Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Strains in Saudi Arabia’s balance of payments starting to ease Saudi Arabia’s current account position deteriorated at the start of this year due to lower oil prices, but even taking this into account the underlying balance of payments position improved. We... 14th July 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Trade tariffs pose limited threat to euro-zone exports With the exception of the automobile and agricultural industries, WTO tariffs are low enough to imply that even if no trade deal is reached, Brexit will do little direct damage to euro-zone exporters... 14th July 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Data Response Turkey Ind. Production & Current Account (May) Despite May’s sharper-than-expected rise in Turkish industrial production, growth over Q2 as a whole appears to have been weaker than in Q1. Meanwhile, May’s balance of payments data showed another... 14th July 2016 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Brexit vote clouds the outlook for trade agreements The UK referendum result may ultimately lead to the British government pursuing more liberal trade policies with the rest of the world. But progress is likely to be very slow. Meanwhile, the prospect... 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
China Data Response Trade (Jun 2016) China’s trade data for June point to further tepid growth in global demand and steady growth in imports in volume terms, helped by continued healthy growth in demand for commodities. 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update The Netherlands will be hit harder than most by Brexit The Dutch economy is more vulnerable than most to a downturn in the UK. In turn, the negative labour market impact could boost support for eurosceptic parties ahead of next year’s elections. 11th July 2016 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Trade (May) & GfK Consumer Confidence (Jul.) While the latest trade figures highlighted the unbalanced nature of the recovery, GfK’s “Brexit special” consumer confidence figures provided some worrying signs that the main engine of growth may be... 8th July 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response French Industrial Production & German Trade (May) May’s decline in French industrial production only partly reversed April’s gain but combined with falls elsewhere leaves euro-zone industry looking weak. And Germany’s trade balance fell from its... 8th July 2016 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economic Outlook EM pick-up to prove short-lived EM growth is likely to accelerate over the second half of this year, but a downward shift in potential growth means the recovery could hit the buffers in 2017-18. 7th July 2016 · 1 min read
US Data Response Internat’l Trade (May) & ISM Non-Manu. (Jun.) Despite the widening in the nominal trade deficit to $41.1bn in May, from $37.4bn, net trade probably still provided a small boost to second-quarter GDP growth, which we suspect was close to 3%... 6th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (May) The merchandise trade deficit was broadly unchanged at C$3.3bn in May, thanks in part to an upward revision to the April figure. Despite the disruptions to oil sands production from the Alberta... 6th July 2016 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Retail Sales & International Trade (May) Weaker-than-expected retail sales and international trade figures for May provide further evidence that GDP growth probably slowed sharply in the second quarter. This won’t be enough to persuade the... 5th July 2016 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly How far will inflation rise? Although the slide in the trade-weighted sterling index of a little below 10% since the referendum result will give exporters a much-needed boost to their competitiveness, it will also lift the prices... 1st July 2016 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Brexit to hit France harder than Germany On the face of it, Germany seems more exposed than France to the effects of the UK leaving the EU. But in the time before the UK actually leaves the single market, France is more vulnerable than... 1st July 2016 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Brexit vote doesn’t change the task facing the Fed While the UK Brexit vote triggered some initial volatility in financial markets, many of the adverse moves have already been unwound and overall financial conditions in the US remain considerably... 1st July 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly China’s move up the value chain – what it means for Korea China’s move up the value chain is proving a major challenge for Korean exporters. Poor export prospects are just one reason why we expect Korea’s economy to struggle over the next few years. 1st July 2016 · 1 min read
