9th July 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Mixed employment survey makes Bank’s job harder The Bank of Canada’s policy announcement will take the spotlight next week. Despite June’s Labour Force Survey being something of a mixed bag, the subsequent rise in the Canadian dollar suggests that... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Riksbank hawkish, Norwegian housing recovering The main event this week was the Riksbank meeting , at which the Bank reiterated that it expected to raise interest rates in December. And data released since the meeting support the case for the... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Another step towards a “soft” Brexit The proposals expected to come out of the Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s country retreat, Chequers, are unlikely to be accepted by the EU. But the decision to align UK product standards with... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Weekly Amlo makes the right noises Mexican financial markets have rallied this week following some business-friendly noises from left-wing president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo), but we’d be wary of reading too much into... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trade concerns wreak havoc Almost all commodity prices fell this week as the deadline for the imposition of US tariffs on China loomed large. The tariffs came into effect on Friday, and China retaliated in kind. Also on Friday... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
China Economics Weekly Letting go of equities, holding the renminbi Chinese policymakers are intervening to stem market declines, but unevenly: they appear much more concerned about the currency than about equities. Meanwhile, worries about the domestic outlook... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Booming activity and tariffs adding to price pressures Activity is booming, with employment up by more than 200,000 again in June and second-quarter GDP growth apparently close to 4% annualised. But, alongside the recently imposed tariffs, strong activity... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Rise in natural vacancy rate may support rental growth It is possible that the large number of new apartments entering the market over the past year has acted to increase the ‘natural’ vacancy rate. Uncertainty about achievable rents in new buildings... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Jun.) & International Trade (May) Although the unemployment rate rose and wage growth slowed in June, the construction-driven 32,000 increase in employment will soothe concerns about the housing market. Even with exports falling in... 6th July 2018 · 1 min read