Europe Economics Focus Euro-zone industrial slowdown to weigh on growth Euro-zone industrial production has slowed surprisingly sharply this year as producers have suffered from an investment-led global slowdown and an appreciation of the trade-weighted exchange rate... 19th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Wage growth may play stronger role in ECB policy The latest comments from the ECB’s Benoît Coeuré suggest that future guidance about the pace of policy tightening might hinge on developments in wage growth. In our view, this would be a positive... 18th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB focused on wage growth, not industrial slowdown Despite the recent softening of the economic data, on Thursday ECB President Mario Draghi maintained a positive tone on the outlook for GDP growth and inflation. And the Q2 labour cost data, published... 14th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Labour Costs (Q2) & Goods Trade (Jul.) The pick-up in euro-zone wage growth in Q2 adds to signs that inflationary pressures in the region are building. This will encourage the ECB that it is right to be normalising monetary policy. But... 14th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB’s plans unaffected by signs of slowdown The ECB today confirmed its intention to normalise policy gradually, expressing very little concern about signs of an economic slowdown. Given growing risks and economic uncertainty, the first... 13th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Industrial Production (Jul.) July’s euro-zone industrial production data marked a very weak start to Q3 and support the ECB’s cautious approach to policy normalisation. 12th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Export growth slowdown looks set to persist After providing a big boost to GDP growth last year, net exports were a drag on growth in the first half of 2018. This does not look like a temporary response to heightened trade tensions. Instead, it... 11th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone GDP (Q2, Breakdown) The third estimate of euro-zone Q2 GDP confirmed that net trade was a drag on growth for the second consecutive quarter. But with domestic demand strong and the timelier survey evidence encouraging... 7th September 2018 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Not quite on autopilot, but change of course unlikely Despite mixed news from the economy and growing risks to the outlook, we expect the ECB to reiterate that asset purchases are set to end in December and that interest rates will probably rise... 6th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Jul.) & Final PMIs (Aug.) July’s euro-zone retail sales data imply that the sector had a slow start to Q3, but the timelier indicators are more encouraging. And the message from August’s PMI surveys was positive for the euro... 5th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Will the low level of uncertainty in the euro-zone last? Uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and monetary policy in the euro-zone is unusually low. While it is unlikely to return to the levels seen during the financial crisis or euro-zone debt... 4th September 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash CPI (Aug.) & Unemployment (Jul.) August’s small decline in euro-zone inflation won’t deter the ECB from ending its net asset purchases this year. But core inflation is still not on a sustained upward trend, so the Bank will be in no... 31st August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response EC Business & Consumer Survey (Aug.) Although the EC’s measure of euro-zone economic sentiment fell again in August, it remains at a high level and consistent with fairly strong growth. But underlying price pressures are building very... 30th August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash PMIs (Aug.) August’s small increase in the euro-zone PMI suggests that the region’s economy is continuing to perform well in Q3, which will reassure the ECB that it is right to be normalising monetary policy very... 23rd August 2018 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update ECB purchases of Italian bonds might rise in October We suspect that, due to technical reasons, the ECB will increase its purchases of Italian government bonds in October. This might help to prevent yields from shooting up if Italy’s Government submits... 21st August 2018 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Chart Pack Little movement in office & retail yields The second quarter of the year saw further signs that the euro-zone property market upswing is close to an end. With a 5% annual fall in investment, activity is now starting to track sideways on a... 15th August 2018 · 1 min read
