Nordic & Swiss Economics Weekly Uncandid Ingves, Norges Bank to take a breather In comparison to the excitement caused by the Riksbank’s meeting this week, the Norges Bank’s policy announcement next Thursday is likely to be a more prosaic affair. Indeed, while Governor Wolden... 29th April 2022 · 5 mins read
UK Economics Our new forecasts, pound risks adding to price pressures Even though we think the pound will continue to weaken against the US dollar, from $1.26 now to around $1.22 by the end of the year, that’s unlikely to significantly boost CPI inflation as we think it... 29th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q1 2022) and Flash HICP (April) The small increase in euro-zone GDP in Q1 means that the region will avoid a technical recession in the first half of the year. But rising inflation and the fallout from the Ukraine war mean that GDP... 29th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Emerging Europe Data Response Czech GDP (Q1 2022) The 0.7% q/q expansion of Czech GDP in Q1 was slightly stronger than expected, although it still marked a slowdown in growth and, in particular, there were signs of weakness at the end of the quarter... 29th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update War impact reinforces investment slowdown While Q1 investment data showed further strength, the impact of the war in Ukraine on investor sentiment, economic growth and interest rates support our view that pan-European (excl. UK) investment... 29th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to pause next week ahead of June hike We think that the Norges Bank will keep interest rates on hold, at +0.75%, next Thursday, before resuming its tightening cycle in June. We forecast one rate hike per quarter this year and next, which... 28th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Europe Economics Update Gas price cap won’t solve Spain’s inflation problem The cap on the wholesale natural gas price for the Iberian market will result in a bigger fall in energy inflation in Spain than we had previously expected. It might also dampen underlying price... 28th April 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Rates heading to 3.0% as MPC focuses on inflation concerns The weakening economic outlook has deepened the dilemma facing the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). But we think the MPC is sufficiently worried about rising price/wage expectations to raise Bank Rate... 28th April 2022 · 8 mins read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack Inflation risks mount as commodity prices surge Surging commodity prices have pushed up inflation across the region and we expect inflation to hit fresh multi-year highs in the coming months. A loss of Russian gas supplies should not lead to... 28th April 2022 · 11 mins read
Europe Data Response Germany & Spain Flash Inflation (April) The further rise in headline inflation in Germany, and increase in the underlying rate in Spain, suggest that euro-zone inflation will come in around 7.4% in April. This will do nothing to change the... 28th April 2022 · 2 mins read
UK Commercial Property Data Response RICS Commercial Property Market Survey (Q1) The latest RICS survey showed that office and retail occupier activity improved significantly in Q1 and that respondents were more positive about the prospects for property over the next 12 months... 28th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Riksbank completes “Operation Reverse Ferret” As we had expected, the Riksbank finally bowed to economic logic in its April meeting by raising the repo rate, to +0.25%, and announcing that it will begin to shrink its balance sheet this year... 28th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Euro-zone property yields to rise sooner A weaker economic outlook and larger increases in interest rates this year and next mean that we now think euro-zone all-property yields will reach their trough by the end of this year and will come... 28th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Europe Data Response Russia Activity Data (Mar.) The latest activity data for Russia beat expectations in March and suggest that the economy entered a softer downturn than had been expected. We have reservations about the accuracy of the data, but... 27th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Russia weaponisation of natural gas poses economic risks Russia’s decision to suspend gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria from today because of a payments dispute will only strengthen the EU’s resolve to end its dependency on Russian gas, keeping gas... 27th April 2022 · 6 mins read
UK Economics 3% is the magic number for interest rates Our new forecast that interest rates will be raised from 0.75% now to a peak of 3.00% next year is more hawkish than the peak priced into the financial markets (2.50%) and the peak expected by the... 27th April 2022 · 5 mins read
