Latin America Economics Update Colombia’s external imbalances starting to unwind Having ballooned during the post-pandemic recovery, Colombia’s current account deficit has started to narrow and should continue to do so in the coming quarters. This, alongside the shift in financing... 5th September 2023 · 4 mins read
Latin America Rapid Response Brazil Industrial Production (July 2023) The larger-than-expected 0.6% m/m decline in Brazilian industrial production in July, taken together with weakness in some of the surveys for August, suggests that the sector may contract in q/q terms... 5th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Rapid Response PMIs (Aug. 23) August’s batch of PMIs for the region showed that activity in non-oil private sectors in the Gulf eased, but that activity remained strong. In contrast, Egypt’s PMI remained below the 50-mark and the... 5th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Euro-zone Final PMIs (August 2023) The final PMIs published today were revised down from the already-low levels reported in the flash measure two weeks ago. The Services Business Activity PMI slumped compared to July, and although the... 5th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Africa Rapid Response South Africa GDP (Q2) The 0.6% q/q rise in South Africa’s GDP in Q2 was stronger than expected but more timely indicators point to a weak start to Q3. And the backdrop of severe power cuts, tight policy and worsening terms... 5th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Europe Rapid Response Swiss GDP (Q2.) Weak manufacturing and investment weighed on the Swiss economy in Q2, leaving GDP unchanged from the previous quarter. We think activity will be sluggish for the rest of the year as the effects of... 4th September 2023 · 2 mins read
Japan Economic Outlook Bank of Japan will remain the odd one out We no longer expect Japan’s economy to enter a recession. However, with real household incomes set to fall until the end of this year, domestic demand growth will remain sluggish. Accordingly, we... 4th September 2023 · 18 mins read
UK Economics Update Growth upgrade suggests UK no longer such a laggard The news that the UK economy may now be 1.5% bigger than its Q4 2019 pre-pandemic size, rather than 0.2% smaller, suggests the economy has been much stronger than we previously thought. But with the... 1st September 2023 · 2 mins read
Global Economics Update PMIs still point to weak outlook for industry in DMs Although a rise in Chinese manufacturing output meant that the decline in global manufacturing activity eased slightly in August, the outlook for industry in advanced economies in particular remains... 1st September 2023 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Bank to pause amid rising recession risks The surprise second-quarter contraction in GDP was partly due to the wildfires but, even without that damage, growth would have been very weak. With the August CFIB Business Barometer showing further... 1st September 2023 · 6 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM industry strengthens, but export demand weak The manufacturing PMIs for August pointed to pick-ups in activity in some of the major EMs. But external demand remains soft, which continues to weigh heavily on some of the more export-oriented... 1st September 2023 · 2 mins read
Emerging Europe Economics Weekly Gas price volatility, Romania’s fiscal slippage The jump in wholesale European natural gas prices in the early part of this week doesn’t mean the energy crisis in the region is coming back to life. For economies in Central and Eastern Europe, it... 1st September 2023 · 7 mins read
US Rapid Response ISM Manufacturing Index (Aug.) The further rise in the ISM manufacturing index to a six-month high of 47.6 in August, from 46.4, is another sign that overall activity growth is picking up slightly in the third quarter. But the... 1st September 2023 · 2 mins read
US Economics Weekly Price pressures easing even as consumers go crazy This week brought more data showing that real economic activity is holding up surprisingly well given surging interest rates but, in part due to the easing in labour market conditions, price pressures... 1st September 2023 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Gabon’s coup, South Africa Q2 GDP The military coup in Gabon this week, coming so shortly after a coup in Niger, has raised further concerns about political instability and institutional frailty in the region. But we’d be wary of... 1st September 2023 · 6 mins read
