Global Trade Monitor World trade growth still weak The volume of world trade edged up in June, thanks to stronger exports from developing economies. However, exports from advanced economies have continued to be very weak. Forward-looking indicators... 26th August 2014 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Morocco: slump in agriculture doesn’t dampen positive outlook A slump in agricultural output has weighed heavily on Morocco’s economy since the start of this year. However, exports are now picking up on the back of stronger external demand while the boom in the... 26th August 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Second-quarter economic rebound won't be sustained Canada's economic rebound in the second quarter mainly reflects a bounce-back after bad winter weather dampened economic activity in the first quarter of this year and certain one-off factors that... 25th August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Why are Japan’s exports (still) not picking up? The continued sluggishness of exports in the face of significant yen depreciation reflects the fact that firms have been reluctant to lower prices, as well as weakness in global demand. But there are... 25th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Is recent euro-zone weakness down to the Ukraine crisis? The latest falls in business confidence and the weakness of euro-zone exports seem to relate partly to the effects of the Ukraine crisis and could therefore be fairly short-lived. But there is a risk... 22nd August 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Drop in oil prices underscores Russia’s vulnerabilities The fall in oil prices over the past month poses another headwind for Russia’s struggling economy. The drop in prices is unlikely to have a major bearing on the outlook for the rest of this year –... 22nd August 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia has less to fear from Fed tightening The trend over the past year in most of Emerging Asia has been towards bigger current account surpluses or smaller deficits. This should make their currencies less vulnerable to any negative shifts in... 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (August) The improvement in the flash manufacturing PMI in August suggests that the sector has come back to life. 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Chart Pack CEE recovery loses steam The raft of second quarter GDP data released in Central and South Eastern Europe this month showed that growth eased across much of the region. It’s tempting to interpret this as a sign that the... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External trade (Jul.) July's trade deficit was larger than expected, and indicates that net trade is unlikely to provide much support to GDP growth in the third quarter. However, the recent improvement in external demand... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Constraints on banks, not demand, behind loan slump A record RMB2.0trn fall in bank deposits in July, which put pressure on banks’ loan-to-deposit ratios (LDRs), appears to have been the main factor behind last month’s weakness in lending. LDRs are a... 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Trade (Jun.) June’s euro-zone trade data provided yet further evidence that the external sectorremains too weak to make up for the region’s feeble domestic recovery. 18th August 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Hong Kong's economy should rebound from Q2 drop Hong Kong's economy contracted in the second quarter, due to weak domestic demand and services exports, but an expected pick-up in the global economy should underpin a rebound over the coming quarters... 15th August 2014 · 1 min read
Africa Economic Outlook Cracks emerge in the “Africa Rising” story The long-run growth outlook for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains good, but recent developments have caused cracks to emerge in the “Africa Rising” story. Budget and current account positions have... 15th August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q2 Preliminary) The collapse in economic activity last quarter was largely a result of the higher sales tax, and we still believe that the recovery will resume in the second half of the year. 13th August 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM exports strengthen on Asia rebound Emerging market exports rose at their fastest pace in over a year in June and more timely data suggest that export growth may have strengthened further last month. This improvement has been driven by... 11th August 2014 · 1 min read
