Europe Economics Update Le Pen’s chances of victory are increasing The chances of right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen winning the French presidency later this month appear to have risen sharply over the past couple of weeks. A victory for Le Pen would almost... 5th April 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (Mar.) March’s final euro-zone PMI surveys confirmed that output expectations fell sharply, with Germany experiencing the biggest drop. Meanwhile, price pressures remain intense across the currency union... 5th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Commercial Property Update Amsterdam and Rotterdam retail to trail With cyclical pandemic effects fading, the backdrop has improved for Dutch retail. However, having been hardest hit in 2020-21, the structural legacy of COVID-19 and higher economic barriers to... 4th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly ECB cannot ignore surging inflation for long With euro-zone inflation having jumped to 7.5% in March it seems increasingly likely that the ECB will accelerate its plans to tighten monetary policy. We now think it will begin raising rates as soon... 1st April 2022 · 7 mins read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Flash HICP (Mar.) With euro-zone inflation rising even further above the ECB’s forecast, and likely to remain very high for the rest of the year, we think it won’t be long before the Bank starts raising interest rates. 1st April 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone exports will slow to a crawl Weakening GDP growth in the euro-zone’s trading partners – and a slump in Russia’s economy – mean that the currency union’s exports look set to grow very slowly this year. 31st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Data Response EZ Unemployment (Feb.) The euro-zone unemployment rate edged down yet again in February, to a record low of 6.8%. There is little sign yet that this is feeding through to higher wages. But labour market conditions are set... 31st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities Focus The fallout from Europe’s energy war The industrial sector would bear the brunt of any power rationing imposed as a result of Europe’s shift away from Russian energy, but the direct economic impact of this would be smaller than one might... 30th March 2022 · 24 mins read
Europe Economics Update ECB won’t wait much longer to start rate hikes With the Ukraine war and pandemic-related prices pressures still much stronger than anticipated, we think the ECB will not want to wait much longer before beginning to raise interest rates. Our new... 30th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response Germany Flash Inflation (March) After a further huge jump in March, German inflation is likely to average at least 7% this year, and there are plenty of upside risks, not least the threat of power shortages. With price pressures... 30th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Europe Data Response EC Survey (Mar.) The European Commission business and consumer survey for March is consistent with our view that economic growth will be slower than most anticipate this year while inflation will overshoot... 30th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Europe Economics Focus The fiscal cost of the Ukraine war We estimate that euro-zone governments’ fiscal deficits will be around 1% higher than expected this year, as a result of the war in Ukraine, mostly due to government subsidies for energy, support for... 29th March 2022 · 15 mins read
Industrial Metals Update European steel prices to remain high for some time yet We expect European steel prices to remain elevated this year given sharply higher production costs and disruption caused by lower imports from Russia and Ukraine. That said, prices should ease back... 28th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Update Revising down our forecasts for consumption growth With euro-zone inflation set to average around 6% this year, we expect aggregate real household incomes to fall by about 1.5%. The impact on consumption will be cushioned to some extent by fiscal... 28th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Europe Economics Weekly EU struggles to agree on next steps for energy EU leaders have struggled to agree on whether to impose more curbs on Russian energy and on how to best support households and firms in the face of spiralling energy prices. But most national... 25th March 2022 · 8 mins read
Europe Data Response German Ifo Survey (March) March’s Ifo business survey provides further evidence that Germany is heading for a sharp slowdown as the war in Ukraine and sky-high energy prices cause manufacturing output to contract. However, we... 25th March 2022 · 2 mins read
